Originally asked
The Guardian, to a different person each week, The Q&A
The Guardian's long-running Q&A repeatedly asks this standing question, with minor tense variation.
You answer as yourself. Nobody on FLAPSS answers as anybody else.
The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 5 November 2016 source ↗
When I was a kid I had a Saturday job in the stockroom of a supermarket. I remember everything in there being a little bit grubby and slightly sticky. We’d do things like play rugby with a swiss roll. I think of it every time I go shopping.
Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 9 November 2024 source ↗
I was a guard on the Orient Express – however, only when it was stationed at a railway siding in Vauxhall.
Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 20 September 2025 source ↗
Working at a petrol station.
Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 14 June 2025 source ↗
I was a floor model briefly at Bloomingdale’s in New York in 1979. I hated it. When no one was watching, I would lock myself in the toilet and read.
Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 19 August 2017 source ↗
Having a heart attack two days after my wife’s funeral.
Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 5 November 2016 source ↗
The death of my wife: I’d happily have gone first.
Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 5 November 2016 source ↗
Basking in the sun.
Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 5 November 2016 source ↗
A Mercedes S Class.
Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 5 November 2016 source ↗
This morning. Thinking of my wife.
Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 5 November 2016 source ↗
Murray Perahia, because he is a great pianist, and temporarily lost the use of one hand, which prevented him from playing. His courage was beyond description.
Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 5 November 2016 source ↗
Adam Kay, Adeel Akhtar, Adjoa Andoh, Adrian Dunbar, Adrian Edmondson, Aidan Gillen
Search the directory for somebody in particular.