FIVE MINUTES WITH: Superintendent Dave Johnson, head of policing for Newport (From South Wales Argus)

FIVE MINUTES WITH: Superintendent Dave Johnson, head of policing for Newport

4:20pm Friday 1st March 2013 in News

If you had to be stuck in a lift with someone, who would it be and why?

I am always inspired by people who achieve greatness in the face of overwhelming odds, so It would have to be Nelson Mandela

What is your biggest fear?

I’m scared of heights, something I trace back to being sat on one of the lions in Trafalgar Square as a young child for a photograph to be taken. I know it’s irrational – I should be more afraid of lions!

Do you have any superstitions?

No, I tend to let fate take its course.

If you could have one song on your iPod, what would it be and why?

Who Knows Where The Time Goes, by Sandy Denny. A dear school friend was lost to cancer aged 40 and this song always brings back fond memories of good times we had going to music festivals as teenagers.

What’s the most expensive thing you’ve bought, not including property?

I’m not much one for possessions, but I have a watch given to me by my wife that I treasure greatly.

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve been given?

Rudyard Kipling in his poem If, tells you to treat disaster and triumph just the same. I try not to get too down when times are tough or too excited when things are going well. Life tends to even itself out over time.

What’s your indulgence?

A Walnut Whip

What item could you not live without?

My family would tell you it’s my Blackberry If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be and why?

I’d love to be more self-disciplined. I fear my epitaph will be ‘He lived a life full of good intentions, too many were left unfulfilled’.

Where are you going on your next holiday?

Florida. We went as a family a couple of years ago and our children loved it.

It didn’t do much for my fear of heights, though!