The Copybook

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

Blog

Copybook

Think & Speak

Games

KJV Bible

1633

© Antony Dixon, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC-BY-SA 2.0.

The Lambton Worm by Clay Lane

John Lambton goes fishing on a Sunday, and lets loose all kinds of trouble.

Read

1634

© böhringer friedrich, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC-BY-SA 2.5.

William Tell by Clay Lane

A classic tale from Switzerland of overbearing authority and a father with a very steady hand.

Read

1635

© Jeffrey Sciberras, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC-BY-SA 3.0.

The Sacred Snakes of Kefalonia by Clay Lane

Once a year, regular as clockwork, the little snakes slither into the convent for a Feast of the Virgin Mary.

Read

1636

© Andrew Gray, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC-BY-SA 3.0.

The Character of George Stephenson by Samuel Smiles

A self-made man who never forgot his humble beginnings.

Read

1637

Photo by Orrin Dunlap Jr, in ‘Popular Radio’ (1926). Via Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.

John Logie Baird by Clay Lane

Baird’s inventions didn’t always work as well as his televisions.

Read

1638

© chris55, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC-BY-SA 3.0.

The First Train Journey by Steam by Clay Lane

Richard Trevithick’s boss hailed the engineer as a genius. Today he’d have been fired. (Oh, and the train was delayed.)

Read

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

© Nicholas Armitage / Clay Lane, 2025

May 7 NS

April 24 OS

A Royal Rescue : Despite failing health, Peter the Great of Russia leapt into Kronstadt Bay to save some young sailors from a watery grave.
‘Hail, Liberty!’ : Kipling borrowed from the Greek Independence movement to give thanks for the end of the Great War.
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.
Smile : Choose adjectives of praise for these nouns, at about the 7/10 level.
The Making of Mark : St Mark wrote his Gospel as a summary of the preaching of St Peter.
Latest

Clay Lane Home

Search

Blog

The Copybook

Think and Speak

Comfortable Words

Word Games

Featured Authors

Featured Subjects

Search The Copybook

About Clay Lane

Close Menu