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When thebreaks up, Derek Del Boy Bicknell ( that he has not been invited to join the co – asks if he could have a private ithfor you to read,’ he says I walk across the ground floor from Cell 9 to Cell 6 After he’s offered me a selection of paperbacks, I discover the real reason he wishes to see me

He wants to discuss his appeal, and produces a letter frorounds for his appeal appear to be that his foro into the witness box when he wanted to He subsequently sacked the solicitor and his QC He has since appointed a new legal teaine rounds for appeal is that he is unable to read or write, and therefore never properly understood what his rights were I look up at a shelf full of books above his bed

‘You can’t read?’

‘No, but don’t tell anyone You see, I’ve never really needed to as a car salesman’

This is a prisoner who carries a great deal of responsibility on the spur He’s a Listener and number one on the hotplate I earlier described him as a edshort story, ‘The Bell Ringer’ However, it’s still going to be a disadvantage for hiin to wonder how ory, and worse, just won’t adrounds of appeal with Del Boy line by line He listens intently, but can’t make any notes

845 pm

Lock-up is called so I return to hted to face – another pile of letters left on reater tomorrohen the papers infor to an open prison, after Ecauldron

I’ve now fallen into a routine,difference is that I have little or no control over when I can and cannot write, so I fitlock-up is designated for reading letters, break, followed by going overthe book of the week, break, undress, go to bed, break, try to ignore the inevitable rap music Impossible

Every time I finish the day’s script, I wonder if there will be anything new to say to curve, I’ve nowhere near reached that dizzy height But I confess I noant to leave Bel to walk in green fields and taste fresh air

Billy (lifer, writer, scholar) tells me it will be better once I’ve settled so when and where I will be for the rest of my sentence He’s been at Belmarsh for two years and seven months, and still doesn’t knohere he’s destined for Tony (marijuana only, escaped froo, I’ll be quickly bored if I don’t have a project to work on Thankfully, writing these diaries has solved that proble?

Day 14

Wednesday 1 August 2001

621 am

A long, hot, sleepless night The rap , so I was only able to doze off for the odd few minutes When it finally ceased, a row broke out between someone called Mitchell, who I think was in the cell above the music, and another prisoner called Vaz, ned the stereo below It didn’t take long to learn what Mitchell planned to do to Vaz just as soon as his cell door was opened Their language bore a faint reseue in a Martin Amis novel, but without any of his style or panache

837 am