The Copybook

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

1507

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

St Nicholas and the Luckless Sailor by Clay Lane

After surviving a terrible storm, a crew-member on St Nicholas’s ship met with a tragic accident.

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1508

© milo bostock, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC-BY-SA 2.0.

Queen Charlotte’s Christmas Tree by Clay Lane

Cromwell’s killjoys almost silenced the English Christmas, but thanks to a royal family tradition the message is still being proclaimed.

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1509

© ceridwen, Geograph. Licence: CC-BY-SA 2.0.

Jemima Fawr and the Last Invasion of Britain by Clay Lane

French revolutionaries in a fleet of four ships attempted to spark a revolution in Britain.

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1510

© Matt Riggott, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC-BY-SA 2.0.

The Return of Plum Pudding by Clay Lane

The Puritans said it was unfit for God-fearing men, but George I thought it fit for a King.

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1511

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

John Playford by Clay Lane

In England’s brief but dismal experiment as a Republic, Playford saved traditional English dance music from destruction.

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1512

© Vitum, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.

The Miracle of St John of the Caves by Clay Lane

The story of an unexpected escape through the heart of a hill.

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

© Nicholas Armitage / Clay Lane, 2025

May 4 NS

April 21 OS

The Night-time Disciple : Nicodemus did not allow intellectual doubts to get in the way of what he knew in his heart.
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.
Zheng He and the Rise of Malacca : Malacca became a refuge from the overbearing empires of the Far East, thanks to a celebrated Chinese admiral.
Confusables : Compose sentences to bring out the similarities and differences between these words.
Jill and I : Include yourself in these sentences about Jill.
Saddled : Use these words in sentences, and see if you can use one of them as a verb.
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