40 Days in Mayfield Women's Prison

By Barry Mitchell

40 Days in Mayfield Women's Prison is a fictional account of life in a high security women's prison in the southeast of England. In the period of 40 days there are accounts of experience of life in the prison from three people: a teacher, a prison officer and a prison inspector. Though fictional, this is a realistic account of life in a UK women's prison, as perceived by the three protagonists. Contains adult themes.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Barry Mitchell
• Release date: Aug 9, 2021
• ISBN: 9780463474310

Barry Mitchell

I was born in Belfast in N Ireland in 1958. I currently live in Somerset in England. I am a musician by training and work for several educational institutions in the UK and abroad, teaching both English and music. I am currently a senior member of the examinations team of the International Baccalaureate Organisation with particular responsibility for the extended essay in music. My book on writing an extended essay or dissertation about music draws on my experience of marking hundreds of music essays for several educational institutions.

Book preview

40 Days in Mayfield Women’s Prison

Mitchell Hall

Published by House of Glass

June 2021

Copyright © 2021 Mitchell Hall

All rights reserved.

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DISCLAIMER

40 Days in Mayfield Women’s Prison is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to real prisons, real prisoners or real prison staff is entirely coincidental.

Contents

Chapter 1 Teacher Diary: the interview

Chapter 2 Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons Report into Mayfield Prison Extract 1

Chapter 3 Teacher Diary: the class observation

Chapter 4 Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons Report into Mayfield Prison Extract 2

Chapter 5 Teacher Diary: the job begins

Chapter 6 Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons Report into Mayfield Prison Extract 3

Chapter 7 Teacher Diary: learning more about the job

Chapter 8 Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons Report into Mayfield Prison Extract 4

Chapter 9 Teacher Diary: the first class

Chapter 10 Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons Report into Mayfield Prison Extract 5

Chapter 11 Prison Officer Diary: the first day

Chapter 12 Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons Report into Mayfield Prison Extract 6

Chapter 13 Prison Officer Diary: when the shit hits the van

Chapter 14 Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons Report into Mayfield Prison Extract 7

Chapter 15 Prison Officer Diary: boob job blues

Chapter 16 Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons Report into Mayfield Prison Extract 8

Chapter 17 Prison Officer Diary: doing it by the book

Chapter 18 Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons Report into Mayfield Prison Extract 9

Chapter 19 Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons Report into Mayfield Prison Extract 10

Chapter 20 Prison Officer Diary: don’t listen to the voices

Chapter 21 Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons Report into Mayfield Prison Extract 11

Chapter 22 Teacher Diary: starting the day

Chapter 23 Teacher Diary: the coffee break

Chapter 24 Teacher Diary: titty bank trouble

Chapter 25 Teacher Diary: the final day

Chapter 1 Teacher Diary: the interview

Since moving to London from Devon a year or so ago I had had several jobs, none of which were permanent. I mostly got these jobs through agencies, with the best one in my experience being Barnes Agency in Ovalham, southwest London. I had completed my previous assignment, a fairly routine office job, and was hoping to pick up another one soon. I heard from my contact Stephanie at Barnes that she had put me forward for a teaching role at Mayfield women’s prison in Oakford. This was good news, but I also learned that because of the nature of the work I have to register for a CRB, a criminal record disclosure. As that can take some time, such is the nature of UK bureaucracy, I needed to start on this as soon as possible. So I set about making the application online in the evening.

I started the whole, and rather tedious, application process at 7:15 PM and didn't get finished until 10:15 PM. I was getting a bit stressed by the whole thing, especially since I kept getting messages in red when I tried to submit the registration form. I also had to miss the second part of Edward Gibbon’s Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, a TV series on BBC 4 I had been watching. However, the next day I heard from Stephanie that I had an interview at Mayfield prison next Monday for the role of adult literacy tutor. My CV, which I had revised recently, must have impressed them. My wife Liz had helped me with the CV revision and I think the improvements made a difference. I ordered a book from WH Smith on adult literacy to read at the weekend. Adult literacy wasn’t my usual subject, though I did have some experience of it. Over the next few days I did some preparatory work for the interview.

The day of my interview at Mayfield women's prison. I got up at 7:30 AM and got ready. I was feeling quite nervous and it didn't help when I got a call from Stephanie from Barnes asking me not to leave the house until I heard from her, as Mayfield had not cleared my security yet. So I had to wait for confirmation that I would be able to get into the prison. I did eventually get a phone call from Stephanie and I confirmed that I would be able to be at the prison by 9:30 AM. I got the bus to Ovalham station and just managed to catch the train to Oakford. When I got off the train I asked a man the way to the prison, which is not very far from the station. After a short walk I came to the prison, which wasn't hard to recognise. The prison was larger than I had expected. I was now very nervous and could feel myself on the verge of losing my bottle, so I give myself a good talking to. I went into reception and introduced myself. I had to hand in my passport, which I had brought as my ID, and my mobile phone. I then had my fingerprints taken electronically. When that was done I went into another area to have my briefcase searched by a female prison officer. I then went through to a waiting area, where I waited for Jasmin, my contact in the prison’s education department. I tried to dampen down the feelings of anxiety caused by the unfamiliar environment, but I believe the wait helped me as I managed to get a grip of myself.

At 9:30 AM Jasmin and a