The Gaol grapevine is well known within the prison system. I would sometimes start a rumour in the morning simply for my own amusement, I could almost guarantee I would be told the same rumour back before the lunch break.
Brien “Inky” Eastwell had heard on the grapevine that I was visiting Frank and Rose Hutchen Last Wednesday. Frank and Rose were showing Bob Wood and me around their beautiful back garden when Inky turned up to say hullo, he was now in his early eighties and looked very spritely all considered.
I had trained Inky sometime in the late seventies he told me I had given him some good advice along the way which I was pleased to hear. Before becoming a Prison Officer Inky was a trade’s person a panel beater, in Inky’s case to call him a tradesman is not fair, he was a Craftsman and only worked on high end vehicles.
Inky told me he was rubbing the panel on a Rolls Royce when he said to himself “I can’t do this for the rest of my life” and promptly joined the NSW Department of Corrective Services. He contently lingered at the bottom of the food chain at prison officer level and later as an overseer, equivalent to First Class Prison Officer only he was on the industries side until he retired. I was thrilled he had thought enough of me to take the trouble and time to visit me, and I thoroughly enjoyed chatting to him.
Peter T Egge
