English school holidays issued with a penalty notice whenever they take their children on holiday during term time without getting authorisation from the school. Penalty notices can be issued by local councils, headteachers (including deputy and assistant heads authorised by them) and the police. Generally, schools will agree to no more than 10 school days of absence in any school year. The Swallows and Amazons series of children’s novels by Arthur Ransome are all set in the school holidays, generally the long (August) summer holidays although some are set in Easter or winter. For example, in "Pigeon Post", he wrote: "Term time was
Swallows and Amazons series goes on; the final book occurs three to four years after the first (see timeline below). There is an inconsistency in the only two dates mentioned in the series. In the first book the year is stated to be 1929; while in the second book, "Swallowdale", which is supposed to take place one year later, the year is given as 1931. A second inconsistency is that while Bridget is only a year old in the first novel, she has aged five years by the time of "Secret Water". While the emphasis of all the books is on the activities of