We have a prison laundry that, amongst all the institutional products, will also deal with our personal clothing. Shove everything into a string bag, along with a list of contents, and chuck it in a trolley on a set day. Next day, voila, it returns.
And I never, ever make use of this facility. One of the major reasons that I believe I may still retain a vestige of sanity and dignity is that I have always adopted an attitude of being "semi¬detached" from the institution.
One small way of doing this has been by doing my own laundry. A bucket, washing power, and a little effort is all that is needed. Drying it is a pain, but that my cell looks like a collision between a laundry and a stationers is not something I care about.
It must be far too easy to sink into complete apathy and allow oneself to lean on the prison for everything. Of course, in many things we have little choice. Even then, it is a matter of attitude. Being dis-empowered is one thing; losing the sense of that is quite another.
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Hello Ben, I'm a new follower and found you via The Howard League blogroll. I have a good friend inside and also do a bit of prison voluntary work. I am enjoying reading back through your posts, which are both poignant and inspiring, and wish you all the best with your research.
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