The question
What period or moment in your life brought you the most joy?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.
Whenever I’m swimming in the lido at London Fields.
The Q&A, The Guardian, 15 February 2025 source ↗
On my honeymoon in Lapland.
When I first met Richard, in 1992, on a British Council writers’ tour of Adelaide. We were drinking Australian lager while parakeets squawked rudely in the neighbourhood gumtrees.
Fourteen. Dew-soaked plimsolls, flying my kestrel before school.
My wedding day, eight years ago.
Watching the news. Human life seemed pretty cheap in 2024.
Whenever I walk past an ice-cream shop, I just can’t not buy an ice-cream.
When people are rude to their waiter.
My friend Josie Naughton, the co‑founder and CEO of the charity Choose Love, which supports refugees and displaced people. She left her job working for Coldplay to dedicate her life to this cause.
One’s created sense of self is not who you are. The present moment is all we have.
I’ve learned that true love shouldn’t be complicated. It’s the safety and freedom to be seen and celebrated for who you truly are.
Rhys Ifans, Jane Asher, Marc Almond, Julie Andrews, Enrique Iglesias, Jonathan Safran Foer
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