0:00:02 > 0:00:05Attention! The My Life In Care videos are about to receive
0:00:05 > 0:00:07their world premiere, in the TV room.
0:00:07 > 0:00:11Don't miss these personal takes on what life is really like
0:00:11 > 0:00:12in Ashdene Ridge.
0:00:12 > 0:00:14And next up, it's Sasha.
0:00:16 > 0:00:17Hey.
0:00:18 > 0:00:22I'm Sasha Bellman and nobody tells me what to do.
0:00:22 > 0:00:26I'm doing this video because I want to, right?
0:00:26 > 0:00:31Anyway, of all the things that make me mad about the Dumping Ground,
0:00:31 > 0:00:35and that's pretty much everything, the absolute worst is that
0:00:35 > 0:00:37people expect you to stick to stupid rules.
0:00:37 > 0:00:39- HE WHISPERS:- Jody!
0:00:40 > 0:00:43I need your help with Sasha.
0:00:43 > 0:00:46- Well, only if I get my room back. - I'm on it, don't worry.
0:00:46 > 0:00:48Well, what do you want me to do?
0:00:48 > 0:00:49Simple, I just want you to make sure
0:00:49 > 0:00:51that she keeps to the rules, all right?
0:00:51 > 0:00:54'..which is a problem, because in this place,
0:00:54 > 0:00:56'you have rules coming out of your ears.'
0:00:56 > 0:00:59Yeah, it's like they've got this big book somewhere,
0:00:59 > 0:01:01that they give to all care and social workers,
0:01:01 > 0:01:05that says, "One Million Ways To Ruin Sasha Bellman's Life."
0:01:05 > 0:01:06Urgh!
0:01:06 > 0:01:08What's happened?
0:01:08 > 0:01:12- I got tickets to Skate Night. - No way.
0:01:13 > 0:01:15May-Li won't let me go.
0:01:15 > 0:01:18"Not while you're on probation." She hates me.
0:01:18 > 0:01:20'And what really gets me is the way it seems like
0:01:20 > 0:01:23'there's one rule for everyone else and another one for me.'
0:01:23 > 0:01:26Come on, Sash, that's not true.
0:01:26 > 0:01:29Really?
0:01:29 > 0:01:32Mike, we seem to have a stowaway in the back.
0:01:32 > 0:01:36Oh, Sasha. You know the deal, come on, back in the house, please.
0:01:36 > 0:01:39Come on.
0:01:39 > 0:01:42THEY CHANT CHEERIO
0:01:42 > 0:01:44Hey, guys.
0:01:44 > 0:01:46Guys, quiet down now.
0:01:52 > 0:01:56'So all I did was give those stupid headlights a little tap.'
0:01:56 > 0:01:58Now no-one can go.
0:01:58 > 0:02:01'Then Mike comes in laying down the law,
0:02:01 > 0:02:03'like it was my fault they broke so easily.'
0:02:03 > 0:02:05I don't talk to social workers.
0:02:05 > 0:02:09'And anyway, I'm sure they could make them stronger.'
0:02:09 > 0:02:11Tough.
0:02:12 > 0:02:15Do you have any idea what you've done?
0:02:15 > 0:02:17The young people here have been looking forward
0:02:17 > 0:02:21to this trip for months. And now they won't be going anywhere.
0:02:21 > 0:02:22So claim on the insurance.
0:02:22 > 0:02:25Is that all you've got to say, not even a sorry?
0:02:25 > 0:02:27Nope, don't care.
0:02:27 > 0:02:28Yeah, I've seen this film before.
0:02:28 > 0:02:32They punish you, you get your own back, they punish you more.
0:02:32 > 0:02:36It's like a vicious cycle, one that I've been round many times.
0:02:36 > 0:02:40Which is why what happened next was a bit of a shock.
0:02:40 > 0:02:43- You've got to call the cops. - I don't have to.
0:02:43 > 0:02:44Yes, you do.
0:02:44 > 0:02:47Cos of the minibus.
0:02:47 > 0:02:50- We could pay for the damage ourselves.- Why would you do that?
0:02:50 > 0:02:52To make the other kids hate me even more?
0:02:52 > 0:02:56Why don't you try and make it up to them?
0:02:56 > 0:02:59Even if it is just for three days, you're part of our family,
0:02:59 > 0:03:02whether we like it or not.
0:03:03 > 0:03:06This is where the trust starts.
0:03:12 > 0:03:14'OK, don't think I'm going soft,
0:03:14 > 0:03:16'but no-one had ever done that before.
0:03:16 > 0:03:20'Which made me think, "Maybe there's a first time for everything."'
0:03:20 > 0:03:24I'm going to say sorry and I never do that.
0:03:26 > 0:03:29I suppose this next one is a bit sad really.
0:03:29 > 0:03:32Not that I'm feeling sorry for myself or anything like that,
0:03:32 > 0:03:38but before I came here, I don't think I had any proper friends.
0:03:42 > 0:03:45Real ones, I mean.
0:03:45 > 0:03:49Aw! Her only friend in the world, Mr Fluffy Bearkins.
0:03:49 > 0:03:52Will you two button it for once?
0:03:52 > 0:03:55And his name's Trevor Ted, actually.
0:03:55 > 0:04:00'When you're in trouble, you soon find out who your friends are.'
0:04:00 > 0:04:02Hey, Molly, it's Sasha.
0:04:02 > 0:04:04OK, you know.
0:04:04 > 0:04:06Look, I need a place to crash for a few days.
0:04:06 > 0:04:09DIAL TONE SOUNDS Hello? Hello?
0:04:11 > 0:04:15'Don't get me wrong, there's loads about this place that's rubbish.
0:04:15 > 0:04:18'But to have people that aren't just using you, might even
0:04:18 > 0:04:24'like you a little bit, well, that's not the worst thing in the world.'
0:04:24 > 0:04:27You've never been to the seaside?
0:04:27 > 0:04:29No, never.
0:04:31 > 0:04:36Whoa, it's OK. I'd never been bowling before I came here.
0:04:36 > 0:04:39And I'd never seen a kidney bean.
0:04:39 > 0:04:41Why don't we make Sasha a bucket list.
0:04:41 > 0:04:43- A what?- A bucket list.
0:04:43 > 0:04:46Look, she has two days left before she gets locked up for ages.
0:04:46 > 0:04:50So that gives us time to fit all the things she's never done before.
0:04:50 > 0:04:53'So, yeah, there are some people here, not many, but one or two,
0:04:53 > 0:04:56'who will actually stand by you when it matters.
0:04:56 > 0:04:59'Like Tee, she's the kind who will dig you out of trouble,
0:04:59 > 0:05:02'whatever it takes. Even take the rap for you'
0:05:02 > 0:05:04You have to let them go. I went to Skate Night
0:05:04 > 0:05:07and asked the twins to cover for me, so it's my fault
0:05:07 > 0:05:09they locked you in the bathroom.
0:05:09 > 0:05:12- Don't you mean, "We went to skate night"?- Nope, I went on my own.
0:05:12 > 0:05:16You mean you found someone dumb enough to actually take the blame
0:05:16 > 0:05:17for stuff you've done?
0:05:17 > 0:05:20I think you're mistaking the word friend for the word sucker.
0:05:20 > 0:05:23You left this in the kitchen.
0:05:24 > 0:05:27Nice selfie of you both, in your skates.
0:05:28 > 0:05:30Yeah, that went well...
0:05:30 > 0:05:32Not.
0:05:32 > 0:05:35- Sasha!- What?
0:05:35 > 0:05:37Oi!
0:05:37 > 0:05:38Run!
0:05:38 > 0:05:41'Although, yeah, it might not always work out,
0:05:41 > 0:05:43'but, I suppose, it's the thought that counts.'
0:05:43 > 0:05:46- Give me the bag and I'll say that I nicked it.- Why?
0:05:46 > 0:05:49Because if you get caught, you're going straight to secure.
0:05:49 > 0:05:52Oi! Show me that.
0:05:52 > 0:05:54Lightweight.
0:05:54 > 0:05:55HE GASPS
0:05:55 > 0:05:58- Whoops-a-daisy. - You did that on purpose!
0:05:58 > 0:06:00- Mike!- Squealing to the care workers, are we?
0:06:00 > 0:06:02Who's the lightweight now?
0:06:11 > 0:06:14And let me tell you,
0:06:14 > 0:06:16not everyone in this place is as kind as Tee and Jody.
0:06:16 > 0:06:20'Some of them are right pieces of work.'
0:06:20 > 0:06:21Mentioning no names.
0:06:21 > 0:06:25There's one girl here, though, who's really got it in for me.
0:06:25 > 0:06:26'And I don't understand why.'
0:06:26 > 0:06:29- She means me, you know.- Does she?
0:06:29 > 0:06:33You're rude and ungrateful. You're the meanest,
0:06:33 > 0:06:37- horriblest girl I've ever known.- I'm not!
0:06:37 > 0:06:38'I just don't get it.'
0:06:38 > 0:06:40Shorty, show me my room.
0:06:40 > 0:06:42Find it yourself.
0:06:42 > 0:06:45It's not like I've ever done anything bad to her.
0:06:45 > 0:06:48I'm talking to you.
0:06:48 > 0:06:51Apart from a bit of a mix-up with some water, way back.
0:06:54 > 0:06:56Oh, nice shot.
0:06:56 > 0:07:00'But nothing to justify the trail of pure evil that followed.'
0:07:00 > 0:07:02She means me again, pure evil.
0:07:12 > 0:07:14- There you go.- Thanks.
0:07:14 > 0:07:18'Funny really, I normally don't let people's negative vibes get to me.
0:07:18 > 0:07:22'But this particular person really knows what buttons to push.'
0:07:22 > 0:07:26You can't have a photo, cos you're not one of us.
0:07:26 > 0:07:29I am. For three days, that's what Mike said.
0:07:29 > 0:07:33He didn't really mean it, he's only pretending to like you,
0:07:33 > 0:07:35just like all of us here.
0:07:35 > 0:07:38Then why did they want me to do the bucket list then?
0:07:38 > 0:07:40For the snacks, of course.
0:07:40 > 0:07:44If we're nice to you, we'll get a massive treat when you're gone.
0:07:46 > 0:07:50- Here we go.- Nice and careful, now, those things are hot, very hot.
0:07:50 > 0:07:53We've got roasties, Yorkshire's and pigs in blankets.
0:08:07 > 0:08:11'Who'd have thought that, behind all those hundreds of freckles
0:08:11 > 0:08:12'and the weird smile,
0:08:12 > 0:08:16'such a small girl would be capable of such big badness.'
0:08:16 > 0:08:19I don't have hundreds of freckles!
0:08:21 > 0:08:23Family means everything to me.
0:08:23 > 0:08:27Well, apart from my dad, the least said about him, the better.
0:08:27 > 0:08:31But when my mum's on form, she can be a real laugh.
0:08:31 > 0:08:36She doesn't mean to be flaky, it's just that having three kids is hard.
0:08:36 > 0:08:40Especially if one of them's a bit tricky.
0:08:40 > 0:08:43Tricky wasn't the word that the probation officer
0:08:43 > 0:08:44used in the report I read.
0:08:44 > 0:08:47'There's Murphy, he's a handful, but really cute.
0:08:47 > 0:08:51'But the one I'm closest to is my other brother.'
0:08:51 > 0:08:53- Sasha?- Dexter?!
0:08:53 > 0:08:56- I'm here to rescue you.- What?
0:08:56 > 0:08:59Mum said the nasty social worker came again.
0:08:59 > 0:09:03No, look, it's not like the other times. I'm properly in care now.
0:09:03 > 0:09:05I have to stay here.
0:09:05 > 0:09:07Then I can stay too.
0:09:07 > 0:09:10You can't, you'll get me into trouble!
0:09:13 > 0:09:17'I really miss Dexter and I do worry sometimes about what trouble
0:09:17 > 0:09:20'he might be getting into.
0:09:20 > 0:09:22'He needs me watching his back,
0:09:22 > 0:09:26'that's why I ended up stealing nappies that time.'
0:09:28 > 0:09:31Why did you do that?
0:09:31 > 0:09:34It was an accident.
0:09:34 > 0:09:38I am so sorry, we will help pick everything up.
0:09:38 > 0:09:39She pushed it, I saw her.
0:09:39 > 0:09:41What do you think you're doing?
0:09:41 > 0:09:44Do you want to get arrested, have social workers on your case?
0:09:44 > 0:09:46They'll take you away from mum, split up you and Murphy.
0:09:46 > 0:09:48I couldn't find any money.
0:09:48 > 0:09:50'Stealing's not right.'
0:09:50 > 0:09:53Sasha? Come on, let's pay for this lot and go home, yeah?
0:09:53 > 0:09:56'But I'd do anything to keep him out of the kind of bother I've been in.'
0:09:56 > 0:10:00I'll get the stupid nappies, thanks, Dexter, thanks very much.
0:10:01 > 0:10:04- You're shoplifting? - What's it to you?
0:10:04 > 0:10:07Cos he's a really good kid, Dexter.
0:10:07 > 0:10:09- That's Trevor Ted. - One of the best.
0:10:09 > 0:10:13- Found your room! - Dexter, don't you dare!
0:10:17 > 0:10:20I can be in care too, then we'd still be together.
0:10:20 > 0:10:22No, you couldn't, you're not naughty enough.
0:10:22 > 0:10:25'But you have to be careful what you say to him,
0:10:25 > 0:10:27'cos once he gets an idea in his head,
0:10:27 > 0:10:29'there's no getting it out again.'
0:10:29 > 0:10:31CAR ALARM BLEEPS
0:10:31 > 0:10:34- Dexter! What...- My car!
0:10:34 > 0:10:36Whatever he did, he didn't mean it.
0:10:36 > 0:10:39Yes, I did, I'm the baddest of them all.
0:10:39 > 0:10:41So you have to take me into care.
0:10:44 > 0:10:48So I had to grow up pretty quickly, looking after Dexter and Murphy,
0:10:48 > 0:10:51cos Mum found it hard to cope sometimes.
0:10:51 > 0:10:53I'm trying to keep on top of things, OK?
0:10:53 > 0:10:56It's not easy now you've deserted us.
0:10:56 > 0:10:59I got taken into care!
0:10:59 > 0:11:01Stupid social workers.
0:11:01 > 0:11:04They don't think how I'm supposed to manage without my main girl.
0:11:04 > 0:11:06You only use me as a baby-sitter.
0:11:06 > 0:11:09When I wasn't minding the kids, you were never bothered where I was.
0:11:09 > 0:11:10That's not true.
0:11:10 > 0:11:14You need to look after them, Mum. Dexter's too young to be on his own.
0:11:14 > 0:11:17- Anything can happen. - I'm here, aren't I?
0:11:17 > 0:11:21I've taken the night off work, so we can have a pizza party.
0:11:21 > 0:11:24Yay!
0:11:24 > 0:11:26Only I'm skint after them nappies.
0:11:26 > 0:11:30So, to stop us starving, I had to learn to cook pretty quickly.
0:11:30 > 0:11:32And when there's never much money around,
0:11:32 > 0:11:35you soon develop a talent to make the best
0:11:35 > 0:11:38out of whatever ingredients you can find.
0:11:38 > 0:11:39Fish finger kebabs?
0:11:39 > 0:11:43With banana and cheese balls, it's my speciality.
0:11:43 > 0:11:46'I guess that's why inventing new and exciting dishes
0:11:46 > 0:11:47'has always come easy to me.'
0:11:47 > 0:11:52Fish fingers and cheese balls, it's genius. Why didn't I think of that?
0:11:53 > 0:11:57The problem for me comes with having to make boring food.
0:11:57 > 0:11:59'It's like, you wouldn't get
0:11:59 > 0:12:02'Michelangelo to paint your garden fence, would you?'
0:12:02 > 0:12:05- HE WHISPERS:- What's she on about?
0:12:05 > 0:12:08I mean, we don't have a fence in the garden that needs painting.
0:12:08 > 0:12:11Who's this Michelangelo bloke?
0:12:11 > 0:12:14He plays midfield for Norwich, I think.
0:12:14 > 0:12:17So it's the same thing, for a culinary artist, like me,
0:12:17 > 0:12:20to make something really lame, like lasagne.
0:12:20 > 0:12:24'Basically, it's beneath my talent.'
0:12:24 > 0:12:26We can clear up, can't we?
0:12:26 > 0:12:30Well, I have to put it in the oven, that's what Tee said.
0:12:30 > 0:12:34We'll be all right, my dad used to let us put things on all the time.
0:12:34 > 0:12:36Well, if you're sure.
0:12:38 > 0:12:43180 degrees, for 45 minutes.
0:12:43 > 0:12:45'I like to encourage others to learn.
0:12:45 > 0:12:49'After all, that's the only way you get good,
0:12:49 > 0:12:51'by spending time in the kitchen.'
0:12:51 > 0:12:53That's if there's any kitchen left.
0:12:53 > 0:12:56Ha-ha, my aching sides.
0:12:56 > 0:12:58SMOKE ALARM BLEEPS
0:12:58 > 0:12:59Take it out, quick! Take it out!
0:12:59 > 0:13:04- You left them to cook it? - We put it under the grill.- Oh!
0:13:04 > 0:13:07- What's going on? - All right, panic over.
0:13:07 > 0:13:09I put it in too high, sorry.
0:13:09 > 0:13:11So that's me, stuck in this dump.
0:13:11 > 0:13:14Although, I don't think it's the worst I've been in.
0:13:14 > 0:13:16With a pair of control-freak care-workers
0:13:16 > 0:13:18and wall to wall numpties.
0:13:18 > 0:13:22Although, some of them aren't the worst I've ever known.
0:13:22 > 0:13:25'Yeah, I think that sums it up.'
0:13:25 > 0:13:27Right, anyone fancy some pool?
0:13:27 > 0:13:30Oh, I think you've spilt something on your jeans.
0:13:30 > 0:13:32Laters!
0:13:32 > 0:13:34CHILDREN CHATTER
0:13:34 > 0:13:36Who's are we watching?
0:13:36 > 0:13:41Well, that went better than expected.
0:13:41 > 0:13:44Yeah, place is still standing.
0:13:44 > 0:13:46Just.