Challenge of the day #3 (3 April) - 5 dream dinner party guests

Monty Don. Calming and knowledgeable.

Eammon and Ruth. They're down to earth and like a bit of joshing. Good for titbits of info on people they have met and they spark off each other.

Angela Kelly. From my hometown. Known for being feisty.

Queen Elizabeth 1. Plenty of stories to keep us interested.

Sir David Attenborough. An amazing person. A fount of knowledge.

Zara Tindall...not a shy miss.
Ok...I can't count ??

@Bradfordlass, ?.

Terry Wogan, lovely humorous man,
Monty Don, just because he’s Monty Don!
Neil Armstrong, would love to hear about his space experiences, if he could be persuaded to relate them again. I believe he was a very self-effacing and modest person,
The Princess Royal,
Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall, he could cook for us!

Marvin Gaye to sing to me privately
Leonard Cohen to read poetry
My Nan to sit next to me and hold my hand
My brother who died at 9 days old who I never got to see but nurse gave me a Noddy book so that placated me
Joyce Grenfell to keep the conversation lively

Bob Marley to sing for us, Lee Evans for the comedy, Nigella to do the cooking, Princess Diana for the real story behind the conspiracy theories and lastly Phil Lynott from Thin Lizzy. I'd like a dinner party like this every week so I could invite all the others I can think of, but this is a good start. If I had a spare seat, Marilyn Monroe to hear the truth about how she died.

Sir David Attenborough
Mat Baker
Germaine Greer
Mat Monro
Morecombe & Wise
Ella Fitzgerald
A good mix of talent here.

Bob Marley
Mo Mowlam
Albert Finney
Susan Calman
Eddie Izzard
Politics, music, comedy, the arts all up for discussion.

Prince Charles
Nicola Sturgeon
Jeremy Hardy
Eddie Izzard
My Son in Law.

I think the conversation would be hilarious.

My mother, to see her one more time

Clive James/Barry Humphries

Graham Norton/Paul O'Grady

Hairy Bikers

Michael Parkinson

I would invited the 5 most despicable people I could think of - and poison them all.

I try to avoid cooking whenever possible so I'd invite...
Jamie Oliver, he'd bring the drinks and nibbles
Nigella, she'd bring the starter
Delia, she'd bring the main course
Prue, she'd bring the pud
And finally, Paul Hollywood, he could provide a cheeseboard and some fancy chocs
I could then sit quietly and enjoy the yummy food, drink wine... and leave them to chat among themselves about their recipes.

The Hairy Bikers ( can I count them as one, please) to cook and amuse

The late great Roy Hudd: just because .....

Les Dawson; he would be brilliant, witty company.

Matt Monroe because to sing for us with that wonderful voice would be magical.

Julie Walters, because whenever I’ve been asked (in a humorous way, naturally) who I would like to play me in a film of my life - there is really only Julie who could possibly do justice to the part. ?And she’s a Brummie like me.

My dear departed parents so I can tell them I loved them which I did not do when they were alive
My darling husband as he once was before his dementia
Jesus
David Attenborough

George Clooney because he’s cool
Steve McQueen ditto
Daniel Craig because he’s Bond
John Torode to cook
Winston Churchill for his wit.
Yes. All men. No competition

Robert Redford and the late Paul Newman always thought they were down to earth and not super star material
Frank Sinatra because I loved his voice.
Sean Connery for tips on acting.
Elizabeth Taylor on Marriage ?

Raymond Blanc to cook
Victoria Wood to entertain
Terry Wogan to keep the conversation flowing
Rufus Sewell !!!!!
Diana Gabaldon to tell us about Outlander.

If I could time travel back to the 70’s my dinner party guests would be:
David Cassidy - sex God extraordinaire
Donny Osmond - another sex God
David Essex - can you see the repeating theme
Billy Connolly - ooh that voice
And Robert Carlisle from Hamish Macbeth

Barack Obama
Bruce Springsteen
Princess Grace of Monaco
Coco Chanel
Bjorn Borg

Terry Jones - clever and funny.

Alan Bennett - ditto

Benedict Cumberbatch - lovely, with a velvety voice

Mary Beard - learned and passionate

Jesus - to see if he turned up....

Julie Walters
Billy connolly. .both for their humour
Robert Plant...my rock god
Chris Hemsworth... just to look at.
The Queen. ..I would love to know how she really feels as a woman,not a queen.

Gino di Campo to do the cooking, because he’s DH’s favourite chef (and DH is mine!).
Alan Bennett, so intelligent and droll. I could listen to him for hours.
Michelle Obama - I’d have liked Barack as well, but had to get one of them for their personalities and insider knowledge.
And someone to entertain us. A difficult choice, but I’ll go for Rod Stewart. As long as he doesn’t sing the dreaded Maggie May.
Lastly, the grandma I never met, to tell me all about the side of the family I don’t know.

George Michael, for his music and voice, Jane Austen for her wit, William Shakespeare for his wonderful use of our language, my Dad for his positive outlook and my great grandmother who died when I was 9yrs. She was half Irish half Portuguese the daughter of an Irish sergeant serving in India, she met and Irish sergeant and married him. Wished I had been old enough to hear more stories about her life.

Top of my list would be Dr Jonathon Miller who sadly died a few months ago. Intelligent, extremely knowledgable about so many things witty. I'd probably be too engrossed in conversation with him to speak to anyone else, but others on my list would be Emma Thompson, Tom Hanks, Michelle Obama and Richard Dawkins and if any of them weren't free David Lammy. To provide the music Bruce Springsteen. All my guests would keep the conversation flowing for hours.

Sir David Attenborough to hear his fascinating journeys
Monty Don to learn more about gardening, and he and Sir David could compare their discoveries.
Paul McCartney a fellow Liverpudlian, he could sing and chat and make us laugh.
Jenny Colgan can tell us about her next book.
Her Majesty the Queen to keep us in order,I would love to meet her.

Rafael Nadal, because he is so exciting to watch.
Elly Griffiths because I would love to talk to her about her Ruth Galloway books.
Dave Allen because he was very funny and I imagine a good raconteur.
Elvis Presley because I would love him to sing something for me
Boris Johnson because I find politics interesting and I think he'd be great company.