Just The Gist

A man considers two courses of action although the outcome of one is twice as bad as that of the other.

A man rushes from a cafe when he sees a former partner disembarking with luggage from public transport. They leave on good terms.

A man faces conscription because neither of his parents is a member of the upper house of the American legislature.

Close to midnight in London, a scholarly young woman reconsiders an affair.

A wife posts perfumed missives from her former self to test the stability of her marriage.

Boasts are issued about an Andalucían city’s food and drink. A child’s toy is damaged.

News of a municipal irrigation scheme is deemed of less interest than vinyl singles and/or cinematic dance numbers.

A woman recalls 24 hours in which her reading matter probably contained two newspapers and one feminist novelist.

A missive is sent from the Eastern Seaboard to the Deep South; the reply comes from the foot of the Chugach Mountains.

A visibly wasted man stares at a woman on public transport. Although she has a partner, he is undaunted in his attraction.

A man confesses a murder to his parent. He later pleads impecunity and seeks clemency in vain. He is resigned to his fate.

A peripatetic cowboy explains his fear of commitment with an astrological metaphor.

After a scrape, a man joins the army and fights Asians of some description. On return, his job is gone; he muses on his dead brother.

Just The Gist in BBC News: Can pub quizzes survive in the smartphone era?

As a new term starts, a schoolboy considers returning to his studies or trying to play a cue sport at a professional level.