Monica Edwards Knihy

Prequel to the Punchbowl Farm series. To include short story, 'The Irresponsible Rescue'

Focusing on the historical significance of silence in educational settings, this book examines how silence and the act of silencing impact college classrooms. It provides empirical evidence to advocate for integrating a quiet ethos into teaching practices, highlighting its potential to promote social justice. By re-evaluating the role of silence, the work aims to foster a more inclusive and reflective learning environment.

At the beginning of the holidays, Tamzin's white arab horse Fallada, existed in a picture on a calendar, and her friend Rissa's mount was a bicycle. The long excited summer which this book tells about, stretched ahead of them. At first there were only the Dunsford Dairy ponies to be ridden to the forge or old Twinkle to be fetched up from her field for the local farmer; but through an accident they meet the owner of Hillocks stables, who, in exchange for their help in grooming the ponies, cleaning the tack and carrying pails of water, lets them learn to jump, ride in a gymkhana, gallop on the sands, or swim the horses in the sea. So much happens and there is so much to do that they cannot often find time to walk with their eyes shut through the wishing gate making their usual wishes; but when school looms near again, at least one of these often repeated ones, proves not to have been in vain.

It was November when Lindsey went to stay with Tamzin, yet as they punted their way from Dunsford to Westling the heat was stifling and the air ominously still. Then suddenly they were hit by tempestuous squalls which dropped back to brooding calm as unexpectedly as they began. Old Jim the ferryman was waiting for them at Dunsford. "We got a dirty lotter weather brewin' up, or I ent never seen none," he said, and his prophecy was only too correct for by nightfall the worst gale for many, many years was sweeping across Romney Marsh. Its brutal force brought danger and disaster to the village, and Tamzin, Meryon and the others found themselves battling ceaselessly in the work of rescue and salvage. On shore, comfort and shelter had to be provided for those rendered homeless. At sea, when a ship signalled distress the lifeboat had to put out though it could only be tragically defeated by such formidable seas. And those at Tamzin's home had their own personal share of anxiety when Lindsey had a terrifying encounter with a mad dog. Tamzin's night ride through the floods to fetch the doctor took as much courage as anything she had ever done, for in that she was alone, save for her gallant pony, Cascade.

In Romney Marsh near Hastings, Meryon, Roger, Rissa and Tamzin are upset to learn the marsh they love is to be turned into a holiday camp, and the Merrow family to be thrown out of the farm they have lived in for decades. When the children learn of the legendary White Riders, smugglers who once rode the marsh disguised as ghosts, this seems a perfect weapon to combat the idea of a holiday camp.