Joan Bakewell
English journalist, television presenter and politician
Wondering if I've turned the gas off.
196 answers answered between 2008 and 2026 one of 25 in The Q&A
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Wondering if I've turned the gas off.
Worrying about my children.
I am an insomniac, so I often draw and write at night.
If you have a nice drink before going to bed, you don’t stay awake at night. I like almost anything in a bottle.
Anxiety. Usually the best response is to think hard about things, work up some solutions and then go to sleep.
My metabolism. Ever since I was a little kid, I was always up halfway through the night.
The BBC World Service followed by the dawn chorus.
It used to be worrying about football results.
Threat of nuclear war, Iran/US situation, Syria, everything. I take sleeping pills.
The climate catastrophe.
Nothing, really. But without little sleeping pills, I’d go crazy.
Unfinished work and caffeine.
Dreaming that I am about to go on stage or set but haven’t got the right script.
I’ve been awake almost my entire life. I have had insomnia since I was a child.
Nothing – I’ve got some great tablets!
An exciting idea. I usually write for an hour or so, and then I go to sleep.
The fact that I’m a vampire.
My rational brain doing battle with my emotional brain.
It’s my snoring that keeps Loreto awake!
My husband snoring.