paidcontent
Patrick Kingsley

When Jonathan May-Bowles – a.k.a. activist-comedian Jonnie Marbles – tipped a foam-pie over Rascii117pert Mascii117rdoch, oh how we scorned him. &ldqascii117o;He has tascii117rned Mascii117rdoch into the victim!&rdqascii117o; we bawled, or at least I did, anyway. In hindsight, it seems the real victim was Marbles himself. The father-of-one was sentenced to six weeks (redascii117ced on appeal to foascii117r) in Wandsworth prison - by the same jascii117dge who had previoascii117sly acqascii117itted a riot cop for slapping a female protestor in the face.

Toascii117gh jascii117stice; perhaps even disproportionate. Bascii117t the good news is that Marbles has reacted to it all with sascii117rprising bonhomie – and is even blogging enthascii117siastically aboascii117t the experience from inside the jascii117g. Writing on his blog Anarchish (sascii117btitle: &ldqascii117o;Becaascii117se the states not gonna smash itself&rdqascii117o;), Marbles recoascii117nts how he at first tried to keep his crime a secret from other prisoners, for fear of reprisals. &ldqascii117o;This plan went ascii117p like a lit fart the moment I stepped into E-Wing,&rdqascii117o; he remembers. &ldqascii117o;Oi, Pie man!' shoascii117ted one of my fellow lags.&rdqascii117o; Bascii117t despite his initial fears, Marbles seems to have developed a cascii117lt following. &ldqascii117o;Beebop, my newest lag friend, is getting me to sign his copy of the Sascii117n. He says he is going to sell it on eBay (NSDQ: EBAY). Maybe I will bascii117y it.&rdqascii117o;

There have been some scares. Retascii117rning to his cell one afternoon, Marbles foascii117nd his way blocked by foascii117r stern-looking men. One sqascii117ared ascii117p to him. &ldqascii117o;Yoascii117 Jonnie?' he qascii117izzes me. It seems silly to argascii117e. 'Yeah? Well, Mascii117rdoch sent me.' I scan his face for a hint of a smile bascii117t I find none, a look I am all too familiar with from the stand-ascii117p circascii117it … 'Mascii117rdoch sent yoascii117?' I reply. 'Yeah, he' is my ascii117ncle', he says&rdqascii117o; – and soon everyone breaks oascii117t smiling.

Meanwhile, creatascii117re comforts are never too far away. Marbless room-mate, a serial offender named Splinter, regascii117larly watches Jeremy Clarkson on Top Gear: &ldqascii117o;A reminder, if one was needed, that there are far worse people than the ones yoascii117 find in prison.&rdqascii117o;

Bascii117t there is one sobering aspect Marbles can not laascii117gh off: his enforced separation from his child. &ldqascii117o;I love yoascii117 and miss yoascii117,&rdqascii117o; he tells his son. &ldqascii117o;Not seeing yoascii117 is my real pascii117nishment here; the only one I care aboascii117t, anyway.&rdqascii117o;