Tumbledown Farm

Now here's another rarity that deserves a DVD release - as mentioned in a previous Blog Post, farms have become a popular setting for Kid's TV over the years, and this series is no exception. For it was created by, and starred, Dick King-Smith, who brought to us many popular animal stories, including Babe, the Water Horse and How Green Was My Mouse.

They say that to become a good writer, you must write what you know best - before becoming a primary school teacher (and then a full-time writer), Dick King-Smith worked as a farmer in Gloucestershire for nearly 20 years. Which is very likely how the Foxbusters, Martin's Mice, the Sophie series - among many others - came to fruition, inspired by his own farming experiences and love for animals in general.

Thus he developed Tumbledown Farm for Yorkshire TV in 1988 which, until recently, there has been very little of in terms of episodes online. Here's the first so far where "Farmer Dick invites his grand-daughter Georgina at Tumbledown Farm, where she makes friends with all the puppet characters and animals who live there in a world of fun and fantasy."



Until a DVD can be arranged some day, the best means of finding more Tumbledown Farm are by rare VHS cassettes found scattered across Amazon and / or eBay.

I personally think it would be a great credit for a top writer, who sadly passed away aged 88 just over a year ago. You can find out more about Dick King-Smith's life from the following below:

The Guardian Obituary

The Independent Obituary

Random House Interview from 1999

Dick King-Smith's Wiki page - including a list of all the books he has written plus those that have been adapted for Television and Cinema.