Like I say, the LandWorks part helped me out tremendously really. It got me out of the prison every day, well, except obviously Saturdays and Sundays and they just used to let me get on with whatever I wanted to do, which was my bowls and things. The bowl-turning, yeah. Graham taught me how to do it, but the thing is I’m left-handed, so I’m doing a right-handed thing left-handed, which is quite handy really because obviously the right-handed person is stood where they should be and if that bowl cracks, it’s coming towards you, but being left-handed, I’m stood the other side, so if that bowls cracks you can just wave at it because it’s going the opposite direction to where you’re stood.
I don’t really do much in the way of bowl-turning now because I do my chopping-boards and every now and then, if I’ve got a spare bit of time, I’ve got loads of bits of wood in there for turning, I just don’t really get the time to do it anymore.
I do actually enjoy what I’m doing now. It’s gives me a thrill to see someone walk off with one of my boards. At Christmas, I must sell about 150 and think of them being opened as Christmas presents. I felt like Santa Claus. It is a nice feeling and getting the banter with people. I do sort of freeze up a bit because like I say, I don’t really chat to people that much, but when I’m talking about something that I do, then I enjoy it and I sort of open up a bit.
…I’ve got to go up to ‘*’. It’s a five-star hotel […] I explained what I was doing … because that’s British ash … and he went oh, I really like the idea of that, well anyway, you’re doing it, so it’s up to you what you want to do. So, they’re the ones they’re putting their oysters in.
I’m also doing another thing for the cutlery, which is this one and this one and this one [sends photos]. I’ve got to get the knives and forks in the right order and make a groove in that and then they get their cutlery served on these bits. The ones with the two holes, that’s for the ramekins for the butter and the jam and the bread gets served up on those, and the bits at the bottom with the two grooves, that’s for the posh crackers. I had to make 40 of those, 30 of the bread ones and they want 80 of these ones for the cutlery, but they haven’t actually signed them off yet, so I’m not making them yet. All of these are for the hotel.
All of this is down to LandWorks really. They set me on the path.
I like having a drive down there for the open day, which was normally on my birthday. There wasn’t one this year on my birthday. My birthday is on the 17th August and the other year when I was down there, I’m stood there, and everybody started singing ‘happy birthday’ to me. I felt like sticking my head up my arse and disappearing. There must’ve been 200 people there and it sounds quite nice actually, 200 people singing ‘happy birthday’ to you. That was one of my moments in my life that.
When I was in prison […] It put me on a … I wouldn’t say righteous path because I’d sound religious then, but no … I lost my liberty, I lost my relationship, I lost my kids … obviously I still see my kids, but you lose all functionality of life. You’re controlled and there’s nothing you can do about it. So, you’ve got to get used to that fact pretty damn quick…
It did help me. I suppose I was lost in myself before I went away because […] I was here, there and everywhere all the time. I’d never sit still, but now I do. So, it’s sort of put me on a right path. […] If a family member had a problem, I’d go and help them. Now they all leave me alone. They know what I want to do at the moment. They sort of … not backing me, but they give me congratulations when … but it’s not really what I’m after, if you see what I mean.
I just want a quieter life. I’m so used to a quiet life now after Prison, alright, it’s a prison and it would be quiet, but you’re in a room on your own and that’s that. You’ve just got to get used to it. Being on the resettlement wing, I used to sit it with my mate * all night. I still keep in contact with him now, and we have a chat every now and then, have our bit of banter on social media, but that’s another place I don’t really go on a lot. Every now and then I’ll get things ping up on my phone, and I’ll answer…
LandWorks they’re fantastic. It’s like coming out into the real world and real people. It’s a sense of reality and they just help people so much. You can learn something there. With me, they realised that I just get on with things, so they just let me get on with it. I used to enjoy the day. I’d go there and I’d be doing my bowls and stuff. It was all good. I used to deal with the chickens as well, things like that. You got your own space, if you see what I mean, which you don’t have in prison, They just help people so much, it’s fantastic. They’re real people and they deal with real time and they don’t put restrictions on you. It’s a sense of relief when you get there.”
Bob was a trainee at LandWorks from 2018 – 2019.
In Loving Memory of Bob Franklin – 17/08/1965 – 30/03/2024 – RIP
A window into LandWorks 