Near the end (on the jet), the open book Spencer is holding is part of a collection: Revue des Deux Monde (translated, Review of Two Worlds, a publication of criticism of and commentary on literature and other arts, published in Paris in 1829 and from 1831 to 1944) in French. That volume he's holding is from February 1871.
Reid says in his voiceover: "'You may leave school but it never leaves you.' - Andy Partridge." That is the last line of the XTC song "Playground," which is the first song from their "Wasp Star (Apple Venus Volume 2)" album, released on May 23, 2000.