In the Spotlight with Anne Owers

with Anne Owers, Chief Inspector of Prisons

What’s your first memory?

Going into a primary school with my father, who was doing some work there, and being able to play in the Wendy house

What three words best describe you?

Not sure. Perhaps curious, determined, impractical?

What’s been your best job?

This one.

If you were stuck on a desert island and you could take one person and one person who and what would they be? 

My husband, for the obvious reasons, but also because he’s highly practical (see above). The object would be a solar powered word processor to write all the things I haven’t time for.

Who inspires you and why? 

The inspectorate staff – they’re incredibly committed, and rarely think they’ve done enough

Where is your favourite place? 

Home, but failing that a city by the sea – Cape Town, Sydney, San Francisco

Which celebrity would you want to play you in a film? 

Helen Mirren – she had just finished a prison film when I started this job, and was everyone’s heroine.

What was the last CD you bought?
Black and White Ewan Maccoll 

What are you reading?

Just finishing Dominic Sandford’s Never had it so good – a trip through my growing up memories

What’s your favourite film?

Depends on my mood, but probably Some Like It Hot

Big Brother – treat or trash?
Never watched it – I prefer non-reality TV treats

Pets – yes or no?
Yes, cat (and would love to have a dog again but work makes it impossible)

If you were on Death Row, what would be your final meal?
Having talked to women on Death Row in the US, I find that really difficult to answer – the whole concept and rituals of formalized killing seem horrific.