Interview with author Gervase Phinn

RD: You were a teacher for fourteen years before becoming a schools inspector. Was it a relief to get out of the classroom?

GP: No, it wasn’t a relief. I always missed the classroom very much. I only moved jobs because  I was invited to apply for the post of English adviser for the local authority of Rotherham. Throughout my career, whether I was working as an adviser or an inspector, I always grasped any opportunity to do some teaching. I never thought about doing anything else, really.

RD: What was your education like?

GP: I was in the hands of excellent teachers. I had an A-level English teacher, Miss Wainwright, who was brilliant. She brought Shakespeare to life, was caring, dedicated and believed in me. I was lucky to have a combination of a super family home and an excellent education, too.

RD: And what was your family like when you were growing up?

GP: I come from quite a humble background. My father was a steelworker and I was brought up in a semidetached house in Rotherham. I was one of four children and there wasn’t a lot of money, but I was brought up surrounded by love, care and support. My father never raised a hand to us. When my parents were angry they talked it through with us. They never needed to smack us.

RD: Did you always want to write? And how did you get started?
 

GP: I read English at Leeds University. Like any person studying English, I’d always wanted to write a book, and my great ambition was to be the author of a Penguin paperback. Which has come about! And over the years I’ve written things down about people or places. They’re often insignificant little trifles but I’ve always kept a writer’s notebook.