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About Clay Lane

Lindisfarne Castle, Northumberland.

© Adam Ward, Geograph. CC BY-SA 2.0. Source
Clay Lane

About

About NL Clay, and how to get the most out of this website.

From Straightforward English

By NL Clay 1905-1991

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.

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About NL Clay

A Yorkshire schoolmaster who helped ordinary people develop a firm command of ‘straightforward English’.

About Clay Lane

Passages and exercises for people working on their command of English, inspired by the works of NL Clay.

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Share your creativity, or get help with your English sentences.

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About The Copy Book

Short passages from history, myth, poetry and fiction.

About Think and Speak

Exercises in oral and written composition based on textbooks used in English schools from the 1920s to the 1960s.

About Comfortable Words

The text of the Authorised ‘King James’ Version of the Bible, with additional hymns, prayers and translations of the Psalms.

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A selection of quotations to give you an insight into what this website is all about.

About Our Calendars

An explanation of the Old Style (OS) and New Style (NS) calendars used on this website.

About Richard Cobden

A quick look at Richard Cobden, who may help to explain what Clay Lane stands for.

About St George

St George, a fourth century Roman martyr, is the patron saint of England — and of Clay Lane.

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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.