Sandi Toksvig: If you could revise one chapter of your past, what would you change? — FLAPSS

The question

If you could revise one chapter of your past, what would you change?

Originally asked

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

Repeated verbatim in The Guardian's long-running Saturday Q&A; two publisher-hosted examples establish recurrence.

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Sandi Toksvig

Danish and British broadcaster, comedian and writer

Recorded said elsewhere, not written here

I wouldn’t bother learning how to use logarithms, and I might give netball a miss.

The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 3 March 2018 source ↗

Others on this question

View all 203 →

Kelsey Grammer American actor

My sister’s death – I would love to meet her kids. [Karen Grammer was 18 when she was abducted, raped and murdered.]

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 25 June 2016 source ↗

Shaznay Lewis English singer

Some of those late nights.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 1 June 2024 source ↗

Juliet Stevenson

I would find a much better way of looking after my mum in her last three years of dementia. I did my best, but it was incredibly difficult to find the right kind of care unless you’ve got £3,000 a week to spend.

Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 2 May 2026 source ↗

Samuel West British actor, theatre director, and narrator

I’d have done everything earlier and with more style.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 24 October 2020 source ↗

More from Sandi Toksvig

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

I’ve had a surprising number of near-death experiences: I was nearly blown up by a landmine in Sudan; I was stranded on the Zambezi river at night; I was bucked off a rodeo horse in Arizona and had to be airlifted to hospital; and, worst of all, I once ate a Pot Noodle.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 3 March 2018 source ↗

Question What is the worst job you have ever had? Craft & work

Working on an assembly line in a plastics factory.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 3 March 2018 source ↗

Question What one change would most improve the quality of your daily life? Daily life

My life won’t have full quality until we achieve equality for all.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 3 March 2018 source ↗

Question What period or moment in your life brought you the most joy? Time & hindsight

Last Tuesday at 10 past three.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 3 March 2018 source ↗

Question What most recently moved you to tears? Identity & self

When I read the story of a blind, bisexual goose called Thomas who had died in New Zealand after a lifetime of love for a swan called Henry. It sounds ridiculous but is entirely true.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 3 March 2018 source ↗

Question What song would you want played at your funeral? Death & what remains

How about The Hokey Cokey? That’s always fun, especially if they’re carrying the coffin.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 3 March 2018 source ↗

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