The Copybook

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

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KJV Bible

1345

© David Dixon, Geograph. Licence: CC-BY-SA 2.0.

Turning the Tide by Henry of Huntingdon

King Canute enacted a memorable demonstration of the limits of government power.

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1346

© David Dixon, Geograph. Licence: CC BY-SA 2.0.

Alfred to Ethelred by Clay Lane

A brief introduction to England’s rulers, beginning with the only one named ‘the Great’.

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1347

Via Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.

Ethelred to William I by Clay Lane

England’s rulers from the king who lost his crown to the Danes, to the French duke who took the crown from the English.

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1348

© Philip Halling, Geograph. Licence: CC-BY-SA 2.0.

The Hat that Changed the World by Clay Lane

Young William’s hat caught the eye of Matthew Boulton, and the world was never the same again.

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1349

© Philip Halling, Geograph. Licence: CC-BY-SA 2.0.

The Genius Next Door by Clay Lane

William Murdoch’s experiments with steam traction impressed his next-door neighbour, with world-changing results.

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1350

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

Bread from Heaven by Clay Lane

Cuthbert trusted that keeping his promised fast would not do him any harm.

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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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