Kick off in Court 15

So finally. What I am here to do. Serve on a jury. Turn up 10.00 am and this time as a sworn in juror I have to sign the register for my court. The court can only sit if all 12 are ready to go. No being late , or everyone is held up.

Once, when I was at Southwark a juror was 45 minutes late. She was on the bus and didn't bother to phone in.Finally she arrived ,and seeing us all assembled outside the Court exclaimed 'Why didn't you start without me ?'. The judge gave her the biggest public bollocking I have ever seen. Needless to say, she wasn't late again but it had to be explained to her that all 12 jurors need to hear the same case all together.

There is a buzz about The Bailey today. The press and the media are outside . It's day one of the Sion Jenkins trial. I bump into a 'spare' juror from the preselection in the lift and she tells me that they expect the case to run to the end of May. It's today's hot topic in Jury Assembly. I think I had a narrow escape.

Find my court 15 'gang' in the tea area. Jurors once selected tend to stick together. Our fellow jurors are now the only people we can talk about our cases to. We are, as intended, a very mixed bag , joined together by a common task.

10.25
We are taken up to our court and file in in the order we have been selected. We have to sit in exactly the same seat every day. I notice there are people in the public gallery. We have official notepaper, pencils, water set before us. The Judge introduces the barristers and tells us a little more about the nature of the case . And then we are off. The Prosecution opens the case for the Crown.

I can't talk about the case as you know, but I'll say this. Nothing I have seen on television comes close to the reality of what we are now a part of. And my, do we concentrate hard. Witnesses are called, evidence submitted, documents and photographs given to us to look at , a harrowing phone call to listen to. By 12.50 we are ready for the lunch break.

Go outside for a ciggie and to clear my head. The press pack are still there. Photographers chase people down the street. Sion Jenkins' parents.
Back in for lunch and a chat with my fellow jurors. We carefully sound each other out on our feelings about what we have heard so far. All mindful that this is the prosecution side of the story. We have yet to hear the defence.

Come 2pm and we are ready to go back. There is a delay in the court. A doctor is called. We don't go back til 3. Another hour and the judge adjourns for the day. We all leave in sombre mood, heads full of what we have heard.

It's been an emotionally exhausting day for all of us.

And it's only just started.