Ruth Allen

They said I did disgusting things. The court case was a few years ago now and I have been out of prison for a while now. I still live in the same flat in the same street in a northern city. Of course I have my index-linked pension and my savings but it is unlikely that I will every get another job. I dislike offices anyway. All those colleagues and little daily dramas about their love lives or families. Nights out and collections for stuff, I just kept my head down and got on with my pen-pushing. Everything would have been fine. On track to retire at 60 with my 40 years intact if the new personnel woman hadn't arrived. Of course they called it 'Human Resources' and they introduced what – to me – were a lot of frivolous meetings and 'awareness seminars' about how we were meant to treat them both the public and as colleagues.
Well somebody complained to her about me. It was done anonymously but they still had an investigative hearing and I had to get the bloke from the union to go in with me.

I was so angry. I remember I went home that day and the flat looked dingy, even more than usual. I should tidy up and I should throw out those newspapers. They were taking up space and to be honest the flat was starting to smell. But there was good information in there. I'm amazed that people are all mad for computers and digital television these days. I find out so much information from my newspapers and I always keep them in neat piles on the floor and tied up with string. I always mark the bits I need with an orange highlighter pen. Of course some of them have bits missing where I had to cut out the banner headlines to use the letters you understand. But that was mostly the front pages of the broadsheets. Of course the computers are useful for the internet and of course all these big headed types make sure they have all their information listed. So I just went to the public library and used the internet there to get their home addresses and posted off the stuff to them. I say 'stuff' but of course it was more than that and it landed me six months in jail.

Nowadays I put on my one grey suit and raincoat and leave home just after 7.30 am.
There is no civil service office to go to so I just buy a daily paper and walk round the area. I keep my head down and avoid any eye contact although I have lived here for over 30 years I have no conversation with neighbours. Today I carried a poster which I spent most of last night making.
I was outraged when I heard about this terrorist and when I saw his picture in the paper. This was a Friday and they would be going to pray and would see my poster
and realise the truth. Well that was my intention until that pair of busybodies confronted me and I have to admit – I scuttled away.