8--Goodbye to the recidivists

There was no sign of Steak Pie Tuesday morning. It turns out he was in a fracas the day before and spent the night in the cells. He's told me previously if he got in trouble again it would mean prison and he really didn't want that. I might not see him again. I wouldn't have thought I'd have anything in common with anyone I met through Community Service but somehow, in adversity, bonds are formed. I feel sad he's doomed to recidivism until something terrible, or probably fatal, happens. He's been in Iraq, he's seen things no one should have to. That's got to do something bad to people.

A break from tradition for me today. I wasn't sent to dig in the Nursing Home garden. Instead I was sent to clear up a private overgrown garden in a housing scheme with four others. A garden strewn with litter, old prams and nappies. I'm sure you can imagine.

I set out originally to tell the truth about my time here. This blog was to be my fightback, my revenge on the system to document the highs and lows and the characters along the way, good or bad. However, I now feel a certain responsibility, affinity even, to my fellow cons and screws. To tell of the practices occurring could have consequences for those involved. It's just possible someone in authority could read this one day and I don't want to cause anyone any grief. So, unfortunately, the next few of my most hilarious and almost unbelievable paragraphs have been censored. It pains me to do so.

--------------------------------------------- tools ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2 hours.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- driving --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- lunch --------------------- Day of the Beasts --------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------- ----- piss --------------------------------------------------------- Menzieshill !

I had a meeting with a nurse this week to give me a Well Man check. Anyone over 35 gets this and we get an hour deducted from our tally. Everything checked out pretty good. We can also have 30 hours of education which again is deducted. I'm definitely going to take up this offer. The courses range from reading and writing to digital photography for beginners, which I think, with a huge dollop of irony, is the one I'll take. Creative Writing is also available which could come in handy.

It's with mixed feelings that I've applied for a placement. This is where certain offenders can take up a post in something like a charity outlet or organisation, usually cleaning or helping with menial tasks. I have a meeting with an organisation on Wednesday and so, if all goes well I shall spend my last day of digging at the Nursing Home on Tuesday. Again, I would love to write about the very unusual circumstances of the position but I daren't give the game away. At least not yet.

As stated above, this blog was originally intended to rail against the system that now controls a large part of my life. To fight back against the humiliation. To rescue some dignity and possibly glean some humour from the situation. Now I don't know how much further I can take this. If I accept the position next week I will appear to the public like a normal worker and it would be churlish and wrong for me to write about anything that happens there. I'll try somehow to keep writing but it seems the blog has taken a slightly different direction anyway, it's more about ME now. It's all about me.