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I’m Sorry, I Must Correct You.
There is so much on the TV just now about the “early release” of prisoners at their 40% point. It is doing my utter box in though because it is being widely misunderstood. Here’s the bottom line: the way the system works for the vast majority of prisoners in Scotland is that their sentence is…
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Of all the Difficult Days Inside…
Yesterday was Valentine’s Day and of all of the difficult days inside, it must be one of the most difficult. I want to invite you, if you don’t have a loved one in prison, to think how you would feel if you did. How would you feel if you couldn’t hold their hand when tings…
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Oh my Lordy, This Place Can be Funny.
Before I write too much, can I be very clear that life in prison is horrific. It is worse than horrific, particularly with the aggravating factor of a wrongful conviction. Now that is out of the way, yes this place can be bloody funny at times! So much has been happened or been said that…
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After a Week, I Still Can’t Describe It…
Well it’s now been a whole week since The Traitors finished and a feeling has been rumbling around my guts for a while. Note that it is a feeling in my guts, not a thought in my brain. For this is an emotional response to something that can no longer be ignored despite the protests…
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It’s Burns’ Night!
Today is one of my favourite days – Burns’ night (although I still haven’t really figured out why it’s Burns’ Night rather than Burns’ Day). For me, it is such an important day because ti brings together the wider cultural aspects of this great country so I can regard it as richer than St Andrew’s…
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Holy F*** – Stop Being So Stupid You Morons!
Oh my holy crap. What the actual f*** are you doing? Why are you being so thick? How can you be so chuffing blind??? I appreciate that my opening sentences this week haven’t been my normal calm style but, seriously, prisoners can be so stupid. The senior management in prisons must be rubbing their hands…
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How to Numb my Brain
I think a question often posed by many prisoners is how they can numb their minds because to be fully awake to the day to day living in prison is severely psychologically damaging so today I thought I’d write about the various techniques I’ve seen inside. I’m sure everyone can imagine that one of the…
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I Feel Sorry for Yin
Tell me you’re watching the new series of Traitors on the BBC. If you’ve not, you must stop reading this immediately and jump on to the iPlayer and watch the first 3 episodes (but don’t forget to come back here afterwards!!) I think it’s the best thing on TV and if series two is anything…
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A Lesson in Economics
I have never really understood the finer details of economics. Sure, I get what interest and tax mean and more recently I’ve begun to get the hang of what inflation means. However, I have never developed a group of how the various financial levers can be manipulated to produce an outcome. Actually, I don’t think…
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Case Study: John
I thought I’d do things a little differently this week – I’ll give you a case study about one of the guys in here who I will call John, although that is not his real name. John is in his 40s and has been inside for a few years. He has a few years left,…
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And the Award for Best Mince Pie Goes To…
Ooh, don’t those mince pies look gorgeous on the TV? I’ve been trying to guess which taste the est and I have to give the award to Tesco because theirs look spectacular. I do, however, need to dock points because of their contribution to the “perfect family” image. All of the major adverts on TV…
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Perspective
Okay, I’ll admit it – I do not have a balanced view on prisons. There you go, I said it. From my position, they are cruel, expensive, counter-productive and I see a very strong argument for the abolition of prisons in their current form. I don’t see any proper justification for current practice other than…