Inspiring hope: SPCK’s ministry to prisoners

I enjoyed my visit to Werrington Young Offenders Institute, near Stoke, very much. When I was there I met five groups with up to 10 lads in each, aged 16 to 18. Most of them were affable, interested and interesting. We had some good conversations.

I went there to talk about my Diffusion book – Barcelona Away – which is about a youngish man who likes to fight at the football. But when his young daughter begs him not to put himself in danger anymore he has a difficult decision to make.

I talked about the book a bit and also about what inspired it. I had a friend who was in that very position. The lads wanted to talk more about this real story than the book. My friend ended up in prison aged about 21. I told them what happened to him and how he rebuilt his life and went on to run his own business.

A few of the lads had read my book and said they’d enjoyed it. One said he’d read it six times in all and had really hated it. That was a funny moment. As a result of his candid comments, we then talked about being honest and how a writer can be at fault for writing a bad book – and that a reader hasn’t failed if he doesn’t want to finish a book.

We spent some time talking generally about football and being an author. But the best part of it was that – in talking about me making a career out of my passion for football – they talked about how they could make a living out of their passion, be it music, cars, etc. I think that was a real benefit for the inmates: they understood that I could make a living through football even though I am not a player.

One lad in particular was a very keen writer and we spoke for a while – with the help of some of his mates – about his writing and what he was trying to do. He took himself very seriously as a writer – and I mean that in a good way. It was good to see he believed in himself.

One of the best bits for me was that we talked about books we’d read. I recommended some to them, but they did to me too. I have since read three books recommended to me by the inmates and have enjoyed them all. One was about football and criminal activity and the lad who read it told me about it in spectacular detail.

For me it was a very good day. I know some of the lads in there had done some pretty grim things and they alluded to that indirectly. But a lot of them also had hope and passions and it felt like they could make a go of life when they got out.

I hope me going in helped them: it has definitely helped me.

Tom Palmer is the author of over 40 books, many of them set in the world of football. He has worked around the UK and the world for the National Literacy Trust and the Reading Agency.