{"id":3211,"date":"2015-05-11T10:16:29","date_gmt":"2015-05-11T09:16:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.longkeshinsideout.co.uk\/?p=3211"},"modified":"2015-05-11T10:16:29","modified_gmt":"2015-05-11T09:16:29","slug":"what-did-you-do-this-weekend-lindsay","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.longkeshinsideout.co.uk\/?p=3211","title":{"rendered":"What Did You Do This Weekend?-Lindsay"},"content":{"rendered":"

What did you do this weekend?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Serving a life sentence or not there was a routine to be followed in the Special Category Status or cage section of the old Long Kesh.\u00a0\u00a0 I was in Compound 21 from \u201877 until \u201888 when we left to go to the H Blocks. Saturdays was when many men got their family visits.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Only one Saturday visit per month although that changed towards the end days. No football of classes on a \u00a0Saturday and no visits -bear legal visits – on a Sunday.\u00a0 Our routine was that there would be a \u2018muster\u2019 parade on a Monday morning. This meant your room or cube had to be cleaned, top to bottom ,and you had to have your black uniform in tip top condition. So you had a choice, either Saturday or Sunday, \u00a0you could \u2018bung out\u2019 your cube. Most of us were doubled up.\u00a0 So either both do it together or do it week about. \u00a0Getting a cube or room of your own was a most prized situation.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u2018Bunging out\u2019 was literally taking everything out of your room and cleaning, wiping and\u00a0 scrubbing what you could. Some chancers may bluff their way but were easily caught out.\u00a0 So after doing the chores in the morning. \u00a0Every morning. (Clean the shower unit, the hot plates the centre floors, clean outside the huts, \u00a0etc) many would start the task and get it out of the way. \u00a0The centre part of the floor in the hut middle would be a scene of activity.\u00a0 There were only so many deck scrubbers. Loads of Vim and wire wool.\u00a0 The vinyl floor tiles would be scrubbed until there were ultra clean. We would make someone with OCD proud.<\/p>\n

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The wire wool disappeared after the powers that be found it burned with\u00a0 a brilliant brightness and heat. \u00a0Green scouring pads became the norm.\u00a0\u00a0 The timbers or the inside of the curved walls \u2013 corrugated iron actually – were all wiped \u00a0down. All clothes came out of your \u00a0individual steel locker.\u00a0 Getting extra shelves was seen as a blessing.\u00a0 At one time I had 5 shelves.\u00a0 Wow. Fold your clothes them up and wipe out your locker.<\/p>\n

The problem now was what to do when your floor was drying. Go for a walk around\u00a0 the wire?\u00a0 I wonder how many will remember the cage chorus when on the wire. \u2018Do yer whack\u2019?\u00a0 Or go and do a bit of training? (If you had a visit this process could be done on Sunday. I recall bunging out \u00a0on Sunday afternoons with the radio playing top 20s from years ago. In summer time the sun would stream into the centre of the hut from the many half windows. Windows would be wide open to assist the drying of the floor. The hut was lit up and\u00a0 alive)\u00a0 Or you could go to the study hut and study or write a letter.\u00a0 Of course you could always slide into someone\u2019s cube who wasn\u2019t bunging out.\u00a0 \u2018What about ye mate.\u00a0 How\u2019s you? And start an innocent conversation as subtly as possible. And maybe even get a cuppa out of it!<\/p>\n

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The point of all this was Monday morning. Never mind the drill and parading round the yard.\u00a0 Our uniforms, boots,\u00a0 buckles and badges would be inspected out on the parade. When finished that, \u00a0we all had to wait by our doors for the inspection. One of the brass would come in and go into every cube. He would check lockers, floors, beds, etc.\u00a0 Run his hand over ledges and surfaces. We made bed packs every day. Bed packs is were you made blankets and sheets into a standard British army bed pack. I was hacked off once when my cube mate left a cig\u2019 butt in an ashtray, \u00a0which he had hidden. (Not hidden well enough!) I got the punishment for it despite never having smoked a fag in my entire life. Punishment for having failed the inspection (despite the inevitable slagging) was usually a half hour fatigues. This entailed some menial and boring task.\u00a0 Picking up butts, sweeping the yard, etc.\u00a0 When the inspection was over then it was get out of the black gear and get back into your own routine. Usually there was a rush for the single water boiler that served 30 men. Who all wanted a cuppa.<\/p>\n

OK, many of us bitched about this little part of Kesh culture but it gave us a structure. A purpose.\u00a0 Discipline. And it meant that cleanliness was very high on the agenda.<\/p>\n

Of course today I still do this at weekends?\u00a0 I don\u2019t think so.\u00a0 That was then. This is now.\u00a0 But our home sparkles.\u00a0 I got the love of my life.\u00a0 Who has OCD.<\/p>\n

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Lindsay.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

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