Dick’s Son Giles Visits Ilfracombe Junior School
Published on Monday, January 19th, 2026
What a contrast! My last school visit was to Kentisbury – school roll 30. This time I was at Ilfracombe Junior School, doing 2 assemblies with a total of about 400 kids (as pictured). This is clearly an excellent school. How do I know? Well, the kids, who have been reading “The Sheep Pig”, were […]
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Visit To Kentisbury School – Dick’s Son Giles reports
Published on Thursday, December 18th, 2025
Pictured is my visit to this tiny Primary School on November 25th, to talk about Dick’s life and books. There are just two classes in this Infants School – the Juniors transfer to Parracombe School, 5 miles away. We are talking deep rural, on the edge of Exmoor; as the conversation developed, it became clear […]
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A Dick King-Smith Evening With His Son, Giles
Published on Wednesday, November 12th, 2025
Friday November 7th 2025 – a damp evening in Ilfracombe on the North Devon coast, with the odd firework going off, and in St. Peter’s Church, a gathering to hear me talk about my Dad’s life and books. Mostly adults – it was the end of the school week, after all – with a handful […]
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An Unlikely Story…
Published on Saturday, November 1st, 2025
If you’d like to learn more about Dick King-Smith, all are welcome at St Peter’s Church, Ilfracombe on Friday 7th November at 6pm. Dick’s son Giles will be there, talking about his father and reading some passages from some of his stories. Feel free to pop in!
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Fan Letters
Published on Monday, September 15th, 2025
Over the years, Dick received many thousands of fan letters from children. This was something which he very much enjoyed. He made sure to reply to each and every one. Some of the letters were highly amusing, giving him a good chuckle. They included a boy who wrote ‘Dear Dick hyphen King hyphen Smith’, one […]
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James Cromwell On Making Babe, The Talking Pig Classic
Published on Wednesday, July 23rd, 2025
In 1995, 30 years ago this year, a polite little pig trotted into cinemas worldwide and proceeded to win hearts and become a box office smash-hit which continues to be fondly remembered to this day. Based on Dick’s 1983 book The Sheep-Pig, Babe describes the tale of an orphaned piglet who is won at a […]
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Dog Interview
Published on Thursday, June 5th, 2025
Recently, Dick’s elder daughter Juliet’s dog Fram was interviewed for the prestigious Tigger Club News, a magazine and website by animals, for animals. Here is the interview in full… Tell me a bit about yourself. My name is Fram. I am a lurcher crossed with a poodle. My dad is a white miniature poodle and […]
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Popular Culture
Published on Thursday, May 29th, 2025
It’s funny how some quotes from books or movies enter popular culture, with some even becoming common phrases. Recently, Dick’s son Giles’ wife Clare came across this brand of yarn (pictured) that uses the iconic phrase “baa-ram-ewe” from Dick’s 1983 story The Sheep-Pig, which was later used in the movie Babe, the blockbuster film based […]
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Main Characters
Published on Friday, May 2nd, 2025
Dick had over 130 books published during his lifetime. Known as ‘The Master of Animal Adventures’, he is renowned for writing stories about animals, but can you guess which animal is most common as a main character in his books? Could it be a pig, a cat or a mouse? The answer might surprise you! […]
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Babe 30th Anniversary
Published on Friday, April 11th, 2025
It has been 30 years since Babe was released in 1995. To celebrate, a great many cinemas across the UK & Ireland and internationally are screening the much-loved classic, these cinemas include Odeon, Vue and Cineworld, along with a great many smaller chain and independent cinemas. Check out your local cinema to book your tickets […]
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