Arbeit macht frei: - Fredrick Töben

Wednesday, 26 August: I had a surprisingly restful night’s sleep and I am
already dressed and ready to get my cup of coffee when at 7 a.m. the cell
door is opened. I head to the kitchenette where Jim, sitting at the table with
his cup of tea, gives me a cheerful greeting.
At 8 a.m. it is ‘assemble for the count’; officers walk along the passage,
taking count of each prisoner standing next to his cell door. It is amazing
how slovenly the inmates stand while the parade of officers go by. I seem to
be the odd one properly standing to attention with eyes focused on the
opposite wall a little upwards. I make no contact with the officers, and do
not feel tempted to make a noise or a nervous twitter as we are dismissed
with, ‘Thanks fellows’, or some provocative cat-calls from the younger ones
now hiding at the end of the passage. Officers do not respond to such
indirect provocations, which is good, and proper. It is like a boarding
school full of naughty boys, where a few more mature boys are unofficially
selected as prefects to keep the younger ones in line.
I take the walk, our voluntary exercise, which is not in a yard but in the
open along a sealed road from the Cell Block, that goes beyond the
Dormitory and the Farm Office, turning left along the road past the
workshop on the right and the cottages on the left, and then into the
orchards, where it turns left to an unsealed road. To continue onward leads
to the dairy, which is out of bounds for those who are not working there.
At the intersection of the unsealed road there is work going on; I find Jim
Earley working hard at fixing a broken pipe. He is the man who on his
green tractor sets the pace for good solid work, setting an example to all
newcomers to CTC that work is good for you because it keeps you fit.
The unsealed road leads to the orange groves where sign posts identify the
navel, navelina, valencia and common oranges. All look tattered; the posts
need a coat of green paint, and the signs need to be freshened with white
paint while the printing should be done in black paint.
The T-junction leads to another left turn where I spot a work shed to the
right, also needing attention. It seems here too, a little maintenance has to
be done to tidy up the shed.
On my return to the Cell Block, I pass the Pottery and Music Shed to the
right, then the Gym where fellows are pumping iron and whatever needs to
267