Do you remember your first encounter with Coot Club? Coot Club sees Dick and Dorothea in a brand new setting from when we last encountered them in Winter Holiday. What role do you think the Norfolk landscape has in this story? Do you think that the Ds characters develop in this book, compared with Winter Holiday? If so, how? The cast of children in this story are from very different backgrounds from one another. What do you think draws them together? What impression do we get of the ‘Hullabaloos’? How does A.R. convey this? Are there any similarities between the cast of adult characters in Coot Club, and those in the Lake District books?

Tom Dudgeon faces a moral dilemma at the start of the book, and his choices have a lasting impact throughout this story, and arguably also The Big Six. Did he do the right thing?? We hear a lot about yacht racing, with Port and Starboard ably helping their father. At one point A. R. tells us: “The Flash had rounded a mark too close and touched it and so was out of her race.” Radek writes, “a long time ago, when I myself raced, I had to do a 360 after touching the mark”. Have racing rules changed since the 1930s? And why do you think A.R. brings racing into this story? What are your thoughts about the minor characters in Coot Club? Do you have a favourite? A.R. places animals / nature at the heart of this book. What messages is he trying to convey to his readers? What role does the sea play in the finale?

📣📣 Ahoy there shipmates! 📣📣

Ahead of our Coot Club chat on Sunday 12th April, 7pm UK time on Zoom, here are some questions to get us thinking…

If you’d like to join us then email winterholidaychat@gmail.com - I will send the zoom link on Saturday

#SwallowsAndAmazons

A photo of the spines of several Jonathan Cape editions of Arthur Ransome books. Two have dust jackets and the rest do not.

QUIZ!

‘I was wrong,' said Captain _____.

'He's not mad but ___.

It isn't only ____ he wants.

He wants to take the credit for it.’

1. Fill in the blanks
2. Which book?
3. Who is ‘he’?
Bonus: what colour pyjamas does ‘he’ favour?

Reply below, answers tomorrow!

#SwallowsAndAmazons

(And also yes, I didn’t really think the email address through when I was setting it up!!)

#SwallowsAndAmazons

Image of the Jonathan Cape edition of Coot Club. It has black and white illustrations from the book interspersed with a sort of cerise colour

📣⛵️ A reminder … in four weeks we will be convening via Zoom for our Coot Club book chat, and you are warmly invited!⛵️📣

So … settle down with your favourite rations and (re)read the book over the coming weeks.

When? Sun 12th Apr, 7pm UK time
Where? Zoom (info/link to follow)

#SwallowsAndAmazons

The Ship's Baby changes from "fat Vicky" to Bridget. A girl who asserts herself, and knows her self well.

"I knew I was old enough to be a human sacrifice"

#SecretWater #SwallowsAndAmazons

Mother and nurse waving the Swallows off as they sail to the Island for their first camping trip

It’s #InternationalWomensDay so let’s celebrate Arthur Ransome’s strong female characters…

Share some of your favourites below … they could be main or side characters, sympathetic (like Mother) or less so (like the GA!)

#SwallowsAndAmazons

A photo of a partially completed crossword. 45 down reads: - o - e - a - e

A photo of a list of crossword clues. The clue for 45 down reads: Eg, Susan or John (8)

See 45 down…

I think there’s an error with this crossword … neither ‘Swallows’ nor ‘Walkers’ fits 🤔

#SwallowsAndAmazons

This line drawing shows Dick wearing spectacles and Dot sporting pigtails they are walking towards Nancy and Peggy, who are both wearing their red caps, and are pointing towards the Dogs Home, a small stone hut surrounded by trees.

It’s #WorldBookDay today, and thousands of children will be dressing up as their favourite characters.

Which Arthur Ransome character would you choose to be? What would your costume be?

Dot with her pigtails?
Nancy or Peggy with their red caps?
Dick with his pocket book?

#SwallowsAndAmazons

A crossword clue - number 28 down - ‘Relative’ (5-4)

An image of a crossword. 28 down is circled. 5-4, and it begins with a ‘G’

Hmmmm … what could this be??

#SwallowsAndAmazons

A line drawing showing a cross section through a lake and to the hills beyond. Titty is on the left, diving for pearls. Roger is on the right, swimming with one foot on the bottom.

⛵️Today you are able to join any scene, from any of the Arthur Ransome books.⛵️

Which would choose, and why?

Making hats in the Fram?
Sliding down the knickerbockerbreaker in Swallowdale?
Sailing with Tom Dudgeon?

Share your thoughts below! 👇

#SwallowsAndAmazons

A quick jaunt to Ambleside to go on an expedition to find the North Pole. Maybe I'll try signalling to Mars tonight.

#ArthurRansome
#WinterHoliday
#SwallowsandAmazons
#TheLakeDistrict
#Ambleside

Four smart Brent geese swimming on a cold blue sea. They have black heads and backs and white underneath … they look a bit like what you might get if you crossed a mallard with a penguin

Not Coots, but did think that Tom and the Death and Glories would have enjoyed seeing these Brent geese today

#CootClub
#SwallowsAndAmazons

Coot | BTO This resident waterbird is widely distributed across Britain & Ireland, though absent from upland areas and much of western England and Wales.Largely herbivorous in its diet, the Coot is a bottom feed...

Our next read is Coot Club!

If you’d like to join us, we will be meeting on Zoom 7pm UK time, Sun 12th April, to chat about it.

Do you have a favourite copy? Share your pics below 👇 📕 📸

#SwallowsAndAmazons

www.bto.org/learn/about-...

An image of the cover of the Jonathan Cape publication of ‘Coot Club: A Norfolk Broads Adventure’. It shows various pen and ink illustrations from the inside of the book, including of some dinghies, interspersed with deep pink shaded areas

❄️ HUGE thanks to all who attended our Winter Holiday chat. It was a genuine pleasure to meet, connect, and explore this book together ❄️ … so much so, we’re doing it again!

When? Sun 12th Apr, 7pm UK time
Where? Zoom (link to follow)
What? COOT CLUB

So get reading/listening…

#SwallowsAndAmazons

📣📣 One week to go until our Winter Holiday chat! 📣📣

There’s still time to (re) read the book if you’d like to join us.

I’ll be posting the zoom link later in the week, along with some prompt questions to get us thinking.

It will all be very relaxed and pressure free!

#SwallowsAndAmazons

This is lovely … I’m sure the Coot Club would approve

#SwallowsAndAmazons

Northern Lights illuminate UK skies in hues of pink and green The phenomenon known as the Aurora Borealis is the result of solar eruptions sending particles that interact with the Earth's atmosphere.

Scroll down in this article to look at the Pin Mill photograph… I wonder if there are any mastodon footprints anywhere nearby …

#SecretWater #SwallowsAndAmazons

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

A photograph showing some spines of Jonathan Cape editions of Arthur Ransome books. Some are in good condition, and some less so, but all very much loved.

It’s a dark, wet day… let’s brighten it up by sharing our favourite Arthur Ransome copies.

📚Which is your favourite copy?
📚Is it paperback or hardback?
📚When/where did you get it?
📚What is it that you particularly like about it?

Reply below! 👇

#SwallowsAndAmazons

An image of the cover of Winter Holiday by Arthur Ransome

📣❄️ You are warmly invited to our Winter Holiday chat! ❄️📣

When? Sun 8th Feb, 7.00pm UK time
Where? Zoom - link nearer time
What? A relaxed chat about Winter Holiday. I’ll share a few questions beforehand to help us.
Important Prep: cosy reading, nice rations, Susanish tea 🫖🍫

#SwallowsAndAmazons

Winter Holiday chat on Zoom!

Suggestions:

❄️ we (re)read the book this month
❄️ we convene for a warm & gentle chat about it online for an hour or so
❄️ poss dates: Sat 31/1, Sun 1/2, Sat 7/2, Sun 8/2 - time TBC

If you’re interested, pls reply with preferred date in comments

#SwallowsAndAmazons

Line drawing showing the Swallows and Amazons flags, and the words ‘Swallows and Amazons For Ever’

Fair winds and following seas to all for 2026… wishing everyone a year ahead full of good things ⛵️
#SwallowsAndAmazons

A line drawing showing the Swallows sitting and looking out over the lake. The illustration is called ‘Making Ships Papers’

Hello friends, I’m sorry for the radio silence, it’s been (is) a difficult time hence the lack of quizzes/advent calendar this year. I hope to start again in the new year, but in the meantime, I’d love to hear your recent Ransome reads, thoughts, moments… or just say hello! #SwallowsAndAmazons

Follow the arrows and the little people will send you a Christmas message.Go to Winter Holiday to translate!

To @aransome.bsky.social @tarsociety.bsky.social and the crew, Explorers, pirates, natives too, Here's lots of cheers from me to you. #swallowsandamazons #arthurransome

What utter nonsense the Home office's plan seems to be

Arthur Ransome's books will be banned: "We didn't mean to go to sea" is all about crossing the channel (in fact, the north sea from East Anglia to the Netherlands) in a small boat

#SwallowsAndAmazons

#swallowsandamazons She did not head in for Funchal lights that glittered down on the sea front and high on the hillside.

It's been a #SwallowsandAmazons type of day. Wild Cat Island, the secret harbour and Holly How. #Coniston

Living the #swallowsandamazons dream this #fursuitfriday 🦊

And I saw some monkeys. Red Colobus monkeys, native to Zanzibar. Wasn't Gibber from Zanzibar? #SwallowsAndAmazons

Swallows and Amazons – Arthur Ransome #reading I listened to the audiobook of Swallows and Amazons, Arthur Ransome’s classic novel for children during the period from late March through to early June this year. It was a fairly long proces…

New blog post

Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome

Some thoughts on my somewhat underwhelming experience listening to the audiobook version of this classic children's novel

#reading #book #books #bookreview #SwallowsandAmazons #ArthurRansome

timohare.blog/2025/09/10/s...

The cover of a well-read 1980s copy of "Winter Holiday" by Arthur Ransome, which shows three children hauling a sledge up a snowy hill.

New read: the weather has turned (hooray!) and I was in the mood for a gentle return to non-holiday normal life. This very much fit the bill.
#winterholiday #arthurransome #swallowsandamazons #newread