Issue 7 is hot off the printing presses for Christmas.
I have been delighted by the output of creative writing produced since I joined the Time In team in July. I am hoping that the New Year will see the writing workshops focus on preparing for the Koestler Trust Awards (2016) among other writing opportunities because our record and results are gaining great momentum.
We had 38 poems exhibited at Prison Arts Foundation’s exhibition in Crumlin Road goal in November. What comes to mind is the diversity of the contributions. So, here is your work together for everyone to read and enjoy. I think the magazine communicates especially well at this time of year with distinctive stories, poems, features, sports, reviews, interviews and Christmas recipes with the full contents and in particular, the ‘Education’ interview with RH, answering some leading questions, such as ‘Does education in prison work?’ As well as a vital focus on this subject matter and its future for learning skills, we look at the gaining of qualifications and advancement towards employment opportunities.
I want to address the delicate, sensitive, and complex celebration known as Christmas. Whether rich man, poor man, atheist, or evangelist, we are presented by many images of family, friends, and sharing during the festive season. Many of our readers are away from their families at this time of year, and will be feeling their absence. I feel that the dialogue and communication of a collective group represented within Time In really comes through with each and every contribution in the contents.
We are sharing our writing and art works. I want to thank everyone who is a contributor to Time In, and also for sharing their work in the creative writing workshops. I must acknowledge the Governor, the Prison Arts Foundation, the Staff, and all who support Time In. I look forward to seeing the creation of new work in 2016.
As a wiser woman than I once said ‘don’t get your tinsel in a tangle’.
Pamela Brown
CONTENTS
PAF Exhibition
Conversations from a Kitchen Prison
Koestler Trust Awards
Education
Story Choice 2015
Air Max, The choice of Celebs
Prison Recipes
PriMedia Conference
Gallery Poetry
Film & Book Reviews
Music Rant
Tea Break Crossword
Have a Break Wordsearch
Jokes
Sport
CONTRIBUTORS
Sub Editor: RA
Cover: DB
Sport: IL
Proof Reading AMcC
NOTE on Contributors’ Names:
Contributions from both prison staff and prisoners are acknowledged in Time In by their initials only.
The Northern Ireland Minister of Justice David Ford (pictured) with the Northern Ireland Prison Service Director General Sue McAllister and the Prison Arts Foundation Chairman Oliver Brannigan at the launch of the PAF exhibition in Crumlin Road Gaol which ran from 16-27 November. The exhibition featured mixed-media and other artworks by ex-offenders in the community, as well as serving prisoners in HMP Maghaberry, HMP Magilligan and Hydebank Wood College.
The Prison Arts Foundation was founded as a charitable trust in 1996, and continually works and engages with prisoners, ex-prisoners and young offenders, and ex-young offenders in Northern Ireland. The PAF exhibitions provide a platform for positive activities and showcase creative works.
Christmas Interviews
DMC, a prisoner here in Magilligan interviews BF about the realities of having a loved one behind bars at Christmas time. He also answers the same questions himself to illustrate perspectives on both sides of the wall.
DMC: What does it feel like being in gaol in the run up to Christmas? - I love the whole novelty of late night shopping, running about in your winterwear on the run up to Christmas. I’m sitting here picturing all the people running about Belfast City, popping in and out of bars for a few hot whiskeys and picking up presents for loved ones along the way. Also, hearing the Christmas songs starting on the radio definitely tugs at the heart strings. You wouldn’t be human if it didn’t.
What way do you think you will feel on Christmas day? Christmas Day is the day we all come together and have dinner, sit around the house eating and drinking and visit family and friends. Being in a prison cell is definitely tough when you know all this is going on.
You are missing out on all the fun and Christmas memories that could have been created. It’s also knowing that all your loved ones are out there thinking about you and missing you more than ever. It’s a big piece of their Christmas taken away too.
What will you miss most about not being around your loved one around throughout the Christmas period? I’ll miss sitting having dinner with my Mother, brother and sisters. I’ll miss visiting friends and family and having a few drinks with them and I’ll miss going to the parties in the neighbours’ houses before going home in the very early hours to pull a few crackers with my girlfriend.
How to you plan to deal with these feelings? It won’t be my first Christmas in jail, therefore I know just how sh*te it is! However, whilst I won’t be grinning like a Cheshire cat all night, I suppose we’ll make the best of a sorry situation. I’ll enjoy the free Christmas dinner and there may just be a little snow on the mountain to add that festive ambience. And just keep in the fore of my mind the fact that I won’t be here every Christmas… there’ll be plenty of Christmases ahead. The party ain’t over yet.
BF: How do you feel in the run up to Christmas with a loved one in jail? It’s not good to have a loved one inside anytime, but especially Christmas. I feel anxious with the thought of Xmas without the person I love the most. It’s sad to do all the Xmas stuff alone, such as tree decorating, shopping, wrapping presents and trips away. There’s an extra loneliness in the air coming up to Christmas.
How do you expect you will feel on Christmas day? - I expect to feel emotional and heartbroken.. every second he will be on my mind. For me personally this will be one of the hardest days out of the whole year not being there. The worst will be the last phonecall and not being able to speak to him after that. But luckily, I’ll be surrounded by family which will make me feel better. I’ll also remind myself there are people far worse off and I’m blessed to have someone I love so much even if he’s not there.
What will you miss most about having your loved one around throughout the Christmas period? All the prezzies I won’t be getting! Its actually pretty much the same stuff I miss about him every single day, like sharing all our good times and all other thing you do in a relationship. I’ll miss him helping me on Xmas eve and playing his guitar.
How to you plan to deal with these feelings? I will keep myself busy visiting relations and friends. I will try to keep optimistic. Maybe have a drink or eat loads of chocolate. I might even write him a letter on Xmas night. I find it a great way of expressing my feelings to him when he’s not there and its therapeutic when I cannot be with him.
Conversations From a Prison Kitchen
C. Just back from a work-out. Feeling great. I haven’t seen you there lately.
D. Oh, I’m still a member. I try and go 3 times a week but I’ve missed the last …1200 times.
G. Sure I started jogging because the nurse told me it could add years to my life. She’s right, I feel ten years older already.
H. I’m not into working out. My philosophy is no pain, no pain.
C. But running’s good. I enjoy it.
H. My wife got complimented when out jogging. A driver stopped and said ‘You’re attractive’; she said ‘I suppose you would like to take me to bed’? ‘Oh - intelligent too’ he replied.
D. I ran 3 miles one time. Finally I shouted ‘O.K. you can keep your purse’.
F. Anyone any milk?
G. Take some of mine, No.5. Hey, not so much, leave me some; were you an only child or what?
“I know I have flabby thighs...”
C. Some people say walking is the best form of exercise.
D. Yeah, my grandmother started walking 5 miles a day when she was 70. She’s 87 now. We don’t know where the hell she is!
C. The last time I was at the gym I asked the instructor to teach me how to do the splits. He asked how flexible I was. I said ‘Well, I can’t make Tuesdays’.
D. But I think the gym’s essential. Sure a study showed that half of all Californians are obese. In fact, half of all Californians are really 2/3 of all Californians.
E. Fat’s the problem. I know I have flabby thighs, but fortunately my stomach covers them.
F. My girlfriend has the opposite problem. She is really thin.
D. I know the cure for that.
F. What’s that?
D. Marry her. It’s worked for every married woman I’ve ever met.
F. People forget sometimes that the gym can be a dangerous place. You can hurt yourself.
C. Bullsh*t.
D. O.K, but if you fall down and break both your legs, don’t come running to me.
D. Sorry. Actually I was an only child. My mother kept a picture of me by her bedside. Any time my father wanted to make love, she just showed him the picture! She always said she suffered post-natal depression after I was born. When my father saw me he suffered it as well. In fact, there was a rumour that when I was delivered the midwife slapped my mother. I was a premature baby and my mother always said she wished I’d been 9 months premature. I got a letter from her last week, saying ‘since you left home your father has become a sex maniac and tries to make love to me every opportunity he gets. Please excuse the wobbly writing’.
F. I come from a large family. My mother had 23 children. And we all idolised her. In fact, we put her on a pedestal. We had to, to keep our father off her.
C. Talking of pregnancy, I was on the bus one time, and a woman came on and says to me ‘Can I sit in your seat, because I’m pregnant.’ I says ‘You don’t look pregnant. How long have you been pregnant?’ She says ‘Only ten minutes. But doesn’t it make you feel tired?’
E. My parents used to say to me ‘To pay for your education, your father and I had to make a lot of sacrifices.’ It was true, they were both druids. Christmases were terrible, not like nowadays when kids get everything. My sister got a miniature set of perfumes called Ample. It was tiny, but even I could see where my Dad had scraped off the ‘S’. He hated wasting anything. At Christmas my presents were always wrapped in paper that was printed with Happy Birthday, and Dad just added Jesus. Money was tight but the family managed to go out regularly for tea and biscuits. I wasn’t too happy about having to give the blood though. But I got qualifications in the end, I got my A.S.B.O.!
C. Is that why you are in here?
D. No, I’m here due to tragic circumstances.
C. Which were?
D. I got caught! But I got qualifications too. A BSc.
C. No way. You studied science?
D. No. My Bronze swimming Certificate!
F. My excuse is that I was raised just by my Mum. My father died when I was 8 years old. At least that’s what he told us in the letter.
C. 23 kids though, must have been hard work. Did your parents never hear of condoms?
F. They did, but said they were unsafe.
C. In what way?
“16 hardened criminals...”
D. Well if they burst, your stomach can’t cope with the sudden impact of 2 kilos of cocaine.
F. Hey, there’s a very bad smell in here. Did someone fart?
C. We all have at some point in our lives. Let’s not start apportioning blame for individual farting, O.K?
D. ‘It was you, wasn’t it?’ I set a personal record for holding my breath, 6 minutes, after following you in the bogs last week.
C. You’re just being cheeky. Sure when I looked at the bread this morning I thought I saw your name on it. But when I reread it I realised it said ‘thick cut’.
D. Aye, every time a lesbian looks at you, she thinks ‘that’s why I’m not a heterosexual’. Bet your mother was a lollipop lady- a very thin body and a big round sticky head.
F. Shut up, the two of you. I don’t know how your wives stuck you.
C. I was married twice. I had bad luck with both wives. The first one left me and the second one didn’t. She was a redhead. No hair, just a red head! She had a slight impediment in her speech…every now and then she stopped to breathe. Then I got a mistress.
D. Any difference between the wife and mistress?
C. Night and day.
F. You have to treat them right, though. After my honeymoon, I brought my wife breakfast in bed; Fresh orange juice, cereal, bacon and egg, toast and coffee. ‘Thank you, darling’ she said, ‘that looks lovely’. ‘Good’, I replied, ‘because that’s how I want it every morning’
D. When I was coming in here I asked the wife would she forget me, and she said ‘Well I never forget a face but in your case I’ll make an exception.’
E. I met a new inmate today who looked athletic and I asked him was he a pole vaulter? He replied ‘Why yes, I am a Pole, but how did you know my name is Walter?’
G rushes in. Did any of you watch the news? A cement mixer has collided with a prison van taking prisoners to Magilligan. Motorists are being asked to be on the lookout for 16 hardened criminals.
(Special thanks to all the inmates who contributed, consciously or unconsciously, namely: A12345, B23451, C34512, D45123, E51234, F23456 and G34562. Happy Christmas!)
Trust 2015
Commended Award True Love
If I could unroll the parchment of the sky
And dipping into the inkwells of the ocean
Neither would there be enough ink in all the seas
Nor space enough on the scroll stretched across the skies
To adequately describe the magnitude of His love
His love is deeper than the deepest ocean
Wider than the vast expanse of the sky
Higher than the highest heights to where an eagle may fly
The love of the Lord extends beyond all infinity
And endures until after the end of time.
J.McL
Koestler
Koestler Trust Awards 2015
Arthur Koestler founded the Koestler Trust Awards in 1962. Koestler’s prison novel Darkness at Noon was inspired by his experience as a political prisoner during which time he gained an insight into the relationship between prison and creativity.
While in prison during the Spanish Civil war, Koestler went on hunger strike to get a pen and paper. He turned against ‘closed systems of thought’ as his work gained international fame. Koestler was further incarcerated for 3 months at the onset of World War Two in Le Vernet Detention Camp. After the War, he lived mostly in the UK. His book of essays, includes The Ghost in the Machine (1967) which lent its title to an album by The Police. The Koestler Trust Awards grew out of his work to abolish the death penalty.
This year HMP Magilligan won nine Koestler Trust Awards for creative writing. These include awards for poetry, short stories, autobiographical writing, a radio play, plus two collaborative anthologies of work, one which incorporated illustrations.
The Koestler Trust’s aim is to encourage detainees to lead more positive lives by participating in the arts. 1 in 4 entrants received a cash prize. The deadline each year is April/May. The spring months at HMP Magilligan will see the creative writing workshop focusing on preparing work for submission. We wish to encourage new writers as well as the already participating writers to submit work. We can provide pen and paper.
Commended Award: GD
Inspired by an Urban Myth
A young man called Dazzler had just moved in to a block of flats in a normal council estate with his wife and pug. He was happy with their new home. It was quiet enough and there was a beach nearby. The beach had a path that ran from Belfast to Kilroot Power Station. One night Dazzler decided to take his little pug Rocko for a good walk. He passed through the tunnel that took him straight to the path and onto the beach.
He was walking along the shore and he saw someone out on the sand, standing right out by the water. He studied the person for awhile before seeing it was an elderly lady.
Without too much thought he went to see what this elderly lady was doing out so late and why she was so near the water.
She must be freezing, he thought as he got closer. She was wearing only a night gown and an old house coat over it.
‘You’ll catch your death,’ Dazzler said as he reached her.
‘Oh, don’t you worry about that young man, there is no hope of that.’ Her voice was low and raspy. ‘I’m ok, but why are you here so late yourself, it’s very late and very cold.’
The dog wouldn’t stop barking at this mysterious lady. Usually Rocko wouldn’t bark at anyone, not even another dog.
As they got talking they decided to walk together. The elderly lady told him about her life, she came from an Elder Care Home not far up the road.
‘Won’t you get in trouble once they see you are missing?’ Dazzler asked.
‘Not any more son, I come and go without any hassle these days.’
The elderly lady wanted to know more and more about Dazzler. She asked very personal questions but he suspected she was just lonely and had no-one to talk to.
As it got colder she still didn’t shake or show that she was bothered by being outside. Dazzler suggested that they head on their way after another while.
‘Do you need a hand getting back to the home?’ He asked. ‘Yes,’ she replied and pointed towards the dark tunnel. They walked towards the dark tunnel and Dazzler assumed that the elderly woman lived in that direction. His phone began to ring. It was his wife Tasha and she sounded upset.
‘Get home now,’ Tasha said. ‘We need to get out of this flat. I’ve just seen something online after a neighbour told me something interesting.
Dazzler excused himself and was about to run off. First he asked the elderly woman would she be alright to make her own way home. She never answered but smiled a mysterious smile.
As Dazzler got back to the flat his wife was sitting by the computer. The picture on the screen was of the elderly woman that he has been walking with. The headline read “Scorned Wife Kills Ex-Husband’s New Wife and Children”. The address where the killings took place was Dazzler’s new home.
The Time In team were debating the pros and cons of education. We decided to send DMcC to interview RH to find out if education in prison works.
What age did you leave school at?
“I left school at 15 with no qualifications”.
What did you think of your time at school?
“I hated school. I just couldn’t wait to leave”.
What encouraged you to sign up for education in Magilligan?
“I wanted to get an education that I should’ve got at school”.
What difficulties did leaving school with no formal qualifications present?
“I actually got by okay. I had my own taxi company but I lost it when I came to jail”.
Does education in prison work?
“Yes it does and I am proof of that. I now have qualifications in maths and English and IT”.
Will it benefit you upon release?
“Yes, it will benefit me a lot. I’m leaving jail unemployed and these qualifications will show employers that, yes I’ve been to jail, but that I used by time constructively. Plus you need these qualifications nowadays for most jobs”.
Is education in Magilligan an enjoyable place to be?
“Yes, I’ve really enjoyed my time learning. The teachers are great and have more time to spend on you than my schoolteachers did, which is what really helped me get through my exams”.
Does it encourage you to broaden your education beyond the essential skills?
“Yes I read a lot more now, I use the jail library every week and have talked it over with the wife about maybe going to the tech when I get out of jail to get more qualifications if I don’t get a job, because I’m not the sort that can laze about the house or sign on the dole”.
Why bother with it anyway?
“Not only do you get qualifications, but going to education gets you off the wing, and my time has flown since I started education”.
An Essential First Step
Have you considered improving your educational qualifications during your time in Magilligan? Why not undertake an Essential Skills programme which is delivered by experienced tutors from the North-West Regional College?
What are Essential Skills?
Essentials Skills programmes help you to improve your reading, writing, use of number and computer skills
Why are Essential Skills so important?
Essential Skills programmes will help you to:
read newspapers, magazines or books that are of interest to you
complete application forms and apply for jobs
help your children with their homework or read them a story
successfully manage your income
use the internet to keep in touch with family and friends
improve your speaking and listening skills
gain City & Guilds qualification, that are recognised by employers, which will help you to get a job.
Will it be like school?
Absolutely not it is like being at a Further Education College where you are supported by experienced tutors who will assist you to:
learn at your own pace
practice how to use the skills you learn in everyday situations
gain meaningful qualifications that employers recognise and which are essential if you wish to gain entry to workshop programmes like Metalwork, Joinery or Plastering.
How do I join an Essential Skills programme?
If you would like information on how to join an Essential Skills programme please contact Residential Staff or your Sentence Manager who will arrange for us to get in touch with you.
Bedding Down
With autumn at an end and the chill of winter blowing in, most of us want to wrap up and jump into a warm bed.
Plants and other flora are no different. It’s that time of year when the colourful displays dotted around the prison are being up-rooted and brought indoors to survive the frost. You may have seen heavy-laden wheel barrows being trundled up and down The Phase. Dahlias, Sweet William, Pelagoniums, Fuscias, Begonias and many more are currently being transported to the poly-tunnels. There, they will be given a through MOT old soil removed, dead-heading, and any remaining flowers and long stems are removed, then re-potted. They are then stored together in groups to await the first rays of spring sunshine.
The process can seem quite extreme. Dahlias especially are reduced to just a few tubers which are stored in soil in a dry, dark place. Nature seems to be out under pressure as a glorious bloom is given a haircut to the scalp. Hibernation mimics death but life lives dormant within those few remaining green stalks. Winter will soon be over and those plants that look so defunct now will soon stretch and wake from their beds to greet us again.
Remembrance Day
As Part of this year’s commemorations the gardening team in Magilligan have produced a range of floral displays that will be exhibited around the prison. A host of beautiful flowers and plants such as Cyclamen, Pansies, Ivy and Creeping Jenny are presented in decorative ceramic pots. Poppies did not make the cut but they can be seen during the summer encircling the trees alongside Healthcare. One special feature is a miniature wooden wheelbarrow which overflows with colour. Although it and the mock milk pails are for decorative purposes only! Any of us lucky enough to leave via Golf 2 can also view the new arrangement in the fire truck there.
Winter Chill(i)
To combat the cold many seek to heat their taste buds. Chillies, sadly, are unavailable to us except in a Blue Dragon variety but here are some facts about the vegetables that make our eyes water.
Scovilles is the unit that a chilli’s heat is measured in. Sweet Peppers measure zero, Jalapenos up to 5,000, Habenero up to 350,000, and Smokin’ Ed’s Carolina weighs in at a mouth blistering 2.2 million!
Capsaicin is the compound within a chilli that makes it spicy.
Chilli Peppers grow in South American and were cultivated 6000 years ago. Christopher Columbus is credited with importing them to Europe in 1492.
The longer the chilli remains on the plant the hotter it becomes. Some varieties turn green to black to a fiery red which produce a sharp bite at the back of the throat. JM
Health professionals agree that modern man needs 2,500 calories per day to maintain a healthy body weight. In the 1800’s prisoners were lucky to receive 500 calories. Epidemic typhus or jail fever was brought on by overcrowding, poor health, body lice and unsanitary conditions. Hard labour quickly consumed what little energy prisoners had. Don’t let this put you off your food. Thankfully health care, sanitation, fitness programmes, and improved prison menus have eradicated this terrible disease. Here are our seasonal recipes submitted by you.
Jelly Desert
Ingredients
2 Packets of Jelly
2 Tins of Custard
2 Packets of Chocolate Angel Delight
1 Tin of Fruit Cocktail
1 Tin of Strawberries
Chocolate of your choosing
Method
Dissolve the packets of Jelly in boiling water
Add the fruit cocktail and strawberries before it sets
Pour the 2 tins of custard on top
Add both packets of chocolate Angel Delight on top
Sprinkle chocolate of your choosing on top and buen provecho!
Tortilla Wraps
Ingredients
Tin of ham
Tin of mushrooms
Cheese slices
Barbeque Sauce
Tortilla Wrap
Method
Chop the ham and place on the George Foreman Grill to heat
Add the tin of mushrooms
Place onto the tortilla wrap and add the chesses slices and barbeque sauce
Add the hot Pepper Sauce, wrap and place on the George Foremen Grill
Wait 3 minutes and buon appetito!
Christmas Cake
Ingredients
Crunchy Nut Cornflakes
2 Bags of Salted Peanuts
4 Yorkie Bars
2 Crunchie Bars
Method
Place half a bag of crunchie nut cornflakes into a bowl
Melt the chocolate bars together
Add to the Crunchie Nut Cornflakes
Add the salted peanuts
Allow to set and gero apetito!
Prison Pizza Surprise
Ingredients
One Slice Plain White Bread
Sweet Stir ‘n’ Sauce
Ham
Pineapple
Mushrooms
Sweetcorn
Cheese slices
Method
Cut the crusts off the bread
Paste generously with the sweet Stir ‘n’ Sauce
Add finely chopped ham, pineapple, mushrooms and sweetcorn
Cover with cheese and place on a George Foreman Grill
Cook and bon appétit!
Dean’s Christmas Cuisine
Ingredients
2 Ginger Nut Biscuits
2 Tins of Custard
Coffee
Cheese Spread
2 Packets of Angel Delight
1 Tin of Strawberries
2 Aero peppermint bars
1 Crunchie bar
Method
Place the ginger nuts in a clear plastic bag and break
Place in a bowl and add the 2 tins of custard
Add the coffee and cheese spread and mix together
Add both packets of Angel Delight
Open the tin of strawberries and cut in half
Break up and add 2 Aero peppermint bars
Crumble and top with a Crunchie bar
Chill and guten appetit!
DN
The Holy Priest and the Cursed Frog
By Luke Younger
‘Father Eamonn was going to have dinner on that particular day with his religious leader, The Right Honourable Archie Bishop and his assistant, The Rev Morris Minor, and close advisor to all Ireland, Rev. Dr. Austin Carr.
He was in a bit of a sweat as he didn’t know the purpose of the invitation even though they were all contemporaries and had attended the same seminary St Judes in rural County Cork near Skibereen. They were old friends and had met several times in the past, but never all together. It has to be serious or is it my imagination? He thought to himself.
Was it a move to Outer Mongolia or another backwater? Belize? Sure, didn’t they send Bishop Brennan there for his carnal sins. Is it going to be a reprimand for some misdemeanour? Perhaps he’d been chosen for advancement to Monsignor? My God he had deserved it. He was as devout and scholarly as any other colleague and every week without fail had filled the ever empting coffers of the Holy See. He just didn’t know.
Anyway he had to get to Malborough Street, the seat and Palace of His Grace. It was built using white sandstone streaked with blond and grey granite blocks at each right angled corner. It stood adjacent to The Church’s main Cathedral which was built with the same stone. He had to get there fast because to be late meant certain death, proverbially speaking. So a taxi it had to be as any other mode of transport meant he would be close to dead.
A convivial evening was had by all those present in the wood panelled dining room and study which had a cream ceiling with cornices and central decoration made of cherubs and angels covered in gold leaf.
Old and new jokes abounded. Reminisces of old friends and not so old were narrated. They all enjoyed themselves to the limit.
Plenty of good food and an excess of excellent alcohol and fine wine was consumed. The chat was about old times and not a mention of anything bad, but nothing good either. By the end of dinner the good Father was well
inebriated if not even well oiled. He made his excuses that he was on duty for early morning mass and confession and departed.
He didn’t know the reason for the dinner and was still somewhat worried.
Although he was well over the limit, he was aware of his situation and decided to take a walk through a nearby municipal park which wasn’t too far out of a direct way home, and also he also didn’t want to face the wrath of Mrs Devlin, until he was a bit more sober. She was his housekeeper and a devout Christian who considered all alcohol as the drink of the devil.
He wanted to keep her sweet. She knew too much. He entered through the wrought iron gates of the park just off South Connelly Street. When about half way in and near the central pond, which at that time of the year was full of mating frogs and the spawn of that act. In a verdant area surrounded by Rhododendron and Laurel bushes he heard a wee small voice.
‘Please help me.’
He peered around in the gloom as the street lighting hardly penetrated the thick foliage, but could see nothing. He continued for another couple of yards thinking that he might be drunk, but not that much.
Again, he heard,
‘Please help me’
He looked and again could see nothing.
‘Please help me,’ said the unseen voice. He could tell from the accent that it came from a good area of Dublin, probably Blackrock, certainly south of the city.
At last he determined where the voice emanated, close by the tarmac path. It was a common frog, green-brown in colour, and covered in warts and nodules.
He was rather startled, took a step backwards doubting his senses, and then stretched out his hand to the stricken amphibian which immediately jumped onto his outstretched palm.
‘How can I help you, and how on earth can you talk?’ He said to his new found companion
‘I’m really a boy and was cursed by a witch because one of my bitter enemies who owed me money, paid her to do so. She is part of a very strong coven based in the Mountains of Wicklow behind the seaside town of Bray.’ The frog replied.
‘That’s very interesting and what do you want me to do?’ The much sobered priest said, feeling a little queer.
‘Well I’m very hungry and would love a well cooked bacon butty as I hate all the pond weed I’ve been eating over the last few months. It’s tasteless, slimy and not at all appetising.’
So at that the kindly Father took him home and fried some streaky bacon which he sandwiched between two slices of wheaten bread and fed it to his by now ravenous salivating friend.
‘Could you please help me to raise this terrible curse? I’ve been told that if I sleep in a priest’s bed overnight. By the morning, I’ll be turned back into a boy.’
And that Ladies and Gentlemen of the jury is the conclusion of the opening Statement for the Defence.’
Air Max, the Choice of Celebs!
Air Max is undoubtedly the most popular running shoe ever made and I want to know why? I personally love Air Max and I think they’re so much better than any other shoe in the world. First off, it’s the shape. The shape is unique and no other trainers have this feature down to the 10 mm heel-to-toe drop. This is something unusual for a neutral running shoe. And the distinctive designs that are used to create the shoe. Like the Air Max 95 which is based on the human anatomy, where the spine resembles the human spine and the laces are the ribs with the different materials representing skin, ribs, and tendons.
Inside Christmas
I just got off the phone
It was a call to my wife
She told me everything was ok
And everybody’s alright
I asked about Christmas
And how she would spend her day
That’s when she let out a sigh
And said ‘but you’re so far away’.
And it doesn’t stop there. Air Max created another pair of instant classics with the Air Max 2015. Which I think are the best pair yet. The feature a retro colour line and have a molded sock-liner with an internal bootie that gives the Air Max 15 unparalleled levels of cushioning as well as a nice comfy fit.
People simple love Air Max because of what they have become. Let’s face it they are always in the media and are the choice of celebs. They look spot on with a good pair of jeans or a tracksuit. You can’t go wrong.
Can you guess which Celebrity is wearing these Air Max?
Final PriMedia Meeting
Time In was praised as an example of a prison magazine that comes from a successful writing and ICT project at the final PriMedia meeting in Rotterdam in October. PriMedia were established to identify good practice in the application of ICT & Multimedia in offender learning. The main aim of the project was to disseminate good practice in prison education across Europe and beyond.
Representatives at the conference along with the Northern Ireland, Prison Arts Foundation (NI) were the South West College, Omagh (NI). Also included were the College of Teachers, London (UK); Sønder Omme Prison (Demark); Amitié, Bologna (Italy), the Dutch Ministry of Security and Justice; Halden Prison (Norway); Aviona Prison School (Greece); Polo Europeo, Verona (Italy); The Catalonia Department of Justice (Spain); SEEDS for Growth, London.
The Conference included a visit to PI Krimpen aan den IJssel in Rotterdam. This prison, built 20 years ago is one of the largest in the Netherlands. The perimeter was adapted to blend in with the industrial environment. The prison accommodates 468 detainees in different regimes including cell block, remand centre, Extra Care Provision (EZV), and (life-sentence) prisoners.
Our speaker was overseer to one section of the prison that focused on prisoners with 2 years or less of their sentence to complete. He outlined skills including learning Dutch and writing that can aid prisoners returning to society. Drug rehabilitation is vital while basic skills are encouraged like the use of computers for buying a ticket and how to use a bank machine.
In particular, welding is the skill taught in PI Krimpen. With the need for boat builders in Rotterdam, the prison can accredit the prisoner after a 2 year apprenticeship in boat building. The prison bakery offers a basic accreditation, and certificates in cleaning are also offered. These certificates are crucial work experience for returning to the community. The certificates are issued by the Department of Education. The prison has a long-term relationship with various companies helping prisoners to gain an employment recommendation. There is a government run work incentive scheme and wages are topped up for the first 2 years.
50%-60% of the prisoners are foreign who have the same rights as Dutch prisoners. The prison library contains books in many languages which is stark evidence of the various cultures. E-readers are being introduced within the next 2 years. This will see a reduction in the need for the library. E-learning is seen as crucial, not least owing to financial cut-backs and the reduction in teaching staff.
There is approximately 50% reoffending; this corresponds to the experience in the rest of Europe, although recidivism in the Netherlands has dropped in recent years. Facts and figures from (2014): the Custodial Institutions Agency (DJI) in the Netherlands lists 45,600 new detainees annually with 12,388 in detention on any single day. 94% are men and 6% are women. The cost per place per day in a prison/remand centre is €253. Placement in a correctional institution for juvenile offenders costs €608; a place in a forensic psychiatric centre is €508 and a place in a detention centre for foreign nationals is €168.
The prison tour lasted 45 minutes in the extremely regimented environment within the maximum security prison structure.
Other talks at the conference included a presentation by Lauren Visser (CIO Dutch Prison Service). His presentation centred on the potential of purpose built prisons that supported new technologies which would improve education and reduce recidivism.
Gamification, according to Visser, could be used to educate and stimulate right modes of behaviour. Gamification can be used to practise social skills and reflect on behaviour. It could also be a tool for anger management and moral reasoning; predicting patterns in behaviour and changes in behaviour.
Visser believes that IT could be used as an information tools for inmates as well as films on diet, medication, hygiene, house rules, televisual visits, video links with doctors, apps for contacting counsellors, reading aloud, and virtual leave or excursions
He emphasised that prisons have to consider the impact of ever-changing technologies; less people management and the use of robots (South Korea already uses robots in prisons).
The keynote speaker Wim Veen (author of ‘Homo Zappiens’) shared his research and experience of working with young adults using ICT for communication and learning.
‘Veen initially worked with school ‘drop-outs’ who had demonstrated psychological problems, autism, and antisocial behaviour. He took a facilitation approach and asked them ‘what would they like to learn?’ He has studied delaying learning, and what young people are interested in? This brought up the concept of ‘earning a living from gaming online’.
Gaming sessions are organised as a ‘network party’. Devices give control of the information. There is no reading of manuals; you can integrate with friends worldwide.
Veen emphasised the fact that ‘violent games do not cause violent behaviour’ and stated that this has been repeatedly illustrated. He said that ‘violent games’ actually offer problem-solving strategies and significantly the generation that engage with gaming are the generation for whom learning is playing.
Gaming is an opportunity to experiment with social roles in online communities. Veen explained what makes gaming garages popular. You can choose a strategy, build a city
(decision making), you share and collaborate, work alone or with others. Sharing knowledge is not new, and the younger generation share through visuals. Apps are an instrument of communication while books are a way to have a dialogue with yourself. Gaming teaches that you can win by sharing and that access is more important than ownership.
Guest speaker Annet Bakker, Chairperson European Prison Education Association gave an overview of the work of the organisation. They have over 600 members and are a NonGovernmental Organisation. The organisation is made up of prison educators, administrators, governors, researchers and other education related professions.
The organisation aims to provide an independent platform for education; exchange best practice and research, education and detention, easy access, clear correction policy and practice, and protocol for actions. They are ambassadors for good education and have regional representatives. Their magazine is currently being edited by prisoners in Scotland, which is a first for the project.
Guest Speaker, Aetzel Griffioen’s presentation considered the role of philosophy in prison, caring for the self, and 21st century skills. He referenced the work of Pierre-Félix Guattari, the French psychotherapist, philosopher and semiologist who founded both schizoanalysis and ecosophy.
Griffioen posed questions around how to reduce recidivism; what is employability; how to behave better; selfstyling and what is a city, and what is a human being?
Michel Foucault’s book Discipline and Punishment (1976) was referenced. Jeremy Bentham’s work and the concept of the ‘King’s Power’ to use power as discipline. The model of a prison is a model for power. The panopticon architecture centred on the guard tower and the cell structure.
Griffioen stated that ‘creativity’ is the most important skill for the 21st century. This is true, also for the economy. It is the key to being able to compete and work towards employability. ‘Skill is will’; if you don’t have the application, then it is not the right skill for you. Another maxim based on the philosophy of prison and prisoners was the change from ‘ill’ to ‘will’. Feedback-loops are created through education models which give back to the lower levels as you progress.
Alan Clarke, co-ordinator of PriMedia, closed the conference, giving an overview of his experience as an actor and educator within the context of working on projects in prisons. In expressing thanks, he performed an acapella song written by himself and set to music by the Musician-inResidence along with the prisoners in Maghaberry, NI.
The Time In team visited the Art class where inmates can study for a G.C.S.E. It is therapeutic, relaxing and helps to pass time in a positive and constructive manner. Different media can be used to recreate images which have caught the eye. The Art teacher has a Degree in Textiles and Fashion and a Masters in Art Therapy. “People prepare a portfolio, using as many mediums as possible; they refine and decide on pieces and do investigative research. Students chose a word to reflect their work, e.g. CC decided to use ‘Veiled’. The veiled women here was used in G.C.S.E and the PAF exhibition. Other words chosen include ‘Transition’, ‘Profile’ and ‘Convoluted’.”
Art from HMP Magilligan in the Prison Arts Foundation’s mixed media exhibition in the Crumlin Road Goal. The exhibition showcased creative projects which PAF have been involved in last year. Featuring art by those who have come into contact with the Criminal Justice System in Northern Ireland.
The Power of Love
As long as I hold on to the people that care for me when I’m broken
I’ll always feel needed, cared for and loved
They say what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger
But I don’t believe that I think it makes you stranger, angry and sad
Strength comes from the good things in life
Family, friends, satisfaction from hard work
These are what makes you feel whole
We all have love in our hearts
So never give up, not on love
Because love is one of our greatest traits
Live, love and laugh
And live on in the hearts of those you cherish.
GD
Flashback
A lead guitar solo rips through the
Atmosphere like a bolt of lightning
Turning on a switch in my mind
Lighting it up like the sun
Rushes of Adernaline surge through my body
Like a series of bombs going off beneath my feet
An instant hit of life that reminds me
I’m alive
And a flashback of the magic that lies
Beyond these walls
Mirror Image
I saw a person today
His face looked so familiar
He didn’t seen to want to smile
But it looked like he had a grin
As I went closer his eyes were
Full of pain, you could almost
See his soul
It’s when I went to touch
His face my hand became his
And his face became mine
I don’t want to see this person
Again, as I know I am that man.
Choices
Choices don’t come in colours
It’s not just black and blue
Which one you pick will determine
The thing that’s good for you
Choices carry dangers
The wrong road won’t get you through And picking out the pitfalls
Just leaves you feeling blue
Choices never tell you
Until it’s too late
Walking down the wrong road
With your nose against the gate
Choices don’t weigh much
But they become heavy in the end.
When left in the balance of living
Because choices never end.
How I Feel Inside
This is a place, with no heart or soul It will eat you up, throw you out Numb, where most of the people don’t understand Who or what they are dealing with Or how to deal with the person behind the prisoner
We are people, not numbers This place is the end of the road And each and every time I come back It has stolen a piece of my soul
The Doctor’s Remedy
So tired of being sick I can’t wait to feel well
The doctor gives me tablets To keep me in my cell
There is one cure for me
The doctor won’t prescribe It’s to walk out that gate And see my family smile.
Lonely Nights
Years have past and scars are there Memories haunt my every dream It doesn’t heal the way I thought it would
Lonely nights are all I have
Life
I now have a mark on my name A mark I can’t remove
People I didn’t think were friends Are friends who visit me here
Now as those friends go away I go back to me cell
I think about what I had That has now been taken away.
Off Your Face-Book
Cold sweat seeps from my skull
Drips down my face
My whole body trembles with frustration, agitation and consternation
My fingers twitch relentless, continuously grasping and tapping
But there is nothing
I feel so distant, lost and out of touch
FOMO (fear of missing out)
Disconnected, I need my fix
Reality
I’m not so sure
What’s on your mind
I’ve lost my mind
Status up-date: complete mental breakdown
Extract 3
It’s like the euphoric chess game in the sky there is gonna be some moves knights clashing in the still night of royal blue
there are pieces missing and some not in their place well, I’ve got time
I’ll wait until I get it right you’d eat your own hand just to get away from the wrongness of it all, I’ll just have to wait the sun even shines on a dog.
Done in 60 Seconds
There he is standing staring all alone and not caring all he sees is peace when all we see is the hate and the gate closing behind him
The bad boy all alone gone from where he belonged frightened to close his eyes but excited to open them and see the sky rather than what’s in his mind.
Prison Boy
Prison boy got out one day
To find his true love had gone away
When he asked the reason why
In her words she did reply
‘Dig my grave and dig it deep
Place a rose upon my feet
Troop a dove above my chest
To show the world
I did my best’
So all you girls
Bear in mind
So if you find one
Love him true
Always a day away. Selected Poems
Prison boys are hard to find
‘Cause prison boy will die for you.
Extract 5
Depression is where at night you go for long walks stopping, straining to hear and listen for the beating of wings on a star-struck royal blue frosty night or the angel of death and disappointedly turn away at the silence
you return home despondent you say to yourself well, maybe another day this is the depressed person’s lament.
When the Wind Blows Through Barbed Wire
The desperate bargaining and pleading
Denial and anger building
To a crescendo of angst
The slow erosion of self-respect
Carried by the wind like litter
Coming in and out of Jail
Like the tide at Magilligan shore
This sad inevitability is the worst cage
Extract 37
Yesterday and tomorrow
Always a day away
Every which way you go
“Welcome, James. It's been a long time. Now finally, here we are...You came across me so many times, yet you never saw me. What took you so long?” Ernst Stavro Blofeld ‘Spectre’
Spectre. You can look at Sam Mendes' (American Beauty, The Road To Perdition) latest venture into the James Bond world in one of two ways:
1/ You can appreciate the hark back to the days of old the 60s and 70s in particular.
2/ Or, you can be gobsmacked at his logic in devolving the Bond character back into silly quips, preposterous action set pieces even by Bond standards and a cliché ridden script and storyline. Not to mention the waste of a fantastic cast.
I would land in the latter side of these options and it's a real shame. The story delves into the important and very relevant topic of surveillance and does it pretty well but still manages to be a rubbishy rehash of James Bond stories that just about passed in the Connery and Moore days. The dialogue was mostly reminiscent of being at a pantomime and I have to emphasise the criminally bad use of Christoph Waltz (Inglorious Basterds, Carnage) and Lea Seydoux (The Lobster, Blue Is The Warmest Colour). And whoever thought that using Dave Bautista (Guardians Of The Galaxy) as a sort of 'Oddjob' from Goldfinger type character was a good idea needs their head examined. It's as if Sam Mendes lost his marbles when conceiving this load of tripe. I wasn't a huge fan of Skyfall but it is infinitely superior to this. The forward thinking take on Bond that has been prevalent since Casino Royale and Daniel Craig taking the helm has been thrown to the wind. Another element that confused me was that while it was a massive two and half hours long, it thankfully flew in. Skyfall absolutely dragged in, yet I came out relatively satisfied. Disappointed and confused are the two feelings that I left the cinema with. What were you thinking, Mr Mendes!
Papillon. Henri Charrière (nicknamed ‘Papillon’) was born in 1906 and imprisoned for a murder he did not commit. He was transported to the French colony of Guiana in 1931. 42 days after he arrived he made his escape. The first of nine.
Papillon stayed with a local Indian tribe and generally lived a full life of adventure. When he was recaptured he was sent to solitary confinement, and then, to Devil’s Island notorious for poor conditions and high mortality. Devil’s Island was probably the most horrific prison on the planet. It was where the worst convicted criminals were sent for brutal punishment and hard labour. The darkest corners of your imagination are ‘Dismal-Land bemusement park’ compared to this place. No-one had ever escaped from this prison until Papillon made a makeshift raft from coconut sacks.
Some reviewers have accused Henri Charrière of not writing the book on his own and fabricating the adventures and plagiarising other stories. He had been accused of taking the idea from a Pulitzer prize winning novel I Escaped From Devil’s Island by René Belbenoit. However, the book Papillon is a masterpiece and a testament to one man’s tenacity, pursuit of freedom, and sense of justice. If you are ever feeling low and unsure of yourself, this book will put things into perspective and lift your spirit because it is about the spirit of endurance. And no matter how much is thrown at you, if you remain strong there is always hope. Remember the word ‘Papillon’ in French means butterfly.
Time In at the Movies...
Sicario. Canada's Denis Villeneuve (Prisoners, Incendies) is one of my favourite directors of the moment. His move into Hollywood gathers momentum in the best possible manner, as he doesn't partake in genre hugging like so many directors do or are forced to and the variation in his choice of actors keeps everything fresh. The only formulaic behaviour that I can see in his films is his exceptional attention to detail, fantastic cinematography, his expert use of tension and the dark subjects that he tends to cover.
In Sicario which means hitman in Mexico he tells a murky tale based around the modern war on drugs in the US and Mexico, and follows Emily Blunt (Looper, The Adjustment Bureau) as an FBI agent who is given a chance to work with a newly formed, clandestine anti-drug unit consisting of a multitude of intelligence, military and law enforcement agents. The team is led by the darkly enigmatic Josh Brolin (True Grit, The Goonies), while the brooding and mysterious Benicio Del Toro (Traffic, Che) is soon brought into the equation as a wild card operative from Columbia who is clearly in a position of power. Once the bodies start to pile up after a baptism of fire in her first operation while delivering a drug king pin from Mexico to the US, Blunt begins to suspect that this is a world apart from her FBI experience where rules of engagement are normally adhered to.
There are few 'good guys' in this film and the sinister feel compounded by a splendidly eerie droning soundtrack is constant. As soon as Brolin enters the film Del Toro is on top form and at his menacing best, reminiscent of his role in Fear and Loathing In Last Vegas while Blunt is at a possible career best as the FBI agent who is brought into a world where she might just be out of her depth.
Taylor Sheridan is the writer behind this and the man clearly knows his stuff. The film may be brutal in it's premise but it oozes class and intelligence as it seamlessly switches through the intricacies of the various anti-drug operations to the highly stylised but credible action sequences that Villeneuve is well known for. Of a similar slickness to Zero Dark Thirty but a complete antithesis to it as it is not a piece of US government propaganda. Far from it, in fact.
Sicario is an intelligently made, no-holds-barred critique of the crookedly vicious cycle of violence and despair that is the war on drugs in the US and Mexico. I have little to criticise in the depiction bar one action scene in the final stages but that doesn't detract from the blisteringly harsh and very believable performances from the leads, the razor sharp script/story, and Villeneuve's Midas touch with shoot-outs and fight choreography, and his ability to get under your skin with the conclusions to his films.
I impatiently wait to see what he does with the next Blade Runner film.
The Hateful Eight
Quentin Tarantino attended a Black Matter Rally in October and publicly commented on Police brutality in the United Sates. "When I see murders, I do not stand by...I have to call a murder a murder, and I have to call the murderers the murderers." Several Police groups have agreed to boycott his new movie The Hateful Eight which is due for release on the 25 December in 70mm film format only. The film is set several years after the Civil War in Wyoming, and revolves around eight strangers who seek refuge in a stagecoach stopover on a mountain pass during a blizzard. The film will be released in cinemas on 8 January, 2016.
Die Hard 1.
Bad Santa 2.
Trading Places 3.
Home Alone 4.
Scrooge 5.
Fairytale of New York
Here at Time In the best Christmas song of all time has been chosen and our Musician-inResidence Paddy Nash agrees about Fairytale of New York. We decided to dig a bit deeper and find out a few facts about this extraordinary Christmas hit song.
It was written by Jem Finer and Shane MacGowan. The idea originated over a bet with Elvis Costello that they couldn't come up with a Christmas record that would not be slushy. It was released as a single on the 23 November 1987. The song was kept out of the number one spot by The Pet Shop Boys cover version of Always on My Mind
The song is an Irish-folk style ballad and was featured on The Pogues 1988 album If I should fall from Grace with God produced by Steve Lillywhite. Lillywhite brought the tapes home and had his wife Kirsty MacColl record a scratch vocal. Her voice was so good they decided she should duet with MacGowan.
The song has reached the Top Twenty in the UK on eleven occasions and was certified Platinum in 2013 having reached 1 million sales in the UK. The song has sold 1.18 million copies as of November 2015. In the UK it is the most-played Christmas song of the 21st century.
At the start of the video for Fairytale of New York Matt Dillion plays the cop pushing Shane MacGowan through the police station. Coincidentally, Shane MacGowan was born on Christmas Day.
Musicians & Singers Welcome
The music class are always looking for original songs Why not send us your lyrics and if they’re good we’ll get the band to put some music to them. You never knowmaybe you’ve got a number one hit just waiting to be discovered!
A Place At The Table
By Paddy Nash
A red robin sits
On the shed you built for the kids
As the rain takes the good out of winter
And your sad Santa sack
Makes it way to the front of the stack
On this silent and grey Christmas morning
And I have no doubt that wherever you are
These next few hours will be twice as hard
But if you find the courage without the one or the two
There’ll be a place at the table for you
The lights on the tree
Have yet to work right for me
And for the first time today your name is spoken
But I cannot ignore
All the tears you left at the door
And I hate that I miss you this morning
And I have no doubt that wherever you are
These next few hours will be twice as hard
But if you find the courage without the one or the two
There’ll be a place at the table for you
A photograph, a Christmas past, a nervous laugh
Memories so cruel
The street springs to life
As we make our way outside
And I welcome the sounds and the commotion
If all goodwill and cheer Is lost on me this year
Then the least I can do is to keep trying
And I have no doubt that wherever you are
These next few hours will tear me apart
So please find the courage
Without the one or the two
And I’ll have a place at the table for you
There’ll be a place at the table for you
Paddy Nash
Fairytale of New York
Blue Christams
Notice: Welcome to RANT! If you have something you would like to get off your chest, please submit articles for consideration to us here at TIME IN via the Education Centre or the library. Please note that offensive material will not be published.
it’sNOTfair!!!
The Watery Gravy
The food we are served is almost entirely carbohydrate, which is converted to fat in the body if it is in excess to daily energy requirements. Considering that we are in a prison where we spend a large part of the day standing, sitting or sleeping, perhaps fibre would be better.
The average person needs 1.8g of protein per kg of body weight. When we are served Curry or Goulash sometimes the portions contain one lonely piece of meat, floating around like a solitary stool in the pan. Paninis and Quiches for that matter are always soggy. Why? I think they must cook them and then add water to the trays. The same with the mixed vegetables, they arrive swimming in the trays.
Pawns on a Chess Board
Why did the prison move over 70 people from H3 and other houses all over the place. It was like some cruel game of musical chairs. Or, maybe the authorities were playing some variation of chess; Jimmy King has to move one square while Charlie Knight and Frankie Bishop go to the other side of the board.
The upset they caused was widespread. Inmates get used to their cell and neighbours. Friendships are made and the routine becomes familiar. The cell is made personal with photos and art-work and it becomes a home.
The Chicken a la King is watery, the custard is watery (and flavourless), the gravy is watery (and flavourless) but the sweet chilli sauce needs water. Why can we not get a proper choice of fruit in our tuck list? Oranges are not the only fruit! I want to go to McDonalds (the height of my culinary aspirations nowadays). The beef burgers are frightening. The percentage of meat must be lower than 10%. Lips to the hooves must go into the grinder. The puddle of fat that is left on the plate and the smell of it is enough to make hardened criminals cry.
What can be done? Who’s gonna do it? Where are you Jamie Oliver? You’re on your organic farm with your fresh fruit, vegetables and stress free meat!
Disruption is unavoidable in prison life; however, this particular incident was pointless and mismanaged. H3 reopened shortly afterwards and the work was never done.
This might have been for many reasons. But one thing is certain, money was wasted at a time when every penny counts. Alpha now has bunk beds in many rooms and although they are mostly not used, there is no sign of them being removed. The prison expects inmates who have been in a cell for months, or maybe years to move just in minutes. ‘Right, get your shit together. You’re going to H1. You have 5 minutes’.
Maybe we are just pawns in the game?
. If you have children at home, and are worried about them missing out on activities like bedtime stories, then read on.
■The Big Book Share is an interactive programme developed by the Reading Agency, which enables children to listen to a story read by their parent (or grandparent) and, if they wish, to read along too. Background music, poetry, sound effects and personal messages can be added to the recordings. Illustrations and other images can be added to CDs and covers.
■The Libraries Northern Ireland project believe that ‘prison punishes families as well as offenders it can take away the vital role of a parent, often a father, in the formative years of his child’s life. Reading can help
to keep the family bond strong and can help a parent in prison to be a positive role model to his or her children.’
■The Big Book Share currently has around 50 prisoners participating at Magilligan. Elaine has worked hard to encourage prisoners to participate in the programme, which can be enjoyed in a relaxed and supportive environment. She points out that ‘many prisoners initially feel a little awkward about the idea of recording their own voices. But the lads encourage and support each other, and participants and their families have benefitted enormously from the programme’.
■If you are interested ask a class officer to pass your name on to Elaine on ext. 65477.
No Bars To Reading
Have you heard about Turning Pages the Shannon Trust Reading Plan ‘by prisoners, for prisoners’? Here in HMP Magilligan, help is available to all prisoners who wish to improve their reading and writing skills.
Independent of the prison ‘establishment’, Shannon Trust was founded in 1997 by Christopher Morgan, a farmer from Sussex. In the early nineties he joined a pen-friend scheme run by the Prison Reform Trust and began corresponding with a life sentenced prisoner, Tom Shannon. Through Tom’s letters, Christopher learned about prison life and the shocking levels of poor
AD:EPT provides a range of services to people in custody who have problems with drug and alcohol use.
We work in a 3 prisons, and have experience in helping people associated with being in custody. All our workers are trained professionals who offer a sensitive and confidential service.
●If you would like help and support with a drug or alcohol problem, there are several ways you can contact us.
●Ask an officer on the landing to arrange it.
●Ask your medical officer or probation officer to refer you.
●Ask at your Induction/Core Harm reduction meeting.
●Ask at your resettlement meeting.
Have Faith?
literacy amongst prisoners. The letters were put together in a book entitled, ‘Invisible Crying Tree’, royalties from the book were used to found Shannon Trust and over the next few years and a lot of experimentation the ‘Shannon Reading Plan’ really began to impact on the lives of non-reading prisoners. A major breakthrough came about in 2011 when Neil Lodge, a prison officer at HMP Wandsworth took an interest and went on to develop Christopher’s ideas further. Enabling prisoners to teach other prisoners, ‘Turning Pages’ now operates in nearly every prison in the UK and has won many awards for its positive contributions to learning in prison.
If you would like to find out more about Toe by Toe, please contact Alison at the Education Centre
Prisonis, to alargeextent, a reflection of society in general, and the spiritual needs of inmates are catered for here in Magilligan, as outside. The main denominations have chaplaincies, but others are also accommodated. You can contact achaplain by asking your class officer to phone the office and leave a message. You can also have a request put on the computer system or you may speak to a chaplain at the Sunday Service and make appropriate arrangements. Roman Catholic, Combined and Free Presbyterian services are held on Sundays at 9.00, 9.15 and 9.30 a.m. respectively. Foyleview services are on Wednesday (Free Presbyterian) and Thursday(RomanCatholicandCombined) from 4 – 4.30 p.m. If you require materials relevant to the practice of any other faith, please make chaplains aware of your requirements.
Scott Adams (Cartoonist)
Have you heard about the Creative Writing Group? It is an interactive series of classes in Creative Writing funded by the Prison Arts Foundation, which, encourages prisoners from all backgrounds to develop their skills in a relaxed and supportive environment.
If you are suffering from dyslexia you can take part in the programme. While dyslexia can affect your daily life it need not be a barrier to further education, storytelling or the creative arts. One prisoner who copes with dyslexia told Time In how he was supported by The Creative Writing Group. He initially felt a bit awkward sharing his story with the group. He said ‘the facilitator and the group encouraged and supported me. This was totally different from how I was treated in school, where I was insulted by other pupils and even teachers because I couldn’t read at the level I was expected to. This sapped my confidence and made me feel very frustrated. The Creative Writing Group gave me a sense of being valued and it was great to see my own story developing and reaching print where it was read by other people.’
If you have a story to tell but find it difficult to write, the Creative Writing Group will help you to record it in writing and can also help you to practice reading it, so that you can fully develop your ideas and share them with others.
Connectar
Training & Biodiversity Trust work directly with ex-offenders and other disadvantaged groups. We harmonise our two core aims of offender rehabilitation with our biodiversity aim of saving the honeybee in the UK. Employment is a key issue in stopping re-offending rates.
Connectar's accredited training course is a City & Guilds backed woodworking machinery skills training course. This provides our clients with relevant qualifications that enable them the opportunity of securing employment within the woodworking industrial sector. Without these qualifications our clients would not meet the standardscurrentlydetailedinemploymentorhealth and safety laws. Within the woodworking programme clients will manufacture bee hives and other wildlife habitats as part of Connectar Biodiversity. The biodiversity training includes organic bee keeping and bee hive management includingtheplantingofbeefriendlyfloraandfauna in the vicinity of donated hives. Connectar's emphasis is on honey bee survival and not on production ofbee hive products.Within our 'Donate and locate' projects, bee hives and other animal shelters will be donated to appropriate locations, schools and other organisations to help in their charitable or educational aims, as well as our own aimtosave the honeybee. ConnectarCharity will show that biodiversity conservation, productive agricultureandtrainingthedisadvantagedinspecific roles are not only compatible, but mutually beneficial. “Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to Keep”
Cruse Bereavement Care
Helping you when someone close to you has died
When someone dies we can have many different feelings. We can feel abandoned, angry, guilty, numb, tired, shocked, isolated, helpless, sad, anxious, lonely, shame. If someone close to you has died, you can feel sad or upset. But Cruse Bereavement Care is here to help! Bereavement just means losing someone important to you through death. The death could have happened recently or a long time ago. The feelings that we have after someone has died can be called grief. Everyone experiences grief differently – there‘s no right way to feel after a death.
Grief can make it difficult to get on with everyday things. You may not feel like doing even small things or you may find it difficult to concentrate. Talking about how you feel when someone has died can help you understand how you are feeling. Cruse Bereavement Care are volunteers from the community and do not work for the prison service. Cruse will offer you an hourly session with a volunteer on a weekly basis – you can decide with the volunteer how many weeks you would like to use Cruse. When you meet you can talk as much or as little as you want and the volunteer will listen and provide support. Your volunteer is there to help you understand why you are feeling like you do. All you need to do is fill in a Cruse referral form, or ask your Class officer to contact Cruse. The Cruse Coordinator in your prison will then make an appointment with you to do an assessment. After this you will be allocated a volunteer who will usually see you each week on the same day.
Owning to a lexicographer strike action the word ‘gullible’ has now been removed from all Oxford and Collins dictionaries as from November 2015.
Older editions in Libraries and public offices have been redacted. Check it out. You will not find it.
Can you find the correct definition of these words?
1. Sorghum a. medical care b. Irish dancing c. grass d. chemicals e. stone
2. Missive: a. letter b. impatient c. ball-point pen d. large home e. toothbrush
3. Incivility: a. lonely b. empty c. rudeness d. unfair e. insomnia
4. Inane: a. hopeless b. forbidden c. small d. fired e. silly
5. Nickelodeon: a. TV Station b. aircraft c. tank d. jukebox e. coin
6.
...Answers on back page
A ballroom dance, a ball sport, a place to stay, an Asian country, and a girl's name. What's her name?
This chess King has to visit every square on the 5x5 board, once, and once only.
However, this King can only move up/ down or left/right, and cannot move diagonally.
How can the King complete this challenge?
Using the BrainTracker grid below, how many words can you find? Each word must contain the central W and no letter can be used twice, however, the letters do not have to be connected. Proper nouns are not allowed, however, plurals are. Can you find the nine letter word?
Excellent: 35 words.
Good: 25 words.
Average: 18 words.
Xenophobia: a. racial hate b. vivid c. virus d. political viewpoint e. racial fear
Crosswordsolutiononback
Across
1. Christmas hymn
3. The original Santa Claus
4. A bird traditionally eaten on Christmas dinner
6. A crystal of snow
7. Stepfather of Jesus
10. An evergreen plant producing white berries
13. A traditional Christmas drink
14. Vehicle used by Santa Claus
16. Santa enters the house through this
18. Circular Christmas decoration for the front door
W A I S Y O R D L R R R A G N L S O E L I D O P S A L L O R A E D K O S W K J I
E M P S R A E F X N U I M Q S A O H C T
E A A H T N M G Y S A T U O U N L C L N
H M Y O A R D O M E N N C H T D M I A E
X L S V F R E I N D E E R S T A Z O U G
M M A T E R A Z Z I A R H Y A X N T S C
Y R H A C K E N G I O C S A G P O S E B
F N E T R E V A L I H C L J G E W H X B
S P E A R C E S G U R D E N O E M I S D
Find the following uncontrollable geniuses, supreme wind up merchants and real reprobates of football : GBEST, PBREITNER, ECANTONA, PGASCOIGNE, DMARADONA, LMATTHAEUS, HSTOICHKOV, ZZIDANE, NANELKA, JLCHILAVERT, LFERNANDEZ, GGATTUSO, OKAHN, JLEHMANN, AHOSSAM, SPEARCE, JMPFAFF, FRAVANELLI, WROONEY, DWISE, PBLONDEAU, EDIMECO, RDOMENECH, CGENTILE, VJONES, RKEANE, MMATERAZZI, PMONZON, JCMOZER, KMUSCAT, CROOL, HSCHUMACHER, DSIMEONE, PVIEIRA.
TO MAKE IT HARDER FOR YOU WE HAVE PUT IN THEIR FIRST INITIALS IN FRONT OF THEIR SURNAMES--WE CAN BE B*STA*DS TOO!
‘You can let the man or the ball past, but never both’ (Pedro Monzon)
What do you call a reindeer with no eyes?
no eye-deer
What do you get when you cross a snowman with a vampire?
Frost bite
How many prison officersdoesit take to change a light bulb?
We don’t know.Theyhaven’t done it yet!
What happened to the man who stole the Advent calendar? He got 25 days!
JesusHowdidMaryandJosephknowthat was 7lb 6oz when he was born?Theyhadaweighinthemanger!
Who is Santa’s favourite singer? Elf-is
Why did the turkey join the band?
Because he had the drum-sticks!
What do you call people who are afraid of Santa? Claustrophobic!
Ba-dum-TSH!
Why does Santa have three gardens?
because he can hoe, hoe, hoe.
How did Scrooge win the football game?
The ghost of Christmas passed.
What did Father Christmas do when he went speed dating?
He pulled a cracker!
What famous playwright was afraid of Christmas? Noel Coward!
☺*Have you got a funny joke - you can see we desperately need a lot of help in this department - why not send it in for the next issue? - (keep it clean-ish)*
We now know the 24 teams that will compete in Euro 2016 from the 10th June to 10th July . The draw will take place in Paris on the 10th Dec. It is impossible for the N. Ireland and the Republic of Ireland teams to play each other unless they both win their groups. Each group is made up by a team from each pot. Pot 1: Spain, Germany, England, Portugal, Belgium and France. Pot 2: Italy, Russia, Switzerland, Austria, Croatia and Ukraine. Pot 3: Czech Republic, Sweden, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Hungary. Pot 4: Turkey, Republic of Ireland, Iceland, Wales, Albania and Northern Ireland. There will be increased security around the tournament after the recent terror attacks.
Jonah Lomu, the first rugby superstar has died. The youngest ever All Black, Lomu first played in 1994 at the age of 19. He won 63 caps and scored 37 international tries. I was lucky enough to see him play against England in 1995 when he earned the nickname “The Bulldozer” scoring four tries. After a Kidney operation in 2004 he made a comeback but retired in 2007.
Inside Magilligan there was a football match played between the officers and prisoners in aid of the British Heart Foundation. The Security Governor also played with officers and gym staff and they managed to win (although some say C+R techniques were used unfairly).
Russia became thefirst ever country to be suspended from international athletics, because of widespread doping. Officials of the I.A.A.F. voted 22/1 in favour of the ban (with Russia voting against.)Russia has said they will co-operate as they are desperate to compete in the Rio de Janeiro 2016 Olympics. Lord Sebastian Coe chairman of the IAAF has resigned from his ambassadorial role with NIKE over allegations of favouritism in awarding events.
Crossword Answers
Riddle Juliet, all of the listed things describe a part of the NATO phonetic alphabet: Foxtrot, golf, hotel, India, and finally Juliet.
This cannot be done, no matter what route the King takes, there will always be at least one square unvisited.
