Nothing brings the true meaning of prison into sharper focus than Christmas; not just a time of merriment and good cheer, but a time when families and friends gather together. The isolation of the men inside seems all the more poignant as the authorities do their best to introduce a festive atmosphere. A tree goes up in the great central hall; decorations hang from the forbidding iron galleries and stairways; the strains of a Salvation Army band mingle with the more familiar sounds of clanging doors and rattling keys. It is a time when, traditionally, human beings pause and take stock of their situation. And a time, perhaps, for everyone to pause and take stock of what life in prison may be doing to our fellow men.