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.
As a child playing in my parents’ garden in Birmingham, which they still have, and where my daughters play, swinging on my swing that my dad made for me.
The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 28 January 2023 source ↗
My best times have been around my family.
My son's second birthday. It was a typical autumn day – bright sky, cold fingers. He was dressed as a skeleton and we ate chilli in the garden.
When Molde won the Norwegian premier league in 2011, the year the club was 100 years old.
Before I realised my parents, sister and I were all mortal.
A grandfather clock for my partner’s birthday.
Having no purpose.
To still be working.
Going through a divorce.
To let things go.
When I was young, I was pretty reckless – my 20s were quite hedonistic. I don’t know whether I’ve been close to death, but I may have been without realising.
James McAvoy, John Waters, Gemma Whelan, Harry Enfield, Kiefer Sutherland, Lance Black
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