The Old Woman from Friuli

The Duke looks out from his castle, and everything he can see for miles and miles belongs to him. Everything, except one small strong house, with a small garden two goats and a beehive. They belong to the old woman from Friuli. The Duke wants that house, but the old woman, she won’t sell. She’s from Friuli, where all the really stubborn people come from.

Ghillian Potts is now 83. She has been writing continuously, both prose and verse, since she was 7. She once got out of a bit of housework by saying, “Must I, Mum? I’m writing a Poem!” in her best whine. To her amazement, her mum at once said, “Oh, all right, I’ll do it!” Obviously, writing was a Good Thing. She had a number of stories for younger children published in the 1990s, one of which featured on Jackanory.

Illustrator Ed Boxall is an artist, print maker, writer and creative educator living in Hastings, England.