arrested and if so then what for.
My worst fears were confirmed by my uncle when he told me on the phone that Graham had been arrested and charged with the robbery of the jewellers in Reading. It wasn’t rocket science to work out that he had stuck me in. For the past couple of years the newspapers had been full about people turning informer and a new phrase had been coined to describe these lowlifes – this was now the age of the supergrass. It has to be remembered that this was in the days when you could be convicted solely on the verbal evidence of a fellow robber who had turned informant. When a police officer gave evidence in court juries found it very difficult to believe that it could be fabricated and it was always a very risky strategy to imply that the cop was being less than truthful. I knew that if Graham had traded me then I was on a very sticky wicket.
After a couple of months I decided that both Alison and me should return south. I told my da that me and Alisonwere both missing our families and that I wanted to deal with the Graham situation. Hughie said it was a very risky strategy but he wished us well and told me to keep him in the picture and to let him know if there was anything we needed. As we said our goodbyes I watched him walk away and I somehow knew that I would never see him again, and I never did. A little over a year later he was dead at the age of 50. I still miss him.
Alison wasn’t too keen on the idea of facing her mum and dad again, no matter how much she had been missing them, but I think she knew it was the right thing to do. I didn’t want her to get involved any deeper than she already was. We had fallen deeply in love and I knew that if only things had been different we would have spent the rest of our lives together. We just fitted each other so perfectly.
So on a Monday morning we boarded the train for London at Glasgow Central and the next phase of our adventure began. Perhaps if I had known what lay in store for me I would never have gotten on board, but I had made my decision. I had no idea just how hard life was going to test me. It was as if it was almost saying to me, ‘Right, wee man, let’s see what you are really made of.’ And it would not be too long before I found myself having to answer that question.
Chapter Eighteen
T he morning after our return from Glasgow, I phoned John Renaldi. He was so pleased to hear that I was safe, though he almost dropped the phone when I told him I was at Ma’s with Alison. ‘Fuck me, Jim,’ he said, ‘you like to sail close to the wind, don’t ya? You are red hot and the old bill have been turning everyone over looking for you. For fuck’s sake don’t show your face.’
The phone I was using was in my sister’s house, which I entered using the back door as she was only a couple of houses away from Ma’s. As long as I was careful and made sure I wasn’t seen then the risk was negligible, but it was a risk that had to be taken as our options were very limited.
On the Friday evening my sister Olive drove into Newbury to see Christine and to arrange that my boy James would come over to Ma’s on Saturday. It was just so good to see my James again as I had missed him really badly. The true price for choosing a life of crime is the loss of loved ones, particularly children. James found it a bit strange that wecould not go outside to play but we had a great weekend and before we knew it, it was time for him to return home. This would be the last time I would spend with my James. As I write these words almost 34 years have passed and the pain never goes away. That is the price I pay for the life I choose to live.
At nine o’clock on Monday morning I was awoken by the sound of loud banging on the front door of Ma’s house. I had heard that type of noise too many times before to be in any doubt over the callers. I wasn’t mistaken because a voice called out, ‘This is the police, Mrs Cryans. Open the door, we have a
My worst fears were confirmed by my uncle when he told me on the phone that Graham had been arrested and charged with the robbery of the jewellers in Reading. It wasn’t rocket science to work out that he had stuck me in. For the past couple of years the newspapers had been full about people turning informer and a new phrase had been coined to describe these lowlifes – this was now the age of the supergrass. It has to be remembered that this was in the days when you could be convicted solely on the verbal evidence of a fellow robber who had turned informant. When a police officer gave evidence in court juries found it very difficult to believe that it could be fabricated and it was always a very risky strategy to imply that the cop was being less than truthful. I knew that if Graham had traded me then I was on a very sticky wicket.
After a couple of months I decided that both Alison and me should return south. I told my da that me and Alisonwere both missing our families and that I wanted to deal with the Graham situation. Hughie said it was a very risky strategy but he wished us well and told me to keep him in the picture and to let him know if there was anything we needed. As we said our goodbyes I watched him walk away and I somehow knew that I would never see him again, and I never did. A little over a year later he was dead at the age of 50. I still miss him.
Alison wasn’t too keen on the idea of facing her mum and dad again, no matter how much she had been missing them, but I think she knew it was the right thing to do. I didn’t want her to get involved any deeper than she already was. We had fallen deeply in love and I knew that if only things had been different we would have spent the rest of our lives together. We just fitted each other so perfectly.
So on a Monday morning we boarded the train for London at Glasgow Central and the next phase of our adventure began. Perhaps if I had known what lay in store for me I would never have gotten on board, but I had made my decision. I had no idea just how hard life was going to test me. It was as if it was almost saying to me, ‘Right, wee man, let’s see what you are really made of.’ And it would not be too long before I found myself having to answer that question.
Chapter Eighteen
T he morning after our return from Glasgow, I phoned John Renaldi. He was so pleased to hear that I was safe, though he almost dropped the phone when I told him I was at Ma’s with Alison. ‘Fuck me, Jim,’ he said, ‘you like to sail close to the wind, don’t ya? You are red hot and the old bill have been turning everyone over looking for you. For fuck’s sake don’t show your face.’
The phone I was using was in my sister’s house, which I entered using the back door as she was only a couple of houses away from Ma’s. As long as I was careful and made sure I wasn’t seen then the risk was negligible, but it was a risk that had to be taken as our options were very limited.
On the Friday evening my sister Olive drove into Newbury to see Christine and to arrange that my boy James would come over to Ma’s on Saturday. It was just so good to see my James again as I had missed him really badly. The true price for choosing a life of crime is the loss of loved ones, particularly children. James found it a bit strange that wecould not go outside to play but we had a great weekend and before we knew it, it was time for him to return home. This would be the last time I would spend with my James. As I write these words almost 34 years have passed and the pain never goes away. That is the price I pay for the life I choose to live.
At nine o’clock on Monday morning I was awoken by the sound of loud banging on the front door of Ma’s house. I had heard that type of noise too many times before to be in any doubt over the callers. I wasn’t mistaken because a voice called out, ‘This is the police, Mrs Cryans. Open the door, we have a
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