Are there any skills you wish you could have acquired?

I'd of loved to of learnt to scuba dive always wanted to do that in a warm ocean.

I wish I could sew, knit, play a musical instrument, ski, ice skate, paint, sing, speak a foreign language fluently, .....

But I can’t.

Sing. I can’t carry a tune in a bucket but I do enjoy singing!!

Like you I was thrown out of sewing classes at school. I just hated them. My mum was a trained Court dressmaker and tried to teach me but I wasn't really interested. Strangely enough, I am now sewing for my grandchildren and loving it! The skill I wish I had acquired is playing the piano or any musical instrument really well. I mastered the recorder at primary school but nothing since then........

I wish I’d learnt how to swim properly.

I would have loved to be able to play the piano. I can play guitar but never had the opportunity to play piano.

I would have like to have learned to type . It wasn’t taught in my school and for many years we had typing pools and administrators to do it for us in the offices where I worked.

I’d love to have woodworking skills so I could do repairs and make simple items like planters for the garden. I too was hopeless at needlework classes, I had no interest whatsoever. I’m trying to learn the basics online now, there are a few good demos on YouTube, I want to start by replacing the wooden sides of some steps up a bank in my garden - fingers crossed. .

I'd love to be able to play a musical instrument properly. To sit down at a piano and play a tune or strum a guitar would be great. I had flute lessons at school, but my attempts were painful.

Oh my goodness, where to begin?
I’d love be able to play the piano, some family members were very gifted, but my lessons seemed like torture, wish I’d preserved though!

I’d love to be able to sew.

As a child I always wanted to learn tap dancing, but never did.

I can’t swim, so envious of my husband and children on holidays, and now I wish I could take my grandchildren. I had one to one adult lessons for about two years, but still can’t swim.

I would love to be fluent in another language, our school didn’t teach languages. Again , I had some adult lessons, and learned just about enough to get by, but am a million miles away from being fluent.

I could go on, but it’s quite depressing to think about all the things I’ll never be able to do.

I would love to play the piano - speak a foreign language - be a confident driver - be a confident passenger (especially on motorways)
That will do for now!

I am enjoying reading this, partly because I take for granted a few of the skills mentioned.
My biggest wish is that I could sing or play - I love music, but have never been able to carry a tune.
Trisha57 - I was interested in your post. My mother was an amateur sewer, and taught me and I| loved it.
Although her singing and fiddle playing were amateur as well, they were to a high standard. Whereas she encouraged my sewing, and sewed alongside me; she was constantly critical of my attempts to sing or play.
I think sometimes people who are very good at something actually have difficulty in teaching it, because they can't understand how hard it can be.
Anyway, I am glad you enjoy sewing now Trisha57!

I’ve picked up and dropped so many things over the years, as witness my vast collection of sporting equipment, craft stuff, paints and musical instruments gathering dust all over the house. And somewhere, the 19 untouched modules of the 20 module creative writing course. I’ve got massive enthusiasm and to spare for new ideas, but no staying power whatsoever. I saw that wary look on DH’s face the other day when we were watching The Repair Shop and I was saying how I’d love to be able to restore things.....

Top of the list, I’d really like to be able to play that guitar or violin - maybe I’ll book some proper lessons when this is all over. Or maybe I’ll buy some upholstering tools instead and give it a go.

I would love to play a musical instrument, possibly the piano. I have friends who learnt to play as children and they have had such pleasure from it all their lives. In fact this discussion has prodded me into looking for a piano teacher. I have a piano, for goodness sake, all I do at the moment is dust it.

Just to be able to sing in tune would be great.
I also would love to paint

To play the piano well.
I took it up again after retirement (after many decades and from a very low base anyway) but although I’ve made a lot of progress, it’s disheartening how much harder it is when you’re getting on a bit. I can slog away at the same piece for ages and it still won’t ‘click’.

As a child I envied friends who had ballroom dancing lessons - I’d still love to be able to do a passable foxtrot. Not much use going to classes with dh though - bless him but he has no sense of rhythm.

To play the piano or keyboard. I might just buy myself one and teach myself a few riffs!

It's strange that no one yearns to be able to solve equations in their head or translate Ancient Greek into Latin.......are we being taught the wrong things in our skills based education system?

Mamissimo

It's strange that no one yearns to be able to solve equations in their head or translate Ancient Greek into Latin.......are we being taught the wrong things in our skills based education system?

A friend of mine retired recently and is now studying Egyptian hieroglyphs at a very advanced academic level. Will that do?

I would like to be able to sing well, in tune and to play a musical instrument.

I would like to be able to play the guitar. We have an old one in the house and I picked it up a few times last summer but l lack the staying power for day to day practice.

I wish I could use dpns for knitting and also circular needles.

I have just changed my user name but have been on GN for a couple of years!

shropshirelass, it’s true that I wasn’t quite a complete beginner when I went back to the piano, though after 50 odd years and only ever grade 2 anyway, it really wasn’t far off - I couldn’t play even the easiest scale with both hands, and my sight reading was non existent (not that it had ever been up to much anyway.)

We had a very old keyboard (later replaced with an old piano) and I got to work with Carol Barratt’s course for adult beginners - that was classical piano, but there are other courses - plus some other beginner books I found 2nd hand online.

Progress was reasonably encouraging for a few years but I seem to have reached a plateau now.

At the group class I joined after a year or so there was a woman in (I should imagine) her late 40s who’d started as an absolute beginner just a very few years previously, and had recently passed her Grade 3.
As someone who’d been far too chicken to go for exams, I admired her enormously.

Well, I can do simple equations in my head, and use that almost daily, calculating for crafts or cooking, or making sense of statistics on the news - and I expect many of us do, without thinking.
I have no interest in learning a dead language - i have learned a coupe of modern ones, but find it takes longer and sticks less as I get older.

The ability to make instant witty comments.

Knitting, crocheting, ice-skating, fluent in a foreign language, learning to dive