Here’s a conversation kicker I like to toss out there into everyday banter every now and then: if you could have any five famous people (dead or alive) over for dinner, who would it be?
I’ve deliberated earnestly over this wish list (even though I concede it wasn’t the wisest use of my limited time!) and have finally narrowed it down to the following FAMOUS FIVE:
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| www.oprah.com |
Naturally, it’s no surprise who has secured this highly sought after first spot. I’m sure even the person who knows me the least is still aware of my undeniable obsession with the Queen of Daytime TV: the one and only Ms Oprah Winfrey. I would award her the honour of sitting at the head of the table, because, let’s face it, we’d ALL hang off her every word. And I would be the starry eyed observer, soaking in her every sentence, on her right hand side. Insert contented sigh here….
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| http://pinartarhan.com/ |
And what’s a perfect dinner party without a resident funny man seated at the table? Ricky Gervais, with endlessly irreverent witticism and charm, the spot is all yours! I might have to move you to the far end of the table as I am unsure whether Oprah would be a fan of your sometimes criticised jibes, but rest assured there’d be laughter at the ready from me! Your American alter ego, Steve Carrell might be waiting in the wings as your reserve, should you offend everyone else so substantially (though NEVER me!) that you are asked to leave.
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| www.fanpop.com |
I figured that, with my absolute obsession with books, there of course needs to be an author present for the festivities (if only to mentor me how I make the transition into their highly coveted career!). Tossing up between Paullina Simons, whose books I’ve been obsessed with since teenage years, Jane Austen, whose classics, such as Emma, set me up on a reading road of love; Elizabeth Gilbert, as her “Eat Pray Love” phenomenon rocked my world, or the amazing rags to riches story of the only billionaire author of our times, Ms JK Rowling. I’d normally lean to the latter only because her rise to success is a story I’m uber impressed with but it may be a sore point that I don’t actually like her Harry Potter series (suddenly I foresee awkward silences abounding). So, Jane Austen it is: cue swooning over delicious characters Mr Darcy & Mr Knightley and some not so subtle probing as to whether the likes of the actually existed in her time!
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| www.eastasiaforum.org |
To give my dinner party a dose of credibility, there also needed to be a statesman of history thrown in (plus I’m sadly rather obsessed with the subject). While I was initially leaning towards Gustav Stresemann to be the rep, (because if he’d not died at 51, when Germany was relishing in the golden age of the Weimar Republic, Hilter may never have flourished. Enough Said.) there is just no going past the smart, savvy and undeniably sexy Barack Obama. But if he thinks he’s solely allowed to monopolise Oprah’s attention, he’ll have to fight me off first with a big stick!
And then on to the last highly sought after seat…. It’s occurred to me that I am lacking some patriotic pride here I wondered if I should throw in a famous sporting hero, for good measure. Having been obsessed with Rugby League for years you’d have assumed I’d slot in a star of days gone by – except The Husband might not be so accommodating of first choice Brad Mackay.
And suddenly I fear I should have allowed for a bigger table. With panic, I wonder where do I sit Mark Wahlberg (dress code: NO SHIRT) who I have had a crush on for so many years, or Will Smith, who’s body of work I have devoted many years to laughing at or dancing to. Or oh my, Robbie Williams, who has the honour of being the singer of my favourite song of ALL TIME, and what’s a good dinner party without live music??? And, will I offend any of my Catholic family by not saving a spot at the main table for the likes of Jesus? Decisions, decisions…
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| www.hamishandandy.com |
What wins is the need to infuse some of our own culture into the mix and honestly, my favourite Aussies of the moment are Hamish & Andy and because splitting up this duo would be akin to having Kahlua without the milk, together they will remain. Though one will have to nurse the other on their lap. It’s a six seater table.
So, there you have it, my famous five: Oprah, Ricky Gervais, Jane Austen, Gustav Stresemann and the Hamish & Andy duo… Sure, there might be a bit of a scheduling issue in aligning the diaries of these superstars (and I imagine teeing up Ms Austen might actually be easier than finding a free night in the social Calendar of Oprah Winfrey!) but a girl can dream, cant she?
Which then of course, begs the polite question – just who would you send a “Famous Five” invite to? Let the pondering and (pretend) invitation issuing begin!
hmmm I’m not really into the whole celebrity thing so picking 5 famous people is gonna be tough. I think I’d quite like to chat with the Dhali Lama, and maybe Maya Angelou and other smart insightful people like that. But since I am not super smart of insightful I reckon I’d just be doing a lot of listening and not much chatting! LOL
I read Robbie Williams as Robin Williams and was wracking my brain thinking “What song has Robin Williams ever sung, and if he did, how could it be that good??” Whoops. (Sorry Robin)
Brilliant list! I’d flick Jane Austen and replace her with Mrs Woog 🙂
I read this and had to have a think. Probably one of the Mitford sisters, Alastair Campbell (HUGE CRUSH) Oprah, Bill Bryson and Tom Clancy.
Any party with Hamish and Andy, I’d love to be at!
Love your writing BTW. Love it.
I can only invite five people? Really? *sigh* Maybe I’ll have to have a dinner party each night for a month to get through my dinner guest wish list.
I like that you’ve chosen guests from different backgrounds/occupations. I could give this some more thought, but off the top of my head I’d invite
* Jasper Fforde (I’m reading his latest novel at the moment and I just love his writing).
* Meryl Streep because when I grow up, I want to be her. 🙂
* Li Cunxin – dancer and author of the autobiography Mao’s Last Dancer – what an amazing story to share.
* Hamish & Andy because, really, how could I not.
* Anita Heiss – indigenous Australian author, poet, social commentator, academic. I love chatting with her on Twitter and I’d love to have the opportunity to have a deep and meaningful discussion in more than 140 chars over a glass of wine or two.
Oops. Look at my rambling comment. i should have written my own post. 🙂
A dinner party would not be complete with Hamish and Andy. Struggling to come up with any other additions to your list. I think that’s just perfect!
I have no idea who I would invite to a dinner party like this. I am going to think about it and post it sometime. Yours would be a very interesting night! Thanks for Rewinding x