Category: ROTL

Jarvis says: “So, the bottom line is it’s a bit of kindness, a bit of care, a bit of love, yeah, and knowing the right people to put you in the right direction, yeah.”

January 23, 2025

“I think the key thing that you get from LandWorks, and I say this to everybody, you know, I think the reason why you’re so successful up there is because of how honest and open you are, and you share your own stuff. Once you do that with anybody, it doesn’t have to be LandWorks, … More Jarvis says: “So, the bottom line is it’s a bit of kindness, a bit of care, a bit of love, yeah, and knowing the right people to put you in the right direction, yeah.”

Tom says: “you don’t really appreciate things until you haven’t got them…”

February 13, 2020

“It’s quite a weird feeling coming out and just literally being out here. It was quite nice to be able to just… I didn’t find it daunting coming out. It was a little bit exciting at first, if you know what I mean, to be able to come out here… I feel like I get … More Tom says: “you don’t really appreciate things until you haven’t got them…”

Fred says: “Just to have that normality again is just… it’s a godsend coming here, rather than being in there.”

November 14, 2019

“Drug abuse got me here. I just got in a bit of a bad place for a little while and things went a bit wrong. Now, no more drugs. Get on with it now. There were no drugs for 15 months before I came to prison, I can’t see it being any different. I’m very … More Fred says: “Just to have that normality again is just… it’s a godsend coming here, rather than being in there.”

Billy says: “without time in prison… you’d have never got me here in a million years”

July 25, 2019

“I’m coming towards the end of my sentence and felt that coming out to LandWorks would give me a very good introduction into future employment and future understanding of how life is going to be for me post-release. I turned it down [before] and I used to have a laugh with the boys and give … More Billy says: “without time in prison… you’d have never got me here in a million years”

Matt says: “I always say it’s worse for them on the outside, definitely worse for them…”

February 28, 2019

“I phone my wife probably four times a day. I always call her in the morning to make sure she’s got to work. I like to know she’s in work. When she’s gone to work I phone her mobile, but in the evenings, it’s on the landline. I put so much money on phone credit, … More Matt says: “I always say it’s worse for them on the outside, definitely worse for them…”

Lee says: “It just took a little bit of time for me to realise that there are nice people in the world…”

November 26, 2018

“It’s like in Prison, you start talking to someone, you know within a few minutes whether they’re full of shit, whether they’re telling the truth, whether they’re making up … you know, everything comes in that first few moments and it’s “bye” or you keep talking. Those are the options. Going home’s going to be … More Lee says: “It just took a little bit of time for me to realise that there are nice people in the world…”

Quentin says: “I couldn’t do another year, put it that way. Not a chance. It’s tougher than I thought.”

September 4, 2018

“I’ve been giving this a lot of thought because when people are reading the PeN Project, there’s an assumption about people in prison. I’m here to burst that assumption because whoever is reading this, the assumption will be that I’m from a low education background, that I’m from a sink estate somewhere, that I’m on … More Quentin says: “I couldn’t do another year, put it that way. Not a chance. It’s tougher than I thought.”

Benny Says: “I’m not broken, I’m just changing. I am transforming…”

July 31, 2018

“When I come out of prison I’ve got somewhere to live. I’m hoping to go back to teaching if I can. I used to do that and loved it. If I can’t do that or I need to earn money from day one, then the answer is I don’t really know. I’ve got a couple … More Benny Says: “I’m not broken, I’m just changing. I am transforming…”

Lee says: “As soon as you say you’re an ex-convict, “next”, that’s the way it goes…”

July 17, 2018

“It’s a learning curve. If I was bitter and angry, I wouldn’t be on the resettlement wing and coming out here. I’ve come through the whole system, not one nicking, haven’t even said ‘boo’ to a goose… When I actually get released in December, I leave on the Friday and I start work on the … More Lee says: “As soon as you say you’re an ex-convict, “next”, that’s the way it goes…”