This page keeps you up-to-date with recent additions to Clay Lane. Keep track of new posts, and discover posts you may have missed. Read brief extracts from novels, plays and poems, and passages from history that are often uncannily modern. Tackle exercises in grammar, vocabulary and creative composition similar to those NL Clay gave to pupils aged 12-16 in the 1930s. Listen to short pieces of tuneful classical music, and watch scenes from classic films.
Make as many words as you can by adding vowels (AEIOU) to these consonants.
tds (6+1)
outdoes. tedious. tides. tidies. toadies. toads.
teds.
Picture: © Vietsui, Wikimedia Commons. CC BY-SA 4.0.. Source.
Pick any group of three words, and see if you can still remember them in an hour, and still remember them tomorrow. For a further challenge, try using all of your three words together in a single sentence.
The words in this puzzle are taken randomly from a list of 927 common words. You can change e.g. cat → cats, go → went, quick → quickly.
1 Certain. Instead. So.
2 Defense. Morning. Professor.
3 Audience. Boy. World.
Variations: 1. include direct and indirect speech 2. include one or more of these words: although, because, despite, either/or, if, unless, until, when, whether, which, who 3. use negatives (not, isn’t, neither/nor, never, nobody etc.)
Picture: © Peter van der Sluijs. CC BY SA 4.0.. Source.
1 ★ For Today
Heathen prince Boris I of Bulgaria (r. 852–889) commissioned St Methodius to paint an impressive scene for his palace walls.
★ For February 10 os, February 23 ns
Jigsaws: Join this group of ideas together to make a single sentence, in as many ways as you can. See if you can include any of the words in square brackets.
Boris wanted a mural for his palace. He asked Emperor Michael III for an artist. Michael sent him Methodius.
Picture: © Valeria23, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC BY-SA 3.0 Romania.. Source.
2
Make as many words as you can using the letters of one nine-letter word. Can you beat our score?
Posted February 21
Picture: © Les Hull, Geograph. CC BY-SA 2.0.. Source.
3
Solomon recommends taking lessons from one of God’s smallest but most hard-working creatures.
Posted February 20
Jigsaws: Join this group of ideas together to make a single sentence, in as many ways as you can. See if you can include any of the words in square brackets.
The ant works hard. People should copy ants. They should not be lazy. [Example. Instead. Rather.]
Picture: © Tim Felce, Wikimedia Commons. CC BY-SA 2.0.. Source.
4
Erasmus Darwin imagines how steam power will change the world.
Posted February 16
Picture: By Clément Ader, photo © Roby, Wikimedia Commons. CC BY-SA 2.0.. Source.
5
Modest Mussorgsky: Sorochinsky Fair: Gopak
Media not showing? Let me know!
1m 54s
Posted February 16
6
Develop these short phrases into complete sentences.
Turn these phrases into complete sentences. Each sentence should have at least twice as many words as the original phrase does. Introduce people, objects and actions, and think about where and why.
1 a bedraggled spaniel
2 the largest tree in the neighbourhood
3 the latter
Posted February 15
7
Richard Cobden called on Parliament to support small, family-owned farms.
Posted February 14
Jigsaws: Join this group of ideas together to make a single sentence, in as many ways as you can. See if you can include any of the words in square brackets.
Some farmers own their land. The number is going down. The is bad for the country. [Consequence. Fewer. Harm.]
Picture: © Christine Matthews, Geograph. CC BY-SA 2.0.. Source.