Once upon a time all I wanted to do was to write something meaningful about the nature of the prison experience. I wrote a play which I sent to the English Stage Company at the Royal Court Theatre and their readers thought the writing to be of interest and wanted to have whatever else I had written, I had not.
I was then invited to chair a group of ex prisoners involved with the Peace Movement under the auspices of the Prison Reform Council with Lord Stonham as our Chairman. Our report, Inside Story 100 suggestions for Penal Reform, was well received as sensible and practical and we had an important meeting with the Lord Jellicoe, then Minister of State at the Home Officer and was followed by a debate in the House of Lords initiated by Lord Stonham. Later I studied Criminology at Oxford University. I provided views to the Royal Commission on Prison Reform and over the years I detached myself emotionally from the experience but whenever I encounter a film or documentary about prison life I relive aspects of my time. British prison experience used to be very British. I would be surprised if this was so today.
Thus it was so, the reliving of previous experience, this afternoon, as I watched the Brazilian film Carandiru, at San Paulo, Brazil. It was built in the 1920's and a 1929 silent film shows a clean organised prison with the emphasis on training, learning and work and the impression of a more productive environment that the British system some thirty years later which still had not been able to grasp that constructive work, further education and training and attending to psychological and emotional problems was the solution achieving reformation and rehabilitation. I remember some that when I said something about this, or wrote something to the same effect someone published letter criticising the approach reminding that I too had been a prisoner and thus underlining the point I was making that I and others who had taken political action had also broken the law and would need help to adjust to life afterwards. I received that help in different forms but most others do not, or the help they receive is inadequate to undo the layers anti social antisocial attitudes and experience beforehand.
In 1989 a young Brazilian doctor, Drauzio Vereliam, volunteered to visit Carandiru prison to undertake checks for HIV and returned to monitor and assist the prisons until 2001, subsequently becoming influential and writing about his experience, Estacao Carandiru (Carandiru Station). The establishment had become the largest of its kind in South America with 8000 inmates overflowing a capacity for half that number. It was also became a prison like no other in the UK with prisoners running the inside of the jail with gangs, rituals and its own justice system. Some lived well with everything from drugs, TV, personalised food and conjugal visits. There were many killers, some multiple, rapists, violent thieves and extortionists. The film, Carandiru is loosely based on the book by Dr Vereliam and which fictionalised the already fictionalised characters and which attempts to indicate some of the underlying forces which led to a riot in one block on Friday October 2nd, 1992, and where in the film version the men are shown as responding to the call of the governor to lay down their weapons and returned to their cells, after which the riot police then massacred 102 of the prisoners with their guns and further nine prisoners were killed by being stabbed by other prisoners. There is one stabbing shown in the film, before the riot.
The prison governor was original sentenced to 620 years in prison for his handling of the rebellion and massacre but this was overturned on the grounds that he was only following orders. He was subsequently assassinated for something said to be unrelated. While the massacre was rightly condemned, the film shows that the majority of those involved in the riot were the scum of Brazil who had never shown any mercy for their countless victims and afterwards many of the survivors formed themselves into a criminal terrorist organisation called First Command of the Capital and wielded extensive power until the authorities commenced to break up the culture which developed. The prison was closed in 2002 and the DVD shows footage of the infamous buildings being blown up. The film was shown as Cannes and other festivals and then at art cinema houses with some critical acclaim. It is a long film over two hours and provides some insight into modern day Brazilian Culture alongside other films such as City of God.
Talking of art house cinemas until this month Newcastle had makeshift art deco art film theatre and which has been closed over two years while major structural changes were made and during this time patrons made do with a one screen theatre within the old Gateshead Town Hall across the river Tyne. The older building had a Coffee room which became a good meeting place and there was also a separate street level bar café. There were several internal theatres of varying sizes and on the lower it was possible hear the metro trains rumble under the city centre. The first booklet about the reopening cinema this week suggests we now have an venue on a par with anything in London. There are now four screens and three food and a drink areas in the enlarged building, developed as part of he initiative which had hoped to see Newcastle Gateshead the European City of Culture, with the creation of the Baltic Contemporary art centre, the creation of the Sage world class music centre and the redevelopment of the Theatre Royal to be able take international level productions involving, musicals, dance and opera. One of the screens with sixty seats and its own bar sounds extra special with leather settee chairs and costs between £9 and £10 a ticket for an adult but with concessions being an OAP and a Friend the price reduces by £2. There are also concessions for the other screens lowering the price to £4.35 and £5.35. There is also a once a week over sixties daytime club for £3. The former Street level bar has expanded into a pavement café bar, and the former coffee rooms has returned, better with longer opening hours and a new bar created with drinks and snacks which can be taken to the Roxy and Electra Screens. The new Classic circle has its own private bar. I am looking forward to making a visit later in the week.
Sunday was otherwise a day of rest enjoying the last glass of Duca Petraccone Primitivio 2005 from Italy, not regarded as a good year for Italian wine generally because of the extensive rain which occurred during the late growing season, with the exception of Scilly and the Pulgia region where this wine is from. It accompanied some minted shoulder of lamb which I was tempted to eat the whole mini joint but held back for a stir fry today. There was also a prawn salad for the evening with the last of the Apple Strudel and ice cream. Back to fruit fruit and fruit.
The cricket was disappointing despite a full day but I enjoyed a repeat of Spooks especially as it reinforced my understanding that when the special service needs to go beyond the law it uses "Clean Skins" operatives where there will be no linking trace if things go wrong and they are caught. In fact I enjoyed this episode which involved using a 14 year old black whiz kid with a photographic memory, an ability to bring in or out of anything and plenty of individual attitude to steal from the French a clean missile which disabled all electronics within is radius which was about to be sold off by a rogue operative to the Chinese. It was more enjoyable even than Lost which takes the storyline closer to the final season, This week's episode ended with Locke being set the task of saving the Island by moving it!
I also decided not to wait to make up the new wicker hanging baskets transferring the Petunias from the green tub baskets but filling the centres with Mimulus Mystic Trifle Mix and Hurrah Peach Sorbet Mix of Petunias, and then also filling the centres of two of the green tubs which have a Fountain mix of Trailing Lobelia. These three large trays of plants were available for £9 whereas had I bought just the two trays needed they would have cost £8. However this does mean I am one long container short. I also have to fix the green tubs to their new position so another visit to Asda or BQ is required, but either way I will walk as it is a fine morning.
I was then invited to chair a group of ex prisoners involved with the Peace Movement under the auspices of the Prison Reform Council with Lord Stonham as our Chairman. Our report, Inside Story 100 suggestions for Penal Reform, was well received as sensible and practical and we had an important meeting with the Lord Jellicoe, then Minister of State at the Home Officer and was followed by a debate in the House of Lords initiated by Lord Stonham. Later I studied Criminology at Oxford University. I provided views to the Royal Commission on Prison Reform and over the years I detached myself emotionally from the experience but whenever I encounter a film or documentary about prison life I relive aspects of my time. British prison experience used to be very British. I would be surprised if this was so today.
Thus it was so, the reliving of previous experience, this afternoon, as I watched the Brazilian film Carandiru, at San Paulo, Brazil. It was built in the 1920's and a 1929 silent film shows a clean organised prison with the emphasis on training, learning and work and the impression of a more productive environment that the British system some thirty years later which still had not been able to grasp that constructive work, further education and training and attending to psychological and emotional problems was the solution achieving reformation and rehabilitation. I remember some that when I said something about this, or wrote something to the same effect someone published letter criticising the approach reminding that I too had been a prisoner and thus underlining the point I was making that I and others who had taken political action had also broken the law and would need help to adjust to life afterwards. I received that help in different forms but most others do not, or the help they receive is inadequate to undo the layers anti social antisocial attitudes and experience beforehand.
In 1989 a young Brazilian doctor, Drauzio Vereliam, volunteered to visit Carandiru prison to undertake checks for HIV and returned to monitor and assist the prisons until 2001, subsequently becoming influential and writing about his experience, Estacao Carandiru (Carandiru Station). The establishment had become the largest of its kind in South America with 8000 inmates overflowing a capacity for half that number. It was also became a prison like no other in the UK with prisoners running the inside of the jail with gangs, rituals and its own justice system. Some lived well with everything from drugs, TV, personalised food and conjugal visits. There were many killers, some multiple, rapists, violent thieves and extortionists. The film, Carandiru is loosely based on the book by Dr Vereliam and which fictionalised the already fictionalised characters and which attempts to indicate some of the underlying forces which led to a riot in one block on Friday October 2nd, 1992, and where in the film version the men are shown as responding to the call of the governor to lay down their weapons and returned to their cells, after which the riot police then massacred 102 of the prisoners with their guns and further nine prisoners were killed by being stabbed by other prisoners. There is one stabbing shown in the film, before the riot.
The prison governor was original sentenced to 620 years in prison for his handling of the rebellion and massacre but this was overturned on the grounds that he was only following orders. He was subsequently assassinated for something said to be unrelated. While the massacre was rightly condemned, the film shows that the majority of those involved in the riot were the scum of Brazil who had never shown any mercy for their countless victims and afterwards many of the survivors formed themselves into a criminal terrorist organisation called First Command of the Capital and wielded extensive power until the authorities commenced to break up the culture which developed. The prison was closed in 2002 and the DVD shows footage of the infamous buildings being blown up. The film was shown as Cannes and other festivals and then at art cinema houses with some critical acclaim. It is a long film over two hours and provides some insight into modern day Brazilian Culture alongside other films such as City of God.
Talking of art house cinemas until this month Newcastle had makeshift art deco art film theatre and which has been closed over two years while major structural changes were made and during this time patrons made do with a one screen theatre within the old Gateshead Town Hall across the river Tyne. The older building had a Coffee room which became a good meeting place and there was also a separate street level bar café. There were several internal theatres of varying sizes and on the lower it was possible hear the metro trains rumble under the city centre. The first booklet about the reopening cinema this week suggests we now have an venue on a par with anything in London. There are now four screens and three food and a drink areas in the enlarged building, developed as part of he initiative which had hoped to see Newcastle Gateshead the European City of Culture, with the creation of the Baltic Contemporary art centre, the creation of the Sage world class music centre and the redevelopment of the Theatre Royal to be able take international level productions involving, musicals, dance and opera. One of the screens with sixty seats and its own bar sounds extra special with leather settee chairs and costs between £9 and £10 a ticket for an adult but with concessions being an OAP and a Friend the price reduces by £2. There are also concessions for the other screens lowering the price to £4.35 and £5.35. There is also a once a week over sixties daytime club for £3. The former Street level bar has expanded into a pavement café bar, and the former coffee rooms has returned, better with longer opening hours and a new bar created with drinks and snacks which can be taken to the Roxy and Electra Screens. The new Classic circle has its own private bar. I am looking forward to making a visit later in the week.
Sunday was otherwise a day of rest enjoying the last glass of Duca Petraccone Primitivio 2005 from Italy, not regarded as a good year for Italian wine generally because of the extensive rain which occurred during the late growing season, with the exception of Scilly and the Pulgia region where this wine is from. It accompanied some minted shoulder of lamb which I was tempted to eat the whole mini joint but held back for a stir fry today. There was also a prawn salad for the evening with the last of the Apple Strudel and ice cream. Back to fruit fruit and fruit.
The cricket was disappointing despite a full day but I enjoyed a repeat of Spooks especially as it reinforced my understanding that when the special service needs to go beyond the law it uses "Clean Skins" operatives where there will be no linking trace if things go wrong and they are caught. In fact I enjoyed this episode which involved using a 14 year old black whiz kid with a photographic memory, an ability to bring in or out of anything and plenty of individual attitude to steal from the French a clean missile which disabled all electronics within is radius which was about to be sold off by a rogue operative to the Chinese. It was more enjoyable even than Lost which takes the storyline closer to the final season, This week's episode ended with Locke being set the task of saving the Island by moving it!
I also decided not to wait to make up the new wicker hanging baskets transferring the Petunias from the green tub baskets but filling the centres with Mimulus Mystic Trifle Mix and Hurrah Peach Sorbet Mix of Petunias, and then also filling the centres of two of the green tubs which have a Fountain mix of Trailing Lobelia. These three large trays of plants were available for £9 whereas had I bought just the two trays needed they would have cost £8. However this does mean I am one long container short. I also have to fix the green tubs to their new position so another visit to Asda or BQ is required, but either way I will walk as it is a fine morning.
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