Social skirmishes

Do you ever wonder what happened to your former clients? I know I do. Their stories can be sad, horrible, joyful or mundane. The latter are often reassuring as they provide proof that clients are coping adequately – which is as much as many of us can hope for!

So it is always good to hearan uplifting story and one with a tinge of humour to it. This is one from Simon Rodway (a regular victor in “Face from the Past” competition on this page) about his time working at The Caldecott Community (now Caldecott Foundation).

“Many years ago, there was a boy who had difficulties, partly relating to dishonesty, and he went on to borstal and prison. I kept in touch with him during all that time and there was always something very likeable but sad about him.

“His sister and her husband flew from Australia and picked him up the day he left prison. They took him on a plane back down under. I have no idea howhe walked through immigration so easily.

“He always rang me from Australia at Christmas and eventually married an Australian girl. He had two children. He decided to go into the prison service and made a success of being a prison officer. Finally, he became president of the Prison Officers’ Association of Australia.”

Well, wasn’t that a poacher turned gamekeeper type of story? It shows that with the right support people can overcome their problems and make a success of their lives.

E-mail your anecdotes to rosie.warlock@yahoo.co.uk