Vince Cable
British politician
The failure of my party to make the big political breakthrough it deserves.
What has been your biggest disappointment?
Question
What did you want to be when you were growing up?
Identity & self
Question
Which living person do you most admire, and why?
Values & belief
Question
If you could edit your past, what would you change?
Failure & regret
Question
Aside from a property, what is the most expensive thing you have bought?
Money & investment
Question
Who most deserves an apology from you, and why?
Failure & regret
Question
What song would you like played at your funeral?
Death & what remains
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.
When I got to 40 and realised I hadn’t read all the books I needed to read to understand the world.
The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 23 December 2017 source ↗
Others on this question
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Steph McGovern
Broadcaster
Some famous people. I am not giving you names.
Benedict Cumberbatch
English actor
Not being a dad by the age of 32.
I had an opportunity many years ago to move to America and be given a daytime TV show. The kids were quite young and I decided not to, but looking back I wish I had done it.
More from Harriet Walter
View profile →An actor. When I was really young, I wanted to be a fishmonger’s wife.
Judith Clark, on whom I based my character in the prison trilogy. She has served over 35 years and turned herself around. She is an inspiration.
I would never have gone on a diet. I would go back with the knowledge that not being perfect is fine.
I spent £600 on Rudolf Nureyev’s ballet shoes after he died. He was the biggest idol in my life and influenced me hugely.
My mother, because I didn’t appreciate until after she’d gone that she was a vulnerable human being. I just expected her to know everything and be everything.
I went to a funeral where they played Cheek To Cheek: Fred Astaire singing “Heaven. I’m in heaven… ” Everyone smiled. I’d like that.
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
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Tim Robbins, Cuba Gooding Jr, Richard Wilson, Patricia Hodge, Charlotte Church, Russell Tovey
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