The men in my life

I WARMED to the title of a new little book about Sister Winifred Mary of the Community of All Hallows, Ditchingham, in Norfolk, near Bungay across the Suffolk border: The Men in My Life: A nun’s story, by Pat Richards*.

Sister Winifred Mary, who is in her 90th year, was interviewed by the author about her work at Blundeston Prison, for which she received the Butler Award and an MBE some years ago.

At the prison, she provided a listening ear, and help with literacy, to men who were often “lifers” and had been disowned by their families. She sent them postcards when she was on holiday, and found that in due course some of them wanted to talk about God and came to faith. Many still write to her.

The author first met her after a service at the Community’s nursing home. “One of the Sisters, a diminutive, frail-looking person, comes up to me: ‘I’ve a little joke for you.’”

As well as prisoners’ poems, a selection of the Sister’s little jokes are printed here. (These often came from prisoners.) One is about a drawing lesson at school, and has the ring of truth. The teacher asks a little girl what her picture is of. “I’ve drawn God.” And the teacher says: “But no one knows what God looks like.” And the little girl says: “Well, they will now, won’t they?”