My Wiltshire Life - Sarah Allen

12:00pm Thursday 1st March 2007

SARAH Allen, 43, is the station commander at Trowbridge Fire Station. She has lived in Wiltshire on and off since she was nine, and took on a wide range of roles before joining the Fire and Rescue Service.

After leaving school she trained in the restaurant business and worked in London, then in the early 1990s spent two years travelling round the world including six months living in the Philippines and six months in Australia. On returning to Wiltshire she took a job as a cook/housekeeper in Devizes and joined the Fire and Rescue Service as a retained firefighter in 1997. A year later she joined full time. Mrs Allen has two step-children and lives with her husband Brian in Devizes.

What do you like most about living in Wiltshire?

I love the countryside. We've got a dog so we walk a lot and what I also love is that when I go out into Devizes I often end up saying hello to about 20 people.

It's very friendly and a big change from London, and is just a beautiful county to live in.

Where would you recommend for a good evening out and why?

The New Inn at Coate. It's a proper old-fashioned village country pub with a great friendly atmosphere. The food is great and when you walk in it's like walking into a friend's house.

Who would be your ideal dining partner and why?

I would like to dine with someone funny who would amuse me. Michael Palin would be good because of all his stories, and we could compare travel notes with each other as well. We could also recreate some Monty Python sketches!

Which local landmark or attraction would you recommend?

I like Avebury. What I like about it is that it always looks different every season, and it has the best conkers I've ever seen. There is also nice ice cream in the café!

What is your favourite book and why?

It would be the collected short stories of Somerset Maugham. I have a short ability to stay up and read, so short stories are ideal for me. What I like about Somerset Maugham is the weird characters and the way they live unusual lives. My favourite of his stories is The Lotus Eater.

What is your favourite music and why?

I like a real variety of music. I'm into James Morrison and some of the bands that are out at the moment like Snow Patrol, Keane and the Kaiser Chiefs. I was brought up on classic jazz though so I'm a big fan of that as well.

How do you relax?

I do a lot of walking with the dog, I go running and I like cooking Asian food. I think I picked that interest up on my travels and I enjoy cooking Thai, Indonesian and Indian food. I also like going to the movies.

What keeps you awake at night?

I'm a very light sleeper, so noise wakes me up. I suppose thinking about my job does as well. I like to keep a notepad and pen by my bed so if I think of things I have to do the next day I can write them down and then I don't worry about forgetting it.

If you were stranded on a desert island what three things would you take?

Chocolate, a guitar so I could entertain myself, and a box of matches so I could light a fire to barbecue fish. I love barbecued fish!