# richardhwrote > The blog of Richard Hall - aspiring dyslexic author, colour-blind artist, activist and campaigner, lover of sandwiches, and survivor of many things. ## Posts - [A year by any other name](https://richardhwrote.com/a-year-by-any-other-name/): It doesn’t feel like a year has gone by but it’s almost exactly one year since I logged into the Swindon Crown Court system and watched the judge dispense his sentence. Tim – the man who used a youth counselling agency to gain access to children – was given a twenty two year custodial sentence, and told he must serve a minimum two thirds of it. It was victim B, who is better at maths than me, who pointed out that meant fourteen years minimum in jail. Fourteen is how old I was when I met Tim, and fourteen was… - [A reason, a season, or a lifetime](https://richardhwrote.com/a-reason-a-season-or-a-lifetime/): New Years Eve: A time to rejoice and celebrate. A time for family and friends. A time to wave goodbye to the year that’s passed and wax lyrical about the year to come. I spent mine the way I normally do, watching TV and movies with my husband and beverage of my choice. This year it was vodka and coke (don’t judge me it’s a classic), and waiting for the fireworks so I can sit on the floor for an hour trying to persuade the cat that the world isn’t about to end. By 1:30am Bruce (the cat) was no… - [So what now? From report to court – part ten](https://richardhwrote.com/so-what-now-from-report-to-court-part-ten/): After the verdict and sentencing, it took a while for the dust to settle. The last four years of my life had been consumed by the investigation and trial dates. The ‘ifs’ ‘ands’ and ‘maybes’ had hung in the air, and my life orbited them. When it finally came to an end, it left a void that I didn’t know how to fill. The upside, I was finally free of the CPS, and the constant threat of the trial not happening if I didn’t behave. My speech, actions, and even my career had been under their control. It wasn’t direct… - [From report to court, part nine – I have a probation worker](https://richardhwrote.com/from-report-to-court-part-nine-i-have-a-probation-worker/): In the last email I hope to ever receive from the CPS, they told me what I already knew about Tim’s sentencing, and that The Restorative Justice Team would be contacting me in the near future. That team is the one that liaises between a convict and a victim, if the convict wishes to make contact. I wasn’t surprised when I found out the CPS were yet again, wrong. Two weeks after the sentencing I got an email from the Victim Contact Scheme. Attached was an information leaflet, a form to fill out if I wished to engage with them,… - [From report to court, part eight – Being on the stand](https://richardhwrote.com/from-report-to-court-part-eight-being-on-the-stand/): I didn’t want Jon to be in court with me. As much as knowing he was there would be a comfort, it would also make me conscious of what I was saying. I know my past upsets him, simply because it causes me pain and he can’t fix that or protect me from it. I also knew the court gallery was virtually empty, which was a surprise to me. Every TV court drama has the gallery full of people watching, but in reality, no one wants to watch. I followed the usher through the second set of double doors, and… - [From report to court, part seven – Days in court](https://richardhwrote.com/from-report-to-court-part-seven-days-in-court/): The defence barrister, Ms Nadia Chbat, managed to obstruct the rescheduling of the trial for another two months. It wasn’t until the Judge summoned her back to court where she faced potential ramifications for her behaviour, that the medical reports magically appeared. Unsurprisingly, Tim was found both mentally and physically capable. The judge asked Ms Nadia Chbat if there would be any more delays, and she replied, “We have no more applications to make.” A trial date was set for February 2024, almost four years since I first called the police. We rebooked flights and accommodation, this time ignoring the… - [From report to court, part six – Court Dates one, two, and three](https://richardhwrote.com/from-report-to-court-part-six-court-dates-one-two-and-three/): DC Ross completed the case file, and towards the end of 2021 my chosen-country’s borders opened after lockdowns. Getting home was disorienting. My husband had to move apartments while I was away, so it was both home and not. But being back with him gave me some mental distance from the investigation. Ross and I spoke regularly, and I started feeling like a pest asking for updates when he had nothing to give me. August 2022, nearly a year after Ryan gave his statement, and more than two years since I’d given mine, Ross called me. “The CPS have authorized… - [From report to court, part five – Two become three](https://richardhwrote.com/from-report-to-court-part-five-two-become-three/): By the time England was in the Christmas lockdown of 2020, Alfie was ready to his interview. He made the same choice as me and went on his own, but Ross logged my address in the police system to say Alfie could visit me. He didn’t though, he did what I did after my interview, he went home and slept. The emotional exhaustion of going through that made our brains want to shut down and reboot. By the time our calendars clicked onto March, Ross told us he’d be calling Tim in for an interview. The idea of Ross sliding… - [From report to court, part four – Not alone anymore](https://richardhwrote.com/from-report-to-court-part-four-not-alone-anymore/): DC Ross came back into the interview room with a handful of paperwork. I still hadn’t had it confirmed that the person I was talking about and the article I’d found were the same person. All the jigsaw pieces fit, but there was a tiny chance I’d just reported Tim, and it wasn’t him. My subconscious clung to this last hope, and I asked the question. “I need you to sign this,” Ross said, sliding a form across the coffee table between us. The form was a declaration and signing it would mean I’d made an official statement and was… - [From report to court, part three – Video Recorded Interview](https://richardhwrote.com/from-report-to-court-part-three-video-recorded-interview/): I only had to wait two days for my interview, and in some ways I was glad it wasn’t longer. Not because I was going to get cold feet, they were already frozen, I just didn’t want to live with the dread of what would happen when I said everything out-loud. Scenarios started playing in my mind of being questioned, would cheery Ross from the phone calls turn back into stoic Ross? How could I sit there, 94kg of muscle, tattoos, and resting-bitch-face, and be believed I could let a man do those things to me? I woke around dawn,… - [From report to court, part two – Meeting CID](https://richardhwrote.com/from-report-to-court-part-two-meeting-cid/): I hadn’t thought I’d sleep, but I woke from a dreamless blackness. I looked at the clock, 06:42. Tonight there’d be police here. The woman who took my call said they’d get to me between 17:30 and 19:00. All I had to do now was get through the next twelve hours. Throughout the day my sister kept finding me vacant, staring. I was living in two time zones at once, the past and the future. That meant I wasn’t in the present. She never asked if I was okay, just kept offering me coffee or food, or asking about my… - [From report to court, part one – Calling the police](https://richardhwrote.com/from-report-to-court-part-one-calling-the-police/): My breath was warm on my hands as I cradled my face. I lifted my head and looked at my phone beside me on the sofa. When I’d sent Alfie the news article, I’d needed him to tell me it wasn’t Tim. I’d have been okay if he’d said he wasn’t sure. But his confirmation meant the only option I had was the one I never wanted to do. Just hours before I’d told my friend Phil, I wasn’t going to call the police. I’d said there was no evidence. I’d said I’d left it too late. I was fourteen… - [The Secrets Tree. A short story.](https://richardhwrote.com/the-secrets-tree-a-short-story/): I want to take a break from the serious side of life for a moment, and so I present, The Secrets Tree. The idea for this story came to me in the shower. I wanted to help someone with an example of how to show the passing of time, without stating the years that had passed. The tree grew in my mind, and life started happening around it. An hour later I had a first draft, and The Secrets Tree was born. I’m not sure I achieved my original objective, but I like the outcome. Let me know what you… - [Places of support](https://richardhwrote.com/places-of-support/): On a chilly autumn night in 2020, at around 3 a.m., I walked home talking to my phone. I’d taken to recording my thoughts and feelings. I wasn’t in the head space to write properly, and talking was freer, less thought out, it had an openness to it that writing didn’t. I’d spent the evening with a close friend, and due to the amount of wine and pizza we’d consumed, I was warmed from the inside out. Mel is unique amongst my friends, we’re a lot alike. We’ve both also suffered trauma at the hands of another, although in completely… - [The Sentencing – Consequences of my abusers actions](https://richardhwrote.com/the-sentencing-consequences-of-my-abusers-actions/): I closed my book with fifty pages to go. I was reading Firefly Lane by Kristin Hannah, and I didn’t want the ending to be clouded by the feelings that were building inside me. It was 16:44, a little over two hours before I had to log into the court video link. I’d been receiving texts for nearly two hours about what was going to happen. The lead detective, my sister, friends, even my husband, who texted so he wouldn’t disturb me. Sentencing was due to start at 11:00 in the UK, which was exactly dinner time for me in… - [How did a paedophile slip through the net to become a local councillor?](https://richardhwrote.com/how-did-a-paedophile-slip-through-the-net-to-become-a-local-councillor/): I’ve lost count of the amount of DBS checks I’ve had. DBS stands for Disclosure and Barring Service, and it replaced CRB checks, which was Criminal Records Bureau. I had mine because I was a youth-worker, then I freelanced in schools as an artist, I’ve also needed them for visa applications. It’s a simple process, and shows any unspent convictions you have. It shows your employer, the organisation that you want to work with, or the country that you wish to enter, that you aren’t a convicted criminal, and it’s a simple way to stop someone who is, from gaining… - [Lazy local journalists](https://richardhwrote.com/lazy-local-journalists/): I’d been writing about my past and discussing my history with my sister when I found the article detailing Tim’s conviction. My Siter became the first person to challenge the way I was thinking. I was stuck defending him like I was still a kid that needed to do what he was told. It was 2020, and the article was three years old so why hadn’t I seen it before? The only reason I can think of is that I put ‘paedophile’ after his name, and that turned up an obscure article from a publication in Salisbury. Tim’s conviction was… - [I guess the place to start is the end…](https://richardhwrote.com/i-guess-the-place-to-start-is-the-end/): I guess the place to start is the end. My editor is always going on about coda. That need to wrap things up nicely and put a bow on them so they’re finished. In his case he’s talking about the end of a manuscript or story, but for me it just seems like a natural place to start. I’d spent two weeks in the UK. Two days in court. I’d even been on the stand twice, both times behind an ugly red curtain so the jury could see me, but my abuser couldn’t. But then I’d had to come home.… ## Pages - [I’m Fine](https://richardhwrote.com/im-fine/): I’m Fine : a Memoir of Betrayal and Survival My memoir was published on 21 August 2025, the culmination of five long years of writing, editing, and a lot of therapy along the way. I’m very proud of this book and hope that it will help other people who have experienced abuse and most of all it might help strengthen safeguarding and protect other young people from abuse. A true story of trust, betrayal and exploitation In 1996, at the age of fourteen, Richard Hall met a man who changed his life. Two and half decades later, he called the… - [Contact](https://richardhwrote.com/contact/): How to contact Richard Hall – author, part time recluse, and survivor of many things. As I’m an actual Millennial, generally the best way to contact me is through my social media accounts. - [Meet Richard Hall: Author and Survivor](https://richardhwrote.com/): The official website of Richard Hall I’m a published author now! My memoir I’m Fine was published in August of this year by the amazing Eye Books. I’m so very grateful to everyone at Eye Books for the belief, support and hard work that went into turning my manuscript into a published memoir. Thank you! From report to court For the background story of how I ended up in Court – as a witness – in the trial of Tim Darch, aka Timothy Herbert Darch, aka Julian Timothy Darch, see my blog sequence ‘from report to court‘ About about Richard Hall – author,… - [Blog](https://richardhwrote.com/blog/) - [About](https://richardhwrote.com/about/): Richard Hall – author of I’m Fine, part time recluse, and survivor of many things. I was born in Kent, before moving to Swindon at an early age. I now live in Malaysia with my husband and well travelled cats, the eldest of which has lived in four different countries. Having trained as a youth worker and participatory artist, I exhibited my own art developing an aesthetic described as William Morris for the 21st Century. During the lockdowns of 2020, with no access to art materials, I discovered a new medium. I’d previously thought writing was out of reach due to… [comment]: # (Generated by Hostinger Tools Plugin)