30 Aug 2014

DINNER DATE.

Having pondered on this post on Kelly's Thoughts & Ramblings site I thought I'd share the five people from the past I'd like to find sitting around my dinner table.

  • Christopher Columbus. Said to have brought the first cocoa beans back to Europe in the early fifteen hundreds, I'd simply like to give him a big kiss and thank him on behalf of myself and all the other lovers of chocolate out there.
  • Mary Seacole. A woman who like the perhaps better known Florence Nightingale experienced the Crimean War nursing British soldiers. In many ways I find her story so much more interesting in that not only did she have the prejudice of her being a woman to contend with but also that of colour.
  • Bram Stoker. Frustrated by vampires no longer being the vampires I grew up with, I'd love to discuss what he thought of modern day creations such as Stephenie Meyer's Edward.
  • Mumtaz Mahal. The woman for whom it is said the Taj Mahal was constructed .... how romantic is that? I'd love to know what Shahabuddin Muhammad Shah Jahan was REALLY like as a husband. 
  • Akhenaten. Husband of (amongst others) Nefertiti, father of 'King Tut'. History's 'first individual' or simply a wayward rebel?  He married a woman of non-royal blood, broke with tradition as far as religion went and was branded a heretic, his reign excised by the ancient Egyptians.
So, which five people from the past would you like to invite to your dinner party? Do tell.

 

12 comments:

Leanne Ovenden said...

Fab question Tracy! My answers would be: 1) My Mam - Simply because I miss her every day and she's very sadly now part of my past. 2) Adolf Hitler - I think he'd be a fascinating dinner guest, with the added bonus of the fact that I could punch him extremely hard after the meal had finished. 3) Henry VIII - I've long been fascinated by the Tudor dynasty, so this would be heaven!! 4) Cleopatra - Margaret George's epic titled The Memoirs of Cleopatra was so amazing that I would love to have a chance to talk to Cleo. 5) Freddie Mercury - one of my heroes, I love Queen and was devastated when he died, despite only being 7 years old when it happened. So there it is - although it must be said that my 5 dinner guests would change every day I think! L xx

Stephanie Faris said...

Hmm... That's a tough one. I read the above comment and I don't know if I'd want Adolf Hitler there. He seems like a scary man--but I guess he's nothing but a wimpy man without his minions!

So many books, so little time said...

Caligula - I have so many questions and there is so much history and he is noted for madness so it would be interesting to talk to him.

Virginia Woolf - I think she would be wonderful to speak to, as an author and someone who suffered and lost their fight with depression.

JFK - Seriously so many questions about both his family (and their supposed curse) and the presidency.

Marlyn Monroe - again so many questions around her death and the secrets she knew, she would be a great guest plus I would love to know the answer to what size she was as it is a big debate also (I think she looked amazing).

Michael Jackson - again, so so many questions and he could sing beautiful music for us.

Joan said...

Hmmm good question , I'm thinking about it , I can think of 5 from the present but not the past

The Bookworm said...

Fantastic post and great questions, especially for Bram Stoker.
I think I'd have Jane Austen over and ask her what she thought of all the spin-offs and retellings. Like Lainy says, Virginia Woolf would be fascinating to speak with.
I'd like to speak with Elvis as well and then he could sing after dinner.
JFK would be another one and Edgar Allen Poe would make for good conversation I think.
Happy weekend!

Kelly said...

I'm so glad you decided to do your own post of this and I think your answers are fascinating, and so different! You definitely put some serious thought into it.

I'm also enjoying all the answers your other readers have shared. I'll be back to check out any others who respond.

Suko said...

Hmmm... If I were to write up such a list, I would choose writers, I think. (Then I'd be worried about how they'd get along with each other for the dinner--probably not very well, especially if they were from different time periods.)

Tracy, your clever answers are wonderful, humorous, and thoughtful. I think it would take me a long time to come up with a list of equal merit. Well done!

LL Cool Joe said...

I've been thinking about this a great deal since I answered Kelly's post and I still have no idea who I'd invite. Just the thought of a dinner party makes me want to hyperventilate!

Brian Joseph said...

Your choices are Fascinating Tracy. They are well though out and not convention. That is a very good thing.

Other then the conversations that you would have with these folks, imagine the interactions between them!

I am really going to need to give my five some thought.

Stephanie@Fairday's Blog said...

How interesting! I so enjoyed reading your post and thinking about your answers. I am not sure who I would invite... But off the top of my head:
1. John Lennon- I love The Beatles and would enjoy getting to talk to him about his life and maybe he would play a song for us.
2. Marilyn Monroe because I have always found her intriguing. I bet she has some stories to tell.
3. Harriet Tubman- because her courage impressed me when I first learned about her in elementary school and I would like to talk with her.
4. Charlotte Bronte- because Jane Eyre is one of my favorite books and it would be fascinating to learn more about her.
5. Abraham Lincoln- I am curious about politics back in his day and if things were similar to today- but with less media involved. I would like to know more about him and what his life was really like.

This will give me lots to think about! I am sure there are a lot more people I would like to have at the dinner. :)

Felicity Grace Terry said...

What great answers. Can you imagine a dinner party with ALL of these people present. Oh my goodness, what an event that would be.

Literary Feline said...

I always have such a hard time answering questions like this. I love your answer though, Tracy!