Arthur Ransome Events Coming in August

Our summer programme of Camp Fires events continues next Wednesday, 3 August, with Robert Thompson’s Ransome’s Foreign Legion, at Brantwood, followed a week later by Roland Chambers talking about Ransome’s life in Secret Water, at Abbot Hall Art Gallery in Kendal.

Swallows and Amazons Musical Set For West End and UK Tour

Progress continues on plans to revive the Bristol Old Vic’s smash hit production of Swallows and Amazons, which they premiered in December, 2010.

Bookings have opened for a five week run from December 15, 2011, at the Vaudeville Theatre, in London’s West End, to be followed by a UK tour in 2012.

Update on Paddling with Peter Duck

We have now heard that Paddling with Peter Duck will be broadcast on Radio 4 at 11.30am on Thursday, August 4.

Fair Cops and Glowworms

Congratulations to Amazon Publications on the production of their latest book, Fair Cops and Glowworms.

This is a valuable addition, containing many of Arthur Ransome’s fishing essays. It promises to be a useful companion to Ransome’s own Rod and Line (1929) and Arthur Ransome on Fishing (1994), edited by Jeremy Swift.

Classic Boat Magazine Visits Arthur Ransome’s Lakeland

The August, 2011 edition of Classic Boat magazine contains a number of Ransome-related articles about the Lake District. These include: Ransome’s Lakes Revisited, exploring the locations and history of Arthur Ransome’s Lakeland novels; A Class of Their Own, about the Windermere 17 racing yachts, and Hands-on to History, about the current conservation and re-development work taking place at Windermere Steamboat Museum.

Russian Story-telling Evening Enthrals Audience at Brantwood

Arthur Ransome’s great nephew, Hugh Lupton, enthralled his audience this evening with excerpts from Ransome’s classic Old Peter’s Russian Tales, together with his own “praise song” to his great-uncle, The Homing Stone.

Arthur Ransome: Master Story-teller Awarded Prize

Congratulations to Roger Wardale, whose book Arthur Ransome: Master Story-teller received the Saint & Co Prize for People and Business at this year’s Lakeland Book of the Year Awards.

One Week to The Homing Stone and Old Peter’s Russian Tales

Wednesday, 13 July, 7.00pm: A dramatic performance of Arthur Ransome’s classic Russian folk-tales, and his perilous escape from Russia.

Hugh Lupton is Arthur Ransome’s great-nephew and one of Britain’s foremost oral story-tellers. As such he is uniquely qualified to tell The Homing Stone, his own work recounting Arthur Ransome’s escape from Russia in 1919, and some of Old Peter’s Russian Tales, his great-uncle’s classic versions of traditional Russian folk-stories.

“Hugh Lupton’s storytelling art is sheer wizardry in the guise of utter simplicity… a packed house sat in a thrall of enchantment, no movement, no intrusive sounds…” (Eastern Daily Press).

Update on E-book Publication

We have been advised by Random House Children’s books that they have discovered a few minor problems with the Swallows and Amazons series e-books released on 30 June.

As a result they are temporarily withdrawing the books from sale. Retailers, such as Amazon and ibooks, will be updating their websites accordingly. This will take a little time, but should be done by tomorrow (Saturday).

RHCB expect to issue corrected versions next week. In the meantime they offer sincere apologies for any disapppointment caused.