PSA chief leaves in time for a little football

After 10 years as national secretary for the Public Service Association, Brenda Pilott stepped down to take a wellearned break this week. It’s good timing for the keen football fan, who will now be able to enjoy watching the World Cup. A native Englishwom

I grew up with loving parents, both of whom were factory workers, and I had little sense of future possibilities. Going to university opened up the world for me. I can safely say none of the work I’ve done was anything I’d envisaged when I was young. I went to the University of Essex and studied government and history, then later trained as a librarian at University College London.

I moved from the public service, where I’d been a senior public servant, to the PSA in 2004. I had also been a lifelong union member, so joiniong the PSA brought together those two important strands for me. I had a lot of experience as a manager, so that was a useful perspective to bring into a union role. It’s been challenging, as it’s a huge job, covering a wealth of issues. It’s been one of the most satisfying jobs I’ve had – it’s one of those jobs where you go home at night knowing you’ve made a difference. One of the hardest things in the past years has been seeing so many dedicated public servants lose their jobs and their careers because of downsizing. There are big challenges ahead, including closing the gender pay gap, a regrettable feature of the public service. A decent break first, then I’ll get into the next challenge. According to my Kindle, I’ve read 83 Scandinavian crime fiction novels in the past year, and I’ve got five more in the queue. Then it’ll be time for me to move on to another genre. Noah. It was rubbish. I think I’ll stick to TV drama in future, where the quality is often much better. I loved Borgen. And Broadchurch. I grew up in the era of the Beatles, Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd, but now I like to listen to newer stuff. Opera definitely doesn’t feature. For an eclectic evening, my guests would be: George Clooney, obviously – and he can leave his fiancee at home; Jane Austen, the finest wit ever; John Campbell, whose warmth and humanity I love; and [ Borgen character] Birgitte Nyborg, who may be imaginary but is the kind of politician I’d love to see in real life. I’m what my grandmother, a cook in service, would call a ‘‘good plain cook’’, so with such august company, I’ll outsource the cooking. Maybe the folks at Floriditas would cater? As a non-drinker, I’ll outsource that too. A choice of non-alcoholic drinks would be nice – and a novelty – alongside good New Zealand wine.

Where were you born and where did you grow up? I was born and grew up in Charlton, in southeast London, just up the road from The Valley [football stadium], where I started watching football at Charlton Athletic as a youngster, with my dad. I still...