Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?


February's my least favourite month - to me it's gloomier than November, feels so much longer than January and deliberately gets in the way of much nicer things like my birthday and wedding anniversary in March. Not to mention Spring.

I thought some good company's needed to brighten things up a bit and what could be better than a dinner party? Don't worry about the food, music, whether the dining room needs decorating or indeed the weather (though you can tell us about all that if you want), I'd love to see who's on your guest list - of course they must have an interest in gardening or nature. You can invite figures from the past, present, future or a mix; celebrity, learned or your gardening buddies - it's up to you. Anything goes, though do keep it to 3-5 guests because I want you to be able to hear all the gossip so you can tell us all about it. I'm also interested in why you've chosen them and any thoughts you have on anything which might happen. It doesn't matter if you've never met any of them before - let your imagination and the power of the internet rule!

The date's set for Saturday February 7th, and I'll try and set up Mr Linky for it once I've figured out what to do - he's especially useful for us to gatecrash drop in on everyone else. Don't worry if you can't make Saturday, I'll put a link to this post in the sidebar on the right so you can easily catch up and find the meme and of course Mr Linky will be able to accept any latecomers.

The RSVP on my dinner invitation is for you to say you'd like to take part via my comments - the more the merrier :D

Comments

  1. Anna2 February 2009 at 10:09

    I will be delighted to entertain some dinner party guests on Saturday VP. It's alright for you to to say ''don't worry about the food" but I am :) Now I must dash to get some invititations off, face the housework, give the garden a complete facelift etc,etc !

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  2. Anonymous2 February 2009 at 11:45

    I hope the snow has gone by then so that the guests can get through. I'm off to compose my list!

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  3. Helen/patientgardener2 February 2009 at 12:10

    Will get my thinking cap on

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  4. Shirley2 February 2009 at 12:46

    Hi there VP, I was wondering what your challenge would be :-D

    Oh very interesting... yes the thinking cap has to go on for this one. Yes, we'll assume that nothing will stop our guests from arriving shall we?

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  5. Susan Tomlinson2 February 2009 at 12:57

    Ooh! Ooh! I'll play!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Rose2 February 2009 at 13:06

    I agree, VP, that February is the cruellest month of all! A dinner party sounds wonderful; I may have to postpone mine till Sunday, as I have plans for Saturday, but I'll start thinking of a guest list. I hope your snow melts by then, so your guests won't have any trouble getting there. I'd better start cleaning my house:)

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  7. Mrs Mac2 February 2009 at 13:19

    Gosh! What a wonderful idea!!! I shall have do this!!



    ahhhh.... your blog veri. thing says "twitel". That's what baby blackbirds do.

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  8. Anonymous2 February 2009 at 14:09

    Hi VP, we are going out of town and I was wondering if a post would get written for then. Will try to get ready!
    Frances

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  9. Arabella Sock2 February 2009 at 16:01

    I've been thinking about this all day - it is quite a challenge but fun! I think my guests will need rather a lot of wine. I certainly will!

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  10. Gail2 February 2009 at 18:09

    Thinking about it! gail

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  11. Juliet2 February 2009 at 23:40

    I'll have to think about this one - I've never given a real dinner party (I've had parties, I've had the odd friend round for dinner, but "dinner party" sounds far too grown up for me, and besides, I don't cook :o ). Hmm ... virtual bring your own buffet, anyone?

    Don't worry about not having emailed - it takes me long enough to get around to emailing anyone, so I can hardly mind if other people take a while too!

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  12. Anonymous3 February 2009 at 04:44

    Count me in. I'll think of something to say;) So we need to invite 5 folks huh? Let me think on that.

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  13. themanicgardener3 February 2009 at 20:02

    This is irresistible, though it does require some thought. You say I can invite anyone, living or dead? That does throw the field open, doesn't it.

    (Reminds me of the time I had a highschool class put Thoreau on trial for corrupting youth (a la Plato, you know) and said they could call witnesses from any time in history. We had Ghandi, Martin Luther King, Jr., John Locke, and at least one of the founding fathers, I believe, take the stand. Great fun. For a week I hardly said a word.)
    --Kate

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  14. Mr. McGregor's Daughter4 February 2009 at 01:44

    How can I resist a challenge like this? I'll have to give it some deep thought.

    ReplyDelete
  15. "Daffodil Planter" Charlotte Germane4 February 2009 at 01:58

    I'm in! I will pick a restaurant in Washington, D.C. so that I don't have to cook--just get a ticket to fly out there for the evening....

    ReplyDelete
  16. Helen/patientgardener4 February 2009 at 09:02

    Did you know this post got a mention on the weekly round up on the Guardian gardening blog?
    http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/gardening-blog/2009/feb/03/web-roundup

    ReplyDelete
  17. VP4 February 2009 at 15:08

    Hi everyone - so glad you'll be joining in :D

    Like most of you I'm having difficulty in deciding who to invite, the list changes every couple of hours or so.

    I'm really looking forward to seeing what you all come up with!

    Rose and anyone else who can't make Saturday - it's OK to play late - Mr Linky will still be around for you to add yours :)

    PG - thanks for letting me know - how exciting!

    ManicGardener - you've seen A Matter of Life and Death? If so, you must identify with the scenes where the witnesses, jury, prosecutor and defence are being chosen? It's one of my favourite films BTW.

    Daffodil Planter - welcome! So glad you'll be joining in too :)

    ReplyDelete
  18. Helen @ Gardening With Confidence6 February 2009 at 02:53

    Very cool idea.

    ReplyDelete
  19. CanadianGardenJoy6 February 2009 at 12:07

    This is what comes of being a Dr. Who fan .. a VERY VIVID imagination girl ! ... This is VERY interesting indeed : ) LOL

    ReplyDelete
  20. VP6 February 2009 at 18:24

    Hi Helen and Joy - glad you like the idea :) Will you join us perhaps?

    ReplyDelete
  21. joey6 February 2009 at 22:54

    Thank you for the kind invitation. Count me in! Can't wait ...

    ReplyDelete
  22. VP7 February 2009 at 08:55

    Joey - looking forward to seeing you! I see you're already doing outside catering for Karen's 'do' :)

    ReplyDelete
  23. F Cameron7 February 2009 at 12:44

    Very good idea! I like it!

    Cameron

    ReplyDelete
  24. VP7 February 2009 at 14:48

    Hi Cameron - here's hoping you want to play too!

    ReplyDelete
  25. Unknown8 February 2009 at 04:47

    I'm fashionably late, VP (I can pretend I'm in another time continuum), but I got in the TARDIS and got here only slightly behind the eight-ball. My dinner party guests are invited, and the post is at http://tinyurl.com/b6ybym . Thanks, for suggesting this! The perfect escape for winter blahs.

    ReplyDelete
  26. VP8 February 2009 at 12:41

    Hi Jodi - so glad it's cheered up the February blues and you've played along :)

    I've added your name and post URL into Mr Linky so everyone can drop in on you and your delightful guests!

    ReplyDelete
  27. Bay Area Tendrils9 February 2009 at 01:26

    Well, I am saddened to have come upon the 'dinner party' after the fact. A brilliant idea! I can only hope it will become a tradition so I can particpate next time around. Alice Joyce

    ReplyDelete
  28. VP9 February 2009 at 09:56

    Hi Alice - thanks for stopping by :) There's still time to play if you'd like to.

    ReplyDelete
  29. Commonweeder9 February 2009 at 15:13

    I didn't find this post until this am, but in fact I had a dinner party on Saturday, the 7th with four gardening friends including the expert Jerry Sternstein who has over 300 hardy rhododendrons in his garden in the upper elevations of Massachusetts. Not to mention the dozens of lilacs, deciduous azaleas, tree peonies and delicious vegetable garden. And I was able to serve FRESH greens that I bought that morning at the Second Annual Winter Farmers Market in Greenfield. Amazing amount of producing including fresh greens and an equally amazing number of hungry shoppers. We are hoping for more than a single annual market.

    ReplyDelete
  30. Michelle9 February 2009 at 17:44

    Well, I'm late to the party because I didn't hear about it until the last minute, but I'm coming and bringing some great guests! Be there soon...

    ReplyDelete
  31. VP13 February 2009 at 20:12

    Pat - so you actually did this for real :) And served fresh greens too - I'm very impressed!

    Michelle - great, see you sooooooon!

    ReplyDelete

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