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.
About Clay Lane
VIPs: Very Important Posts
In Quotations: What We Stand For
Materials for the study of good, correct, straightforward English.
Traditional, pre-Sixties methods and content.
Read interesting passages from history and literature.
Practise writing your own English sentences.
Ask for help if you need it.
“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)
“If ‘freedom’ and ‘democracy’ are to be more than catchwords,
clear communication must be the rule, and not the exception. Do
we want a society in which placid masses take their orders from
bosses? The alternative to government by force is government by
persuasion. The latter must mean that the governed can talk back
to the governors.”
NL Clay, Straightforward English (1949)
Post Box
: Get In Touch
New and archive material, updated frequently.
Passages for reading, brainteasers for solving, and music for listening.
Browse hundreds of short passages from history,
fiction, poetry and legend.
Brainteasers for developing vocabulary, grammar and expression.
Ask your questions, and get personalised help with your English
from me, Nicholas.
Puzzles with words and their letters, just for fun.
The incomparable English of the King James Bible,
the Prayer Book, and more.
From
Navigating by History
By
John Buchan
1875-1940
History gives us a kind of chart, and we dare not surrender even a small rushlight in the darkness. The hasty reformer who does not remember the past will find himself condemned to repeat it.
Read
In each group below, you will find words that sound the same, but differ in spelling and also in meaning. Compose your own sentences to bring out the differences between them.
1.
Rest.
Wrest.
2.
Yolk.
Yoke.
3.
Bale.
Bail.
4.
Cymbal.
Symbol.
5.
Oar.
Ore.
Or.
6.
Palate.
Palette.
Pallet.
7.
Council.
Counsel.
8.
Dual.
Duel.
9.
Use.
Yews.
Ewes.
Character and Conduct
Posts
120
Stories illustrating noble deeds in matters both great and small, such as the noble gesture of Sir Philip Sidney, and the determination of Benjamin Disraeli.
Myths, Fairytales and Legends
Posts
125
Stories of wisdom, wonder and imagination from the Fables of Aesop and the epics of Homer to the folklore of India, Japan, Russia and Britain.
Liberty and Prosperity
Posts
172
Stories from Britain and elsewhere confirming the social and economic benefits of keeping politicians and their cronies out of the trade and business of ordinary people.
Stories from the ancient and mighty civilisation of India, from classical mythology to the Mughal Emperors, the East India Company and the British Raj.
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.
Stories from our cousins in the East, from Rurik the Viking and the Baptism of Rus’ to trade with Ivan the Terrible, a visit from Peter the Great, and the last Emperor.
See All
