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 […]
Over the past couple of weeks further progress has been made on Nancy Blackett’s winter work, with dedicated volunteers having painstakingly removed further anti-fouling from her hull, most recently in freezing but sunny conditions. Boat manager Neil Brooks has kindly provided the photos below showing each step.
This year’s Essex Book Festival will celebrate the 80th anniversary of Arthur Ransome’s “Secret Water” with a very special event in Harwich on Sunday 3rd March. Peter Willis, Sophie Neville and Julia Jones will be discussing Ransome’s life, books and legacy at 3pm in the Harwich Connexions 1912 Centre. Peter Willis is the President of the […]
The 1974 “Swallows and Amazons” film music was composed by Wilfred Josephs, best known for producing the theme music for “I,Claudius”, “Enemy at the Door”, “The Prisoner” and “Pollyanna”. You can listen to his introduction & end title music for “Swallows and Amazons” below, while the film itself is available on BBC iPlayer for UK viewers until 31st […]
Arthur Ransome’s favourite yacht, Nancy Blackett, has had her hull partly stripped as part of her annual winter maintenance. The initial work was undertaken at Robertson’s boatyard in Woodbridge by the Nancy Blackett Trust’s Boat Manager Neil Brooks, who commented that it “took one man hour with a scraper, but it was pretty hard going. […]
An exceptionally high tide was seen earlier today at Pin Mill, famous for appearing in Arthur Ransome’s “We Didn’t Mean to Go to Sea“. Anthony Cullen and Mark Sanderson captured the scene outside the Butt and Oyster and along the foreshore to Harry King’s boatbuilders below. Click on the Facebook logos ([f]) to go the […]
Both film adaptations of Arthur Ransome’s “Swallows and Amazons” are currently available to watch on BBC iPlayer. The 1974 film is available to watch here until Thursday 31st January, while the 2016 film is available to watch here until Monday 14th January. The behind-the-scenes story of the 1974 film is available in the book “The Making […]
A Christmas message from the Nancy Blackett Trust… We wish a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all of our supporters, members, friends and followers. Thank you for your ongoing support and have a wonderful time. Art by Claudia Myatt
Alison Hull interviews Sophie Neville about her involvement with the original 1974 “Swallows and Amazons” film… 1 – How did you get the part of Titty Walker? In March 1973, a letter arrived, out of the blue, inviting me to audition for a role in “Swallows and Amazons”. I was twelve years old, an ordinary […]
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