Day One

Thursday, September 19th 2019

I've been having problems sleeping the past few days and I've also been struggling with the side effects of the antidepressants the doctor put me on.  I've had a loss of appetite, feeling more anxious, heart palpitations and attention difficulties in the week leading up to my holiday. Great ...  I know it's all temporary though and that these meds always make things a bit worse before they start to make things better and that they're a means to an end.  They help to regulate the chemistry in my brain until I'm able to do that again myself.

Another side effect is increased sweating which I had a couple of days before leaving for my holiday.  Gross and I'm sorry if it's a bit TMI, but this blog is about my mental health journey so I'm mentioning it here.  The morning of my travel day I woke up drenched in sweat in the early hours and had to change my pyjama top it was so wet.  Not pleasant and this continued while I was away as well so I'm glad that I packed a spare pyjama top in case it continued. I would sweat a bit more than usual throughout the day but it was so much worse while I was asleep.  I woke twice last night and had to change my pyjama top each time.  I put the one I'd taken off on the bathroom towel warmer to dry off better.  

When I woke properly I had my breakfast of overnight oats that I'd prepared the night before, I had my shower, did my make up and dried my hair before washing up the pots and making my lunch for the day. I'm staying really close to the town centre and it's about a ten-minute walk to the high street, but today I headed past there and past the train station for about twenty minutes as I was heading to the Dana Prison today. I chose to walk by the river as it was another glorious day.

Dana Prison was advertised as costing £18 entry but they were having a special price that week and it only cost me £10.  I went first thing in the morning and only one other person was waiting to look round when I was there. They do guide tours by ex-prison officers who once worked in this prison but that is at 2 pm which I knew before going in the morning.  You can walk around on your own self-guided tour at any time.  While I was walking around which took me a couple of hours, I only saw one other couple as well and the man who paid after me looking around the prison.  

You were allowed to go anywhere in the building along as the door was unlocked. I decided to go round as a prisoner would so I started on A-Wing. It was cold on the wing where the inmate's cells were so I put my jacket on that I'd brought with me as I thought I would need it for that section. I was eerie walking around on my own, looking into the open cells, some of which were set up as they would have been when the prison was in use. One even had a male mannequin dressed in the grey sweat pants and jumper of the inmates, with his bunk made up with prison bedding and a few items he'd be allowed; soap, shampoo, a comb, toothpaste and toothbrush, a couple of spoons and a tray for them to carry their meals back to their cells as well as a few books. He even had an old TV in the corner. The prison was originally built in 1791 and then replaced with the current one in 1868. It was built to hold 350 prisoners but at its most overcrowded it helps 450. Originally it was built to hold 171 prisoners.

Also on this wing's ground floor was the constant watch cells where an inmate would be kept if they were at risk of hurting themselves and an officer would watch them 24 hours a day. There was also the MDT (mandatory drugs testing) room, the intervention suite where inmates who were at risk, struggling with issues or may self-harm were put and Samaritan trained volunteers would listen to the inmate's worries and try to help them, there were also recesses/showers where the inmates would 'slop out' their pots in the morning as sanitation of communal showers and toilets in the cells weren't installed until 1995. There was a shower on all floors. There is also the server where the inmates would pick up their meals to eat in their cells having to choose their meals a week in advance. Also here is the segregation cell where prisoners would be put if they broke the rules and cell 2 is the strip search cell. There are also a couple of 'first-night' cells here as well which is also near where some of the officers would be stationed.

Down the centre of the wing on the ground floor were some table football games for the inmates to play when they were out of their cells. I think all the floors were open but I only went up to the first floor where most of these cells were locked. In this communal area, there was some seating, a pool table and a tennis table with two bats. The first floor also has the Healthcare window which is where inmates got their meds for the day and cell 43 was converted to be a palliative care suite for inmates who were in very ill health and at the end of their life because of it or due to their age. Also on this floor is the executioner's room, the condemned man's cell as well as the execution room. The corridor here and all these rooms were painted blue instead of the white or cream of everywhere else. They have this mocked up with a condemned man in his cell and it made me jump as there had only been one mannequin that I'd seen up to that point. In the condemned man's room, there was a chess game set up.

The last prisoner to be hanged in this prison was carried out in 1961 with the last execution in the UK happening in 1964 with it being abolished in 1965.  They took place at 8 am with the Governor, County Sheriff, two officers, the Executioner along with their assistant, a Doctor and if the prisoner requested it a Chaplin.  This room has had the flooring repaired to remove the trap door.  This area was even more eerie and atmospheric due to what went on in this part of the building.

After finishing the tour I walked back into the town centre along the river again as the weather was still beautiful.  I found a bench under a tree to have my lunch and as I didn't feel like heading back to my digs just then I checked Google maps for some of the things that I wanted to take photos of while I was here.  On my way, I walked around one of the shopping centres and found a Disney Store where I picked up a Groot Christmas tree decoration.  Then I made my way to St Chad's Church which was used as the graveyard at the end of the 1984 film version of A Christmas Carol with George C. Scott as Ebenezer Scrooge and they'd left his prop gravestone in the churchyard!

Then I walked to see the Town Walls Tower which is only open on the Heritage Days and I'd just missed them.  On my walk back home I passed Shrewsbury Cathedral and I was back at the apartment by 2 pm. I'd been out since 9.30 am and had done a lot of walking including some hills.  I got into my comfies and spent the afternoon and evening chilling and watching things on Netflix as well as planning and prepping things for Friday.

I've had a really nice day and my anxiety is pretty much non-existent which is weird due to it being so bad the last few days. I'm really glad that I chose to visit Shrewsbury and am looking forward to tomorrow.