On the island of Bequia—one summer, out of the blue, a benefactor (thank you, Charlene) flew our entire family there and put us up in a cliffside house that was a weird mixture of Gaudí and Fred Flintstone and where we went to sleep at eight and got up at five. In between we read, swam, hiked, and unknowingly enjoyed the last moment before the irrevocable shear of adolescence set in.
Originally asked
The Guardian, to a different person each week, The Q&A
Asked in 52 of the 131 consecutive instalments of The Guardian's The Q&A harvested on 2026-08-29.
You answer as yourself. Nobody on FLAPSS answers as anybody else.
The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 8 May 2021 source ↗
Others on this question
View all 576 →When I was a child and a teenager, before I got discovered.
A year ago, after only four lessons, skiing alone in the Sierras.
When I met my husband and had babies. They have made me happy ever since.
More from Bobby Gillespie
View profile →Corbyn losing the 2019 election.
In 2016, I fell off stage in Switzerland and broke my back in four places.
I have a nice life but if everybody else had a better quality of life, too, Britain would be a nicer place.
Feel Like Going Home by Charlie Rich.
When Maradona died, I cried for three days.
More on time & hindsight
- What is the most important lesson life has taught you? 132 answers
- What advice would you give your twenty-year-old self, and what should they ignore? 70 answers
- What scares you about getting older? 59 answers
- What is the best advice you have ever received? 24 answers
- If you could have a gigantic billboard anywhere, what would it say and why? 23 answers
- What is something you were told by a parent, teacher, or mentor that you still repeat to yourself? 22 answers
Also answered this · A–Z
Adrian Edmondson, Alexander Armstrong, Alison Goldfrapp, Annie Lennox, Audra McDonald, Beth Ditto
Search the directory for somebody in particular.
Explore further
- All time & hindsight questions
- The The Q&A questionnaire — 25 questions from the same format
- Explore the archive — by field, age, era, and subject