Ronnie Wood
English rock musician
All the hanging about.
If you could edit your past, what would you change?
Question
What scares you about getting older?
Time & hindsight
Question
When was the last time you changed your mind about something?
Change of mind
Question
What is the worst thing anyone has said to you?
Failure & regret
Question
How close have you come to death?
Death & what remains
Question
Which trait do you most dislike in yourself?
Identity & self
Question
What has been your biggest disappointment?
Failure & regret
Originally asked
The Guardian, to a different person each week, The Q&A
Repeated verbatim in The Guardian's long-running Saturday Q&A; two publisher-hosted examples establish recurrence.
You answer as yourself. Nobody on FLAPSS answers as anybody else.
I would find a much better way of looking after my mum in her last three years of dementia. I did my best, but it was incredibly difficult to find the right kind of care unless you’ve got £3,000 a week to spend.
The Q&A, The Guardian, 2 May 2026 source ↗
Others on this question
View all 203 →
Julian Clary
English actor, comedian, novelist and presenter
My education. Benedictine monks didn’t really prepare me for the life I have lived.
I would have been OK with feeling shy. In my teenage years, I thought being an actor meant that you had to be a little more performative.
Armistead Maupin
American writer
I would have come out earlier.
More from Juliet Stevenson
View profile →Not being able to run.
I vowed never to marry, but we got married as soon as we could after lockdown. I used to think it was patriarchal but when same-sex marriage became legal, I thought: OK, great, this institution has finally changed.
I get a lot of abuse online because of my opposition to the assault on Gaza. The abuse is horrific, but I’ve learned to ignore it. The integrity of how you live your life is more important than what strangers think.
Many times on British roads, because I drive very fast. In another life, I would have liked doing Formula One.
I talk too much.
I really wanted a role in Harry Potter and I never got one.
More on failure & regret
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- What is the worst thing anyone has said to you? 122 answers
- Which moment embarrassed you most? 122 answers
- How has a failure, or apparent failure, set you up for later success? Do you have a favourite failure? 69 answers
- What is the hardest thing that has happened to you, and what did you carry out of it? 36 answers
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