The Visits

This is a story of the visits I made over the years to men in one particular prison. When I started, I had no idea of what the inside of a prison would be like and even less what kind of men I would be meeting. Some had short sentences, some long and one or two had no prospect of release. Mostly, they just wanted to talk, ordinary day-to-day conversation, with someone from the outside. It was a bit like chatting to an acquaintance you would bump into in your local High Street. Sometimes we sat opposite each other in a noisy, crowded Visits Hall. I have no idea what if anything the men gained from the visits. For myself, I learned a lot, so I wouldn’t have missed these visits. I was sorry when they came to an end.