Nicholas Parsons: What period or moment in your life brought you the most joy?

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.

Nicholas Parsons

English actor, straight man and presenter

Recorded said elsewhere, not written here

When my children Suzy and Justin were small: I loved watching them grow up, helping and encouraging them.

The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 15 August 2015 source ↗

Others on this question

View all 577 →

Heston Blumenthal English chef

Professionally, it has to be when I got my third star.

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

Keith McNally

Cycling around Martha’s Vineyard alone in the summer of 1976.

Recorded Vanity Fair, The Proust Questionnaire, Vanity Fair, January 2026 source ↗

Zack Polanski

Last summer with my boyfriend Richie. We had no plans – it was just wonderful.

Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 6 December 2025 source ↗

Brett Anderson English singer

Right now. It's a beautiful thing to find yourself "the wrong side of 40" and more in love with life than ever. I never tell people this publicly as they wrongly assume the only valid creative state is that of the cliche of the tubercular, tortured artist coughing up blood in his garret.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 9 September 2011 source ↗