The Clink

On 12^th November an intrepid band of club members went to prison. The purpose of our trip was to visit The Clink, a Restaurant situated within HMP High Down, a Category B prison near Sutton. The Restaurant takes its name from the original Clink prison, a medieval prison situated in Southwark,  after which all prisons are nicknamed. We had booked for lunch, which was to be cooked and served by inmates of the prison. It was to be a very new experience for us, as none of us had ever been ‘behind bars’ before, and we didn’t know what to expect. I had often seen scenes  of prison food being served in movies and on TV and I hoped our experience would be better than that.

The Clink is a charity, whose aim is to give prisoners, due to leave within 18 months, a vocational education aimed at improving their chances of finding employment on the outside.  The work of the charity helps offenders break the cycle of reoffending, by nurturing self-belief, work place skills and nationally recognised City & Guilds qualifications. Statistics demonstrate the startling success of the scheme. Normally 47% of all adult ex-offenders will reoffend within the first year of release.  However, of those who complete the Clink’s training programme, the reoffending rate is just 12.5% in the first year.

Site of the original Clink prison

Booking for the Restaurant was slightly daunting, as they wanted to know our full names and dates of birth before they would even accept our booking.  We had to bring photo identification with us (passport or new-style driving licence) and the names on this identification had to exactly match the names we had already provided. Additionally, in view of the size of our party, we had to pre-order our meal from the menu beforehand, which would obviously save time when we arrived.

The 12 of us travelled there in 3 cars, a fairly uneventful journey, apart from Janet failing to find the central seatbelt in the back of our Renault, so she shared Norma’s seatbelt, an activity which was probably not strictly legal. I never like to break the law when driving, and my anxiety was increased in view of the fact we were driving to a prison.

My car

We were told to arrive 30 minutes early so we could go through security procedures.  We arrived at a Reception area outside the actual prison, where after a bit of a wait we each had our photograph and  fingerprints taken. The warder told me, slightly accusingly I thought, that I had a ‘weak’ fingerprint.  I didn’t really know what she meant by that, but I assured her I had not tampered with my fingers in any way.

Not my finger

There was a very long list of things we couldn’t take into the prison with us, including cameras, mobile phones, nail files, aerosols, drugs and unsurprisingly, explosives.  Also, we were not allowed to carry more than £50 in cash. The Restaurant would only take payment in the form of a cheque for our lunch. Lockers were provided for visitors to place any of these forbidden items before we were escorted into the prison itself.

From the Reception area it was about a 200 yard walk to the prison gates. Warders carrying large bunches of keys opened a series of security doors one by one and took us through.  We walked along some corridors and through an enclosed compound, but slightly disappointingly, we didn’t actually see any prisoners here.  I could, however hear a lot of raised voices nearby, which sounded to me as if there was a football match going on. As we walked through the compound, surrounded by 20 foot high fences topped with razor wire, it dawned on us that we were really inside a prison.   Quote of the day came from Norma, who said that it reminded her of boarding school!

High Down prison entrance

Through one of the fences I could see a well tended vegetable growing area, which I presumed supplied the restaurant. I heard that HMP in Send, which is near Woking has a fully functioning kitchen garden, which supplies not only vegetables to the Clink, but also poultry. As we went through one door, there was a sign on it, indicating the State of Alert, which was given as ‘Heightened’. I chose not to ask what that meant. It was a surprise, having walked through such austere, forbidding areas, to arrive in the Restaurant, which was very smart indeed, with subdued lighting, and staffed by attentive and friendly waiters.

The Clink Restaurant

As we took our seats, the first thing we noticed was that all cutlery was plastic, and that no alcohol was served. We were offered fruit  ‘mocktails’ which were actually quite delicious. The water came in glass bottles and the drinks were served in glasses, which seemed rather incongruous, given the plastic cutlery. I had expected to feel a little intimidated when I met the inmates, but actually, they didn’t look or act any different to young men one would find working in any good quality Restaurant. They were very well trained, wearing smart uniforms, and seemed genuinely concerned that we enjoyed our visit.

The food we were served was superbly cooked and presented, and would not disgrace any top Restaurant. I am not exaggerating when I say that the roast breast of chicken I ordered was quite the best I had tasted in a long time. We had a very convivial time, but it was nevertheless a sobering thought that we were in effect  locked in a prison. One or two of us expressed some discomfort about the loss of our own liberty whilst temporarily confined within prison walls. The difference was that at the end of our meal we would  be escorted out of the prison, whereas the staff we met would be staying there for weeks, possibly months before they were allowed to leave.

Beautifully presented food

The Clink had a gift shop, and some of us purchased a memento of our visit before we left.  When it came to paying our bill, the Restaurant Manager happily accepted my cheque for the balance, even though I had no means of guaranteeing it. I suppose I would be easy to trace if I defaulted, given they had my passport details, my photo and fingerprints. We were not, however,  allowed  to leave any tip for the waiting staff, as it was not expected, and may cause problems, we were told.

Souvenir

As we retraced our steps back to the outside, we reflected on what an enjoyable time we had had. We were also  happy to have helped in a small way with the rehabilitation of these offenders, by supporting the Charity which has provided them with the means to find employment when they leave.

Outside the prison walls - before camera was confiscated