The Dinner Guest Connundrum.

[HerlockSholmes]

I would imagine that we have all played this game. Usually during parties when the alcohol is flowing and people have run out of things to argue about. So, while we are all sober...hopefully, I thought that I would try it here. I thought that it might be ‘interesting.’

You have to name 6 guests that you would like to invite to a dinner party and give your reasons why. Rules....well they have to exist or have existed in the past which sadly counts out you-know-who😃 They can come from any sphere (film star, politician, author.) Of course in an ideal world you would all invite me but I have to be strict and discount forum members (and mods sorry.) 

So, who will be the first to post (or will anyone bother posting at all?) I’ll post my own pretty soon but, probably like everyone, I’m still dithering. I have only one definite and I’d lay a fair sized bet that you would all be able to guess who that would be?😃

 

[HerlockSholmes]

Ok, I might as well wade in as I could be dithering forever. I’ll probably still want to change my mind but here goes.

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle - surprise, surprise. He created a character that I love. The most famous fictional character in literature. I’d like to see how he felt about the fact that the ‘spiritualist message’ hasn’t caught on and how most still believe mediums to be charlatans. I’d mention the ‘fairies’ too.  I’d like to find out how he truly felt about his creation. I’d also lik to question him on how he became so besotted with Jean that he came to treat his children with Touie so poorly.

Jeremy Brett - Again. No surprise there. My favourite actor and the finest portrayor of Holmes. I think his performance had touches of genius. I’m not biased of course.😃

Vincent Van Gogh - I love his paintings. I also feel great sympathy for him. He’s The archetypal ‘torture genius.’ After seeing that wonderful scene in Dr Who I’d love to be the one to explain how revered and loved he’d become over the years.

Christopher Hitchens - A controversial choice (especially for the religious.) He was incredibly intelligent and knowledgeable on such a wide range of subjects. He was also unbeatable as a debater. Plus he liked a drink so I think that he’d be great guest. Although heated debates might ensue.

Billy Connolly - The funniest man ever in my opinion. It’s always good to laugh and Connolly just can’t help being funny. The problem for me would be that I’d spend the entire evening choking with laughter and spitting out food☹️

‘Finally, and this would be the one that would prevent anyone else turning up.

Jack The Ripper - A truly horrible human being but one that I’ve spent a fair part of the last 30+ years trying to identify. I’d simply want to know who he was and what drove him to do what he did. Obvious Jack would be suitably restrained and only given a plastic knife👍

 

[T.o.b.y]

Man, I have to invite real people? That's a tough one. Fictional characters I could have thought of enough to fill a banquet hall.

Real people. Hm. Do they have to be famous? Because if not, then I would want to invite some of my ancestors that I only know from old photographs and portraits. I would love to know what kind of people they were. 

[HerlockSholmes]

1 hour ago, T.o.b.y said:

Man, I have to invite real people? That's a tough one. Fictional characters I could have thought of enough to fill a banquet hall.

Real people. Hm. Do they have to be famous? Because if not, then I would want to invite some of my ancestors that I only know from old photographs and portraits. I would love to know what kind of people they were. 

They don’t have to be famous T.o.b.y. In fact you’ve just given me a thought. I should have invited my paternal grandfather as he died 12 years before I was born. 

‘You never get this right first time (or 25th for that matter.)

[Hikari]

4 hours ago, HerlockSholmes said:

Ok, I might as well wade in as I could be dithering forever. I’ll probably still want to change my mind but here goes.

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle - surprise, surprise. He created a character that I love. The most famous fictional character in literature. I’d like to see how he felt about the fact that the ‘spiritualist message’ hasn’t caught on and how most still believe mediums to be charlatans. I’d mention the ‘fairies’ too.  I’d like to find out how he truly felt about his creation. I’d also lik to question him on how he became so besotted with Jean that he came to treat his children with Touie so poorly.

Jeremy Brett - Again. No surprise there. My favourite actor and the finest portrayor of Holmes. I think his performance had touches of genius. I’m not biased of course.😃

Vincent Van Gogh - I love his paintings. I also feel great sympathy for him. He’s The archetypal ‘torture genius.’ After seeing that wonderful scene in Dr Who I’d love to be the one to explain how revered and loved he’d become over the years.

Christopher Hitchens - A controversial choice (especially for the religious.) He was incredibly intelligent and knowledgeable on such a wide range of subjects. He was also unbeatable as a debater. Plus he liked a drink so I think that he’d be great guest. Although heated debates might ensue.

Billy Connolly - The funniest man ever in my opinion. It’s always good to laugh and Connolly just can’t help being funny. The problem for me would be that I’d spend the entire evening choking with laughter and spitting out food☹️

‘Finally, and this would be the one that would prevent anyone else turning up.

Jack The Ripper - A truly horrible human being but one that I’ve spent a fair part of the last 30+ years trying to identify. I’d simply want to know who he was and what drove him to do what he did. Obvious Jack would be suitably restrained and only given a plastic knife👍

 

I was toodling along nodding vigorously with all your selections until I got to the end.  Um.  It would be extremely unsettling to try and eat with Jack staring at me, restrained or not.  Perhaps he could be shifted to an alcove holding the 'Psycho Killers Table' and Dr. Hannibal Lechter and he can swap kidney recipes out of the sight of the main dining room?  With trained snipers standing guard over both of them, of course.

*********

This is an incredibly tough assignment.  Consider this my 'first seating'.  I played a similar game over on my other forum, where I proposed 'Theme Evenings'.  For example, on 'Scots Night', we would have Billy Connolly, Craig Ferguson, Peter Capaldi, Ewan McGregor, David Tennant, and James McAvoy on the guest list.  I don't tend to invite many women to my fantasy dinner parties--!

Okay, for this list, in no particular order:

I'd say Jesus Christ, but let's presume that He is too busy to drop in on our little soiree . . though I'd like to see Him go toe-to-toe with Christopher Hitchens.  Pass the popcorn for that.

Do I have to stop at six? 

Martin Luther - the founder of my faith and my ancestral countryman.  The man who gave the Pope a metaphorical finger and said 'Here I stand; I can do no other . . Bite me!'  Martin tended toward constipation and depression, but he'd be on good form for our dinner and, we would all magically be able to understand German.  Lest anyone think Martin would be too somber to be any fun . . trust me, the man was capable of a good time.

****

Two Founding Fathers of my nation, who I hope will be extended a warm welcome, notwithstanding:  Benjamin Franklin & Thomas Jefferson, two extraordinary gentlemen--inventors, statesmen, philosophers, men of letters.  Without them, the United States of America would not exist.  I think they represent the epitome of the American mind and spirit.  How far we have fallen since then.

Until Scots Night comes about . . If we invite the above, then Craig Ferguson must attend.  The Glaswegian lad who dropped out of high school, played in a band with Peter Capaldi and spent a decade-plus engaged in lowbrow humor with a skeleton robot is in actuality, a highly intelligent and thoughtful man.  As an American by choice, Craig's patriotic zeal for his adopted homeland is both touching and sincere.  On his arm in indelible ink, he's got the 'Join or Die!' colonial flag designed by Mr. Franklin tattooed,  which must have been a lengthy painful process, but nobody doubts his commitment to the U.S.A.  Also, it would make a smashing conversational icebreaker.

Oscar Wilde and Ernest Hemingway.  Because it would be as interesting as hell to get those two in a room together.

Okay, I'm gonna go for eight, because 6 is too arbitrary . . most dining tables seat 8-12 anyhow.  I would invite also Stephen Fry, who idolizes Wilde and played him onscreen . . . and also Clive Owen, because he played Hem in a film . . and also because he is easy on my eyes.  I can find an excuse to invite Clive to any gathering. 

[J.P.]

Six People? AT ONCE? Nah. To crowded for me. I prefer one-to-one conversations.

First spontaneous choice: Andrew Scott. Because he was the first person I immediately felt I would love just to hang around.

Alternatively Mark and Ian plus the dogs. Or only the dogs…

Danny Hargreaves to discuss SFX.

Sue because I just beeping adore her. Just so.

Yeah, it's still quite Sherlock-heavy…

Okay, then: Viggo Mortensen to discuss photography and horses.

[Arcadia]

Yeesh. Do I have to make the dinner?

Hmmmm. I wouldn't invite any of my heartthrobs, I think, because then I'd be too shy and dumbstruck to enjoy the evening. (I had the chance to go backstage and meet one of my favorite musicians once. Eeek, no!! I couldn't wait to escape.... ) So, sorry, BC, no invite for you.

Maybe ... Robin Williams. Because he'd have us all in stitches one minute, then contemplating our souls the next.

Claude Monet. Only he wouldn't get to eat, he'd have to paint. I want to watch him paint.

My dad, because he was always entertaining and/or interesting at dinner, and knew how to set everyone at ease. I'd turn the hosting duties over to him.

Jon Stewart, because he's funny, brilliant and sane.

Anndd... I have to go make dinner, so I gotta be quick, so I'll go for the obvious; Barack and Michelle Obama, because I love to talk politics, and because I want to ask what they really thought of their portraits in the National Gallery.  

 

 

 

[Hikari]

1 hour ago, Arcadia said:

Yeesh. Do I have to make the dinner?

Absolutely not.  This soiree will be catered, with footmen, so that you, the hostess can focus on making scintillating conversation with your guests and looking fabulous.

I'd be a nervous wreck if I were expected to cook for my idols.  Though I suppose I could just whip out a jar of Marmite and a loaf of bread and say, "Have at it, guys!"

[Carol the Dabbler]

3 hours ago, Hikari said:

This soiree will be catered, with footmen, so that you, the hostess can focus on making scintillating conversation with your guests and looking fabulous.

Am I absolutely required to look fabulous?  I'd spend the entire evening worrying about my hair, clothing, and (God forbid!) makeup.  

[Arcadia]

Oi, if I can't show up in jeans and a tshirt, I'm out of there. Maybe I need to go for a less glamorous guest list.

[Carol the Dabbler]

What are the rules, Herlock?  Are the guests that we choose actually required to show up (with "actually" being defined as "within the context of the game")?  Or do we need to be reasonable? 

[HerlockSholmes]

11 hours ago, Hikari said:

Absolutely not.  This soiree will be catered, with footmen, so that you, the hostess can focus on making scintillating conversation with your guests and looking fabulous.

I'd be a nervous wreck if I were expected to cook for my idols.  Though I suppose I could just whip out a jar of Marmite and a loaf of bread and say, "Have at it, guys!"

Absolutely. This will be the full English country house job. A butler, footmen, full complement of servants and a top notch chef. As Pseudonym will tell you, it’s the way we all do it in the UK👍

[Arcadia]

Okay, forget dinner, here's a ready made guest list for breakfast at Speedy's.....

https://www.omaze.com/experiences/benedict-cumberbatch-sherlock-london?utm_source=twitter.com&utm_medium=social&utm_content=&utm_campaign=experiences.benedict-cumberbatch-sherlock-london&utm_term=PitchSelf-Filmed&oa_h=m0m8sb

Make a donation for Red Nose day and be entered to win a chance at having breakfast with the cast of Sherlock.

Edited just now by Arcadia

[HerlockSholmes]

4 hours ago, Arcadia said:

Oi, if I can't show up in jeans and a tshirt, I'm out of there. Maybe I need to go for a less glamorous guest list.

I forgot about the dressing up part Arcadia. That would upset me. I’d have to hire a suit for a start. A pair of jeans and a Led Zeppelin t-shirt just wouldnt do.

[Arcadia]

Yah, Speedy's is looking better by the moment.

[HerlockSholmes]

7 hours ago, Carol the Dabbler said:

Am I absolutely required to look fabulous?  I'd spend the entire evening worrying about my hair, clothing, and (God forbid!) makeup.  

I’m sure that you look fabulous all the time Carol.👍

[HerlockSholmes]

3 minutes ago, Arcadia said:

Yah, Speedy's is looking better by the moment.

Good idea Arcadia. We could hire Speedy’s for the night👍

[HerlockSholmes]

15 minutes ago, Arcadia said:

Okay, forget dinner, here's a ready made guest list for breakfast at Speedy's.....

https://www.omaze.com/experiences/benedict-cumberbatch-sherlock-london?utm_source=twitter.com&utm_medium=social&utm_content=&utm_campaign=experiences.benedict-cumberbatch-sherlock-london&utm_term=PitchSelf-Filmed&oa_h=m0m8sb

Make a donation for Red Nose day and be entered to win a chance at having breakfast with the cast of Sherlock.

Edited just now by Arcadia

Great prize. Poor old Una Stubbs though. 

[HerlockSholmes]

4 hours ago, Arcadia said:

Oi, if I can't show up in jeans and a tshirt, I'm out of there. Maybe I need to go for a less glamorous guest list.

Jeans and t-shirt are ok with me Arcadia.

[HerlockSholmes]

4 hours ago, Carol the Dabbler said:

What are the rules, Herlock?  Are the guests that we choose actually required to show up (with "actually" being defined as "within the context of the game")?  Or do we need to be reasonable? 

If you mean do they have to be physically able to show up the answer is no. Historical figures are fine. I did toy with the idea of allowing one fictional by I thought that, given the Forum, most posters choice would be a foregone conclusion.

when this thread runs its course we could do a fictional figure one?

[Hikari]

25 minutes ago, Arcadia said:

Okay, forget dinner, here's a ready made guest list for breakfast at Speedy's.....

https://www.omaze.com/experiences/benedict-cumberbatch-sherlock-london?utm_source=twitter.com&utm_medium=social&utm_content=&utm_campaign=experiences.benedict-cumberbatch-sherlock-london&utm_term=PitchSelf-Filmed&oa_h=m0m8sb

Make a donation for Red Nose day and be entered to win a chance at having breakfast with the cast of Sherlock.

Edited just now by Arcadia

• Sherlock Breakfast Agenda:
• Hang out with Benedict Cumberbatch, Mark Gatiss, Andrew Scott, Louise Brealey and Steven Moffat over breakfast (served by Una Stubbs!) at Speedy’s Café 
• Join Louise Brealey for a private Sherlock tour around London and see locations from the show
• Enjoy a VIP tour of The Sherlock Holmes Museum at 221b Baker Street
• Be flown out to London and put up at The Sherlock Holmes Hotel

All sounds fantastic, except for the part about Moffat being there.  He'd be far too much for me to take in the morning.

 

[Hikari]

4 hours ago, Arcadia said:

Oi, if I can't show up in jeans and a tshirt, I'm out of there. Maybe I need to go for a less glamorous guest list.

It's your party so you can invite who you want and wear whatever you want.  Or nothing.  Invite a bunch of naturalists and there's that problem solved.  Makes wiping up spills a breeze, too.

[J.P.]

42 minutes ago, HerlockSholmes said:

Absolutely. This will be the full English country house job. A butler, footmen, full complement of servants and a top notch chef. As Pseudonym will tell you, it’s the way we all do it in the UK👍

I would send all the footmen home and order pizza and icecream.

[Hikari]

4 hours ago, Carol the Dabbler said:

What are the rules, Herlock?  Are the guests that we choose actually required to show up (with "actually" being defined as "within the context of the game")?  Or do we need to be reasonable? 

I'm wondering how anyone could be 'required' to attend, particularly the ones who are deceased?  Or the living ones, either, really.  I'd love to meet Stephen Fry for instance, but he's under no obligation whatsoever to accept a dinner invitation from an anonymous American.  Particularly if a homophobe like Hemingway is going to be there.

As ever, a gracious RSVP, whether accepting or declining is a classy move.  But I think getting too hung up on rules of the game destroys the esprit of it, so let's just assume that everyone you'd like to come would be delighted to attend . . or what's the point of this?  I get shot down plenty by real people I know; I don't need to take social rejection in my fantasy dinner party.  Particularly from dead and/or fictional persons.

[Sheerluck]

This is a difficult one since it's limited to six.

P. G. Wodehouse. Along with Doyle, Plum is one of my favourite authors. His books are a treat and it would be wonderful to discuss how he created his characters.

Admiral Lord Viscount Horatio Nelson. I've read so much about the Royal Navy during the age of sail I couldn't imagine not including what is perhaps its greatest hero. Especially since I can't invite Hornblower or Aubrey.

Napoleon Bonaparte. A fascinating man and of course he and Nelson would have some extremely tense conversation.

René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo. This has to count as one. As the creators of Asterix (Astérix le Gaulois) I would love to talk to them about this childhood favourite of mine.

George Orwell. I would love to hear his opinions on the world today. Plus the man knew how to make a proper brew.

George Auguste Escoffier. Arguably the father of all modern cuisine and I do love to eat.

This list will probably alter from day to day, but at the moment this could be a rather fun gathering I think.