Getting to Know You - Dinner Party

Imagine you're going to organize a dinner party for yourself and seven guests. You can invite anyone who ever lived, whether they're world-famous or someone whose name only you would recognize. If you choose someone from the past, they will be magically alive and present for this one day. But here's the twist - in order for the magic to work, each chair will only hold a guest who fits into a certain category. Tell us who you would invite and, if you like, tell us a little about why. What do you admire about that person or what would you like to learn from him or her?

A lot of these people who interest me are Australian and probably will not be known to those from overseas.

1. Guest one must be someone who is/was creative with words - a novelist, poet, playwright, essayist, journalist, etc. Who would you invite?
Probably Shakespeare, to have explain to me what his writings were about (never did understand it but would like to).

2. Guest two must be someone who is/was creative with images - a painter, photographer, sculptor, fabric artist, collage artist, etc. Who would you invite?
I’m thinking of doing a Frida Kahlo swap at the moment, she definitely would be invited to my dinner party. To me, she was very radical for her day.

3. Guest three must be someone who is/was a performer – an actor, singer, musician, comedian, acrobat, etc. Who would you invite?
Steve Gilpin, lead singer from Mi-Sex who died horribly in a car accident. The band was my all time favourite (1970s/1980s) and I would love to have conversation with him about his music and anything else.

4. Guest four must be someone who is charting/charted new territory – either in the physical sense, like an explorer, adventurer, or astronaut, or someone like a groundbreaking scientist or inventor. Who would you invite?
Ben Kozel, author of “Three Men in a Raft” and “Five Men in a Leaky Boat”. It would be fascinating listening to him discuss his journey down the Amazon and Yenisey River.

5. Guest five must be someone who is/was a leader of other people – perhaps in the area of politics, like the literal leader of a country, or perhaps a leader in the area of religion, military, business, or even a great philosopher or teacher, or an inspiring athlete. Who would you invite?
Peter Garrett Former President Australian Conservation Foundation, activist, former member Australian group Midnight Oil, Labor Candidate for Kingsford Smith. He received the Australian Humanitarian Foundation Award in the Environment category in 2000 and in 2003 the Order of Australia (Member General Division), for his contribution to environment and the music industry. He is a prolific man who would hold great interest in discussion. His expertise ranges from music to the environment.

6. Guest six must be someone from any field who you believe is/was underrated and under-appreciated by most people, but whom you admire. Who would you invite?
This man would fit into a number of categories. Without any doubt, the Dalai Lama would be the most respected and influential person at my table. He is truly a man of wisdom and peace. I'm looking forward to seeing him when he comes to Oz this year.

7. Guest seven is a wild card – your choice! Is there someone you’d like to invite who didn’t seem to quite fit into any category, or was there a category where you’d have really liked to invite two different people? Then this is your chance to add the person you missed to the table. Who would you invite?
Mark Brandon, Chopper Read, is a former standover man who’s boasted of maiming and killing other crime figures. Actually, he was cleared of his only murder charge. He has some interesting ideas on criminal life, has written books etc. He would add spice to the conversation.

Bonus: Uh Oh! The dinner party is just about to end, and all your guests are about to disappear, and you realize that you’ve forgotten to ask one important question of one of your guests. You just barely have time to squeeze in that last question, so quick! – what was the question and who did you ask?
A simple question – “What is your New Year’s Resolution and why”