 What's it like taking prisoners to funerals? Oh God, it's that hard work. It's funny you should say this you know. I Did about three funerals The first funeral what I did bearing in mind The first disco that I ever did on a long line when I was in black and white is the first experience of Taking somebody outside the walls We had to go to a council estate in Brighton And this council estate was rough a bit like where I was brought up to be honest So it's in there and I had a word with him before and said look, you know, you got to stay on the floor Yeah, yeah, no, no And the I saw the time I've gone alright with him But I didn't know him that that way he didn't come down the gym or anything So it was off a different wing when I saw my wing So we get some visiting is dying grandma So your grandma's there and we're going there's lots of people coming in and out his friends and The science for a bit pressure on saying Let him off the cuff. It's his grandma. I should let him off the fucking come what you're doing So the SO said look, I'm cuffed to him. I said, I'm not coming off the cuff I said, I think we should you know, let him have five minutes and I'm not coming off the cuff I just had a bad feeling about it. I didn't trust him Didn't have really a good rapport with him and he's a bit of a scrawl Anyway on the way back to the prison after the visit He kept asking to go and visit his sister said no, we're going back We got back Three week later. He has another escort to see his grandma. That's all that's him off the cuff and he's off He did a runner And I just thought and so bearing in mind that that was my first and only real experience Parkhurst I'll ends up long line and I've done a few years now And that's frame of this lad called Pedro Notorious prisoner and from a notorious area of Birmingham called hands what Really rough area where the prison is really And I don't know if you know it even some of the prison officers at Birmingham have been shot at Coming out of the gate though So he's a notorious area But Pedro I really got on with had a rapport with him train with him and his training partner Felix Fraser they called him So I got on with him out of rapport. They came down the gym one day and um Fraser always trained with uh Pedro So I said to most petrol this morning They said I he's not down. He said his son's been shot. I said I said, um, he says so he's editing bits like he's Is applied to go to a funeral and they won't let him go So I said, uh, I said who's he applied to he says security the number one knocked him back He said because it'll be in Amsworth, which is rough area So I said, I'll see what I can do for him. I don't know whether it'll work But I'll go another word with security. I knew the governor in security quite well Rob looks for he's called so went down. I said Rob said Pedro I said I train with him regular I said, I think I know him well enough to be all right I volunteered to take him on the escrow to the funeral And he said look Philly said We we tried we we spoke to the police They're not prepared to man it Said they're not they don't want to go anywhere near it And I said, well, that's a good thing, isn't it? He went Yeah, I'm gonna laugh I said, but no I said because I'd rather take him and not have the police around I said because I just antagonize the situation I said, but you keep it low profile I know The better PEI will come with me. I've spoke to him. He'll volunteer to do it with me And he said, right, he said If you get an SO that will volunteer for it I'll let you do it But it's your on your head be it So if it if it goes wrong It's your job So I said, all right then So he looked at me thinking I'd back out So the next day I saw Pedro. I said, look, I've gone and had a word Pedro They're gonna let you go, I think And he went, well, I've been told not I said, well, I volunteered to do it with you I said, I get home with you I said, as long as you give me your word that, you know, I said, I know where it's at Inhance worse gonna be roast gonna be And I said, to be quite frank, I'm probably gonna be the only white man there And he said, he said, all right, he said, you know, you'll not get any problem from me, Phil He said, I just respect that you've done that for me and I'll go to the funeral So anyway, I've got clearance on the morning of the funeral went to get him Me and my pal Ralph Taylor, if they'd had a word He said, I'll volunteer to do it Could be able to go to a chapel of rest as well He said, I'll volunteer to be on the cuff in the chapel of rest And you do the rest of the funeral So I said, okay So he goes to the chapel of rest and Pedro's a tough man, really So anyway, before that, we're coming out of the reception with the band pulls out of the prison I'm talking to Pedro saying, well, I know it's gonna be a tough day And I know it's gonna be hard, I'll be cuffed together And explain what will be going on throughout the day I'll be cuffed to him at the funeral when he's going to the ground In the service He said, that's fine, Phil He said, for today, Phil He said, anyway, I'll think of you as a mayor anyway He said, but for today, he said, I'll just introduce you as Phil, my mayor So that's fine by me So just do whatever you've got to do I said, all I ask is You just respect what I've done for you And you come back with us at the end of the day And I said, also, we've been told we can't take you to the wake He said, that's fine He said, I don't want to go to the wake anyway He said, okay So we're pulling out of the prison and all of a sudden I even go, for fuck's sake So Pedro, you all right? He got Phil, he said, he was agitated He said, I've left And he said, I've made something for my lad That would go in the coffin and in the ground He said, I've fucking left it in reception And the asshole said, we can't go back for it And I said I said, this could make a break of the day, really I said, Pedro, I'm going to see if I can go back So the van stayed there, I hide Going to go on the radio, the driver And said, look, I'm coming back in, I'm going to reception And I picked up the little thing that he'd made, like a little cross With, that he'd moved some fabric around Quite a pretty little thing So I brought it back I said, Pedro, I've got it I'll give it to you when we let you out after and when we get there Okay So we get, so I give him the cross and everything We get to Chapel of Rest Ralph's cup to him goes into the Chapel of Rest And I just hear him breathe down And it was all awful to hear him Just breaking down in there And I'm thinking as well of Ralph being in that situation with him Because you're cup to him, you don't know his son But you learn to watch him breathe down like that So he came out, we swapped over on the corpse And I went on the corpse and said, okay, Pedro He said, yeah We went to Wandsworth for the funeral They had a big steel band playing They had the Hawthorne Courage massive funeral But all of Wandsworth just stopped Mainly black community, I don't think Not that it matters, but We was doing the three white lads there In the church or anywhere to be seen We go in for the service and I'm cup to him A few people came over And through to his word, whenever they came over he all said This is Phil And introduced me just like I was There as part of the family really So to be honest, it was quite humbling the way he did it So we had that We comes out and then Humping on to me, we go over And it's part of the culture That they dig some of the soil and put some of the soil in And the steel band are playing So we go over and he said, Phil, he said, I'm I'm supposed to like put the soil in So I said, as long as you don't mind me doing it with you We'll do it So when over and we both put together Put the some soil in together I give him a So I said, are you all right? He said, yeah A few of the big gangsters, local gangsters Came over and said, gov He's coming to the wake I said, nah, so we can't go to the wake me And Pedro has stopped it there and said, look He's the reason that I'm here We're not going to no wake Don't ask again and make sure nobody else asks With that, it all went smoother We goes back I got called to the governor's office A few days later Given a £50 voucher for what we did And probably about two years later Was the next time he heard of Pedro And I got a long letter of him just thanking me For everything I did