A Prison Diary - Volume 2: Wayland: Purgatory

Volume 2: Wayland: Purgatory

Published: 2003

This book is much longer than the previous one and charts Archer's time in HMP Wayland, a C-Category prison near Thetford in Norfolk. The rules are more relaxed, but as the title suggests, boredom is the main enemy for all prisoners, not just Archer. He charts each day in varying levels of detail depending on whether anything of interest happens. His friends and family remain constantly faithful and carry on his appeal case while he is incarcerated. It was here that he apparently encountered another character inspiring a short story in Cat O'Nine Tales, Maestro. Archer interacted more in this prison with those inmates who could obtain for him goods and services not formally permitted by the authorities, like extra BT phone-cards. He emphasizes how ineffective prison bureaucracy is, especially how the hierarchy works or rather does not work, for example a number of personnel each claiming to be governor.

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