Bees humming in a tree of blossom.
Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 17 May 2025 source ↗
What does love feel like?
Question
What keeps you awake at night?
Daily life
Question
What is the trait you most deplore in others?
Values & belief
Question
How close have you come to death?
Death & what remains
Question
What do you consider your greatest achievement?
Craft & work
Question
What is the worst thing anyone has said to you?
Failure & regret
Question
Which trait do you most dislike in yourself?
Identity & self
Originally asked
The Guardian, to a different person each week, The Q&A
The Guardian's weekly The Q&A repeatedly uses this exact standing prompt.
You answer as yourself. Nobody on FLAPSS answers as anybody else.
Full of passion and laughter.
The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 23 November 2024 source ↗
Others on this question
View all 212 →
Julian Lloyd Webber
British cellist and conductor
Frightening, exhilarating and all-consuming.
Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 15 July 2023 source ↗
Bryan Adams
Canadian singer-songwriter and musician
It can be as light as a feather or as heavy as a stone.
Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 10 December 2022 source ↗
Clive Myrie
British journalist, newsreader, and presenter
Amazing, all-consuming, overwhelming.
Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 8 June 2024 source ↗
More from Bryn Terfel
View profile →Absolutely nothing.
Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 23 November 2024 source ↗
Unfriendliness.
Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 23 November 2024 source ↗
In 2006, I went fishing for red snapper in the Gulf of Mexico. On the way back, one of the engines caught fire and then we had one engine for 70 miles. Slowly but surely, we got to Baton Rouge in the darkness but then got very close to a very large passing ship – they didn’t see us and we didn’t see them.
Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 23 November 2024 source ↗
I loved my 1 minute 40 seconds singing at the coronation of King Charles. I was the most nervous I’ve been.
Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 23 November 2024 source ↗
“You’re a wonderful musician but a terrible friend.” It was Daniel Barenboim, the famous conductor, because I didn’t have time in the calendar to work with him.
Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 23 November 2024 source ↗
Thinking that singing makes me fit.
Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 23 November 2024 source ↗
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Adam Clayton, Adam Kay, Adele Parks, Adjoa Andoh, Alex Hassell, Alison Moyet
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