Read Online Heaven: A Prison Diary by Jeffrey Archer - Free Book Online
Authors: Jeffrey Archer
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Wayland.
At 4.04 he
faxes Spring Hill with the eight pages they requested. He receives confirmation
that they arrived at 4.09 pm. I’ll keep you informed.
4.15 pm
The senior
Listener, Brian (conspiracy to defraud an ostrich company), turns up at SMU.
He asks if the
backs of prisoners’ identity cards can be redesigned, as they currently
advertise the Samaritans and Crimestoppers.
Brian points
out that as no prisoner can dial an 0800 number the
space would be better used informing new arrivals about the Listeners’ scheme.
He has a point.
5.00 pm
Write for two
hours.
7.00 pm
Doug tells me
that the governing governor, Mr Lewis, dropped into the hospital today as he’d
read in the News of the World that I
keep a secret store of chocolate biscuits in the fridge.
‘Quite right,’
Doug informed him, ‘Jeffrey buys them from the canteen every Thursday, and
leaves a packet here for both of us which we have with my coffee and his Bovril.’
A week ago I
told Linda that you could buy a jar of Marmite from the canteen, but not
Bovril, which I much prefer. The following day a jar of Bovril appeared.
Prisoners break
rules all the time, often without realizing it. Officers have to turn a blind
eye; otherwise everyone would be on a charge every day of the week, and the
prison service would grind to a halt. Of course there’s a difference between
Bovril and beer, between having an extra towel and a mobile phone, or a
hardback book and a tea bag full of heroin. Most officers accept this and use
their common sense.
8.26 pm
Two officers,
Mr Spencer and Mr Hayes, join us in the hospital for a coffee break. We learn
that eleven new prisoners came in this evening, and only seven will be released
tomorrow, so the prison is nearly full. They also add that another prisoner has
been placed in the segregation cell overnight and will be up in front of the
governor tomorrow. He’s likely to be on his way back to Lincoln Prison. It
appears that a camera was found in his room, the third one in the past ten
days.
They also know
which newspaper is involved.
DAY 106 - THURSDAY 1 NOVEMBER 2001
6.19 am
In prison, you
don’t think about what can be achieved long term; all thoughts are short term.
When is the next canteen so I can buy another phonecard? Can I change my job?
Will I be
enhanced? Can I move into a single room? At the moment the only thought on my
mind is, can I get to Spring Hill? Not when, can. In prison when will only happens after can has been achieved.
8.30 am
Fifteen new prisoners in today, among them a Major Willis, who is
sixty-four. I look forward to finding out what he’s been up to.
Willis, Clarke
(the cleaner) and myself do not have to work because we’re all over sixty.
But Willis makes
it clear he’s looking for a job, and the labour board
allocate him to works (engineering).
9.30 am
Mr Hocking, the
security officer, drops in for a cup of tea. He tells me that Braithwaite, who
was found to have a camera in his room, is now on his way back to Lincoln. The
newspaper involved was the Mail on
Sunday. All the relevant papers have been sent to the local police, as an
offence of aiding and abetting a prisoner may have been committed.
12.30 pm
I call Alison.
Mary has been invited to Margaret and Denis Thatcher’s golden wedding
anniversary on 13 December. James will be making the long journey to visit me
on Saturday.
7.15 pm
Doug tells me
that his contact in the administration office at Spring Hill isn’t sure if
they’ll have me. I’ll bet that Doug finds out my fate long before any of the
officers at NSC.
8.15 pm
A fight breaks
out on spur six. It involves a tragic young man, who has been a heroin addict
since the age of fourteen. He is due to be released tomorrow morning. Leaving
ceremonies are common enough in prison, and an
inmate’s popularity can be gauged by his fellow prisoners’ farewells on the
night before he departs. This particular prisoner had a bucket of shit poured
over his head, and his
At 4.04 he
faxes Spring Hill with the eight pages they requested. He receives confirmation
that they arrived at 4.09 pm. I’ll keep you informed.
4.15 pm
The senior
Listener, Brian (conspiracy to defraud an ostrich company), turns up at SMU.
He asks if the
backs of prisoners’ identity cards can be redesigned, as they currently
advertise the Samaritans and Crimestoppers.
Brian points
out that as no prisoner can dial an 0800 number the
space would be better used informing new arrivals about the Listeners’ scheme.
He has a point.
5.00 pm
Write for two
hours.
7.00 pm
Doug tells me
that the governing governor, Mr Lewis, dropped into the hospital today as he’d
read in the News of the World that I
keep a secret store of chocolate biscuits in the fridge.
‘Quite right,’
Doug informed him, ‘Jeffrey buys them from the canteen every Thursday, and
leaves a packet here for both of us which we have with my coffee and his Bovril.’
A week ago I
told Linda that you could buy a jar of Marmite from the canteen, but not
Bovril, which I much prefer. The following day a jar of Bovril appeared.
Prisoners break
rules all the time, often without realizing it. Officers have to turn a blind
eye; otherwise everyone would be on a charge every day of the week, and the
prison service would grind to a halt. Of course there’s a difference between
Bovril and beer, between having an extra towel and a mobile phone, or a
hardback book and a tea bag full of heroin. Most officers accept this and use
their common sense.
8.26 pm
Two officers,
Mr Spencer and Mr Hayes, join us in the hospital for a coffee break. We learn
that eleven new prisoners came in this evening, and only seven will be released
tomorrow, so the prison is nearly full. They also add that another prisoner has
been placed in the segregation cell overnight and will be up in front of the
governor tomorrow. He’s likely to be on his way back to Lincoln Prison. It
appears that a camera was found in his room, the third one in the past ten
days.
They also know
which newspaper is involved.
DAY 106 - THURSDAY 1 NOVEMBER 2001
6.19 am
In prison, you
don’t think about what can be achieved long term; all thoughts are short term.
When is the next canteen so I can buy another phonecard? Can I change my job?
Will I be
enhanced? Can I move into a single room? At the moment the only thought on my
mind is, can I get to Spring Hill? Not when, can. In prison when will only happens after can has been achieved.
8.30 am
Fifteen new prisoners in today, among them a Major Willis, who is
sixty-four. I look forward to finding out what he’s been up to.
Willis, Clarke
(the cleaner) and myself do not have to work because we’re all over sixty.
But Willis makes
it clear he’s looking for a job, and the labour board
allocate him to works (engineering).
9.30 am
Mr Hocking, the
security officer, drops in for a cup of tea. He tells me that Braithwaite, who
was found to have a camera in his room, is now on his way back to Lincoln. The
newspaper involved was the Mail on
Sunday. All the relevant papers have been sent to the local police, as an
offence of aiding and abetting a prisoner may have been committed.
12.30 pm
I call Alison.
Mary has been invited to Margaret and Denis Thatcher’s golden wedding
anniversary on 13 December. James will be making the long journey to visit me
on Saturday.
7.15 pm
Doug tells me
that his contact in the administration office at Spring Hill isn’t sure if
they’ll have me. I’ll bet that Doug finds out my fate long before any of the
officers at NSC.
8.15 pm
A fight breaks
out on spur six. It involves a tragic young man, who has been a heroin addict
since the age of fourteen. He is due to be released tomorrow morning. Leaving
ceremonies are common enough in prison, and an
inmate’s popularity can be gauged by his fellow prisoners’ farewells on the
night before he departs. This particular prisoner had a bucket of shit poured
over his head, and his