Some people owned an umbrella

Some lacked the strength to put one up

Some shared theirs with those who don’t have one

Some gave up their umbrella to protect others

To be caught in the rain instead

          – (Anonymous prisoner)

Out on the Astroturf again….in the rain.

The little Romanian man, our latest arrival, scampers with tiny steps to the fence at the perimeter of the pitch. He looks up at a window and shouts to another Romanian guy, clearly relieved to have found someone to talk to in his native tongue. I don’t think he speaks a word of English. His first few days here have been tough and he has cried in his cell every day, while cruel inmates taunt him through metal doors.

He continues his conversation and I wonder how he lost his four front teeth…how he gained the four-inch scar that runs down the side of his throat.

Then the taunting starts from all around the Astroturf: “shut the fuck up!”… “go and die you beastie Romanian!”. I imagine thick black rain falling all around him. He ignores them and continues his animated conversation. After a minute or so he starts leaping two feet into the air repeatedly, and shouting at the top of his voice “BRAVO! BRAVO! BRAVO!” Remembering that he was locked in a suicide cell yesterday and spent the night there, I wonder if he has completely lost his mind.

The taunting begins again from every direction: “Shut it, ya fuckwit!”…. “Fucking prick!” It builds and builds, and I imagine a black cloud rising up around us all.

But in his glee he seems oblivious to their hostility and continues to leap around the centre of the yard like a baby goat. It’s such a bizarre and incongruous sight that I can’t help but laugh out loud.

I go to him and ask him what’s caused his sudden excitement. (We have found a way to communicate: I speak Spanish and he replies in Italian). He explains to me with great glee, that the guy up in the window has said that he will give him a vaping pod on Monday – the torment of his nicotine withdrawal will be eased, if only for one day. His joy is energising, hilarious, ridiculous and infectious. Together we throw our arms in the air, laughing and shouting in the rain: “BRAVO! BRAVO!”