Lance Black: 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.

Lance Black

American screenwriter, director, producer and activist

Recorded said elsewhere, not written here

The most unabashed joy I’ve ever felt was that first 24 hours of magic after our son was born in California last June.

The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 1 June 2019 source ↗

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Clare Balding English broadcaster, journalist, TV presenter and author

This may sound nauseating, but I am a very happy person. I love my work, I love my life and I'm told by those who know/love me that it's a bit like living with Tigger. Bloody annoying, I should think.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 15 January 2011 source ↗

Greta Scacchi Italian-born actress

Now. When I see my two children enjoying each other's company.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 10 May 2008 source ↗

Oti Mabuse South African dancer

When I realised that I was meant to be a dancer, aged 19.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 20 July 2019 source ↗

Miriam Margolyes

On tour during Christmas vacation at Cambridge with its European Theatre Group, playing Shakespeare. I knew it was the best time of my life.

Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 19 July 2025 source ↗

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Question How close have you come to dying? Death & what remains

On a flight between Beijing and London with Team GB divers. There was a fire on the plane. We landed on a long-abandoned strip in Siberia. Two days later, the same flight attendants told us we had beaten the odds by surviving.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 1 June 2019 source ↗

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