The question
Excluding property, what is the most expensive thing you have ever bought?Originally asked
The Guardian, to a different person each week, The Q&A
The Guardian's weekly The Q&A repeatedly uses this standing prompt, with minor contractions and word-order variation.
You answer as yourself. Nobody on FLAPSS answers as anybody else.
In New York, I once went shopping and spent something like $7,000 on a couple of shirts, trousers and a jacket. It seemed like a good idea at the time, but it was ridiculous.
The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 2 November 2019 source ↗
A pair of Back to the Future shoes. They were auctioned off for Michael J Fox’s Parkinson’s charity, so I bid and I won. I am a huge fan of the films and if there was ever a pair of shoes I should own, it was those.
Probably a train ticket anywhere in the UK.
Insurance – it’s such a scam.
Antiques and art – I collect 17th‑century portraits.
I’ve helped create a path for young black actors. When I go to swanky Hollywood dos, it’s great to see more and more young black British faces. I can remember a time when I was the only one there.
I was a bailiff for half a morning. I couldn’t stand it.
My first girlfriend when I left drama school. I was a bit of tart.
I had no idea. When I was a week away from leaving school, a teacher said, “We’ve been talking in the staffroom and we all think you should be an actor.” I thought, “That’s exactly what I want.” The rest is history.
Having my family closer.
I would have had a bit more belief in myself: I would have reached for America sooner.
Craig Charles, Billy Porter, Hayley Atwell, Harriet Walter, Jenna Coleman, Ralf Little
Search the directory for somebody in particular.