Regrets, I’ve had a few..

Carole

Well-Known Forumite
I generally belong to the school of thought that I mostly regret the things that I HAVEN’T done as opposed to the things that I have done.

For years I was a massive Barbara Streisand fan, bought every record, tape, CD.
She hadn’t toured for years but about 10 years ago, (I forget) she was doing some concerts in London for charity but the cheapest tickets were £100 (right at the back). The tickets at the front were £1000.

I was appalled.
I thought that it was an insult to everyone that had been a fan for years. I thought that she was ignoring the people that had bought her music and propelled her to stardom. How could most of her fans afford a ticket?

My boyfriend at the time ( now husband) offered to buy tickets at the front, but I was so cross at Barbara for being greedy, that not only did I turn down his offer but I couldn’t actually listen to her music anymore for a good few years.

He said that one day I’d regret not seeing her live.

Tonight after watching a concert at The Gatehouse with someone else singing her songs, he’s right.

I do regret not paying a kings ransom to see her live. She’s 76 and that opportunity won’t come again.



So, what haven’t you done that you wished you had?

Or done that you wish you hadn’t?
 

PeterD

ST16 Represent.
Similar to you Carole, I had the opportunity to go and see Lonnie Donegan on his last tour before he died but I didnt because I felt I would always have the opportunity.
 

Trumpet

Well-Known Forumite
Partway through total renovation of a lovely cottage on the outskirts of Rugeley (Etching Hill).
Split up from wife, if I'd really pulled my belt in I could've just about managed to keep it and finish the work but over a longer period of time but chose to sell up and move on. Although we doubled our money on it, some five years later I saw it extended and for sale for five times what we sold it for.
 

That-Crazy-Rat-Lady

Well-Known Forumite
1. My ex boyfriend (ugh what was I thinking!!)

2. Not going into teaching earlier - I love it so much - I'm annoyed I pissed around so much before I realised what I wanted to do!

Apart from that I'm very happy!

Still (hopefully) got a lot of life to live and mistakes to make!
 

The Notorious A.N.T.

Well-Known Forumite
I generally belong to the school of thought that I mostly regret the things that I HAVEN’T done as opposed to the things that I have done.

For years I was a massive Barbara Streisand fan, bought every record, tape, CD.
She hadn’t toured for years but about 10 years ago, (I forget) she was doing some concerts in London for charity but the cheapest tickets were £100 (right at the back). The tickets at the front were £1000.

I was appalled.
I thought that it was an insult to everyone that had been a fan for years. I thought that she was ignoring the people that had bought her music and propelled her to stardom. How could most of her fans afford a ticket?

My boyfriend at the time ( now husband) offered to buy tickets at the front, but I was so cross at Barbara for being greedy, that not only did I turn down his offer but I couldn’t actually listen to her music anymore for a good few years.

He said that one day I’d regret not seeing her live.

Tonight after watching a concert at The Gatehouse with someone else singing her songs, he’s right.

I do regret not paying a kings ransom to see her live. She’s 76 and that opportunity won’t come again.



So, what haven’t you done that you wished you had?

Or done that you wish you hadn’t?
That is some deep shit right there.....
 

Withnail

Well-Known Forumite
So, what haven’t you done that you wished you had?
Once i was given an amazing opportunity to go to South Korea and take on a client list of a chap who gave conversational English sessions there - it would have meant walking in to a very lucrative, already established, once in a lifetime amazing life experience.

One often wonders where i'd be if i'd have grasped that, but we are where we are. Actually, a potentially life-changing opportunity arose within a year of that that i did take, which had it gone the way it should have done, i'd be sitting here thinking how glad I was that i'd passed on the Korea gig.

But we are where we are.

Or done that you wish you hadn’t?
This is an immeasurably larger list. Would that it weren't so, but i've done all manner of stupid shit along the way. Most of it low-level dumb-ass shenanigans, some of it stuff that haunts me - nothing awful or unlawful, but the kind of thing where you've fecked up yourself, which you can accept, but you've fecked up someone else in the process, which stays with you.

I did something really stupid only last week which one can't help feeling will join the queue of regrets vying for pre-eminence in my mind.

I don't let it get me down, though - it's very important to have an Existential perspective of angst in your armoury.
 

Withnail

Well-Known Forumite
Every now and then i can see the face of a kid called Joachim.

I'd been given a class of failures, but the failure of some of them was simply that their English wasn't good enough to be good at Biology in English.

I attained a 'B' in Biology at 'O' level - in English. I wouldn't even like to speculate what kind of grade i may have attained if i'd had to answer in Spanish. I'd have fared worse than poor Joachim i'm absolutely sure.

I hugely cocked up in my entering of the marks my students scored in their end of term exam, so ended up changing the 'attainment' grade without commensurately 'up marking' the students that had 'attained' it.

Poor Joachim was consequently marked down as a 'fail', even though he had worked really hard and should really have passed, albeit at the minimum , the requirement.

The worst of it for me is that only after realising the stupid mistake i'd made, the look on his face, i only then realised how my stupid action had condemned the poor fellow - actually a really good kid - to an unwarranted bollocking.

Sorry Joachim, i hope to this day that it wasn't too severe.
 

Bob

Well-Known Forumite
I'd have travelled the world when I was young.
I would have gone to university when I had the chance.

But everything I did and didn't do has lead me to where I am now. To my husband, to our daughters, to our home, our business and our friends, to our life we have together and I wouldn't change it for the world. There are experiences I would like to have had, some things I wish had never happened and aspects currently that I would like to be less stressful but on the whole, life is going ok!

By the my mid 40's the kids will be all grown up and off living their lives I can do my traveling then.
I may go back and do my degree at some point - I assume my ucas points are still valid.
 

Glam

Mad Cat Woman
I'd have travelled the world when I was young.
I would have gone to university when I had the chance.

But everything I did and didn't do has lead me to where I am now. To my husband, to our daughters, to our home, our business and our friends, to our life we have together and I wouldn't change it for the world. There are experiences I would like to have had, some things I wish had never happened and aspects currently that I would like to be less stressful but on the whole, life is going ok!

By the my mid 40's the kids will be all grown up and off living their lives I can do my traveling then.
I may go back and do my degree at some point - I assume my ucas points are still valid.
Love this Bob.
I often get asked at work if I regret getting married so young (I was 17)
Hell no! It's all I wanted at the time, No, I haven't travelled the world, didn't even get any qualifications behind me for my future. Instead, me and my husband made a family together, 1 that isn't perfect, I don't believe anyones is, but now at the age of 54, I have 4 grown up adults I'm proud to say I am a mother to. Eldest 35 youngest 27.
When my mum was 54,(Dad was 65) I was 14,I have a sister who is 2yrs 8months older and one 4yrs younger,
We never got to do stuff with her because she was always too tired or working, I couldn't imagine having young children at my age now. My only small regret is I didn't have my kids closer together.
 

littleme

250,000th poster!
By the my mid 40's the kids will be all grown up and off living their lives I can do my traveling then.
I may go back and do my degree at some point - I assume my ucas points are still valid.

Dont count on this! You may decide by your late 30's/ early 40's (like me) that you want another bambino & so it all starts again. Although I did do my degree as a mature student - but I still dont know what I want to be when I grow up.
 

tek-monkey

wanna see my snake?
I kind of regret not having kids when younger, my first proper gf wanted them but we'd literally just left uni and it seemed a bad idea to me at that point. There was also another where the possibility was there but circumstances weren't quite right. I'm now 41 and still don't have any, guessing it's off the cards now as most women my age don't want more. Still not even sure I'm ready, it's something I was leaving til I grew up!
 

Carole

Well-Known Forumite
I kind of regret not having kids when younger, I'm now 41 and still don't have any, guessing it's off the cards now as most women my age don't want more. Still not even sure I'm ready, it's something I was leaving til I grew up!

I wasn’t particularly interested in having kids when I was in my 20’s and had my son when I was 36. It was the right time for me, I wouldn’t have had the patience when I was younger.

So @tek-monkey I’d say it’s still a possibility for you if that’s what you want.
Lots of women these days put off having children until their 30’s and often until their 40’s.
If a woman does want children then meeting a man that also wants them is a huge bonus.

Look at David Essex, a father in his 60’s, not to mention Des O Connor the randy rapscallion.
 

littleme

250,000th poster!
I kind of regret not having kids when younger, my first proper gf wanted them but we'd literally just left uni and it seemed a bad idea to me at that point. There was also another where the possibility was there but circumstances weren't quite right. I'm now 41 and still don't have any, guessing it's off the cards now as most women my age don't want more. Still not even sure I'm ready, it's something I was leaving til I grew up!
You've got plenty of time (being a bloke), you just need to find a girl whose biological clock is ticking, or a younger model.... ;)
 

Kickstart

Well-Known Forumite
I may go back and do my degree at some point - I assume my ucas points are still valid.

This is something I have some major regrets about. Due to circumstances I made a major mess of a degree and it still gets me down 30 years later.

All the best

Katy
 

tek-monkey

wanna see my snake?
You've got plenty of time (being a bloke), you just need to find a girl whose biological clock is ticking, or a younger model.... ;)
Still not ready yet though, would need 2 years minimum with someone before I made a commitment like that so talking close to 44 even if I met them now! That said I am rather immature, so maybe a younger model isn't off the cards? Before the last one I averaged about 10 years younger for quite a while, but my youthful looks may be fading a little nowadays.....
 
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