Chris Bonington: What is the worst job you have done? — FLAPSS

The question

What is the worst job you have done?

Originally asked

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

The Guardian's long-running Q&A repeatedly asks this standing question, with minor tense variation.

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

CB

Chris Bonington

Recorded said elsewhere, not written here

I left the army and got a job with Unilever in Northern Ireland. They were very strict and you had to have a hat, and when you went into a shop you had to raise your hat to the shopkeeper and then sell your wares. I was selling margarine.

The Q&A, The Guardian, 22 March 2025 source ↗

Others on this question

View all 241 →

Rosanna Arquette American actress

A really bad film for no money: the director had no idea what he was doing and I was wondering: why am I here?

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 7 August 2021 source ↗

Frank Cottrell-Boyce British screenwriter, novelist and actor

I spent an advent in my late teens throttling turkeys.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 22 July 2023 source ↗

Fran Lebowitz American author and public speaker

I just hate to work, so I can’t choose one.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 18 June 2022 source ↗

Cockroach stamper at a dried-flower factory.

Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 1 March 2025 source ↗

More from Chris Bonington

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

There are so many instances when I’ve come very close to death that it’s difficult to pick one.

Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 22 March 2025 source ↗

Question How would you describe yourself in three words? Identity & self

Resourceful, resilient and compassionate.

Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 22 March 2025 source ↗

Question What single thing would improve the quality of your life? Daily life

Becoming more physically active.

Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 22 March 2025 source ↗

Question When were you happiest? Time & hindsight

When I was climbing I was absolutely happy. I can use a climbing wall, but that’s not the same as real climbing.

Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 22 March 2025 source ↗

Question What do you consider your greatest achievement? Craft & work

Everest the hard way in 1975: leading the expedition that succeeded where so many people had tried and failed. That was the most complex mountaineering challenge I ever faced. I spent hours at night in a little tent thinking about what the next problem would be and how to solve it.

Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 22 March 2025 source ↗

Question What keeps you awake at night? Daily life

It’s my snoring that keeps Loreto awake!

Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 22 March 2025 source ↗

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