It is said that, prison is a great leveller in society. Everybody started off in the mailbag workshop. We had to sew, by hand, eight stitches to the inch, hessian mail bags for the Royal Mail. There was always dust particles in the air, which became more apparent when the sun shone, and its rays filtered in through the windows. We had to sit in rows of chairs, and the seats had a toblerone-shaped ridge on them which fitted into the cheeks of your arse to ensure that we all faced the front. The Silent Rule had gone and we were allowed to talk quietly to the prisoner immediately to our left or right. We were watched over by one guard sat in front on a high platform, and another patrolled the shop floor. We were not allowed to smoke in the workshop, but we were permitted to smoke in the toilet. Only two prisoners were allowed to occupy the two cubicles at any one time, and one at the urinal. We had to put our hand up to attract the attention of the guard in the box, and then ask for permission to go to the toilet.
Wages were very low, and poverty rife. The tobacco ration never seemed to last a whole week. Sometimes we would find ourselves scraping out the pockets of our clothes with a toothbrush to find tobacco dust which we could roll up in toilet paper or pages of the Bible and get a light by wrapping our underpants around the light bulb until it smouldered and caught alight. I wonder wherever did newspaper editors get the impression that prisons are like holiday camps?
A mixture of law, politics, autobiography and humour. Once described as "The Devilish Advocate" (Guardian), I do have the ability to provoke a response. Sometimes it comes from someone who uses a thought process, and sometimes from jerks usually associated with the knee.
1 comment:
I have just read some very interesting things. I live on belle vue road in leeds and am a politics student. I always look at armley prison and stare with fear and amazement, while thinking about all the poor sod who are in there. I am not saying let them out, but thet we should let ourselves in, which in turn lets them out. I am interested in volunteering at the prison, you know just trying to help people feel better, despite the fact they have broken the law.
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