Sunday, February 11, 2018

GUESS WHAT...













The other day I came across a questionnaire in a magazine, as shown below. 
I thought I’d give thought to it and have a bit of fun.

Over the years I've often dreamed of guests with whom I would have liked to share my dinner table.  

Physically, I rarely share my dinner table with anyone these days because I no longer entertain the way I once did, or as often as I once did....but, on the other hand, in dreams it is okay to dream; and dreams cost nothing, unlike catering for a dinner party. 

However, in saying that, the days of dinner parties and luncheons were lots of fun.  Once upon a time, I entertained often, and grandly.  And, enjoyed doing so.

Part of the questionnaire in the magazine was the question -  “With whom would you like to share a dining experience”. 

Here goes...

If there were ten people, living or dead, I would invite to dinner, they would be:

Elma Flora Hay and Ivy Flora Hay (my late mother and late grandmother), Ayn Rand, David Bowie, Willie Nelson, Banjo Patterson, Abraham Lincoln, William Wallace, Gregory Peck, Harriet Beecher Stowe

A book that means a lot to me:   Atlas Shrugged

A movie that resonates with me:   The Horse Whisperer

A song that speaks to me:   A Bridge Over Troubled Waters

Someone who makes me laugh:  
Me!

My worst fashion moment:   Right this moment!

The best thing about living:   Being alive

My worst habit is:
  Impatience

The weirdest place I've been recognised is:   I was relief-manager in Normanton, in far north-west Queensland in the Gulf Country – on the very first day I arrived in the remote town I was recognised by a guest who was staying in one of the motel rooms at the pub...who was enjoying his dinner in the pub’s dining room!  He was a member of the Queensland Coast Guard, and recognised me from my time at the resort on Hinchinbrook Island!!  Unbelievable!   They cover a massive area, including outback cattle stations (aka “ranches” in the US).

The last time I cried was:  Yesterday....a day never goes by that tears don’t arrive...they’re running a bit late today....but they will come somewhere along the way. Tracks of my tears - as tears go by.....

My first job was:  I was a legal secretary in Gympie for the first five years of my working life.   Gympie was the town of my childhood and teen years.

If my house caught fire, the first thing I'd grab would be:  Remy and Shama, my two best mates...my two cats...and my computer.   Two “first things”, then a third...

Five years from now, I will be:   Who knows?  Not me....

My favourite toy as a child was:   My dolls...of which there were many

My secret skill is:  S orry...I don't know if I have a secret skill...this one needs more thought...perhaps I don't have one! Anyway, if I did have one and I told you what it was, it would no longer be a secret skill!  So, I guess my secret skill is keeping my secret skill secret....

You wouldn't know it but I'm no good at:   What a silly question!

My biggest regret is:   I leave regrets behind...I've had a few, but I try to move on from them, and mostly succeed....mostly....

I wish I had:  Total independence.  On the material side of things, I wish I owned my own little residence; one that I didn’t have to rent, making me dependent on others.  I don’t desire a big, fancy residence...just a little cabin, on acreage with no nearby neighbours, along with, perhaps, a view of the ocean.

I wish I hadn't:  
Become waylaid this morning...I’ve not yet begun to do what I intended doing this morning!!  Oh! Well!   In the words of Scarlett O’Hara – “After all, tomorrow is another day....”!




27 comments:

  1. Interesting set of questions. I never read magazines and only bought a few in my life time.
    My answers would not be very interesting - but I have plenty of patience.

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    1. I read anything and everything, Margaret! :) This questionaire was actually in a newspaper supplement/magazine or whatever they call them - longer ago than just "the other day", to be honest!

      Thanks for coming by. :)

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  2. Everybody has regrets. Sometimes, I hear people saying they would live their life again without changing anything about them. Well, I think that's either stupidity or hypocrisy.

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    1. I agree, DUTA. Of course there are things we would change...different paths we would tread; turn right, perhaps, when we came to a crossroad rather than turn left or go straight ahead.

      I know I would change a few things, if given the chance...and I regret a few things I didn't get the chance to do....

      Thanks for coming by. :)

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  3. I don't like being asked who I would invite for dinner, I'm very bad at being hostess, awkward with conversation and uncomfortable with people in my home for too long. If it could be done without me having to participate then I would invite James Spader, not because I'm a huge fan, but because I'd like to hear about the films he's done and so on, ditto Joe Pesci, Judi Dench and Meryl Streep, possibly a few authors, definitely NO politicians.
    I'm wondering why you cry everyday.

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    1. Hi River...I don't mind being asked.

      I've often thought who I'd like around my dinner table. Audrey Hepburn would have always been a welcome guest. James Spader would be more than welcome...I've always been a fan, as you are already aware. Katherine Hepburn would've been interesting, too. Dench would be a lot of fun...as would Graham Norton! Ernest Hemingway and F. Scott Fitzgerald would be interesting dinner companions. There is a long list...so I would have to have a very lengthy table!

      Thanks for coming by. :)

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  4. That would be an amazing dinner - I pictured Abe Lincoln sitting there among the others.

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    1. Hi Lynn...yes...it's lots of fun thinking about who you'd like at your dinner table. My ex and I used to often have that as part of our dinner conversation...we would let our imagination run free.

      Thanks for coming by. :)

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  5. Anonymous2:09 AM

    I have often pondered over the dinner guest question. I think the late Princess Margaret would have been a hoot, and let me add Gore Vidal and Noel Coward. It is going to be crazy, abrasive and bitchy dinner.

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    1. Hi Andrew...Vidal and Coward...what a pairing!!

      I reckon we should throw Oscar Wilde into the mix, too. There is more than enough room for him at the table...Stephen Fry would be absolutely wonderful, too.

      Thanks for coming by. :)

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  6. I'll pass on most of the questions but DUTA raised an interesting point. Like you I've always tried not to regret. My Godfather told me as a teenager never to regret because it could lead to bitterness and that could lead to self-destruction. I still believe him over half a century later. I have seen too many people destroyed by bitterness.

    Would I change things? That's very interesting too. In many way's I'd say yes. But hindsight is a wonderful thing and if I had changed the things I would have changed then I might not have had the wonderful life that I've had and, in particular, the last 13 wonderful years when I have lived in both Scotland and New Zealand, played national level croquet and made friends I could never have imagined.

    Had I become an accountant (my first career that lasted less than a year) or a lawyer (I read law and read for the English Bar) but abandoned all that and moved to Scotland, who knows where I would have been. But it would not have been here. And here is just perfect for me now.

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    1. Hi Graham...I think your move to Scotland was a good decision. You live in, what I imagine from what I've read and seen (not physically), a wonderful part of the world. I think I could quite happily live there if I could ever quite happily leave Australia...something I know will never happen. Being of Scottish heritage (and Irish on my paternal side) I reckon I'd fit in quite easily! :)

      I wasn't aware until now about your croquet prowess...good on you.

      Regrets...well, we all have them, I'm sure...but it is best not to dwell on things one can't change. And fretting over the small, insignificant stuff, in particular, is a waste of time and energy.

      I had a late night last night, but I don't regret doing so...I was watching the Winter Olympics...and watched our young Matt Graham receive his Silver Medal for the Men's Moguls. How wonderful it was...his joy was contagious. :)

      Thanks for coming by. :)

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  7. Love the first photo so bright and cheery; I've always wanted a house in the country with a pond with an island in the middle where swans could nest safely and a weeping willow planted at the edge of the pond. This picture is very clear in my mind. Yes if only I was independent enough to not worry about money and my bills and home were paid off. I have few regrets but haven't thought of them in years till just today. We learn from our regrets, that's life.

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    1. Hey Linda...your dream house/location sounds wonderful, too. It would suit me just fine, also. You can have one side of the lake, and I'll have the other, if that is okay with you! :)

      Thanks for coming by. :)

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  8. Hi Lee, I was filling in the questionnaire but something went wrong. Good blogpost though. I would have invited Marilyn Monroe to dinner along with Steve McQueen.

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    1. I, too, thought of Marilyn, Terry. And McQueen would've been an interesting character to know; so he'd be welcome at my table. I watched a terrific documentary about him a few years ago. I loved his movies and I loved his TV series, "Wanted, Dead or Alive" wherein he played the character Josh Randall, too.

      Thanks for coming by. :)

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    2. No worries. : )

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  9. No point in having regrets...what's done is done....the only direction left to go in is forward.

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    1. Hi Delores...I have a couple of regrets...but my daily existence, my life doesn't revolve around them. It is what it is....

      Thanks for coming by. :)

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  10. I loved you answers. I would have to say my favorite book is TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD. I too am extremely impatient. Never any regrets for me because without my life experiences, my life might be different and I wouldn't change a thing. Guess who's coming to dinner would have to include my paternal grandparents, my maternal grandparents, my parents, my beloved Ron, my children, my grandchildren, my godchildren...oops my dinner party will go way over 10 people. LOL

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    1. Hey, Annie...there are so many...a vast variety of answers that can be given to those questions, that is for sure.

      "To Kill a Mockingbird" is a favourite of mine, too...and I thought of putting Harper Lee on my dinner guest list, as well....it could go on and on. I might have to hire a hall, I think! :)

      "Little Women" will always remain a favourite book of mine, too...and "Alice in Wonderland"....I'd have to invite all the characters from Wonderland to dinner, too....oh, dear!!

      Last, but by no means least...I meant to include him in my dinner party...my late brother, Graham would have to be there...stirring the pot! :)
      Thanks for coming by. :)

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  11. The first question always stops me. I would hate to be sitting at a dinner table full of strangers so would just run down my list of family and friends so that sounds very dull.

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    1. Hi Helsie...the first question has never worried...I think it's a lot of fun imagining who you'd like to be a guest at the dinner table. Over the years...long gone now...I've shared many fun, interesting dinners with people I'd not met before. Fantasy guests...as per the question...are a lot of fun to imagine, I reckon. :)

      No...it doesn't sound dull...I just still enjoy letting my wild imagination fly freely, I guess! lol

      Thanks for coming by. :)

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  12. A little cabin with no neighbours and a view of the sea, how nice.

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    1. Yep! That would suit me and my two furry rascals just fine, Mr. Ad-Man. :)

      Thanks for popping in. :)

      Delete
  13. If there were ten people, living or dead, I would invite to dinner, they would be:

    Marilyn Monroe, Steve McQueen, Jeremy Clarkson, James Dean, Elvis Presley, Theresa Russell, Madonna, James Corden, George Harrison, Shirlet MacLaine,

    A book that means a lot to me: The World According To Clarkson

    A movie that resonates with me: A Hard Day’s Night

    A song that speaks to me: AWith A Little Help From My Friends

    Someone who makes me laugh: Laurel and Hardy. That’s Two. Sorry.

    My worst fashion moment: Like I Care.

    The best thing about living: really?

    My worst habit is: Not Known For My Patience

    The weirdest place I've been recognised is: Eh?

    The last time I cried was: When I Saw Laurel and Hardy..

    My first job was: I worked for a print and packaging company

    If my house caught fire, the first thing I'd grab would be: my Wife

    Five years from now, I will be: still disabled.

    My favourite toy as a child was: My action man.

    My secret skill is: driving my wheelchair.

    You wouldn't know it but I'm no good at: Walking.

    My biggest regret is: Becoming obsessed with The Beatles.

    I wish I had: A car. I wished i could drive it.

    I wish I hadn't: Smoked.

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  14. Lee, I’ve been trying this list for ages now. Thank God It worked this time. I’ve lost count of how many times it wouldn’t work.

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