What’s in a name?

 'That which we call a rose/ By any other name would smell as sweet’.(From Shakespeare's play, Romeo and Juliet.)  When we are born, we are given a first name, a surname, and some may have one or more names in the middle of those two. As we grow up, going through the education system, it is our surname which dominates and is used to identify us. It would sound a bit silly being …

Working in prison!

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 …

Don’t Quit!

It's usually around this time when things begin to wind down in the build-up to the Christmas holidays I start to reflect on the year, and what an incredible year it has been for me personally. Occasionally, whilst reflecting on the year my thoughts go back further. Nothing wrong in reflecting to see how far …

‘ello, ‘ello

"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 …

What did you learn?

Prison can be and is traumatic for some, for others it can also be retraumatising. You can say the same for being released from prison. However, those are negatives of prison that most of us are aware of. I would also assume most are also aware that prison can be, and is to some, criminogenic. …

RENYO

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, …

Prevention is better than the cure!

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 …

Education! education! Education!

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, …

What we see?

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 …

Another day to remember

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 …