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

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KJV Bible

979

From the Imperial War Museums Collection, via Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.

Youth and Age by Sir Hubert Parry

Sir Hubert Parry was delighted to see teachers and pupils pushing each other to do better.

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980

© Mike Smith, Geograph. Licence: CC-BY-SA 2.0.

Two Day Rovers by Jane Loudon

Jane Loudon introduces us to two dogs getting on with their busy lives.

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981

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

A Cut above the Rest by Charles H. Ross

With the aid of a slice of beef, a Perth puss takes feline scheming to a new level.

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982

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

A Nation’s Greatness by Richard Cobden

Richard Cobden saw Britain’s international standing in terms of peaceful trade rather than military interventions.

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983

By Nicholas Pocock (1740–1821), via Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.

The Seven Years’ War by Clay Lane

Georgian Britain braced for war as relations with France in North America, India and mainland Europe took a turn for the worse.

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984

© Christine Westerback, Geograph. Licence: CC-BY-SA 2.0.

Thoughtful Tom by Jane Loudon

Jane Loudon describes an moment of unexpected paternal affection from a Tom cat.

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

© Nicholas Armitage / Clay Lane, 2025

May 22 NS

May 9 OS

The Wars of the Roses : A struggle between rival Royal Houses begins in 1455, after questions are raised about King Henry VI’s capacity to rule.
Kim’s Game : Test your memory with this mental agility game from the pages of Rudyard Kipling.
A Mechanical Miracle : The father of computing believed his machine held the key to some of life’s greatest mysteries.
Essential Nouns : Suggest nouns of essence, such as leadership or supremacy.
The Follies of Youth : RL Stevenson was of the opinion that wrongthink was better than groupthink.
Thick and Thin : Express each of these ideas as a single word.
Break : Explain what each of these common expressions means, and give examples.
Blind Guide : William Wirt recalls an overpowering sermon from a blind man in a little wooden chapel.
It’s All in the Delivery : Aeschines paid tribute to the oratory of his greatest rival — whether he meant to or not.
The Road to Ruin : George Berkeley warned that industry, not financial speculation, was the guarantee of a nation’s wealth.
Signs of Command : Suggest publicly-displayed commands, and say how many of them are sentences.
My Native Notes : Scotsman James Boswell always spoke good English when in England, but he was careful to leave a little Scots in.
Hidden Message : Reveal the hidden message in a letter, and write a coded letter of your own.
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