Journey of a reformed man

@glitteryyouthstudentworld

.bmc-button img{height: 34px !important;width: 35px !important;margin-bottom: 1px !important;box-shadow: none !important;border: none !important;vertical-align: middle !important;}.bmc-button{padding: 7px 15px 7px 10px !important;line-height: 35px !important;height:51px !important;text-decoration: none !important;display:inline-flex !important;color:#ffffff !important;background-color:#5F7FFF !important;border-radius: 5px !important;border: 1px solid transparent !important;padding: 7px 15px 7px 10px !important;font-size: 20px !important;letter-spacing:-0.08px !important;box-shadow: 0px 1px 2px rgba(190, 190, 190, 0.5) !important;-webkit-box-shadow: 0px 1px 2px 2px rgba(190, 190, 190, 0.5) !important;margin: 0 auto !important;font-family:'Lato', sans-serif !important;-webkit-box-sizing: border-box !important;box-sizing: border-box !important;}.bmc-button:hover, .bmc-button:active, .bmc-button:focus {-webkit-box-shadow: 0px 1px 2px 2px rgba(190, 190, 190, 0.5) !important;text-decoration: none !important;box-shadow: 0px 1px 2px 2px rgba(190, 190, 190, 0.5) !important;opacity: 0.85 !important;color:#ffffff !important;}Buy me a coffee

112 posts

Working in prison!

Is it any wonder I was struggling for an identity in prison as much as I was searching for one in society? Fortunately, I did find an identity. Ironically, it was whilst in prison, but that's another story and one I've told many times before.

One subject I hadn’t given much thought to, or a question more than a subject, is what’s it like to work in prison. I hadn’t given it much thought because, technically, I never did and I’m sure the question wasn’t asked to find out what it was like to sew mailbags. In the main, people asking me are considering volunteering in prison in one form or another or working in the education department.…

View On WordPress

'ello, 'ello

What followed was not much different to what I was used to, however, a prepared statement or going no comment would've made the whole trip pointless.

“What’s going on ‘ere then?” I’ll tell ya! It was another surreal day for me on Friday, and who provided it, once again? Yup! Revolving Doors Agency. So, on Friday, I was invited up to Birmingham by Sean from Revolving Doors to take part in the West Midlands Police Integrated Offender Management (IOM) Training, looking at how to build lasting relationships between the IOM officer and the…

View On WordPress

RENYO

And then once we have taken what we need from the lesson why keep it to yourself?

The further I pull away from the criminal justice system and live each day trying to be a better person than I was the day before, the more I can look back and see things from a unique perspective. Unique in that the knowledge I have now, along with the new experiences I am living, provide me with a better understanding not just of the why of who I used to be but also what I felt was missing or…

View On WordPress

We say hindsight is a wonderful thing. I see lived experience as being that hindsight.

Having lived experience of the criminal justice system is one thing, having organisations around like Revolving Doors who provide a platform for me to tap into my lived experience is priceless. You see, for me, the campaign work I do is not just a passion, it is also part of my recovery and rehabilitation. It is what gives me purpose. A reason to live. I begin each day trying to be a better…

View On WordPress

#Crime #Criminal justice system #Education #Prison #rehabilitation

Education! education! Education!

Education! education! Education...Let’s use the education system to teach our children who THEY are and who THEY can become.

At the Labour Party Conference, on the 1st of October 1996, Tony Blair said: “Ask me my three main priorities for Government, and I’ll tell you: education, education and education.” A statement he repeated in 2001, at the launch of Labour’s education manifesto, at the University of Southampton where he said: “Our top priority was, is and always will be education, education, education. To…

View On WordPress

Money! Money! Money!

I’m not sure if it was because as a child, we didn’t have much regarding money, but money has never been a driving factor in my life. Money is only a representation of perceived value. It may as well be corn as it was back in the day. Corn! Corn! Corn! doesn’t have the same ring to it though. Even when I was committing crime it was never about the money, fortunately, it was much more than that,…

View On WordPress

What we see?

What we see?... A picture may paint a thousand words, but it will never be able to provide the full story.

The image I’ve chosen to go with this blog is one which has been used numerous times for articles discussing/ reporting on prison. They say a picture paints a thousand words, this picture asks many questions. One question that immediately comes to mind is whether the person without the keys is being unlocked or locked up by the person with the keys? There’s not much the picture does tell us. It…

View On WordPress

Another day to remember

Another day to remember... It was such an honour to be the keynote speaker at their amazing 40th Anniversary lunch within the stunning grounds of Longstowe Hall, Cambridge and share in the celebrations of the day.

In June 2019, I wrote a blog titled A Day to Remember, all about a special day I had with Anj Cairns, the former CEO of Shannon Trust, and now CEO of Unlock. We spoke together, but separately, on behalf of Shannon Trust, at an event in the House of Commons during Evidence Week. It was a wonderful and surreal experience. One I thought it would be impossible to surpass, however, yesterday…

View On WordPress

Reflection of reform

Reflection of reform... thoughts are one thing, actions are another and being aware of it may not stop the thoughts but will hopefully prevent the wrong actions.

So, today was a rather strange experience and all I did was walk to our local Tesco for a few bits we needed. Woe betide my day if I fail to return with treats for our Staffie, Frankie and our cat, Millie. Anyway, I digress. As I was walking through my quiet village a van pulled up just in front of me suddenly. My immediate reaction was to scan the area for something I could use as a weapon to…

View On WordPress

Reflective perspective

Reflective perspective... You soon lose the option of going quietly without a fuss, my fault not theirs. The other problem with that, especially with being a dickhead at the time, is it became a challenge.

Until quite recently I wasn’t aware of how close I came to being shot by police. Last week, I binged watched, on Amazon Prime, ‘Armed and Deadly: Police UK’ which is a docu-series showing operations armed police in the UK have carried out. It had such a profound effect on me. By the end of the binge watch I physically felt grateful to be alive. It would’ve only taken one trigger happy police…

View On WordPress

In or Out?

In or Out?... Prison is also an environment where if you always expect the unexpected, the impact is so much less when the unexpected happens. "It is what it is" frees up so much space in thought processes.

The image, ‘Create Escape’, is, of course, the artwork created by Banksy which appeared on a wall at the former prison where Oscar Wilde served his time, HMP Reading. I am sure Banksy’s artwork depicts someone escaping from prison. However, I also see it from another perspective. I see the escape as escaping society and the man in the image trying to get in, and not out of prison. There were…

View On WordPress

Reflections and an apology.

Reflections and an apology.... Behind both of them stood the remaining two, who took on the roles of the thoughts of the two sitting. Thoughts they gave a voice to. It isn't easy to switch off your own mind when listening to someone.

During my times as a listener in prison, I’d like to think I approached the role in the right way with empathy at the core of my listens. I have mentioned before how on occasions I was asked if I believed everything I was told by those I was listening to, and my answer to that was always it isn’t for me to believe it, if the other person believes it that is what you work with. The above doesn’t…

View On WordPress

Volunteering/mentoring

Volunteering/mentoring... You can’t run away from yourself in prison. However, I could also be myself in prison.

Who knew that volunteering to be a mentor for Shannon Trust back in 2005 would be right up there with some of the best decisions I’ve ever made, and considering the list only counts three, it was indeed a rare occasion. Hindsight is a wonderful thing but not as wonderful as accidental foresight. In 2005, I was unaware of how many times I would return to prison. They released me from that…

View On WordPress

It's all around us!

It's all around us!.... Education! It's all around us and is the gift that keeps on giving.

In the title of this blog, I am in fact, referring to education, or more the ability to learn. Even when doing nothing. Yesterday, I had nothing to do, so I did nothing. I cooked a Sunday roast later in the day but I enjoy that so don’t see it as a chore. However, what I did do, is plonk myself in front of the telly to watch anything that didn’t take too much brain power to watch. First up was…

View On WordPress

A kindred spirit

A kindred spirit. *TRIGGER WARNING* contains references to suicide.

I’m not totally sure why I’m writing this blog, well, I kind of do. It isn’t to garner empathy or sympathy but mainly it is because if I don’t get it out I feel my head will explode. My heart also feels as if it will scar permanently from the news I received during the early hours of Saturday, June 26, 2021. A day I can’t ever see myself forgetting. A good friend and colleague from Revolving…

View On WordPress

#Mental Health #suicide

Day one or one day?

Day one or one day?...I could do the time. Therefore, the crime became a means to an end. The punishment became the reward. Crime and punishment right there in a nutshell, or at least from my perspective.

During the early hours of Thursday, 30th July 2015, my day one began. The beginning of the end was not the most conventional thing I’ve ever done, nor is it something I wish to make light of. We cannot justify or excuse crime but we can provide reasons for crime. However, your understanding of the reasons will be determined by your perspective, or your beliefs. Earlier, I saw the meme below and…

View On WordPress

Pup!

Pup!... If you can, please explain it to me, because even a day after they published my article I still can't explain it to myself.

The title of this blog is actually an acronym – we love an acronym in the criminal justice world, not! – which stands for person under probation and is a label I had stuck to me many moons ago, from my formative teenage years right through to April 26, 2019. Please excuse the lengthy context I’ve laid out before getting to my point. It took me a long time to get to it myself. Over those years, I…

View On WordPress

Journey of a reformed man @glitteryyouthstudentworld - Tumblr Blog | Tumgag