TARS Enjoy International AGM at Shotley

The 2009 IAGM took place from the 22nd to 26th May, which was based at Shotley Village Hall, close to the locations that feature in Arthur Ransome's East Coast novels, We Didn't Mean to Go to Sea and Secret Water.

Some 150 members attended the weekend, which was blessed by fine and sunny weather throughout. Attractions included: visits to Harwich and Ipswich; an opportunity to sail on the River Orwell in a Thames Barge; a crossing of "the Wade" (see Secret Water); opportunities to visit three of Ransome's own yachts, Lottie Blossom (now Ragged Robin III), Peter Duck and Nancy Blackett (known fictionally as the Goblin), and to sail on the latter, courtesy of the Nancy Blackett Trust; further opportunities to visit Alma Cottage in Pin Mill, and two of Ransome's own homes in the area, where he lived between 1936 and 1940; and a programme of talks each evening, including illustrated readings by Gabriel Woolf and a fascinating talk by Victor Watson, author of Reading Series Fiction, which explored the reasons for Ransome's longevity compared to those of his many imitators.

There were many opportunities to renew old friendships and to make new ones, in a gathering attended by members from across the UK, as well as representatives from TARSUS and AusTARS.

Thanks are due to all the event's organisers, drawn this year from the Society's Eastern Region.

Plans are already well advanced for next year's IAGM weekend, which will be organised by TARS Scotland and held in Oban between 28th and 31st May.