“Then, just in time, before I swung the spade again, I saw, right by the blade and camouflaged by the leaves on the ground, a magpie chick. It squatted belligerently, peering up at me with miniature magpie fury. George.”

So begins Frieda Hughes’s relationship with her magpie, George, the sole survivor of a nest destroyed in a storm and a scrap of feathers and bone destined to change the course of her life.

Hear from Frieda as she tells the story of how George grows into an intelligent, unruly companion and the apprehension she feels of what will happen when the time comes to finally set him free.

Frieda Hughes is a painter and poet. She has written several children’s books, eight collections of poetry and, in 2023, George: A Magpie Memoir. She also writes articles for magazines and newspapers, was The Times Poetry columnist from 2006 to 2008, and has judged numerous poetry competitions, including for the Forward Prizes for Poetry and for the National Poetry Competition. Her poems have appeared in many leading publications such as The New Yorker, The Paris Review, The London Magazine, The Guardian, The Telegraph, The Times, The Spectator, Tatler, Thumbscrew, and Agenda. She resides in Wales with owls and motorbikes. www.friedahughes.com