Part 2 (1/2)

His first job after leaving university was as a volunteer at a museum in his home town

He was happy there, but soon decided he wanted to return to university That hen hisAfter his mother was bedridden, he and his sister took it in turns to help around the house, so that his father could continue to work All three found the extra workload a tre while at work in the museum, Matthew took home some ancient coins to study I haven't used the word 'stole' because he returned all the coins a few days later But the incident weighed so heavily on his conscience that he inforht that would be the end of the matter But someone decided to report the incident to the police Mattheas arrested and charged with breach of trust He pleaded guilty, and was assured by the police that they would not be pushi+ng for a custodial sentence His solicitor was also of the saet a suspended sentence or a coave him fifteen months 5 Matthew is a classic example of someone who should not have been sent to jail; a hundred hours of coht serve some purpose, but this boy has spent the last three lars He won't turn to a life of criht?

It's a rotten system that allows such a person to end up in prison

My forie Peppiatt, stole thousands of pounds from me, and still hasn't been arrested I feel for Matthew

12 noon

Lunch today is just as bad as Belmarsh or Wayland Matthew explains that Wendy is off I must remember to eat only when Wendy is on duty

200 p's caretaker role, while he visits his daughter I settle doith a glass of blackcurrant juice and Evian to watch England slaughter Ireland, and win the Grand Slam, the Triple Crown andafter all, we are far superior on paper Unfortunately, rugby is not played on paper but on pitches Ireland hammer us 20-14, and return to the Emerald Isles with s when a tall, handsome black man strolls in His name is Clive I only hope he's not ill, because if he is, I' the last third of his sentence, and has just returned froramme

Clive and I are the only two prisoners who have the privilege of visiting Doug in the evenings I quickly discover why Doug enjoys Clive's co and, if it were not politically incorrect, I would describe hiive you just one exa the week Clive works as a linecoht and doesn't return until seven in the evening For this, he is paid 200 a week So during the week, NSC is no more than a bed and breakfast, and the only day he has to spend in prison is Sunday But Clive has a solution for that as well

Two Sundays in every month he takes up his allocated town visits, while on the third Sunday he's allowed an overnight stay

'But what about the fourth or fifth Sunday?' I ask

'Religious exemption,' he explains

'But hen there's a chapel in the grounds?' I derounds,' says Clive, 'because you're C of E Not me,' he adds 'I'm a Jehovah's Witness I must visit my place of worshi+p at least one Sunday in every month, and the nearest one just happens to be in Leicester'

After a coffee, Clive invites ammon His room turns out not to be five paces by three, or even seven by three It's a little over ten paces by ten In fact it's larger than e this?' I ask, as we settle down on opposite sides of the board

'Well, it used to be a storeroom,' he explains, 'until I rehabilitated it'

'But it could easily house four prisoners'

'True,' says Clive, 'but remember I'm also the race relations representative, so they'll only allow black prisoners to share a room with me There aren't that many black prisoners in D-cats,' he adds with a smile

I hadn't noticed the sudden drop in the black population after leaving Wayland until Clive mentioned it But I have seen a few at NSC, so I ask why they aren't allowed to room with him

'They all start life on the north block, and that's where they stay,' he adds without explanation He also beat ht

DAY 95 - SUNDAY 21 OCTOBER 2001

600 a you don't need in prison it's a day of rest

800 a files fro up new responsibilities

Fifteen new prisoners arrived on Friday, giving me an excuse to prepare files and make up their identity cards

North Sea Camp, whose capacity is 220, rarely has ht to be within fiftystuck out on the east coast li refurbished at the moment, which shows the lack of pressure on accommodation 6 The turnover at NSC is about fifteen prisoners a week What I am about to reveal is common to all D-cat prisons, and by no e, one prisoner absconds every week (unlawfully at large), the figures have a tendency to rise around Christ the summer, so NSC loses around fifty prisoners a year; this explains the need for five roll-calls a day Many absconders return within twenty-four hours, having thought better of it; they have twentyeight days added to their sentence A few, often foreigners, return to their countries and are never seen again Quite recently, two Dutchmen absconded and were picked up by a speedboat, as the beach is only 100 yards out of bounds They were back in Holland before the next roll-call

Most absconders are quickly recaptured,as far as Boston, a mere six h walls and razor wire, and will never, under any circumstances, be allowed to return to an open prison, even if at some time in the future they are convicted of a et clean away But theyover their shoulder

There are even so husbands or partners back to prison, and in one case a ate, declaring that she didn't want to see hiain until he completed his sentence

This is all relevant because of soranted weekend leave, you , and if you are even a minute late, you are placed on report Yesterday, a as driving her husband back to the prison, when they became involved in a heated row

The wife stopped the car and dumped her husband on the roadside some thirty miles from the jail He ran to the nearest phone box to let the prison knohat had happened and a taxi was sent out to pick him up He checked in over an hour late Thirty pounds was deducted from his canteen account to pay for the taxi, and he's been placed on report

200 p a rare Sunday in prison We discuss theon the far it over everyone However, nothing beats the Mail on Sunday, which produces a blurred photo ofthat I have refused to wear prison clothes This despite the fact that I'rey prison sweatshi+rt in the photo

After our walk, Clive and I play a few gaammon He's in a different class to e of his superiority and turn each session into a tutorial

600 pn in for roll-call with Mr Hughes

900 pnificent period drama set in Guildford and Cornwall in 1946

Mike (lifer) appears twenty minutes into the film, with a chicken curry in plastic containers part of his cookery rehabilitation course Doug serves it up on china platesa real luxury in itself, even though we have to eat the meal with plastic knives and forks

I eat the meal very slowly, and enjoy every morsel

DAY 96 - MONDAY 22 OCTOBER 2001

830 a to feel that I knoay around