Ok - you are organising a dinner party - at home or in a restaurant. You're allowed to select 6 guests - contemporary or from the past. In no more than 2 sentences who would you select - and why? Mine would be: Spike Milligan. Could go badly-wrong if he was in a mood - but a true, one-off, comedy genius. His WW2 diaries are wonderful - accurate; hilarious and touching. Christopher Hitchens. Intellectual giant - supporter of Enlightenment principles and destroyer of religious apologists. Billy Connelly - sadly now with Parkinson's but in his prime side-splittingly funny. Gore Vidal - American author / commentator. Rapier-like wit - can be very ascerbic. Andy Hamilton - scriptwriter / panel member. Always worth listening to - especially on HIGNFY. John Peel - much missed former influential DJ. Like Peel I may have "Teenage Kicks" played at my funeral. Probably next week I'll have another 6 - but I'm sure this eclectic bunch would provide an entertaining / stimulating evening!
Hi Gerry I appreciate why you have selected the 6 dinner guests that you have. Each in their own right would be good entertainment. But surely a succesful dinner party requires guests that can gel together in an eclectic mix. Not sure how your current list would manage that. Need to think on that for a while to come up with my own list. Good topic though.
Sir Alex Ferguson straight forward talking scot with a charm and grandfather family status of wisdom and compassion. Baroness Boothroyd if only to ask why she took up paragliding at such a late age. Ken Dodd a great Liverpudlian, comic and an underrated singing voice. My Wife for her love wit wisdom and great Filipino cooking Terry Wogan if him and Doddy didnt get the party laughing would anything? Peter Jones entrepreneur, from tennis coach to an estimated fortune of £475 million.
Hitler Ricky Gervais John Cleese Tommy Cooper Sir Winston Churchill Peter Cook Waiting staff. Anthony Hopkins Jessica alba Angelina jolie Natalie-Portman Why? Not exactly sure yet but I`ll let you know after Dinner.
I'm sure I could easily stand an evening in this company. Saw documentary about Dodd few years back - still working the clubs / theatres well into his 80s. His memory was pretty sharp too - talking about music hall and times past generally. Maybe best to avoid taxation!
Adolph and Winnie would surprisingly find common cause of course - believer in colonialism / empire building / hatred of communism. I guess it would depend on the period in their lives - I hadn't thought of that when I created the thread. Must remember to include veggie option for dictator!
OK, I'll try: Doctor Samuel Johnson, both for his celebrated conversation at the dinner table, and because he is a hero of mine. General Sir Charles James Napier - another hero of mine, and from surviving anecdotes (eg his legendary telegram "peccavi" ("I have sinned") - he had exceeded his orders and captured Sindh) I suspect he could be very witty. Francis Wheen Nelson Churchill Roy Jenkins
Lots of all male dinner parties above. I tried to include women in mine just because that's usual at a dinner party. Mother Theresa - My wife wants her to come. Catherine of Aragon - Both my wife and I are very interested in the tudor period. Nelle Harper Lee - Both my wife and I are fans of 'to kill a mockingbird'. Winston Churchill. - Because I admire him and I am interested to hear his views on WW2. Clive James - Enjoyed his books and always found him very amusing in the past. Richard Feynman - Enjoyed his books - and would like to discuss physics with him Serving staff? No.
I think you have a point. Eleanor of Aquitaine would be interesting! I think I would sit her near to Eleanor Roosevelt with Elizabeth 1. adjacent.
Interesting pick, particularly Clive James and Feynman, both of them would have taken the conversation into interesting territory perhaps not related to their particular specialisations. Feynman in particular was full of stories but he was a complex man. The problem with complex mixes of a reasonably large numbers of very famous people is that you would need an inordinate amount of time to get the best from each of them. Me I don't do dinner parties
Groucho Marx - Whilst many of his famous quotes were pre-written, he was a fascinating man and a funny guy. John Lennon Paul McCartney - What's not to like about getting the two greatest song writers together again? Brian Clough obe (old big 'ead) Raquel Welch (1960's version please) Susanna Hoffs (1980's version please)
