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Short passages for reading, drawn from history, legend, poetry and fiction.

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1027

From Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.

William Hall VC by Clay Lane

Canadian sailor William Hall was summoned over to India to help face down the Indian Mutiny.

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1028

© Khalid Ahmed, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC-BY-SA 3.0.

The Siege of Lucknow by Clay Lane

During the Indian Mutiny, over a thousand men, women and children were trapped in the Commissioner’s residence at Lucknow.

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1029

© Kenneth Allen, Geograph. Licence: CC-BY-SA 2.0.

The Nine Years’ War by Clay Lane

King Louis XIV of France raised rebellion in Ireland to put his own man on the English throne.

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1030

© Österreichische Nationalbibliothek (Austrian National Library), Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.

Taken for a Ride by John Buchan

Richard Hannay sees for himself how political activists trick decent people into supporting their quest for power.

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1031

Via Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.

The Darien Scheme by Clay Lane

The Parliament of Scotland tried to liberate itself from London’s strangling single market.

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1032

© Ian Capper, Geograph. Licence: CC BY-SA 2.0.

His Bright Nativity by Cynewulf

Anglo-Saxon poet Cynewulf wonders at the mystery of the Bethlehem manger, where all the light of heaven was shining.

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Clay Lane The Copybook
About Clay Lane nicholas@claylane.uk

© Nicholas Armitage / Clay Lane, 2025

May 8 NS

April 25 OS

VE Day : On May 8th, 1945, Winston Churchill took to the radio to tell the British public that almost six years of war were ended.
Repeat Offender :
In Two Minds : Join these ideas together to a form a single sentence, in at least two different ways.
The First Traffic Lights : The busy crossroads outside the Houses of Parliament was the testing ground for a new technology.
Good Companions : Explain what these wise classical authors are telling us.
The Rule of the Road : Being a free citizen doesn’t mean that everyone else has to get out of your way.
Blind Courage : George Santayana reprimanded politicians and military men who thought war was good for the country’s soul.
Patience : Make a single sentence out of these three ideas.
The Angel Cried : A hymn sung in the weeks after Easter, imagining how Gabriel brought the news of Christ’s resurrection to Mary.
She was a Phantom of Delight : Mary Wordsworth wasn’t pretty or bookish, but she was kind and vital, and William loved her.
Hardly : Tone down these bold assertions with ‘hardly’.
The Death of Julius Caesar : When Julius Caesar entered the Senate that day, a note warning him of treachery was clutched in his hand — unread.
Two Letters Home : A German soldier stopped the Great War so he could ask Captain Hulse to post a letter for him.
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