A Talk Behind Prison Walls (& Glastonbury Festival 2023, No Roses on PBS and a podcast)
Issue 3
I was asked, a few months ago, by author David Kendall if I would be interested in coming along to HMP Erlestoke to give a talk to the prisoners. The two passions that I’m yet to ruin by dragging them into my career are music history and literary history and so as a keen fan of Johnny Cash, I was immediately up for it. Folsom and San Quentin! Or for my generation, St. Anger. It sounded great.
The talk would be part of Penned Up - a literary festival held within a prison each year to encourage literacy to prisoners and bring new perspectives behind the barbed wire-topped fences. In previous years Penned Up had Michael Darlow, the man who had filmed Johnny Cash Live at San Quentin for Granada Television, along to speak. This year’s star attraction was Nick Cave, fresh off the back of his appearance at the Coronation of King Charles. The line-up is curated by the prisoners themselves, so I was pleased to be invited to take part.
Erlestoke prison is a short train journey from Bath, a place I had never been. In the time I had before the talk, I was able to visit the Roman Baths (and bathe in the original spring waters at a new spa in town). As someone who has worked in some form as an archaeologist for over a decade, it takes a lot to get me excited about archaeology. The Baths certainly did exactly that. It is truly staggering the history they’ve managed to uncover in the middle of that city. I also signed a copy of The Search in the Waterstones, which never stops being a thrill.
I wasn’t sure what to expect from the talk as I was driven through the countryside on the way to the prison. There is an unspoken rule at literary events - a mutual understanding between the speaker and the audience - that the author at the front, holding his book as he reads, has something worth listening to, whether or not that is actually the case. Speaking in a prison, that protective shield is nowhere to be seen. The men in the audience, who are of all ages and from all walks of life, have not read your book, most will never read your book, and in my case, had no idea who I was. Having spent five years of my life as a touring musician, often playing to no one, more often playing to hostile crowds, but mostly playing to rooms full of people waiting for the next band, I feel more comfortable in those situations than the talks I give at universities or bookshops.
The audience at HMP Erlestoke was one of the politest and most engaged crowds I’ve appeared in front of. We spoke less about my book, The Search, and more about the story within the book; the real-life events that transpired as I searched for my friend’s lost shipwreck back in 2017. Many of the questions and discussions were about the main themes of the book - death, grief, and hope - parts of life that we all share within or outside of prison. I thoroughly enjoyed my own Concert Behind Prison Walls.
Last night, I was finally able to announce that I will be appearing for the second year in a row at Glastonbury Festival. I’ll be returning once again to speak about my career at the Atchin Tan stage in the Theatre and Circus field. The area was created last year to raise awareness of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022, which targeted Gypsies and Travellers in all but name. It is also a beautiful celebration of the cultures of Romany Gypsies, Irish Travellers, and New Travellers, set within the most iconic festival in the world. I was honoured to speak last year and I’m thrilled to be invited back once again.
It takes a lot to get me onto a podcast, but my friend and The Great British Dig colleague Dr. Michala Hulme managed it. We spoke about Romany history and ancestry, filming the show together, and my career in general. You can listen on Spotify here, or find it wherever you listen to podcasts by searching for Unearth The Past.
And, lastly, I’ve just heard while typing this that my documentary No Roses On A Sailor’s Grave will be shown on PBS America again at 9:45 pm on 2nd June - in time for the 79th anniversary of D-Day on the 6th, no doubt. You can watch the trailer PBS has been running here.
Until next time…
