It’s been a mad week, with the publication (after a long, convoluted process of permissions, paperwork, photos etc) of a double-page feature about the work I do here in the Daily Record. Initially it was intended for the Sunday Mail, when they approached Olivier, the press officer at Scottish Book Trust, after seeing my blog, but both papers are owned by Mirror Group – it was a surprise to me, but not a shock, that the feature appeared in the Record.

On Friday I caused a bit of a stir by grabbing a couple of officers in reception and asking them to help me take a tree out of my car. Luckily they’re used to me by now; one was wise enough to run for it before I finished my sentence, but the other gallantly came and helped me remove a large, potted birch tree and take it in.

There's a new jailbird in town – Devon the oystercatcher, who has laid three eggs in the rubble outside the education office window. They’re between the window and 'The Digger' (solitary confinement) officially called Devon. We've named two of the eggs after the halls, Abercrombie and Harvieston, with the third called Education Unit (inspired by Frank Zappa's Moon Unit).

Live Literature has arrived at Glenochil! This week, author James Jauncey went to prison for the afternoon to lead a fantastic workshop. Jamie also read from his two young adult novels, The Witness and The Reckoning.

The spring sunshine and flowers are a stark contrast to the 24/7 gloom within the prison walls. A lot of prisoners say summer is the worst time to be locked up – they know their partners, friends and families are out and about having fun and it drives some of them up the wall. That’s why many of them choose to end relationships after a couple of months.

There are so many questions buzzing around in my mind today. I ran for an hour to try and resolve them (usually a sure solution) but their clamour only got louder. I felt the need to post something as they involve serious issues about the role all prison writers-in-residence play.

Power cuts here at the prison this morning have given me time to find out about a really interesting project on the BBC Three website.

The microcosm of the prison environment often seems to both intensify pressures and bring things which on the outside - in an office maybe - might brew for months, to a boiling point very quickly.

What an inspiring week. A Writers in Residence seminar organised by NALD (National Association for Literature Development) came at just the right time, at the end of quite a tough few days.

As I get closer to the men in my classes I find our interaction more rewarding, but sometimes draining. I'm more aware of their nuances in mood and how deep the underlying problems they indicate can be and as I'm working closely with a few of them on a one-to-one basis, it's hard work maintaining emotional barriers.