Change is possible
My mother will be devastated when I tell you that I was brought up on a council estate. Last time I mentioned it, in company, she immediately dismissed it as my vivid imagination. Did I imagine all this too? Mother's birthplace, Springburn, Glasgow. Childhood. Canning Town, East London. Teenage Years. Roundshaw, Wallington. Here comes Keef! Spital's … Continue reading Just call me Keef.
It’s time to shift the focus from the negative, what was and what is, and concentrate on What Can Be living crime-free.
by Terry Ellis. Screws leaving Wanno at 6pm on Christmas Eve To find out what happened next and during the rest of his time at Grendon, read Terry's book. But, did his Grendon experiment work? Hell yeah! He even wrote a book about it! Message from Keef: "Ere Tel, you gonna give me drink for … Continue reading Christmas at Grendon.
Erwin James reprises one of his Guardian columns - a moment of humanity on Christmas day 2000 “Merry Christmas,” said Mr Turnlock, as he lifted the flap covering the observation panel on my cell door at around 7.30 on Christmas morning. He was not being facetious, though there are some that can be. More than … Continue reading I spy at Christmas
By Steve Newark ITS NOT ALL DOOM AND GLOOM. Christmas is an emotive time for everyone, add prison into the equation and it can sometimes be just a bit too much. Missing the children and family get togethers can make Christmas in prison seem the hardest days of your sentence. But it’s not all doom and … Continue reading Penned Up at Christmas
" It's alright for you, you're out enjoying yourself, while I'm stuck in here." Has he said it yet? How many times have you heard this? Actually your neighbours probably heard him shouting it down the phone at you too. You're kidding me, right? Trust, Bruv. It is not even close to being enjoyable. The … Continue reading It’s not just about him!
Self-care for #LoopyWarriors. My previous blog was all about supporting your man through lockdown. The attention was solely focused on his wants and needs. Is that sexist? Does it fly in the face of equality? Not at all, it's expressing love, care and compassion for the man you love while he is forced to endure … Continue reading How to love a prisoner. Part 3
Since joining his ‘journey of a reformed man’, David has given me countless reasons to be proud of him. Yesterday he made me proud, because he did absolutely nothing. He just walked away and came home. I won’t sugar coat it. David was a nasty, violent career criminal. In and out of prison for four … Continue reading Now that’s what I call a reformed man
Lockdown conditions for our prisoners are barbaric and inhumane. Two weeks isolation banged up 23 hours a day would have made sense and we would have been overflowing with gratitude for HMPPS for protecting our loved ones.
I recently read an article about prison and prisoners of which I don't want to say I was shocked or surprised by because that would be the wrong choice of wording to use. I suppose the best description, and I'm going back on myself slightly, would be that the article left me feeling pleasantly surprised. … Continue reading In-career-ceration
