SB
When I hit 40. I made a lot of mistakes in my 20s and spent most of my 30s changing nappies.
The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 19 August 2011 source ↗
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.
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Others on this question
View all 577 →My late 20s, writing my third record.
Shirley Hughes
English illustrator and author
Wandering around with my sketchbook in some lovely Italian town.
I can't remember a time when I was happier than now, to be honest – though that's always been the case.
Simon Le Bon
English singer
I was very happy to be alive when I surfaced after my yacht, Drum, capsized in the Fastnet Race in 1985. I was in an air pocket for 40 minutes, and had to take off my long johns to be able to surface.
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