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>Well it took me a few false-starts, but I think I >finally gave all that up when I was in my mid-20s. >I did a turn at Whatton DC (6 weeks, 3 days of a 3 >month sentence) then 9 months of a 6-2 at Lowdham >Grange. They changed the regime from Borstal to Youth >Custody Centre (complete bollocks ... it just meant >the screws went from civilian-clothing to uniforms and >the sentences were changed to 12 months, with >release-elligibility at 8 months and later they >introduced parole for people with sentences of 12 >months). I then went back a couple of years later to >Lowdham for 9 more months, did some remand-time almost >instantly after release, did some more time as an >adult the following year (5½ months out of 6), then >did some more remand-time. Grand-total of around 30 >months. >After about 25, I finally straightened myself out a >bit and by 31 when my record was finally clean, I got >the hell out of the country. >I'm self-employed as a vendor at festivals and work an >average of around 100 hours a week during show-season, >80-odd of it on my feet. I'm 42, divorced, live in >Northern California, and have too much going on to >have time to think about crime. >I don't think Borstal or prison deterred me in any way >... it taught me to sew mailbags and shovel shit, and >while I met some absolute scumbags in there, I also >met some pretty nice guys in there who were mainly >there cos they were unlucky or did something stupid. >Most of them weren't hard-core bad-lads. > I was one of the youngest in the place when I went >there at 17, and now it's 25 years on since I was one >of the last Borstal Boys, I still think about the guys >I was on Stansfeld House with in Lowdham grange (The >FIRST purpose-built outdoor Borstal in the UK - Built >by Borstal Boys.) >They tried to teach us a trade or something to help us >be useful members of society when they kicked us out >with our Discharge Grant and a suitcase full of >clothes that even Stevie Wonder wouldn't be seen dead >in, and they tried to instil a sense of pride in us >with sports and other competitions. >Mainly I remember being scared a lot and looking >forward to getting my next letter. >I made it a point every time I was inside not to watch >tv (cos it was too depressing) but I read A LOT >(usually one book a day, and it's a habit I've still >got - along with squaring-off my tee-shirts when I >fold and put the bloody things away!! hahaha) >Anyway, I've probably rambled-on more than I should >have, but guys, please .... don't romanticise those >days as if it were some fun vacation or summer-camp >... it was organized savagery in the disguise of >discipline, peppered with slave-labour and shitty food. >On top of that, it created resentment and basically >became a finishing-school for juvenile-delinquents. >Most of us went in there knowing how to commit only >one or two crimes, but we came out almost fluent in >burglary, TDA, fraud, or deception. >Personally, I gradusted from petty-theft all the way >up to bouncing cheques and using bent credit-cards, >then committing fraud across half of Europe before I >called it quits and went straight. >I was lucky (or smart) enough to clean my act up >before I became institutionalized ... not all my pals >from those days got that chance. >I didn't get religion or anything like that, although >I DID stop drinking about 20 years or so ago. >Oh yeah, one last thing ... I ate my last breakfast >... every bit of it, porridge and all.

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