On March 19th, I returned to HMP Warren Hill to spend a day talking to prisoners about their experiences of prison life, from sentencing to release, and to understand some of the process, as well as hearing first-hand about their day-to day experiences. If you think that Warren Hill, a Category C prison, is an open prisoner for small offences, you are wrong. There is a mixture of people inside, but many, (indeed many of the prisoners I met) are coming towards the end of long sentences for offences such as murder. It is hard to believe that the people I was sitting with, chatting with, had been convicted of these offences, but most told me that the person who came into prison (usually they start with another, higher category prison) is not the person who will be leaving.
I approached my second visit much the same as I did the first – I took the person in front of me at face value – they are what they are today – on-one should be forever defined by their past, and certainly the positive atmosphere at Warren Hill seems to be doing a good job of nurturing and rehabilitating offenders, providing them with activities and education to help them re-integrate usefully and successfully upon release, even after 20 plus years inside.
The main reasons I returned were that firstly the Librarian had been interested enough to purchase several copies of my book, Burnt Lungs and Bitter Sweets, for the book group and for the library. I was really overwhelmed at the positive reaction to the book, but I also hoped it was inspirational in a small way. Some of the readers found it moved them to tears because the ending was so tragic and pointless, and all of them said they had read it in just 1 or two days, unable to put it down, feeling lots of empathy towards the protagonist, seeing themselves in the characters, and finding it really funny too, comparing it to ‘Trainspotting‘ in a favourable way, and really engaging with discussion intelligently and positively.
My book is about four punks, and their journey through life. It’s heavily influenced by music and littered with references to music of every decade they travel through, from 1976 to 2024, and is retrospective, starting in 2024, going back, and returning to 2024. They, and most readers love the idea that I have a playlist at the back, and the men found that the songs helped to make it clear which era they were in, with music to define the time and ‘put them in the scene.’ It’s about boys and men, with the females in the book not being at the forefront, but playing huge parts in shaping the protagonists’ lives. The prisoners’ reactions were the same as most – they were horrified at some of the stark realities surrounding drug use and they definitely wanted me to write another one with these characters, filling in the missing years in the story, and interestingly, more about the minor characters they found interesting. Most people have really connected deeply with this book, which I am really pleased about. It’s not for the faint-hearted as I don’t pull any punches – I use very dark humour and irony to explore addiction and crimes, but the reaction at the prison was that, I I hoped and intended, I had given the anti-hero a big heart, even when he did some bad things. There’s a lot of swearing, (something I don’t do to that extent in real life!) so if you can’t take bad language, it’s not for you, but if you can see past it ( and it is necessary for the characters, to make them real) you might enjoy it. If you do read it, please can you leave some sort of short review, as I am getting a lot of great reactions, but reviews are so important to get the word out to others! At HMP Warren Hill, they interviewed me for their magazine, and I’ll be back to run a writing workshop soon.
The other reason I visited, apart from a genuine interest and desire to inspire the prisoners in their own creative expression, was to talk to them about their experiences and feelings from sentencing to incarceration and beyond. My next book, with which I am progressing slowly and steadily, is partially set in a prison, and concerns an ‘ambiguous’ crime, so getting the process correct is important, but finding out the emotional and psychological impact on the offender is essential to the story. It was fascinating, and I learned a lot about daily life which I did not know. For instance, many care for birds and animals tenderly and with absolute dedication. And if you think it’s a joyride, with X-boxes, TV and money given to you, you are wrong. A prison wage is very meagre, and if you opt to cook your own food, you do have to buy it from your allowance at normal shop prices. Items like an X-box has to be saved for and purchased. I also think that it is a world set away from everything, where many prisoners have some sort of position of responsibility. Rather like the military, when they leave, they are suddenly not so ‘important’, and may not have as much support, having to do all of the things you have to do in everyday life, and it must be hard being thrust back into a full-on existence, when everyday living is perhaps the thing they struggled with int he first place. At least 50% of the prison population are neurodivergent – it could be more – so it’s an interesting statistic when you consider how some people are vulnerable and find themselves in trouble.
The support at Warren Hill, in so many ways, is unquestionably good, although all of the prisoners I spoke to said that it’s up to them to take that support and it works for people as long as they go in prepared to take responsibility for themselves. Warren Hill is a place where many are coming towards the end of sentences – they may have only 7 years or fewer left and see light at the end of the tunnel, so it is in their best interests to behave very well. However, its quite a process to move to an open prison (a D-Cat) and once prisoners are finally out on licence, it takes only a tiny thing, not just re-offending with the same crime, to re-call them back into the system where they then have to wait all over again.
Other work I have been doing this month is rehearsing for my shows: WORD HABIT at the Brewery Tap in Sudbury is a spoken word, poetry, comedy and fun show sure to entertain, with James Domestic.
I’ll be back headlining with James, supported by AJ Deane and Dawn Vincent on May 23rd at 2Siters Arts Centre in Trimley https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/whats-on?q=James%20Domestic%20 (ticket link)
AND APRIL 2nd to 6th at 2 Sisters Arts Centre, I’m appealing in (and singing) Operation Radar, which is a play about the development of radar at Bawdsey. The photo below show stills from our visit to the museum in costume, with Steve Roche as Watson Watt, Phil Cory as Churchill, Tom Haigh as Wilkins and myself as June Reedon (radar operator)
here’s the ticket link – selling fast so book ASAP! https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/whats-on?q=operation%20radar
I hope you all have a great month and that I spot you from one of my stages in April and May!
Virginia. xx
Virginia Betts 