Julie Hesmondhalgh
English actress and narrator
That the last general election didn’t take place later. We might have got rid of the Tories with a couple more weeks.
What has been your biggest disappointment?
Question
When were you happiest?
Time & hindsight
Originally asked
The Guardian, to a different person each week, The Q&A
This exact question recurs in The Guardian's institutional Q&A pool.
You answer as yourself. Nobody on FLAPSS answers as anybody else.
Not getting a part in the school play.
The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 28 February 2009 source ↗
Others on this question
View all 366 →
Monty Don
English horticulturist, broadcaster, and writer
At the time, losing our business, home and all our possessions in 1991 after the failure of our jewellery company. But if that had not happened then other good things would not have happened, either.
Joshua Ferris
American author
My failure to come to grips with all these disappointments.
Eve Ensler
American playwright, performer, feminist, and activist
That most men have not yet come to understand the impact and the devastating consequences of violence against women.
More from Jacqui Smith
View profile →Christmas Eve: shops closed, family all together!
More on failure & regret
- Who most deserves an apology from you, and why? 209 answers
- If you could edit your past, what would you change? 203 answers
- What is the worst thing anyone has said to you? 122 answers
- Which moment embarrassed you most? 122 answers
- How has a failure, or apparent failure, set you up for later success? Do you have a favourite failure? 69 answers
- What is the hardest thing that has happened to you, and what did you carry out of it? 36 answers
Also answered this
Caroline Lucas, Gloria Steinem, Kirsty Wark, Kellie Maloney, Joan Bakewell, George H. W. Bush
Search the directory for somebody in particular.
Explore further
- All failure & regret questions
- The The Q&A questionnaire — 25 questions from the same format
- Explore the archive — by field, age, era, and subject