Part 9 (2/2)

TYPES OF MATERIAL THAT WILL BE RESTRICTED: 4 Any sexually explicit raphic nature which are available froents, will be allowed in possession but e 3” type pictures can be placed on prisoners'

noticeboards, but pictures showing full nudity cannot

Photographs, artwork and otherit conforers have a duty to ensure that their areas remain free from the display of any potentially offensiveoffices, rest rooms and other ”staff only” areas

prison, I can now spot evil, fear, helplessness and sadness at thirty paces But even I a man who always sits alone in the saainst the fence He can't be much more than thirty, perhaps thirty-five, and he rarely moves froic,' he says 'Alistair is one of your lot - public school, followed by university, where he graduated as a heroin addict If he doesn't kick the habit, he'll be in prison for the rest of his life'

'How can that be possible?' I ask

'Si hi added to his sentence In fact, even on the day he was sent down, he was found with a needle in his are passed sentence or soon after he was taken down, he er and ten grams of heroin wrapped in a condom up his backside He then took a laxative so that he could empty his bowels as soon as he arrived at Belet there's a lavatory in every cell - he injected himself with heroin and passed out At the nine o'clock flap check the night officer found hi on the floor with a needle stuck in his arrams of heroin sprinkled on the floor beside hied to have ti ure and wonder if prison is the right answer

600 p two extra cartons ofhis authority as the new No 1 on the hotplate

DAY 38

SAturdAY 25 AUGUST 2001

'Bien, gracias,y to?'

'No, tu, tu, tu'

'Tu, tu, tu: 'Bueno We io adds, 'for another lesson' At least ten prisoners standing in the queue, and three officers behind the hotplate, assu Spanish, as we have no wish for them to find out e're really up to But more of that later

511aust bank holiday weekend if I were not in prison I also begin to consider whether there are any advantages to being in jailCertainly, incarceration is so to be added to one's experiences, particularly as it has co time I've also had to stretch e where I a little froer, it ht be wise to have an escape plan - escape of the mind

I've already completed Belatory I can't wait to get to heaven, whenever and wherever that io as he passesand a slice of toast

'Buenos dias,' he repeats 'Coracias'

'Bien, gracias, y tu?'

1000 ara convicted I've lost over half a stone and feel a lot fitter I'overnor wants a word I've so far seen three people who claiovernor, and none of theovernor Am I about to meet her? No On this occasion it's a Mr Greenacre, whom I've also never co a visit from a senior officer at Bel- ating the theft of a chapter of your book' You will recall that Trevor Kavanagh of the Sun, doyen of political editors, returned those stolen seven pages to Mary He is well aware of the law of copyright

It is clear that the culprit must have been an officer as no prisoners at Belmarsh have access to a photocopier No one else could have unlocked my cell door, removed the script, photocopied and returned it and then sent a copy on to the Sun

Of course, the deputy governor is only going through theout which officer was hoping tois that Trevor will never reveal his source

Back to the visitor from Belmarsh Mr Greenacre tells me to expect a senior security officer to interview , which means that, with luck, I'll miss pottery I'll brief you fully next Tuesday1100 aym session, so I find it quite hard to maintain the pace of Jimmy (twenty-nine) and Darren (thirty-five) as they march round the peri to ad away about an unusual use of mirrors Every cell has a five-by-five-inch steelus about two West Indian prisoners who between thehetto blaster and a pair of loud speakers He describes how they went about arranging to listen to the same music in two different cells

The first prisoner levered his thin steel h one of the tiny holes in a corner Every evening, after the nine o'clock flap check, he would slip the mirror under his door, then in one movement, slide it across the corridor until it reached the door opposite After a few days, he could perfor a ball through a hoop

The second prisoner then took the wire and attached it to his speaker so that bothfroenious but - I'm told by anyone who lived within ayou could have danced to the land are 200 for 3 and putting up a spirited fight During the lunch interval I visit Sergio in his cell

He wastes no words, i ota He always sounds like a man who has only ten units left on his phonecard Of course, heto find a Botero

In any case nothing can be done until Sergio has completed his sentence He is due to be deported on 27 September, a month from today, by which time we expect to have worked out a plan to purchase a Botero Win or lose, I'll keep you briefed

300 pm I have my hair cut by Matt (arson for insurance, failed to convince Cornhill or the jury, and was sentenced to three years) Matt has the reputation of being the best barber in the prison In fact several prison officers also have theirhair cut by hi ti course, so now he's a semi-professional He has all the proper equip on a chair in the corridor outside his cell, I'm in no doubt about his skill I need to look neat and tidy for Friday, when Mary and Williaotten that Mary coth of my hair when she last came to Wayland

When Matt's finished the job he even produces a second mirror so I can see the back of my head He's not Daniel Hersheson, but for ten units of a phonecard he's a pretty good iland are 314 for 8 after a gritty 124 not out by Ra in there helping to avoid another follow on The two of the another 31 runs to o Darren Gough asked me to conduct the auction at his London testie fan of Darren's, I happily agreed When the event finally materialized it fell in the middle of my trial Mr Justice Potts reera that I a Mr Justice Potts would have wanted

I' pretty low, so decide to use the other ten units left on et in touch with William or James as they are both abroad I sit on the end of my bed and recall the words of La Rochefoucauld: Absence direat ones, as the wind extinguishes candles and fans fire

DAY 39

SUNDAY 26 AUGUST 2001

616 aest day in prison Wayland is short-staffed and there is nothing for inmates to do other than watch wall-to-wall television In Belot you out of your cell, but in Wayland you're out of your cell without anything to keep you occupied Mindyou, I'd much rather be in Wayland than locked up in Belmarsh for twenty-two hours a day I write for a couple of hours

820 a in the queue for the hotplate, I get talking to a West Indian who is onHe asks if he can have ree to his request if, in return, he will show me how to clean my cell floor I only mention this because the West Indians keep the cleanest cells They are not satisfied with sweeping out the dust and dirt, but spend hours buffing up the linoleuh I shower, shave and put on fresh clothes every day, as well asin place before the cell door is opened at 8 am, I never look as smart or have as clean a cell as any of the West Indians on my spur

930 ahtens me He has an evil face and is one of those prisoners who is proud to describe hilar by profession, and I' off towards the library with a pile of glossy, coffee-table books under his arm I try to make out the titles on the spines while we're on the move: The Encyclopaedia of Antiques, Know Your Antiques and Antiques in a Modem Market

'Are you interested in antiques?' I ask innocently