Nancy Blackett is back outside at Robertson’s in Woodbridge, as seen in these sunny photos taken yesterday by Neil Brooks. Although her mast has now mostly been revarnished, there are still plenty of other tasks remaining prior her relaunch later this month.
The Nancy Blackett Trust’s President Peter Willis joined fellow authors Julia Jones and Sophie Neville in Harwich last Sunday for a discussion of Arthur Ransome, his life, books and legacy. The sold-out event, celebrating the 80th anniversary of Secret Water’s publication, was part of the Essex Book Festival. Here’s Sophie’s personal reflection on the day… […]
Arthur Ransome’s eighth novel “Secret Water” turns 80 this year. It’s his only Essex novel and this anniversary has prompted a ‘hub’ weekend of events in Harwich during that county’s book festival in March. It also prompts the question – what does it mean for a book to be eighty? Julia Jones investigates… An eightieth birthday, celebrated in 2019, […]
Nancy Blackett’s winter work has made a further step forward with the completion of the first new coat of anti-fouling, reports Neil Brooks. A small working group of volunteers assembled yesterday and managed to apply the coat in just over an hour, before enjoying a well-earned coffee break. A second coat will not be applied […]
Sophie Neville writes about appearing in the documentary “Walton’s Secret Water”, representing the Arthur Ransome Society and celebrating Arthur Ransome’s legacy at next month’s Essex Book Festival. In my role as President of The Arthur Ransome Society, I was interviewed by Chris Opperman for a new documentary produced by David Webb on the Walton Backwaters, […]
A performance inspired by the Anglo-Armenian origins of the Altouynans, models of the Walkers in Arthur Ransome’s “Swallows and Amazons”, will be on stage in Keswick this Sunday (17th February) at 4pm. Performed by Young Company, Keswick’s Theatre by the Lake youth group, “Swallows and Armenians” was inspired by a book of short stories by Cumbria-based […]
Last weekend the Deerness Drama Group performed the Helen Edmundson adapation of Arthur Ransome’s “Swallows and Amazons” in Deerness Hall, Orkney. Some photos from the production are below. Click on the Facebook icon [f] to see the originals.
Further progress has been made with the priming of Nancy Blackett’s hull as part of her ongoing winter work, reports Neil Brooks. All underwater surfaces have been cleaned, sanded and coated with primer, while many of the small pits over fastenings have additionally been filled with red lead, as shown in the photos below. Several more […]
The first of this year’s amateur theatre productions of Arthur Ransome’s “Swallows and Amazons” are taking place in London and the Orkney Isles. The Deerness Drama Group in Orkney is presenting the Helen Edmundson adapation, with songs by Neil Hannon, at the Deerness Hall tonight and tomorrow at 7:30pm. It has proven very popular with […]
Winter work on Arthur Ransome’s favourite yacht, Nancy Blackett, has progressed significantly, reports Clive Fisher. All of the antifouling has now been stripped, and priming of her hull has now begun. It was hard work for those who “attacked” it, but the results have made it so worthwhile, as the following photos show:
Sussex-based illustrator Marc Doodles has drawn a new map of the lake and surrounding fells from Arthur Ransome’s “Swallows and Amazons” books, which he is reading through with his son. Click on the map image below to go to the original tweet and see a larger version. I’ve have been working my way through the […]
Below are some stunning wintery scenes of the Lake District fells taken earlier today by Fellpics, Trail Magazine and Terry Abraham, as posted on Twitter. Click on each photograph to go to the original tweet and photos. A selection of ??#snow ??pics taken this afternoon up ont’ fells at Wasdale including Lingmell Summit & Scafell […]
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