Tassels Twigs and Tastebuds: By Invitation Only ~ Dinner Party Guests

Hello Dear Friends

It is time for our monthly bit of fun...

A group of international bloggers get together once a month to blog about a specific topic. They are all very talented and it makes for some interesting reading, so please join us.The link will be at the end of this post.

This month we are hosting a fantasy dinner party and we have to invite ten famous guests (dead or alive) to our dinner.

I have done this before with a group of friends and it made for an entertaining evening of discussion, believe me!

Well, let's get to it, shall we?

First and foremost, since I am a single gal, I have to choose a host to assist me and be my date for the evening.

Here are the specs for the host....

Charming..very charming

Good looking (sultry, dark and mysterious...)

Able to sing and act ( If he needed to!)

Dance (someone who could break into a tango with me in the kitchen, whilst preparing pre-dinner drinks!!)(um, an alternative to that wretched broom, for a change...sigh)

Tall order??

Oh yes, and he must be able to string a few good sentences together without embarrassing us!

This was an easy choice for me...

And, the honour goes to....

Antonio Banderas

Did I forget to mention, that he has to be able to play the flamenco guitar as well!!!???

And, how do you like that sexy accent of his...??

Let's go into my kitchen and prep the drinks with Antonio and have that dance, shall we...

Okay, okay, now pull yourself together, stop drooling on your keyboard and run through a cold shower, I will wait for your return....

Recovered, are you?

Now, let us get on with the guest list.

Being South African, top of my list would have to be Desmond Tutu. ( Ha, you thought Madiba!! Nope, he is just too easy and have been invited too many times, sorry Tata...I do love you though)

I had the privilege of meeting Desmond Tutu once, as a very young girl, when I issued him with his Traveller's Cheques ( yes...back in the day, we used those!) At the time, I was still very innocent and did not know much about him!

I just love The Arch! He is amazing for his age, has a fun personality and infuses any gathering where he is present with his special flavour of simply being a human being extraordinaire! A man that has made an immeasurable contribution to our nation and society in general, a man who is not afraid to guard his morals with great vigilance and firmness. The Arch also has a fondness of breaking into a spontaneous song and dance, so this could be a quite a night!

Guest no two just has to be someone with whom I could have a culinary discussion. Someone who could give her view on my choice of dishes for the dinner, so who better than Madame Domestic Goddess herself.... Nigella Lawson.

I absolutely love her speaking voice and use of the English language. Nigella has a great way with words. She promotes luscious dishes and her curvaceous body is a delight to those of us who indulge in her cooking philosophies! I love the way she says" I am not a chef. I am not even a trained or professional cook. My qualification is a an eater."

I have a round table in my dining room, and so the seating arrangements are made that much easier and certainly makes for a more convivial evening, in my opinion. The only draw back is that it is a glass table and not really one for dancing on, but I guess we could always get onto the stone table outside! It makes it easier for the hostess to keep an eye on all her guests and that no one is left out of the conversation for any extended period of time. I think The Arch would be delighted to sit next to culinary Queen, Nigella.

Guest Number three and a pal of The Arch has to be The Dalai Lama of Tibet. He might be supremely virtuous, wise and emanate peace and tranquillity but he also has a fun personality and laughs often. However, I think he will have to sit across the table from the Arch as the two of them too close together..well, it might get a bit loud!

"I believe that the very purpose of our life is to seek happiness" ~ Dalai Lama

Guest number four has to add some style and elegance to the gathering but still have a wicked sense of humour. I think that Audrey Hepburn would do that effortlessly, don't you?

I just love that un lady like line in My Fair Lady at the races..." Move your bloomin ass!" Always makes me giggle with delight!

Guest Number Five. We need a maverick, an explorer and adventurer to regale us with tales of far flung places and dramatic events. Who better than... Richard Branson!?

He has a magnetism that is irresistible, a dashing demeanour, also has a great accent and apart from that, he seems to have a variety of intangible qualities in his personal charm arsenal.

" A business has to be involving, it has to be fun, and it has to exercises your creative instincts" ~ Richard Branson

He is probably the most successful high school drop out ever!

The next guest has to add some real time humour, be witty and engaging and have a good sense of fun.

that spell Queen Latifa for me!

Number Six

This lady has spunk and can be just as glam as any other. I love love her attitude with a capital A! A multi talented performer best known for her social politics and she has an exceptional gift of rhyme.

Number seven...

We need someone who is up to date with current affairs and will keep us informed off all the latest developments. A man with insight and an eloquent way of giving his view... Fareed Zakaria. Well, since we are having a international Global Square kinda dinner here, he seemed very appropriate, indeed.

He is my nod in the direction of politics, since I am not terribly fond of politicians per say, Fahreed will at least give some insight into these strange creatures! He is by far the best man to shed some light on what is actually going on!!

The next lady is a women of substance in my book. I have untold admiration for her. Christiane Amanpour!

She is a force to be reckoned with, a highly respected journalist , brave beyond words, yet, still every inch a lady!

The next guest,number nine, gets invited simply for his wonderful voice! I could listen to him all day long! James Earl Jones.

I wonder, when all the other guests have gone home if I might persuade him to sit and read from my favourite novel, The English Patient by Michael Ondaantje or perhaps The Night Jasmine Man by David Lambkin....what bliss to listen to that rich voice rolling over the beautiful tapestry of prose from these authors.

Lastly, I need another lady to add to the mix. It was getting quite difficult to choose the last guest. Hmmm...well I am going to have to go with a cheesy choice here...Princess Diana would complete this little round table of mine, just nicely!

Plus, there are a few questions that I would dearly like to ask her!

The seating arrangement:

Starting from my right: Me,

Antonio, Christiane, Dalia Lama, Catherine , Tutu, Nigella, Fahreed, Diana, James, Queen Latifah and finishing with Richard to my left.

Now, you have to agree that these would be a demanding bunch of guests and so, in order to give them my undivided attention, I have decided to employ a waiter to clear the dishes, and I think that George would do nicely!

I have a cute apron to put on him...to clear the dishes!

And , of course to keep things running smoothly in the kitchen, and to regale me with his witty observations when I pop back to the kitchen to check if all is well, the butler with the best dry remarks has to be... well, Niles of course!!!

Plus, I can count on him to eavesdrop on all the bits of chit chat that I miss and we could have a cuppa later and he can fill me in on the juicy bits of banter!