The Copybook

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

May 13 ns April 30 os

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Read short passages similar to those NL Clay collected in his anthologies, to gain a feeling for the language, history and culture of the English-speaking world.

In The Copybook

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St Erkenwald, Bishop of London

April 30 os

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

St Erkenwald, Light of London by Clay Lane

The seventh-century Bishop of London helped kings and clergy to shine Christian light into the darkness of mere religion.

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The Feast of St James the Great

April 30 os

Photo by Lalupa, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.

The Martyrdom of St James the Great by Clay Lane

James, brother of John the Evangelist, was executed for his faith by a close friend of the Emperor Caligula.

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Featured

By Edmund Blair Leighton (1852–1922), Wikimedia Commons. Public domain.

Sunday in London by Washington Irving

Every Sunday, the Englishman is raised to heaven by the choir, and then taken to her bosom by Mother Earth.

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1

Dumbarton Oaks Collection, via Wikimedia Commons. Public domain.

Better By Example by Gregory Nazianzen

Gregory urged the persecuted Christians of Nazianzus to be the better men.

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2

© David M. Clark, Geograph. CC BY-SA 2.0.

A Proper Game of Cricket

Mary Mitford makes an appeal for the traditional village cricket match.

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3

By Antoine Vérard (fl. 1485-1512), via Wikimedia Commons. Public domain.

Batter My Heart by John Donne

John Donne gives God a free hand to do whatever needs to be done.

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4

© Tamara Menzi, Wikimedia Commons. Public domain.

The First Traffic Lights from The Express

The busy crossroads outside the Houses of Parliament was the testing ground for a new technology.

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5

By Boris Grigoriev (1886-1939), via Wikimedia Commons. Public domain.

The Rule of the Road by A. G. Gardiner

Being a free citizen doesn’t mean that everyone else has to get out of your way.

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6

Ministry of Information, via Wikimedia Commons. Public domain.

Blind Courage by George Santayana

George Santayana reprimanded politicians and military men who thought war was good for the country’s soul.

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

© Nicholas Armitage / Clay Lane, 2025

May 13 NS

April 30 OS

St Erkenwald, Light of London : The seventh-century Bishop of London helped kings and clergy to shine Christian light into the darkness of mere religion.
The Martyrdom of St James the Great : James, brother of John the Evangelist, was executed for his faith by a close friend of the Emperor Caligula.
Better By Example : Gregory urged the persecuted Christians of Nazianzus to be the better men.
Speed Clues : Help a friend to guess five words in under a minute.
A Proper Game of Cricket : Mary Mitford makes an appeal for the traditional village cricket match.
Mini Bios : Write a short paragraph about a prominent person, but don’t start any sentence with he or she.
A Thousand Commas : Assess the punctuation of this sentence, according to the author’s own principles.
Batter My Heart : John Donne gives God a free hand to do whatever needs to be done.
Window Seat : Describe the view from one of the following vantage points.
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.
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