Judith Kerr: What disappointment has stayed with you longest?

The question

What disappointment has stayed with you longest?

Originally asked

The Guardian, to a different person each week, The Q&A

This exact question recurs in The Guardian's institutional Q&A pool.

You answer as yourself. Nobody on FLAPSS answers as anybody else.

Judith Kerr

British writer and illustrator

Recorded said elsewhere, not written here

Not having longer legs.

The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 18 May 2019 source ↗

Others on this question

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Heston Blumenthal English chef

When we bought the contaminated oysters and I made the decision to close the Fat Duck, not knowing if I would ever open again.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 21 October 2011 source ↗

Rose Tremain English writer

The film of Restoration. A beautiful cast. An award-winning designer. A massive budget. A dog’s dinner.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 23 April 2022 source ↗

Joshua Ferris American author

My failure to come to grips with all these disappointments.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 29 January 2011 source ↗

Matthew Modine American actor

My biggest disappointment would be living with disappointment. What a burden to be shackled to. I would be truly disappointed if I didn’t (as the song says) pick myself up, dust myself off, and start all over again.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 21 January 2023 source ↗

More from Judith Kerr

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Question Who deserves an apology from you, and for what? Failure & regret

My parents. We didn’t realise how absolutely desperate they were when we left Germany, because my father couldn’t earn anything. A letter turned up fairly recently in which he said, “We’ve been through a terrible time because Julia [my mother] never stopped talking about suicide and not just for herself, but to take the children with her.”

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 18 May 2019 source ↗