May Tornado

I spoke with Steve last night. We had a great conversation about his last few weeks. He had a great time telling me about a tornado which blew hrough Tipitapa. It would seem that a deluge of rain was dumped in Nicaragua which meant that the prison was flooded up to the knees of the prisoners. Cells were flooded which meant inmates had to sleep next to water which took them 3 days to get completely dry. Steve had a great time and it seems the inmates enjoyed the occasion so much so they ended up having water fights.

Steve is in good form. He has not had a visitor for over a month becuase money is really tight, however, his girlfriend was visiting him today. She had been waiting to get in since 9am and it was now 3pm, so she had stuck it out to see him. He was very happy.

We discussed his release which he thinks is coming in August. It seems as though we have been told he is getting released every month this year, one can undertand why we are not holding our breath. From our perspective his official release date is April 2011 which is now less that 1 year away. This is a massive difference from the 25 years he had left when we first met him, so I did try to put that into perspective for him. He seemed to accept that no matter what happens he will be released next April, anything less than that is a bonus.

So for now all seems well. We have so far raised enough money to almost pay for a ticket for Steve to return to the UK. We are also still sending out money to him to help him buy food. He is so greatful for this, so much so he wanted me to pass on his express thanks to all those who are helping him. He simply is overwhelemed by peoples generosity with their money, especially in these difficult times.

I will be speaking to Steve again over the weekend as he thinks he may be in court again soon. We shall see........