16 September

ALFRED - FRIDAY 16TH. SEPTEMBER.

It is still dark, and I guess it is about 5 a.m., so I will stay in the bunk until I hear the dogs. The kennels are about 100 yards away, and somewhere between 5.0 and 5.30 a.m. they start to howl. I do not know if they are telling it aloud that they are hungry, or in fact and more likely the kennel man has turned up and is preparing their meal for the day. But their combined howling is a great noise. The strange thing is when they are with their handlers, as we pass through the ' park ', they look so tame, even though the notices tell us to keep at least 10 metres away, as they are trained to attack anyone they think is attacking the handler.
There is a short period of silence before the gulls and pigeons fight each other for what has been thrown out of the cell windows. The crows join them. After these have had their fill, the smaller birds, the wagtails, sparrows and tits come for what is left over. By this time, it is light enough, for me to start writing my diary, and I am already dressed.
How much difference a visit makest, on the day before. To have seen and spent time with Una, changes my whole approach to the time following. To have heard about the family and friends, and the phone callers and what they are saying brings the outside world into narrow life inside. How do those who do not have visits exist? I cannot imagine. I expect they look forward to the day of their release. From what I have been hearing, the future is not too great. Possibly, the same as before. The same temptations, and the same people that influenced before. The authorities know their previous record, and should an incidence occur, they immediately come under suspicion. And even if they had not been involved, but because they are under licence, they can be brought into a police station for questioning.
Some good news! My fellow inmate, who shares my cell, saw a social worker yesterday, and has been offered early release if he will accept a programme of testing and rehabilitation. I think he had been offered the same when he had been in prison before, but declined the programme, as it was not what he wanted, feeling that his mates might take the ‘mickey’ and shun him for accepting such a thing. But things are different for him now with a ready made family, and that his job had been kept for him, and he no longer resents the daily reporting to someone at first, which will become less frequent as time goes by.
I am to phone Una this evening about the visiting time to-morrow, but I learn that at weekends there is no evening association. The Staff have to have their weekends as well, and the wings only have a skeleton crew on. So I do not get a chance to phone her. However, knowing her, she will not rely on me, but will check up for herself.
On Saturdays the visiting time is at 9.0 am. I might get used to this change in routine, if I stay long enough. But I still have to ask someone these queries. But the other inmates are getting used to me, and are very helpful. It might help them to realise that other people need help. I have never seen anyone not being helped if they ask.
Anyway, It looks like an evening of television, no matter what is on; game shows and Coronation Street and the others. Unless one gets a look at a newspaper, it is impossible to know what is on the box. Here, one or two inmates seem to know what is on if you can find them when we go and fetch 1our food. There will be no other way of knowing.
When there is less staff on duty we eat in our cells. And as there is only one chair and a small table, one of us will have to sit on the toilet to eat. It is not usually me because my cellmate has consideration for my age, or something. It is very good of him, God Bless him!




UNA - SEPTEMBER 16TH 2005

Another day begins and Joel leaves for his day's work at 7a.m., and I start by cleaning windows, inside and out. When this was finished by 9a.m. I took a bath. The door bell rang as I finished. I wrapped myself in yellow towels and hurried downstairs and surprised the postman! He wanted a signature for a registered letter.
The amount of letters was less today, but among them was a one that made me sit up. It was from the Senior Student of the year before me at College who had never written to me before. She was impressed by the news of our stance against the perpetual increases in Council Tax.
On a personal note she freed me from a burden I had carried far too long, with her value of a student of our time, whose friendship I had valued but who had made me feel less than acceptable for years. This was due to a mis-understanding which created a silence between us that I was unable to change. This situation was unknown to the Senior Student. Now out of the blue, in this letter, I learned that I was not the only one to be treated badly by this person we had both known. When something like this happens the whole picture widens and a sense of understanding floods in. A burden had been lifted and I felt free to move on.

Something else amazing followed: I found a parcel that had been delivered, with a Marks & Sparks label on it, through the back gate and placed on the patio. It contained beautifully wrapped red roses and purple freesias. They were from Margaret Fisher, a kind 80 year old lady who lived in Hastings. She had warned me that they were on their way a few days ago, as had Christine. I remember her saying she would reorder them because I said at the time they had not come. When I took the empty box that the flowers had come in, to store in the garage, I noticed an identical box that I had hastily put there, days earlier, thinking it contained bulbs for the garden that Alfred had ordered. Truth dawned! I opened this box and realised that today I had acquired two identical bunches of flowers! I had no way of contacting Margaret Fisher to let her know the full story. I hoped M&S did not charge her twice for her generosity to me.
I know these lovely arrangements gave great pleasure for days, standing at each end of the sitting room mantelpiece.

Christine's morning phone call gave me the news that an Isitfair member had made a chart showing that from 1994/5 to 2005/6 the Council Tax increase was 109.1% The Daily Telegraph was interested in this staggering fact.

I arranged with the Prison, two visits; one for Christine, who was in our area at the end of September, and one for the Rural Dean, who was prepared to try a third time to see Alfred, bless him.

When I saw Alfred in the afternoon he said that after his Prison spell he was thinking of going to the Council offices to talk to the Councillors to urge them to wake themselves up and become better representatives of their electorate. It was good to see how energetic he felt. Being in Prison was not dulling him.
I told him about the Telegraph journalist, Nick Britton, who advised me about how to deal with his exit from Prison. He suggested that we hire a room locally, and state the time for a Press Conference. Alfred felt this was less hard than facing a barrage of attention immediately after his release. He told me that when the time came he would be told first, on October 4th, the exact time that he would be back in the outside world. Then we would be able to come and meet him to bring him home.
Later that day Joel agreed that these plans were sound. We started to think whereabouts in the Towcester area we would find such a venue.

On the way home I collected the local papers. They carried reports of Alfred being in Prison.
The ongoing dilemma of who had the power over the Debt continued, with the addition of a photo of the Council Leader, Sandra Barnes. She stated once more that the Cabinet would decide!
Again we seemed to be the only ones who were clear that the Council had no power over us once the Prison sentence had been served.
The Letters Page included one from Roger Helmer MEP. The accompanying headline suggested that Alfred should be awarded the OBE. What a thought!
Alongside this letter was a strong one from Christine, representing Isitfair and adding wider support from the national protest group.
When one of our local group, S.N.T.A.C.T.I., phoned to give details of a recent meeting with his M.P, Brian Binley, who was agreeing to present a petition in October in the House of Commons for Council Tax Reform, he deflated me by referring to Roger Helmer's letter as having missed the point over the Council Tax issue. Had he?

In the middle of all this was Alfred, sticking to his guns with millions now voicing their discontent towards this unfairly based Council Tax system, forcefully reported by the media since September 7th 2005, a 10 day stretch.