One Hiccup Avoided

On home leave I must report to the local probation office who always ask, "Any problems"? And I am always tempted to tell them that no, there are no bodies under my patio and I resisted the urge to hijack a car to get to this appointment.... Not known for their sense of humour, they have to make do with a plain "No problems" from me.

But this time, due to a lack of coordination between probation and the prison, my time and day to report to probation coincided with my return to the nick. If I was being a smartarse I could have avoided this appointment, pointing to the details of my Licence.

In a fit of reasonableness, though, I made a couple of phone calls and a new appointment was set and I duly turned up, slightly early. Probation were in a minor fizzle, as they had me down for a different day. It seemed to be a glitch in the system that won't effect me. This time.

Such are the seemingly minor details of my life that could trip me up. The net that holds me may appear to be drawn of thinner threads but any one of them is capable of halting my progress in an instant.

There lies the strain of this process leading to release. And, as ever, it is not as much in my control as may be popularly believed.