As I sit down to write this chapter that old cliched phrase “What did the Romans ever do for us?” plays softly in the back of mind. My brain doesn't quite function in a normal way so this phrase has been transformed to “What did The Open University ever do for me … ?”

In 2007 I was arrested at Gatwick Airport with 1.1kg of cocaine hidden in the lining of my bag. After a short period on remand I was convicted and received a 12-year sentence for drug trafficking (six in prison, six on licence). I was 40 years old at the time and had never really paid any heed to The Open University (OU). The only thing I ever remembered about the OU would have been those early morning programmes on BBC2, way back in the 1970s – my mother being the enthusiast as I was only eight or nine. I had different priorities; mainly football. However, upon receiving my sentence and being acutely aware that I would have a lot of time on my hands I decided to make a few enquiries about the OU.

After a few false starts in England I arrived back in Northern Ireland in 2009 and received my first parcel K101, An Introduction to Health and Social Care. I distinctly remember thinking to myself “What on earth are you playing at? The last time you ever wrote an essay was in high school for GCSEs. Send it back and forget about it.” Fortunately for me, the OU have people in prison who are there to coordinate and guide doubtful Thomases like myself through this daunting process.

After much procrastination (we all have it) I got myself set up at a desk in a prefab unit called the Education Department in HMP Magilligan. I had just under four years left of my prison sentence and by this stage I was well versed in the politics of the institution of prison, its attitudes to ‘pond life’ like myself.