Monthly Archives: February 2020

2019 – 75 – rant Rant: a moan about the drone Hello friend, I used to love the obiquetous Nordic Noir drone shot of a snowy forest – now the forest drone shot is in every mediocre drama to add a touch of Scandanavian sophistication. I can’t deny the beauty but it’s become so cliched
…Read More »

2019 – 74 – wage threat Wage Threat: horse… water… drink Hello friend, Over the past few months the prison have implemented some concerning policy changes regarding prisoners attending education. They’ve changed job descriptions to include education courses. The courses themselves are not important here; although, from the feedback I’ve been given, they appear to
…Read More »

Jimmy G CDs: Roll up, roll up…! Hello friend, My last blog on this was back in June (2019-26). As I said I would, I have obtained legal advice from a barrister who specialises in contract law. Well, well, well… interesting. Let’s put to one side that the agreement I signed had been knocked up
…Read More »

2019 – 72 – genx Generation X: the cool generation Hello friend, I only found out the other day that I’m part of Generation X – sometimes called the latchkey generation (not as cool). Apparently, we were slackers, cynical and disaffected in the 1990s but active and happy in mid life with entrepreneurial tendencies. The
…Read More »

2019 – 71 – transfer Transfer: How was your faeces and razor blade pie? Hello friend, I spied a couple of articles about Scottish prisons in this month’s Inside Time: “Contamination at the hotplate A prisoner was eating his food a tooth in it … a duty governer came and told us it wasn’t a
…Read More »

2019 – 70 – heart Heart: Have a… Hello friend, That was quick. I’ve got the cardiologist’s letter: “… at the MYHT Cardiac MDT… All members of the MDT concluded that it is inappropriate to proceed with angiography for limiting angina without first commencing anti-anginal treatment. The small risk of complications from coronary angiography cannot
…Read More »

2019 – 69 – heart Heart: Medication v Beans Hello friend, I recently saw the cardiologist (the one who nearly killed me with his betablockers): not that I was told about the appointment (no slip, no name on the board). After being picked up from work, I had a near 90 minutes wait to see
…Read More »

2019 – 68 – psychology Psychology: Being Sane in Insane Places Hello friend, Okay, the reference of ‘Being Sane in Insane Places’ is about psychiatry but the fundamental aspect holds true in a prison environment. The study I’m talking about was by D.L Rosenhan from 1973 – Google it and check it out. He set
…Read More »

2019 – 67 – psychology Psychology: A Culture of Deceit Hello friend, Two articles caught my eye recently in Inside Time. Firstly, it emerged at an employment tribunal that the MoJ were told in 2012 that its Sex Offender Treatment Programmes (SOPT) made sexual offenders more likely to reoffend. The MoJ blocked Kathryn Hopkins’ report
…Read More »

2019 – 66 – transfer Transfer (‘not anytime soon’) Hello friend, The latest news from the Scottish Prison Service is that my transfer won’t be anytime soon. Why? Overcrowding – the result of an ill-conceived sentencing policy. They are currently 700 prisoners over capacity. The Scottish Prison Officers’ Association are so concerned that they are
…Read More »