A holy day

For me anyway as I was in three services this morning!

We were in prison and taking the first and third services and I decided to sit in on the middle one, the Roman Catholic mass, as well. (I like to keep my options open.)

I read the adulterous woman monologue as part of our services, the theme of which was forgiveness. They all looked as if they were listening but they could just as easily have been thinking about what they were going to have for dinner or wondering who'd won the football match. But one of them at least did pay attention if only for a moment.

Maureen, the Roman Catholic chaplain, introduced us and then asked the men to be silent for a moment to think about why they'd come to the chapel. (She acknowledged it could well be just because they wanted to get out of their cells for half an hour.)

It had been lovely when I'd left home and I hadn't bothered taking a coat but while we were in, it began to pour down, and the men got wet coming over to the chapel from their blocks, so when I stood up I confessed that I'd not been thinking as Maureen had suggested but that I'd been praying that it would stop raining before we had to leave at the end of the service.

When we got to the end, and I was shaking hands and saying goodbye as they filed out, one of the young lads said, 'It's stopped raining, miss.'

I hope my surprise wasn't too obvious ...

And if that's all he remembers from the morning, it's enough.