不偷不打不相識(shí):竊賊和房主成十年至交好友
作者:zhongying譯
來(lái)源:daily mai
2012-03-25 09:00
They greet each other with an affectionate bear hug whenever they meet — a gesture which demonstrates the strong bond these two men feel towards each other.
無(wú)論什么時(shí)候他們遇到,總是來(lái)一個(gè)充滿深情的熊抱—--這個(gè)動(dòng)作讓兩人彼此感受到濃濃的哥們情誼。
To the casual observer, Peter Woolf and Will Riley, both 55, are devoted old pals. But the course of their unorthodox ten-year friendship makes for intriguing — and shocking — reading.
在旁人看來(lái),55歲的皮特·伍爾夫和威爾·瑞利應(yīng)該是老朋友吧。但是他們這段非常規(guī)的十年友誼的淵源卻實(shí)在是很有趣,而且還很讓人吃驚,來(lái)讀讀他們的故事。
Before the men ever had a proper conversation, they had a serious physical fight. Peter hit Will over the head with a heavy griddle, then they both rolled down the stairs of Will’s North London home before Peter hit him again with a terracotta pot.
他們第一次打交道不是好好的聊天,而是激烈的拳頭相向。在威爾位于倫敦北部的家中,皮特用一個(gè)很重的煎鍋砸了威爾的頭,隨后皮特再次準(zhǔn)備用陶瓦壺砸向他,結(jié)果兩人一起滾下了樓梯。
Will was stunned and bleeding from the back of the head, but he refused to give in to Peter — a desperate heroin addict with a 30-year habit who had broken into Will’s home to steal whatever valuables he could then sell to buy drugs.
威爾受了驚嚇而且腦袋后面正在出血,但是他拒絕向皮特妥協(xié)。皮特是一個(gè)有著30年毒癮又不顧一切的人,他闖入威爾的家,偷一切值錢的東西,賣了錢然后去買毒品。
It was March 2002 and 5pm when Peter forced the front door of Will’s five-storey Georgian home in Islington. Will, a fit, 6ft 5in ex-banker who now runs his own ice-cream business, was working on the first floor, oblivious to the intrusion.
那是2002年3月一天的下午5點(diǎn),皮特逼近威爾在伊斯林頓區(qū)5層的喬治亞住宅樓。體格健康的威爾身高6.5英尺,以前是個(gè)銀行家如今經(jīng)營(yíng)著自己的冰激凌生意。當(dāng)時(shí)他正在1樓工作,沒(méi)注意有人闖入自己的住宅。
When Will walked into his bedroom to get his gym kit, he was stunned to find a dishevelled, 6ft tall, unpleasant-smelling man in front of him.
當(dāng)威爾到臥室拿健身裝備的時(shí)候,他被出現(xiàn)在眼前的這個(gè)蓬頭垢面味道難聞的六尺大漢嚇了一跳。
‘I asked him what he was doing in my house, and he said he was a neighbour who’d heard a noise and was worried,’ says Will. ‘I was sure he was a thief, so as he went to push past me, I grabbed him and pushed him to the floor.
“我問(wèn)他在我的房子里干什么,他回答說(shuō)他是鄰居,聽(tīng)到一些聲音很擔(dān)心就過(guò)來(lái)看看。” 威爾說(shuō),“我確定他是個(gè)小偷,所以當(dāng)他要從我身邊擠過(guò)去時(shí),我抓住了他把他按到了地上?!?/div>
‘I managed to get him downstairs and out into the street after pulling his jacket down to trap his arms like I’d seen in the TV police series, The Sweeney. I was shouting “Thief! Thief”. Someone had heard me shouting and called the police, who arrived within minutes. Some passersby helped me restrain Peter, who by then had stopped fighting.’
“就像在電視里警匪片《斯維尼》看到的一樣,在我扯下他夾克并壓住他兩條胳膊后,我成功地將他拽到樓下并帶到了街上。我開(kāi)始大聲喊‘小偷,小偷’ 。有人聽(tīng)到了我的呼叫報(bào)了警,幾分鐘后警察趕到了。一些路過(guò)的人幫著我按住了皮特,他隨后也停止了掙扎?!?/div>
The police bundled Peter — a serial offender out on parole for burglary — into the back of their van. He subsequently pleaded guilty to breaking and entering, and began a three-year sentence in London’s Pentonville Prison.
警察將皮特拷了起來(lái)丟進(jìn)了警車?yán)?,這個(gè)入室盜竊的慣犯之前才剛獲得假釋出獄。不久后皮特就因非法闖入民宅罪名被判刑,在倫敦維爾監(jiān)獄開(kāi)始了三年的牢獄生活。
It was the 34th prison in which he had been incarcerated, but, despite having spent 18 years of his life in jail, Peter somehow remained hopeful that he could clean himself up, stop taking drugs and go on to do something useful on his eventual release.
如今已經(jīng)是他第34次被關(guān)進(jìn)監(jiān)獄了,盡管人生中有18年是在牢獄中度過(guò)的,但是皮特還是希望能改過(guò)自新,戒了毒品然后在最終釋放后做些有用的事兒。
A few weeks later, Will received a telephone call from police officer Kim Smith, who explained that a trial in restorative justice was about to take place and he wondered if Will would like to meet Peter, who was in Pentonville Prison on remand, awaiting sentencing.
幾周后,威爾接到了金姆·史密斯警官打來(lái)的電話,他說(shuō)有一個(gè)恢復(fù)性司法審訊將要進(jìn)行,想知道威爾是不是愿意見(jiàn)見(jiàn)正在維爾監(jiān)獄候?qū)彽却袥Q的皮特。
Will consulted family and friends and discussed both sides of the argument before deciding that he wanted to meet Peter again. ‘I’m a spoilt, middle-class man, and I was curious about Peter’s dangerous world,’ Will says. ‘I also thought that I might be able to help him change his ways.’
在威爾決定再見(jiàn)皮特之前,他了解了皮特的家庭和朋友,聽(tīng)了各種關(guān)于威爾的意見(jiàn)和看法?!拔沂且粋€(gè)被寵壞的中產(chǎn)階級(jí),我對(duì)皮特危險(xiǎn)的世界特別好奇,” 威爾說(shuō),“我也沒(méi)想到我能夠幫他改變?cè)镜纳钴壽E?!?/div>
Will saved Peter's life. ‘We’re great friends, we get on extremely well, we have a unique bond, and when we meet we talk about everything,’ says Will. ‘Peter’s a fine man.’
威爾拯救了皮特的生活。“我們是好朋友,我們關(guān)系特別好,這種關(guān)系很特別,我們見(jiàn)了面可以無(wú)話不談。”威爾說(shuō),“皮特是個(gè)好人?!?/div>
Surely words that ten years ago, as he stood bleeding on the pavement outside his home, he could never have imagined saying.
當(dāng)然了,這些話如果放到10年前他頭上流著血站在自家門外人行道的時(shí)候,他絕對(duì)不會(huì)這么說(shuō)的。
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