I did a 12 years sentence. Spent about two years at Holloway. A few months at the start then I spent years fighting to go back. I finished the last 18 months here. I was paroled in 2008. I was the first Cat D prisoner at HMP Holoway. I went out on license daily to study at London Met Uni and worked briefly in Holloway Rd McDonald's, however the staff refused to come out to complete the risk assessment forms so I had to quit. I had previously commuted three days a week from HMP East Sutton Park for 18 months to study drama and Access to Theatre in the Community at Clean Break in Kentish Town. I auditioned at RADA, ALRA and LAMDA and applied by UCAS to London Met to study BA Performing Arts. Once accepted I plead my case to be allowed to return to Holloway so I could attend. I was the first to go out to work or uni from Holloway. I paved the way for others. It was home to many. It's heartbreaking it closed. It was needed. Some of the staff could be evil. I was treated terribly because I attended Uni. They constantly tried to sabotage me and stitch me up with positive piss tests. I ended up being too scared and had to leave uni halfway through second year. I had no way of telling anyone on the outside what had happened. They stitched up the urine tests for all the women who got back off ROTL that day. I missed it because I was returning from Sheffield and my train became delayed. I did not dare leave again. They told me they would make sure I did not get parole. On the flip side there were also many wonderful and kind officers too. The day I returned to Holloway from HMP East Sutton Park I was driven by another prisoner (who also returned herself to Heat not long after me) As I was the first D Cat prisoner there, they wouldn't let me in at the gate. They could not believe I had made my own way there. Many times in that 18 months officers could not understand I was still Cat D. They thought I had been returned as a punishment not of my own choice. When I was finally allowed in, after sitting in the wall for hours and insisting the Governor who had agreed it all come to resolve the issue he then sent me home for three nights. I was a 'listener' for other women in there. Women in distress would send for me so they could talk. We received training from The Samaritans. I am currently writing a memoir. My prison story is totally unique. My story will also detail the events leading up to my imprisonment.
Here is one sample chapter if you are interested. I'm hoping to edit, craft and re-draft more and find a publisher. This is my most complete chapter so far. My second night of a 12 year sentence. I was 17.
onceuponatimeinghettomemoir.blogspot.com/2020/09/the-second-night-d-zero.html
