As the Christmas shopping countdown continues there’s still time for some last-minute topping-up – and our new Nancy Blackett Fridge Magnets could fit the bill! Depicting Nancy Blackett’s magnetic attraction, they are based on our Claudia-Myatt-designed coasters and are tiny delights – just 5cm square – which will brighten any kitchen, or could even help […]
Arthur Ransome Society President Sophie Neville presents her annual round-up of the best “Swallows and Amazons”-inspired Christmas presents… When I made a tradition of suggesting literary-themed Christmas presents I didn’t expect to find fabulous cushions like these but they have great ideas on the Redbubble website. Did Penguin ever publish “Swallows and Amazons” or was it […]
New maps of Arthur Ransome’s Norfolk Broads have just been published, showing locations from Coot Club and The Big Six in relation to neighbouring 1930’s roads, railways, and landmarks. Produced by Mike Field of Wooden Boat Fittings in Australia, the maps are based on the original Northern and Southern Rivers maps in those books’ endpapers, […]
Introducing “Pebble” – the new book in Julia Jones’ “Strong Winds” series. Sailing, skulduggery and more family revelations in this exciting sequel to “The Lion of Sole Bay”- read the full synopsis and order online from the Nancy Blackett Shop. To celebrate its launch, we’re offering “Pebble” at £1 off – for just £7.99. We’re […]
The Walton Backwaters are still remote and rather mysterious, very much as they were when Arthur Ransome chose them for the setting of “Secret Water”, published 80 years ago next year, but their secrets are now revealed in a brand new film on DVD, available from the Nancy Blackett Shop. The new film, “Walton’s Secret […]
Nancy Blackett was once used as a film set for the movie Ginger and Rosa. It was more complex than appearing in a television documentary or on the local news but proved both worthwhile and interesting. Sophie Neville, star of the original “Swallows and Amazons” film and President of the Arthur Ransome Society, is often asked whether it is wise to make […]
Arthur Ransome’s “Old Peter’s Russian Tales” will be brought to life on stage in Swansea for one day only this month – on Saturday 24th November. Dramatised by D.J. Britton as “Once Upon a Time, Deep in the Forest”, and directed by Gilly Adams, this free event has been organised by Swansea University as part […]
Much has been written of the legacy left by Arthur Ransome, who inspired so many go camping, fell-walking or sail the seven seas with his “Swallows and Amazons” stories, writes Sophie Neville… I hope that he would be amused to learn it has been the arrow, fletched with green parrot feathers, that has flown through […]
Following a successful delivery trip from Woolverstone to Woodbridge earlier this month, Nancy Blackett has now been laid-up for the winter. Below are some photos of her safely out of the water at Robertson’s in Woodbridge, taken just after her laying-up. Click on any photo to enlarge it and start a slideshow.
Nancy Blackett’s last sail of the season turned into something of adventure, with a race against the weather to make it in time across the Deben Bar and up to Woodbridge. Sailing Secretary John Smith had originally planned this trip as an end-of-season members’ cruise, but the long-term weather forecast did not look so good, so […]
Fifteen months of filming have come to an end as documentary Walton’s ‘Secret Water’ launches this autumn, writes Vicky Gale in the Clacton and Frinton Gazette. A year in the life of the Walton Backwaters has been packaged into a 75-minute documentary which profiles the wildlife and human characters that inhabit it, as well as […]
Sophie Neville, President of the Arthur Ransome Society, explores some of the “Swallows and Amazons” locations as revealed in a letter by Arthur Ransome himself… I have been sent a copy of a letter written to a reader by Arthur Ransome in June 1955, revealing where some of his locations can be found. I was […]
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