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Welcome

A Little Owl (Athene noctua)

© Peter Trimming. CC BY-SA 2.0. Source
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Francis Quarles 1592-1644

Be wisely worldly, not worldly wise.

‘Emblems’

# Common Sense

Editor nicholas@claylane.uk

Welcome to Clay Lane

Clay Lane is inspired by textbooks written by NL Clay, used in English schools before the educational changes of the 1960s.

It is for people who appreciate our heritage of strong, plain-spoken English from Shakespeare and the King James Bible to Austen, Dickens and Kipling, and who enjoy playing with words, sentences and ideas.

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“The course should train pupils to observe, learn more of the world they live in, think clearly, use the imagination and to speak clearly.”

NL Clay, Think and Speak (1929)

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The Blog

New and archive material, updated frequently. Passages for reading, brainteasers for solving, and music for listening.

Latest • December 21

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Browse hundreds of short passages from history, fiction, poetry and legend.

Latest • December 21

Christmas at Coverley Hall

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Brainteasers for developing vocabulary, grammar and expression.

Latest • December 20

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Ask your questions, and get personalised help with your English from me, Nicholas.

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Puzzles with words and their letters, just for fun.

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The incomparable English of the King James Bible, the Prayer Book, and more.

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From Sing Us a Song of Zion

By Henrietta Elizabeth Marshall 1867-1941

This king was a Mohammedan, and when the Englishmen came to take leave of him, he turned to Captain Lancaster and asked, “Do you know the Psalms of David?”

“Yes,” replied Lancaster, greatly astonished, “we say them every day.”

“Then,” said the King, “I and these nobles about me will sing a psalm to God for your prosperity.”

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Homonyms Find in Think and Speak

Each of the words below has more than one possible meaning. Compose your own sentences to show what those different meanings are.

1. Sink. 2. Current. 3. Content. 4. Private. 5. Court. 6. Plan. 7. Beam. 8. Kid. 9. Stable.

Show Suggestions

For each word above, choose one or more suitable meanings from this list.

1. A diagram of e.g. a building. 2. Tease. 3. Not public. 4. Satisfied. 5. Flow of water or electricity. 6. Act as a suitor. 7. What’s inside. 8. A proposed sequence of actions. 9. Descend deeper into water. 10. A rank in the army. 11. A large support for a roof. 12. A quadrangle, e.g. for tennis. 13. A child. 14. Not liable to collapse. 15. A young goat. 16. Invest money into a project. 17. Happening now. 18. Wash-basin in a kitchen or laundry. 19. The retinue and household of a monarch. 20. A horse’s bedroom. 21. A ray of light. 22. A place for judicial hearings.

Greece

Posts 53

Tales about the cradle of Western civilisation, from Socrates and the first democracies to the fall of the Roman Empire, the Ottoman yoke, and Britain’s part in the fight for independence.

Animal Stories

Posts 81

Fables and true tales about animals, including a dog who regularly commuted to Matlock, a horse who didn’t approve of bad language, and a cat who saved her owners from an earthquake.

Extracts from Fiction

Posts 114

Romance, adventure and comedy from the very best fiction writers, including Jane Austen, the Brontë sisters, Charles Dickens, John Buchan, and many more.

India

Posts 91

Stories from the ancient and mighty civilisation of India, from classical mythology to the Mughal Emperors, the East India Company and the British Raj.

Bible and Saints

Posts 211

Passages of history, wonder and spiritual counsel, drawn from the Bible and from the lives of the saints and martyrs, with a special attention to those of the British isles.

Music and Musicians

Posts 64

The artistic struggles and triumphs of composers from the British Isles and abroad, many in their own words — and accompanied by their music.

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Clay Lane About Clay Lane Email Support nicholas@claylane.uk

Latest

Posted Yesterday • The Copy Book

Christmas at Coverley Hall : Sir Roger explains why he makes Christmas such a special time for all his neighbours.

Posted December 20 • Think and Speak

Pronunciation : Create sentences in which a particular consonant features prominently and frequently.

Posted December 19

Music Video : Richard Addinsell: Scrooge Suite

Posted December 17 • Think and Speak

Doing Without If : Rewrite these conditional sentences in such a way that the word ‘if’ is not used.

Posted December 16 • Comfortable Words

Stupendous Height of Heavenly Love : A profound Christmas hymn by Charles Wesley, welcoming the rising of the Sun of Righteousness.

Posted December 16 • Think and Speak

Words of Character : Explain what these nouns tell us about our colleague John.

Posted December 15 • Think and Speak

Jigsaws : Combine each pair of ideas into one sentence, in as many ways as you can. See if you can work in one or more of the words suggested.

Posted December 15

Music Video : Eric Coates: Four Centuries Suite: II. Pavane and Tambourin

Posted December 15 • The Copy Book

The Death of Baldur : Baldur was the toast of Valhalla, but Loki was determined to take him down.

Posted December 13 • The Copy Book

Always Keep A-Hold of Nurse : In this ‘Cautionary Tale’, we hear what happened when naughty Jim gave his nurse the slip.

Posted December 13 • Think and Speak

New Polyword : Make as many words as you can using just nine letters. Can you beat our score?

Posted December 10 • The Copy Book

Picking On Cotton : The politicians of Georgian England went to surprising lengths to shield domestic businesses from overseas competition.

Posted December 8

Music Video : Frank Bridge: Berceuse

Posted December 8

Verbs : Use these verbs in the right past form.

Posted December 8 • The Copy Book

Who Are We to Criticise? : Thomas Carlyle felt that English criticism of Goethe revealed more about his critics than his poems.

Posted December 7

Music Video : Sir Arthur Sullivan: Overture to ‘Marmion’

Posted December 6

Opposites : Compose sentences to showcase a word and its opposite — whatever you think that may be.

Posted December 6 • Think and Speak

Tide : Make as many words as you can using the letters of one nine-letter word. Can you beat our score?

Posted December 5 • The Copy Book

A Ministering Angel : As Lord Marmion lies dying on Flodden Field, there is no one near to tend him but the woman he has wronged.

Posted December 5 • The Copy Book

The Court of the Past : We should not force ourselves and ‘our values’ onto the writers of the past.