My Time in Styal Prison in The 1950s and my return 13 July 2022 to Visit the Clink restaurant

My Time in Styal Women’s Prison First I must say I hope you have your hankie or tissues at the ready Well folks I knew this would make you think & hopefully have a read of my blog, yes its true when I was very young I used to live there, but the reality is that it used to be the local children’s home & after my parents divorced,( strangely enough my mother left me with my father which still seems very strange for the fact I was only just over two at the time) my father for a time could not cope so I went to live there, as did my brother & sister I was prompted to write this blog after reading another persons experiences at the same home, in a book they had written, sadly their time was described as terrible with beatings, lack of care & no positive experiences. Well for me sadly they did separate me from my older brother & sister and yes I did not see them for some years, wish I could ask someone now why, but I got used to it & now its to late But what was life really like there, was it as bad as others talk about living in care & the next best thing to the workhouse, was that other mans terrible experience the same for me (forgot to say he was there at the same time as me but he was older) Well for me as much as I can remember I was fed three meals a day, after eating kippers for the first time got bone stuck in my throat that has put me off fish that have bones in ever since, but that was not their fault, also I do remember someone pushing my head in a bowl of rice pudding, just cant remember who or why (did not put me off LOL) definitely not the staff The place was in its own grounds with fields of grass to play in, unlike the homes most other local children lived in, in the community, we had believe it or not regular holidays to places like Colwyn Bay, Lowestoft, plus other places I cannot remember which was at a time other children were lucky if they went for a day out to the seaside Whilst on one of the holidays I have always remembered us all going into a room to see the Queens coronation on a TELEVISION 1953, I had never seen one before in my life, plus they also showed Hilary climbing Mount Everest, what a thing to see, so much for the deprivation LOL What about those beatings, no I have to say at no time did anyone treat me like that & my recollection was only of kindness, one of the ladies known as Miss Mac, I later met in the local village & got to know her as a really nice person, she was particularly kind to me I also remember getting some sort of nasty illness (now think it was chickenpox)that was contagious so had to stay in the hospital there, the only other person was a little girl, but soon we both got better & returned to the main home. My dad used to know when we were playing out in the fields of the grounds & would sometimes come to the railings at the bottom to say hello, it was always a lovely thing for me, why he could not, or did not visit me in the home I never asked in later years, so its to late now so will never find out. Whilst in there I had a special friend called Billy ( I don’t know his surname ) and we used to play together, also whilst in there I had one of my three starring roles on stage in my life, I was one of the children in the Nutcracker suite dressed in my pyjamas, don’t know what I actually had to do, obviously it did not lead to a career on the stage. Well it doesn’t sound that bad does it, would I of been better as a latch door kid, being passed from friend to friend seeing little of my family with not enough food on the table as many other families were, I don’t know just it was one of those things that happened in a period in my life. I forgot to talk about Christmas, well it must have been terrible mustn’t it, because surely I had a terrible time with no parties or presents brought by Father Christmas, well wrong again, what a lovely time it was & so specially made for us, we were taken to pantomimes, to all sorts of parties at places like the fire brigade headquarters or the TA & as for presents well kind people made sure we did not miss out In relation to Christmas, many years later when working with young people in care, kind people would write in or phone asking if they could take in a child for that period from the home, often they were shocked when told no it was the most enjoyable time of the year & please come back in the new year & get to know the child for twelve months first, which I could truly relate to. Well I hope this has been an enjoyable read, it was my experience of that time I know my brother & sister came out of it at the age of 15 with very different views, my brother found it a positive experience & went on to have a great deal of success & a well rounded personality, in his sadly short life, whereas my sister never forgave my father & had a chip on her shoulder for the rest of her life So what’s the message in all of this, maybe life is what you make of it, we can either see it as a positive if at times sad, or we can spend the rest of our lives forgetting all the good bits as my sister & the author of the book did Sorry it just occurred to me, the funny little story many years later when my sister was with her husband & they were in the area, she got him to drive past the place & said to him hey guess what this is where I used to live, there was a silence before she had to explain that it was not the now women’s prison, but she had been there when it was a children’s home, they dined out on this many times. Another coincidence was that in the 1980s whilst working for British Rail as a booking clerk I used to go to do the accounts at Styal Station which is still open, as the tiny village has grown and grown, on a Thursday morning, inmates from the prison are released and some used to use a free rail pass to get home again partly on the train, but the village seems to of lost its sweet shop and war memorial and is now close to Manchester Airport which has grown and grown Update 13 July 2022, , after it closed as a children’s home 1n the 1950s, the buildings for a period housed Hungarian refugees, but when they left it changed into a women’s prison , which it still is A charity was created to help rehabilitate some offenders and is called Clink and a project at a number of prisons including Styal, was to open a restaurant and train inmates in a range of skills to improve their chances of getting employment when they leave the prison The former chapel at Styal is now a restaurant Today I went there with my friend Jane for a meal. What a beautiful setting and the menu although small contained some marvellous and very tasty dishes very well presented by the staff In the course of the meal, I mentioned I used to live there and the manager brought out a book of articles and photos that people had donated, whilst looking through it I found a photo of my brother Keith as a young boy, it really touched me, there were Also photos of the boys brigade, but of poor quality so I was unale to tell if any showed my brother who had beloned there. I have offered to return with a copy of this blog and some other notes as well as photos I have still in my possession, a nice touch was that the manager suggested coming earlier next time so we could have a longer chat about the material I will take, so yes another happy experience. I have recently discovered that at Manchester Library they have records of the children who were resident so I will arrange to visit there in the near future

Lockdown Week 7

Hello readers I first must apologize that its now a week later and I have only just got round to posting this blogg, obviously I have been far to busy with all the various activities I have been doing.
Actually the problem as so many others are finding is to actually make the time and decision to get round to doing things, rather than put off for another day

Lockdown Week Seven 12 May 2020
Well I thought I would write down here some of my thoughts whilst life is a little quieter at present, on how things have been and how I have coped.
But before I start on the main post, can I say many thanks to all the people that made it possible for me to survive through all that’s going on at present. This includes all the usual services such as NHS Police, Fire brigade, medical services, but not forgetting all the staff at shops and supermarkets that have enabled me to buy food etc, the delivery drivers and other staff that have contributed to this. The council workers emptying my bins, the people that keep the utilities still working as well as all the other people in life we take for granted in life, who work to keep our lives going such as the postal workers and post offices.
Firstly I have found it much easier to cope with more time at home in terms of keeping occupied, I have read, listened to music and watched TV a lot, plus rested, with occasional trips out to buy food, visit physio or to exercise, with little bit of gardening.

Before all this happened I filled a lot of my time with voluntary work, these days mainly round hearing issues and this was the excuse not to get on with tasks I needed to do at home, as I am exploring moving to ground floor accommodation. Unfortunately in reality, I have not spent as much time de cluttering as I needed to, although I have made some impression on what I need to dispose of when the tips and charity shops are again open.
Sadly one of the negatives has been the lack of contact from family, friends, and local neighbourhood. I have it seems at present 85 friends on Facebook, I have heard from a very small number of them, or made contact and still await a reply to my message. I read on various websites about how supportive some communities have been, what a shame the same has not happened where I live, there are 50 flats with elderly/disabled (vulnerable self isolating) people but nothing offering support to myself or others, from council, charity etc, apart from those known to the support agencies or with supportive family or friends. I do wonder how long it would have been if I became ill before anybody noticed, or if I was unable to summon help.
We are told that there is lots of help out there through the internet, but what about those who cannot use it, or like me struggle to hear on the phone, even worse those with mental health issues or dementia, that are not diagnosed yet, who are at a loss with all that is going on
Due to all this sitting round or lying down, it has messed up my body, due to lack of movement and the osteoarthritis throughout my body, so despite having at least one trip for a walk each day, I have still had more pain and movement requiring physio than I usually have. This is made worse because I was due to see the pain relief consultant as lockdown started, so back to waiting list and to see what eventually will be offered to assist.
A good thing that has come out of it all has been that I have discovered how many beautiful sunsets we have been having with the good weather, encouraging me to go out about 8.30 most nights with my camera for a longer walk to seek that elusive photo
A pleasant thing, is that I have got to know my neighbour across the way better, whilst keeping at a safe distance, what a fascinating life he has led, it just goes to show you cannot tell who or what a person is by looking at them, or what sort of life experiences they have had.

Whilst there have been so many people not working, so less traffic, how sad therefore the way so many drivers have been during this time, as the roads have been fairly clear, we would of hoped that they would drive within the speed limits and more safely, considering others on the road. Unfortunately when I have been out, it seems there has been even worse driving by many.
But why what is the rush. Even worse where I live on an estate, with many blind bends and a speed limit of 20 MPH why are they going so fast, made worse that, there are now, a former unusual sight of pedestrians on the pavements or crossing the road to avoid each over, often a family out for a slow stroll, oblivious to the hazards they are now facing. Please if you are one of these drivers, consider your speed, we don’t need any more people having to go into hospital or be killed.
At the same time, there are so many pedestrians, particularly families who are obviously not used walking out as a group for exercise, often with dad either stepping out at front or dragging his heels at the back (sorry not trying to be sexist but that’s how it seems ) They seem to of either never learnt consideration for others or forgotten. So when faced with other pedestrians seem to struggle with what to do if faced by people coming in their direction. There then is a range of actions, either as a group to suddenly step out in the road to cross to safety on the other side, oblivious of the car coming towards them. Ignoring the others and keeping to the their grouping so the other pedestrians have to cross into the roads, but just sometimes moving to one side and acknowledging the other party as they do the same.

Now what about shopping, well personally I have tried to get a slot with Tesco who I have used previously, but 7 weeks on, so far with no luck. I of could tried others, but then need to sign up create passwords, then most probably spend many hours hopping from site to site just in case. Luckily my mobility is good enough at present to either walk to the local shops and wait in the queue outside, what a shame people stand in silence, could be a good opportunity at a safe 2 metres to have a chat and make new friends/acquaintances, or when on way to Lidle or Aldi, they often so far have had short or no queues and being smaller are easier to get round.
When driving past Asda and Tesco I have struggled with how many cars there are on their carparks, its shades of Boxing day, when despite the months people have stocked up on goods, they still feel the need to go and buy more. I do wonder how many of these are people who are selfishly taking up many of the slots for home delivery, needed on an occasional basis by others similar to me who are classed as vulnerable.
After a health issue with my walking ability last year for 3 months, I got into the habit of stocking up so, because I live alone I could at least eat whilst when recovering, my cupboards hold about enough for a months supply. I had no desire or capacity to store more, so why have we heard so much about people stockpiling to such a huge extent, quantities it makes no sense, they will take maybe sometimes for years to come, before they get rid of it all. This as we all know now made more people panic buy as the shelves emptied, making something happen there was never a need for. I have read of people seeking multiple slots on home delivery or click and collect services, maybe it’s a new game to pass the time whilst stuck at home.
As I have walked to the shops or around the estate, I thought there would be lots of gardening, or children’s voices in the back gardens but no. Where are they all, we here in the north have had some really good weather, so are they all quietly sat in the back garden, or inside, maybe getting up late and going to bed early. I suppose there must be some people who are working from home and children being home schooled, but what a chance to enjoy time together in the sun at no cost, now that all our holidays are either cancelled or in doubt for the foreseeable future.
An irony is that my travel insurance was due for renewal and I was hoping to have a series of unforgettable holidays this year. One was the holiday of a lifetime to Canada, plus maybe a trip to Norway in the winter to finally go on that husky trip I have always wanted, but never mind there is always next year if needed, presuming the travel industry when this is all over can get its act together.
I hope you have enjoyed the read, when I have enough time in my busy life will try to do an update

Goodbye 2019 Another mixed year of Ups and Downs

Well as the end of the year gets closer, I do realize that I have not done as many Blogs this year, I think this is partly because its been busy in other ways and I did not want to become too boring
Thinking of the highlights, one has to be my trip to Norway as described on another Blog within my list. I had wanted to do this trip for many years and finally I managed it, now because I did not manage to go for my husky ride or see the Northern Lights, another holiday is planned for the future. I saw something about going in winter and realize there is little proper daylight, such a change from the almost 24 hours a day in May.

Another was meeting up with my son Paul and Kim his wife thanks to Jane in Milton Keynes, back in June this year and then again to see them here in November, but also managing to get over for Elias second birthday, but sadly this year I am unable to get to see them for Christmas, New year or for Spencers fourth birthday but still thinking of them
As a contrast its been a year for health issues the worst being the problem with my left leg, that meant I was on strong painkillers for over three months, which sadly affected my ability to do more things that I enjoyed. The consultant arranged injections which were unsuccessful, so now at the end of this month they are doing an MRI, that hopefully will help them to better understand what is causing the pain and how to resolve it. Unfortunately it has stopped me going away as I cannot get travel insurance. Update the MRI was cancelled until the new year, but lets hope its good news.

The big thing this year has been the work I am doing to help myself and others who have profound hearing loss or acquired hearing loss, I had not realized what a difference it makes to peoples quality of life when we cannot hear clearly or not at all. Fortunately I have come across others who are working in improving services locally for us, because sadly the professionals are understaffed and the charities are finding it difficult to obtain funding.

My greatest issue to do with hearing loss and being deaf, is the rubbish service in shops stores the NHS and local authority in making provision for us all. There is legislation in place that should make it easier for us, by provision of Loop systems, BSL interpreters and a range of communication systems and equipment. So why is it that very seldom, despite organizations advertising they have a loop system, that in fact they either are not in use are broken and or the staff have not been trained on how to use them.
I have joined three organizations that are trying to improve these services, unfortunately, one is stopping this service and the other despite belonging to the NHS has cancelled all its meeting for most of this year.

I have also done work with people who are deaf that need advice on benefits and advocacy, I could not believe how poor the services are for people who are profoundly deaf and that their needs are ignored. Hopefully my small contribution may help many others in the future.

Sadly a number of my friends have died this year or others health has deteriorated drastically, I suppose its one of the problems of us all getting older and the restricted services from GPs and the NHS these days.
It seems that I should mention Brexit, I had voted with little expectation that we would agree to leave the EU, what a shock to find many others did to. Unfortunately, much of the news this year has been to do with efforts to implement it this year, including more recently an election. It looks like something may hopefully happen in the not to distant future, will it improve my quality of life, we have to wait and see.

This year at long last I joined a friend and others on a few health walks at weekend, it is a nice mixture of people, but poor weather and my health have affected my ability to join in on a regular basis. Also I think partly due to health I have spent more time at home and unfortunately have put too much weight on so one of the things I intend to address in the New Year is to lose some of this weight, so clothes fit me better and my general health is improved.
Well I decided not to make any resolutions this year, so no issue about, breaking them or guilt, but hope that common sense and my physical health will improve so I can continue to get as much as I can out of life.

Thanks to all of you who have cheered me up or shown how much you care over the last 12 months when I was struggling, lets hope I can do the same for you if needed in the New Year