Tomorrow is Mothering Sunday and it seems appropriate for me to consider what it must be like to be a parent of someone held in prison. It’s also a good time to write about how important it is to get support from parents whilst in jail. A quick note while I think of it, in…

If there is one location in the prison which is regarded as “iconic”, it would be the showers. I’m sure most people on the outside have some sort of mental image of what happens in jail showers. Today I will share with you my experience of what really goes on in prison showers. It’s worth…

I can’t really put into words how difficult I’m finding prison. Even though I like writing these articles, I do get frustrated that I can’t properly communicate the extremes of emotions that I experience. Words themselves seem surprisingly useless sometimes and this is why I, and many other prisoners, seek refuge in creativity. I truly…

Prison gyms – the setting for many of the scenes in prison-based films and TV programmes. Rough, tough, mean but is the reality really all that rough, tough and mean? As a general rule, everywhere in prison is overflowing with sadness and despair. Sure, there are pockets of positivity – for example the guys with…

This thick fog drifts over methreatening to engulf and overwhelm.It’s tough, so tough, to peer through it.That’s why so many don’t even try. But, like a lighthouse’s lonely labouring,I resolutely refuse to relent.I will not succumb to the temptationto drown in the fog of despair. I do see the distant murky outlinesof what my soul…

Should I wonder where the winds of society lead me?It would feel easier. Some people do that.Other people, that is, because that isn’t me.So what if people think conforming is “a good thing”? Maybe I’m different because I’ve become untainted.I have taken the opportunityto observe and now I understand the truthalthough I know I risk…

Last Monday on BBC1 (in Scotland) I watched “Disclosure: Prisoners on the Brink”. I’m sure it’s available on iPlayer if you’d like to see it. Today, I’d like to write about how it made me feel. Firstly, it’s worth noting that it was billed as a serious piece of journalism and, indeed, it covered topics…

It seems to me that a prison is really working class. Like seriously working class. ‘d like to pick through that, today. Firstly, I’d like to make it clear that I am generally uncomfortable with class-based labels. They’ve always seemed to me to be fairly subjective categories and actually pretty meaningless. Measures such as SIMD…

I wanted to write today about a very important subject, encouraged by recent events in here. Parasuicide is a term I use to describe behaviours and actions which, though falling short of death, are physically and emotionally injurious. The two main harmful activities would be self harm and attempted suicide. I appreciate the gravity of…

Have you ever seen those adverts on TV where an actor is standing still but all around them, life is speeding on as if the rest of the world is on fast forward? That is what life in prison can feel like and I’d like to explore that a little today. When I first came…