Swallows and Amazons

The Lake

Somehow as a child I missed the Swallows and Amazons series of books by Arthur Ransome. Looking for something easy to read I found a couple on the school bookshelf and instantly fell in love with them.

That some of the characters are based on real people and the location is based on a real place in the English Lake District, together with Ransome's obvious love of childhood (including his own) perhaps explains the refreshing reality in the stories. He portrays the action so well from the children's viewpoint. Also refreshing is the relative freedom given to the children (the eldest is only 12 in the first book). Whilst their mother is rightly protective, the children are allowed to camp, trek and sail (without life jackets, but they can all swim) over considerable distances without Adult presence. Sadly we live in a different world today.

I too enjoyed my childhood, what I can remember of it. Of course there were less enjoyable parts like sport at school and having to clean my Sunday best shoes, but in the main I think I must have been very blessed. Compared with some of the kids in the infant school my daughter is running in Kenya.