The Dinner Party

I think at some point in every persons life, in a group situation usually, you are asked the question; "If you could have any body from history to a dinner party, who would you invite?"

Firstly let me say that I love asking people that question, I think you can get a lot of information about from what they answer. It's also a great conversation starter - I would suggest using it as an ice breaker when you are meeting new people or doing training at work or something. I would be very surprised if everyone answers and there is a lull of silence. I guarantee one person will hear another's list and say "Why such-and-such?"

So there you go a little advice from my very wise self. So now, hopefully you are thinking "I wonder what his are?" and who am I to deny you that. The number of attendees to this dinner party fluctuates somewhat depending on who asks you but as much as I don't like odd numbers (it's an OCD thing) I am going with seven, simply because eight is a great number for a dinner party and you can't discount yourself can you. I will be listing the attendees with an explanation of each, so here goes.

Abraham Lincoln; A lot of people are bemused by my inviting a former American president to the table and I can see why, however, this man is one of few men who literally changed the world. Before Lincoln was President what is now the Untied Sates of America were not united, there was turmoil and the states feuded almost constantly. Not only did Lincoln help shape what would grow into the most powerful country in the world, he opposed slavery and amended the Constitution to end all slavery and slave trade in the United States, he truly believed that all men should be free and lobbied this cause despite knowing that this would harm his political popularity. Abraham Lincoln was one of the greatest advocators of freedom and fairness and in my opinion one of the greatest men to have ever lived.

Bruce Lee; This one seems to come as more an expected response from me. I have always been a fan of martial arts, its philosophy and the fact that it is an art. It is a skill that takes years to master and Bruce Lee truly was a master. Not only was he probably the toughest man in the world in his prime he shaped a lot of culture. He pioneered fight scenes in his films with more than one adversary at a time, his physique led body builders to focus more on definition rather than size because as I'm sure you know, Bruce Lee was ripped. He was also one of the first people to really balance his diet to sustain his training. Similarly to Lincoln, Lee believed that all people were the same; he went against the grain by teaching Gung Fu (what Kung Fu is actually called before Hollywood changed it) to anyone that wanted to learn. Not only that, he conceived a completely new philosophy to fighting focusing on the efficiency of movement and utilising ones strengths. Bruce Lee was one of the worlds greatest thinkers, that sounds far fetched but he was looking to improve himself in every way possible and by doing this affected the way a lot of things work, for proof of this, watch a documentary called How Bruce Lee Changed the World.

Stephen Fry; One thing you may or may not know about him is that he is bipolar. He suffers from manic depression which even resulted in a breakdown. Part of the reason for this is that he doesn't like not being included. He apparently feels lost if he cannot talk to people. So what did Stephen do? He learned everything. Obviously that sounds absurd but it's true. So that he can talk to anybody having any kind of conversation, he learned everything that he could absorb. I think that is remarkable, genuinely. Not only is he one of the most intelligent people I have ever heard about he is unbelievably witty. Intelligent wit is one of the best kinds of wit and he has it in abundance. Inviting Stephen Fry would provide humour, intellectual conversation (which I would probably struggle to keep up with) and millions of interesting facts which we all know I love.

Steven Hawking; Do you ever just look up at the stars? Get lost in how beautiful the night sky is? The universe is to me, the most fascinating subject. Its possibilities are endless. The potential for evolved life across the infiniteness of the cosmos, theories of travelling across it, understanding its beginning… These are all questions that can not be answered, at least in our lifetimes anyway. Steven Hawking is the man that conceptualised several theories about the beginning of the universe as well as many other things that even as I looked at a list of, I didn't understand… This is something that I could talk about for hours and hours even our minute solar system has millions of possible topics of conversation… And trust me if you doubt, our solar system is minute compared to the vastness of the space beyond. We are but a spec on a single grain of sand on a beach where the end is not in sight.

Leonardo Da Vinci; Need I say more? This man invented scissors, tanks, helicopters, planes… The list goes on and the only reason most of his inventions were not made is because the technology required was not available to him. In regards to him being an artist, there is a legend that someone once asked him to prove that he was an artist so he took some parchment or paper and a pencil and drew a perfect circle free-hand. Sound like nothing special? Try it. It's almost impossible. Not only that, he could draw with one hand and write simultaneously with the other. Da Vinci was the truest definition of a Renaissance Man - Ever seen the sketch of the Vitruvian Man? Yep that was Da Vinci too, he was fascinated by the anatomy, drawing accurate representations of joints and muscles that could be used in reference today. This is incredible to me, he lived April 15, 1452 – May 2, 1519 nearly five hundred years ago. Just imagine the things that he could create with the technology and resource we could provide for him today.

J. K. Rowling; A bit of an odd choice I think considering the other guests so far however, she has created one of the greatest fantasy worlds in recent history up there with Middle Earth and the world of The Wheel of Time. I am not a big reader, I wish I was because getting lost in a good book is great, but when it comes to Rowling's Harry Potter series, I have read them all several times. Arguably children's books, they have captured the hearts and minds of older generations also. The world she has created feels real when you read any of those books makes you feel like you are with Harry through all of his adventures. It leads you into wandering what happens next and makes you believe in magic again. I would love to talk about the possibilities of the magical world she had created.

Kelly Clarkson; This is purely because I'm a man and as much as I'm sure they would have some input to the conversations we would be having, they could just sit there and look pretty. And I genuinely love her music, I've seen her live and she has a southern accent so anything she says would sound sexy. And then once the dinner has finished I the wine has been consumed, I can canoodle with her (whichever her it may be).

So there you go, my dinner party. I think that may give you an insight into my brain and you may realise that I'm a tad boring really… The last two were particularly difficult to decide on. The more that I thought about this there were more and more people coming to mind… Randy Couture, Dana White, Marylin Monroe and a few more. Anyway I won't procrastinate, have a think about your guests and let me know.