Who would you invite to dinner?

In My Humble Opinion
1

So, you can have dinner with 6 other people, from any time or place in history - who would you choose to invite?

I have noticed mine features very few historical figures, but currently would be:
**Martha Gellhorn **- writer during 30s-70s who covered Spanish Civil War
Ranulf Feinnes - explorer, famous for amputating his own fingers in his garden shed
Eddie Izzard - Comedian
Elizabeth I
Stephen Fry - Actor/writer
Thomas Keller - chef - if he wants to make us dinner, I won’t complain!

Who would you have?

2

Margaret Thatcher, Ronald Reagan, Gaius Julius Caesar, The Duke of Wellington, Winston Churchill, Bob Shaw (author of Fighter Combat). I’d be totally outclassed, but enjoy every minute of it.

3

Robert E. Lee - Gettysburg, Day 3 - WTF?
Thomas Jefferson - OK, Tom. Now what do we do?
William Shakespeare - Tell me stories of the theatre…
Sir Francis Drake - Alright, Frank. Where did you ditch the main haul? And about New Albion…
Elizabeth I - Get together with Tom and rewrite politics
Robert Heinlein - I’d just want to say “Thank You” to the man who taught me more than anyone else.

4

Groucho Marx
Tom Lehrer
Kurt Vonnegut
Cary Grant
Katharine Hepburn
Stephen King
Can I invite Harborwolf too?

5

Samuel Beckett - Author/Playwright
Friedrich Nietzsche - Philosopher
Karl Marx - Philosopher/Economist
Jerry Garcia - Musician
Aristotle - Philosopher
…and I was going to invite Nicole Kidman, but then I realized that I would just spend the evening chatting to her and miss out on the great conversations between all the others at the table, so I’ve decided to invite Paulo Coelho (author) instead.

6

It would probably be a bad idea because I’d get back on the cigars, but:

C.S. Lewis - top bloke; boisterous and a surprisingly good listener for such a learned person.
Meryl Streep - attractive, witty and smart, but old enough so that I wouldn’t be angling (unsuccessfully, of course) to manoeuvre her into bed.
John Adams - easily my favourite of the founding fathers.
Andrew Bulmer - old boy from the same school; a Christian who has worked in India for 30 years building villages. I once asked him what advice he had for someone wanting to lead a Christian life, and he said “Be yourself”. Chance for him to expand a bit.
Keith Miller - Australian cricketer and WWII pilot; one of a kind, cocking a snook at authority with charm and discernment.
Fred Couples - American golfer ; someone once described him as “all cake and no frosting (icing)”. I’d like to finf out why.

7

Assuming everyone would behave themselves:

Ben Franklin
Leonardo da Vinci
Jeff Lynne
Jesus
Hitler

8

Can’t freakin’ count these days:

Thomas Jefferson

9

I’m gonna hold mine down to five invited guests, so there’ll be three couples.

  1. My late grandpa and Mary Pickford. Him I’d love to visit with again and he always had a soft spot for Ms. Pickford. I owe him her presence, and much more.

  2. Jimmy Carter and Condi Rice. That otta’ liven it up a bit!

  3. I’d be with Leslie F. (I could have loved her better, didn’t mean to be unkind and all that.)

Steaks on the grille, baked 'taters in the oven, Jack Daniels and Coke in water glasses, out on the back porch.

Good rockin’ tonight!

10

Whom would I invite? I’d love to have dinner with all four of my grandparents, two of whom died before I was born.

11

Karl Gauss(!) (who else?)
John von Neumann (possibly the smartest person in history)
Leonardo da Vinci (von Neumann’s rival for spih)
Richard Feynman (to tell jokes and to not let anyone get too full of themselves)
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (to compose a few ditties for us to sing after dinner)
Thomas Young (to finally give him the recognition he deserves)

12

Good question.

<assuming that we all speak the same language…>
Tiberious Claudius Nero Germanicus. Not that I don’t trust Suetonius, but I don’t :wink:
Hyapatia, female librarian at the Library of Alexander, as an intelligent and witty companion for Claudius

Leonardo da Vinci. I love someone with wideranging interests.
Hildegard von Bingen. Just wow. And I think she would make the perfect dinner companion for Leonardo.

Till Lindeman, vocalist for Rammstein. Eye candy with a mind. Well read, a sense of humor.

Menu -
Isicia omentata [more or less prawn croquettes in a savory sauce. The recipe I normally use is roman, but seafood croquettes are found throughout history]

mixed 'hors d’oeuvres - hardboiled eggs, pickles of various yummy things [gherkins, olives, several different veggies] dates filled with diced toasted almonds and cinnamon, honey cured dried pears, spiced beets, peppers filled with cheese and prosciutto, melon slices, grapes, small mozzarella balls, balls of herb wrapped goat cheese]

salad of mixed greens [eaten throughout history, I have roman, medieval and modern versions that are all surprisingly similar]

Pernam [aka Pig Newton which is pork leg simmered with figs then wrapped in dough and roasted, more or less.

fresh bread of several types, with soft cheese, plain butter, garlic herb butter and cinnamon/quince paste available to spread on it throughout the meal

and for dessert, a classic creme brulee

Not sure what to offer to drink with it, probably hypocras[spiced wine] a nice still mead, assorted wines, basically whatever people want=)

13

I’m forseeing some social awkwardness with this list, but anyway:

Charles Dickens
Elizabeth I
Mahatma Gandhi
Lou Reed
the Empress Livia
my maternal grandfather, who died a month before my mother was born: so I could find out what he was like as a person.

I’d invite Steve Buscemi if someone on the list didn’t RSVP ( possibly because they wouldn’t trust food that had been near Livia).

14

So long as we have Babel fishes or universal translators:

Alexander the Great (although he’d have to check his weapons at the door before he gets drunk)
Hitler (tho I may end up giving Alex his weapons back at some point in the meal)
Sir Patrick Moore - UK Astronomer presenting the Sky at Night since 1957 (he’s also on my death list so he’d definately get an invite)
Angelina Jolie - nuff said
Sir Isaac Newton - again be careful with cutlery etc.

Peter Cook - comedian (especially if I could have the duo of Cook and Moore at the table. Hell, I’d even drop one of the above for that)

15

Bill Clinton
Martha Stewart
Bill Maher
Dave Chapelle
Michael Jackson
O. J. Simpson

Can you just imagine?

16

Ooooh… this is gona be hard …

Sylvia Browne - a well known psychic who I find absolutely FACINATING

JRR Tolkein - oh , to get to sit down and talk about LOTR with the master…

Pat Derby - an obscure choice to be sure . She was a wild animal trainer in the 60’s and 70’s , now runs a performing animal rescue . Wrote a book called The Lady and Her Tiger , that is my all-time favorite book .

Orlando Bloom - OK … he doesn’t have to say a word , just sit there and look pretty . :smiley:

Jesus - I have questions . Lots and lots of questions .

My Best Friend Pat - we live too far apart to spend much time together , and I know she would enjoy all of these choices , as well …

What’s for dinner ?

I’d start off with a nice salad with all the trimmings . For the main course , ribs that have been smoking all day , smoked corn on the cob , and baked potatoes . For the vegitarians (I know Orli and Pat Derby are , and who knows about Jesus…) I would throw together a nice veggie stirfry . Dessert would be deep-dish apple pie , hot out of the oven , with vanilla ice cream melting over it , topped with walnuts toasted in butter in a skillet and then tossed in cinnamon & sugar … I would have a variety of drinks , whatever anyone wanted .

Sounds like an evening of good conversation to me …
(And if Keith Urban wanter to drop by to sing & play , I would not turn him away… :wink: )

17

(I love this game!)
In no special order:

  1. Abe Lincoln
  2. Winston Churchill
  3. Mohammed
  4. My father
  5. Oliver Cromwell
  6. Leonard, de Vinci

Menu:
Roast turkey,
pureed yams,
purred potatoes (with turnip accents)
a nice succotash
blueberry pie

An exceptional coffee
A dry champagne
A selection of teas

18

I’d have dinner alone.

They wouldn’t be interested in me, & I wouldn’t be able to think of a thing to say to them.

19

Andrew Lloyd Webber and his ex-wives Sarah I and Sarah Brightman
Julian Lloyd Webber and his ex-wives Cecilia and Zhara.

I’d love every minute of it.

20

So far on the balance of averages the board would invite:
Jesus
Hitler
Elizabeth I
Thomas Jefferson
Leonardo da Vinci
Their Grandfher/mother

But it’s really interesting to see the diversity of the answers. I also like the fact that without prompting, the food is as important as the company!