My dream fictitious dinner party

Ever had the discussion about who would be at your dream dinner party - alive or dead? People's lists normally include all sorts of people from Lady Gaga to JFK ... but what if you could have a dinner party with your favourite fictitious characters from book or film? Who would you invite? Here is my selection for a dream dinner party...

My dream list of guests is as follows:

Atticus Finch (To Kill a Mockingbird)

Ron Burgundy (Anchorman)

Ron Weasley (Harry Potter)

Jacob Black (Twilight Saga)



 

The Doctor (in the form of David Tennant please!)

Aragorn (Lord of the Rings)

Elizabeth Bennett (Pride and Prejudice)

Vianne Rocher (Chocolat)

Sugar Kane Kowalczyk (Some Like it Hot)

Princess Leia (Star Wars)

Yvaine (Stardust)

Lisa Simpson (The Simpsons)
 










Jean Louise ‘Scout’ Finch (To Kill a Mockingbird)






At the start of the night (in the drinking, pre-eating stage of the evening) Scout would be allowed to stay up with her dad to meet the guests and would have her friend Lisa Simpson to talk to once when had been sent upstairs to bed (wouldn’t they just have the best chats ever!)

Friendships that might begin over the first course: Atticus Finch and Elizabeth Bennett. I imagine, as they are both moral but quietly daring for their times, they would get on really well. I can also see Ron Weasley and Jacob Black getting on… that is, unless Jacob sees Ron as one of the pale faces. Yvaine and Princess Leia could talk out of world experiences with the Doctor and compare notes on which planet is the most interesting – or amusing to watch. Ron Burgundy would probably want to “be on” Sugar, and she might just go for it (fuzzy end of the lollipop in that moustache) – unless Aragorn steps in to be her knight in shining armour.  And the lovely Vianne, who would no doubt get along with everybody, would bring us the most delectable assortment of treats for dessert.

And as for me? I would be chatting to Elizabeth Bennett and Yvaine as much as I could, having heated debates over moral issues with Atticus and Aragorn and drooling over David Tennant’s Doctor, wishing he would transport me to somewhere really cool. Sugar and Ron Burgundy would be making me laugh all evening and I could spend hours listening to Vianne talk about chocolate. I would be a little overly friendly with Jacob Black and get him to hug me (shirt optional). I would ask Ron W about how his family are doing and get him to teach me a few spells.

And though I would love to see them in the flesh I opted out of inviting the rugged and oh so sexy Mr Rochester and Mr Darcy because let’s face it – they’d make horrible dinner party guests. Rochester would be snapping at people and making them feel awkward and Darcy would just be brooding off in a corner, staring at Elizabeth.

So who would be at your dream dinner party and why....?

LE xxx

Chocolat by Joanne Harris: A Mouthwatering Read

"...the dark glories of the Church cannot compare with her magic carpet rides..."

Vianne and her daughter Anouk arrive with the wind and meet the inhabitants of Lansquenet. Each character has their own brilliant identity, some are more welcoming than others and each seems affected by Vianne's arrival in their own way. After she opens a chocolate shop right infront of the Church (and just as Lent begins), the people start to come and discuss things they never felt they could before under the watchful eye of the town priest. Secrets are revealed and age/gender/class issues are brought to the fore-front. While many blame Vianne for the changes in the villages' inhabitants, others seem grateful for her arrival. But as gypsies arrive, the village is forced to choose between their indulgences and their morals.


This is my first experience reading a Joanne Harris and I was delighted with what I found. Thanks to Harris' exquisite writing style, what could easily have been a simple tale about a free-spirited woman coming to a small French town and ruffling some feathers has been turned in to a sensory delight that left me salivating. The superb descriptions, not just of the chocolate, but of the people, the area, the nuances and every detail of the beautiful little rustic French town are - simply put - delectable. There is no other way to describe her writing style. It envelops you in a way that no other book has like a warm blanket bringing its French sunshine, yummy treats, and care free nature right along with it.

I had already seen the film but it's been a while so the book was no weaker for it. The film actually does the book a lot of credit.

Funny, heartwarming, sad and mouthwatering.


Enjoy!


LE x

3.5/5