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The question

How close have you come to dying?

Originally asked

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

A recurring Guardian Q&A prompt asked directly across respondents and years.

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

KG
Krishnan Guru-Murthy

British journalist

Recorded said elsewhere, not written here
I’ve dodged a couple of bullets in dodgy war zones, but I suspect the closest I’ve come to death was a reckless, drunken brush with a waltzer at a student funfair. It nearly chopped me in half.

The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 2 January 2021 source ↗

Others on this question

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Being about nine metres away from a polar bear. In northern Canada, a young polar bear was very intrigued by our food. I was flying the drone at the time and the polar bear looked up and started paying attention, so then we flew the drone further away and he followed it while we got into our vehicles.
Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 30 September 2023 source ↗
Yann Tiersen Pianist, composer
Yes! With my fiancée about two years ago, we were biking in the Sinkyone Wilderness State Park in California and we were stalked by a mountain lion for hours… It really changed my perception! But you know, they’re peaceful cats, there wasn’t any anger or aggression — that’s just the way it is in nature. It’s good sometimes to realize you can die! The experience made me realize that you have to know where you are, and know that the place you’re in is alive.
Recorded The Talks, 6 May 2016 source ↗
Aidan Gillen Irish actor
Last year, driving in California, I found myself on the wrong side of the road. I was 30 seconds away from hitting two cars coming the other way.
Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 6 May 2017 source ↗

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