Jeremy's Easter Blog 2016

Easter at White House Farm was always a big family event, almost as huge as Christmas. Anthony and Jackie would visit every year bringing their current partners with them. In later years Colin used to come to celebrate Easter when he was with Sheila and after Nicholas and Daniel were born they would all come.

On Easter Sunday morning, mum and dad would go off to the Church service at St Nicholas Church, Tolleshunt D’Arcy, usually going on their own, although Sheila would occasionally go with them but me, Jackie and Anthony never joined them. Upon Mum and Dad’s return we would all sit down to enjoy a huge roast dinner, usually a big joint of lamb, after which we would exchange Easter eggs. Then it was time for the best part of the day.

Mum used to get about thirty tiny chocolate eggs and wrap them in shiny paper. She would go into the garden after dinner hiding these eggs all over in places like hedges and the rose bushes. We would all rush out to see how many eggs we could find. It was great when you did find one, taking it to mum to trade for one of the larger eggs she had placed in a basket.

By the evening we'd all sit in front of a roaring open fire dad had built in the sitting room roasting marshmallows in the flames. I used to love making toast in the fire and then melting chocolate from one of my eggs on to it—delicious.  We’d all get a bit tipsy apart from mum who would just have a sherry.

Dad enjoyed smoking and was a twenty a day man but he always gave up cigarettes for Lent. He could then be a bit grumpy for a couple of days but it soon wore off and when Lent was over he would start smoking again. I can remember dad sitting back with a contented smile on his face, watching his family gorging on chocolate like there was no tomorrow. After an evening filled with fun, silly games, great conversation and laughter, as well as bits of shiny paper everywhere and immense amounts of chocolate, it would be time for bed. We’d often feel sick from the amount of chocolate we had eaten but very happy too.

We don’t get Easter eggs in jail, but with my freedom just around the corner, I know that next year I will be enjoying Easter with friends, feasting on all the different eggs available these days.

Happy Easter to you all.

Jeremy.

Jeremy's 30th Christmas in Prison

I wanted to write something about this being my 30^th Christmas in prison. I had enjoyed just twenty-three Christmas celebrations before coming to Jail. I’ve talked about this time of year before and I wanted to recall a different aspect of it to share with you here.

Firstly, and I find this very hard to even admit, as each year passes I’m finding it harder to recall emotional memories of how it was outside during this festive period. I’d always believed those feelings of such intense happiness that I had experienced celebrating Christmas at home would remain with me, but sadly, as I grow old in prison so the memories have begun to fade.

Secondly, these fading memories make me feel ashamed as if I’m letting down my deceased family in some way. It seems odd to say this, and I’m not sure if I can put this into words properly—It’s as if somehow my fading memories of Christmas can be explained by saying they cannot have been as happy as I have portrayed them to be. Yet they really were happy times. Especially so when Daniel and Nicholas reached the age of two. The boys loved being at the farm at Christmas, we’d all sit around the kitchen table and make decorations. Colin and Sheila were both artistic so they out shone the rest of us by a country mile. But we’d spray paint pine cones with cans of gold and silver, and put together long lengths of paper chains whilst testing the quality of each batch of freshly made mince pies that mum kept taking out of the oven. The game was to distract mum’s attention in some way so that dad could palm a couple of mince pies off the cooling rack without being noticed, then pass them to each of us out of sight under the table. It seemed such great fun, and they did taste all the better for being obtained by stealth. I don’t doubt that mum knew exactly what was going on but played along because it was such fun.

Christmas celebrations in prison were once upon a time quite jolly affairs with the wings being decorated and a tree would go up too. The food from the hotplate/server would be a bit different and appropriately festive. We’d even be given little treats like a chocolate bar, a can of pop and a tangerine. Perhaps we’d put on a play and there would be various Christmas competitions where small prizes could be won. This sort of Christmas fun had almost completely disappeared by the end of the 1990’s for various reasons including cost cutting.

 

Christmas is now seen as just another day in prison, a milestone to be ticked as one less Christmas to do before the sentence is over. That does not apply to me.

I just feel blessed that I’ve stayed alive to see another Christmas pass knowing that this Christmas day I’m about to spend in jail could and should be the last one that I have to endure in here. It is such an odd feeling to think that I’ve endured 30 Christmas days but the facts now show that I should not have spent a single Christmas in prison.

I would like to wish all of my friends and supporters a happy Christmas in person and maybe next year I will be in a position to do this, I hope so. I’m going to stop here as it’s making me a bit depressed.

All the best for Christmas and New Year.

Jeremy

"2011 has been a year which has seen many different events for my case"

“The CCRC have agreed in principal that I should have a further extension of time for submissions up until 31st January 2012. This is to allow full forensic reports to be sent to the CCRC along with detailed submissions as planned previously. The CCRC have not elaborated on whether they will be able to disclose the Event and Scene logs that we have requested.

2011 has been a year which has seen many different and sometimes unexpected events for my case. Although I am not unused to taking knock back’s in my case, the provisional ruling not to refer my case for appeal came from the CCRC back in February and was a great surprise to us all. Fortunately there have been many avenues not already explored at the trial or subsequent appeals which we are now investigating. The addition of many documents has unearthed so much more in the case and gave the campaign renewed vigour and knowledge.

Crime scene photographs developed electronically at high resolution which have never been seen, gave us many new areas for exploration and also a greater understanding of how poorly the investigation was handled by Essex Police officers. We have been able to raise awareness of my case and also gained a great amount of public support which has often overwhelmed me with letters of kindness. But this year has also seen how the judiciary handles complaints very badly in light of the events which triggered riots and also in the collapse of the trial of police officers involved in the wrongful convictions of the Cardiff Three.

I am confident that there will be justice for me. There is a wealth of evidence prepared and presented to the judiciary in my case which has been ignored. Let’s hope the latest evidence will be heard by a court in the New Year. Eddie Gilfoyle and Sue May are also just two people who have felt frustration and the disappointment of a system which seeks to maintain wrongful convictions without considering the wider issues of innocence and a safer society through a more transparent justice system that admits mistakes and learns from them.

I have already spoken to many people and written at length on the two sound moderators in my case and how this was concealed from the jury and perverted the course of justice, the trail of fabricated evidence is plainly shown throughout forensic documents. There have also been many revelations concerning the reliability of prosecution witnesses. The uncovering of new evidence is only possible through a great amount of work by my lawyers and campaigners who help tremendously. I am confident that 2012 will see justice done and my freedom will bring the whole truth to light at last.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to everyone.”

Jeremy

View my official web site at www.jeremy-bamber.co.uk read testimony by some of my campaigners www.jeremybambertestimony.co.uk join our writing campaign at www.jeremybambercampaign.co.uk

"Happy New Year from Jeremy"

"I hope all of my friends and supporters had a great Christmas. I had many cards and letters from all of you which was very kind thank you. 2011 is set to to be the year of my release from prison. There is to be another wave of campaign activity including the release of further evidence into the media. I have also asked the admin's to set up another twitter page for me, I would like all of the twitter profile's set up for me by good friends to link together so that we can re-tweet my tweets. I aim to tweet on a daily basis when I call the office with the latest updates as Mark and Sarah have been kind enough to follow up my requests. In a strategic campaign move I am aiming to use twitter to network with journalists, writers and documentary makers.

My admin team have also taken over responsibility for my documents and have been generous enough to expand the share by many thousands of documents in the the New Year. This means that when there is a referral to the court of appeal my legal team will have full access to referenced documents that would otherwise take weeks to search through in the old paper system, this will make a big difference to the work they will carry out on my behalf.

I also wanted to thank Scott Lomax, Mike Tesko, Tracy Williams, Tracy Brazier and other campaigners who do so much (but wish to remain nameless) for their continued efforts to help me. I am not unaware of the significant amount of time, cost and effort which goes into helping my campaign. I wish everyone well for the New Year and may it bring us all the very best for 2011."

"Let’s hope this Christmas (my 26th) will be my last in prison.”

“I am disappointed that the CCRC couldn’t make a decision on my case before Christmas but they have advised me this afternoon that they could not obtain the information they needed until January which means the commissioners will meet again on the 31st January 2011. We can look forward to that date and hope that they don’t delay any longer. I also wanted to thank everyone for their Christmas cards and wishes they have sent over the past weeks. Let’s hope this Christmas (my 26th) will be the last I spend in prison.”