My primary school years.
The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 27 January 2012 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.
You answer as yourself. Nobody on FLAPSS answers as anybody else.
Others on this question
View all 577 →
Desmond Tutu
Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town; chair of South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission; Nobel Peace Prize, 1984
Well, when in 1994 he was elected and I was given the privilege of introducing him to South Africa as our new president and to the world, I sort of whispered to God and said, “God, I don’t really mind now. I mean, if I die now, it would be almost the perfect moment.
Mary J Blige
American singer and actress
When I was little kid, before I knew what worrying was about.
Paul Smith
English fashion designer
I am a happy person. I am happy every day. But if I had to pick a time it would be the first time I fell in love.
Gok Wan
British fashion consultant, author, chef and television presenter
Immersed in a bowl of noodles, sat around my parents' dining room table with all my family. Bliss!
More from Ashley Walters
View profile →My mum – I've watched her struggle financially, emotionally, mentally even, and she's come through it.
Not being part of the Transformers franchise.
More on time & hindsight
- What lesson has mattered most in your life? 138 answers
- What counsel would you give your twenty-year-old self — and what should they ignore? 78 answers
- What worries you about getting older? 61 answers
- What counsel has proved most valuable to you? 28 answers
- If you could put a message on a giant billboard, what would it say and why? 25 answers
- What line from a parent, teacher, or mentor do you still repeat to yourself? 23 answers
Also answered this
Helen George, Ethan Hawke, Joanne Froggatt, Joseph Fiennes, Lesley Sharp, Joss Whedon
Search the directory for somebody in particular.
Explore further
- All time & hindsight questions
- The The Q&A questionnaire — 25 questions from the same format
- Explore the archive — by field, age, era, and subject