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in Dinner Party· Entertaining

A Photographic Movie by Meeno Peluce

anniversary party titleThe gracious host is happy to have the gracious ghost chronicle our great life

One of the guests at our anniversary dinner party was our great friend Meeno Peluce, who happens to be a poet, philosopher, bon vivant but most importantly a fantastic photographer. Meeno documented the evening and then very kindly gave us, as an anniversary gift, the photographs. Here, with his permission, I share those photos with a few added taken on my camera, to prove that Meeno was there. When Didier said he was sad Meeno wasn’t in any photograph he wrote back “A great life I’m chronicling and I am but a gracious ghost in it all.”  If, however, like me, you are frustrated his camera didn’t document all the words spoken, this is after all a silent movie made up like La Jetée of still imagery. Missing is Meeno’s own illuminating eloquence on, of all subjects, death so I have included a few quotations and excerpts after the photo gallery – think of them as title cards to the images that move us.

piero, emma, lucy and liz
caviar and blinis

caviar and blinis
caroline and Fred at dinner party
lisa, piero and emma at Dinner party

Didier and Lisa - DInner Party
table set for dinner party
table setting

table set for anniversary party
table set for anniversary party
table set for anniversary party

table set, candles lit
friends enjoy caviar and champagne
friends enjoy caviar and champagne

meeno peluce in shot soft focus
guests outside enjoying caviar
guests outside enjoying caviar and champagne

cheese plate from beverly Hills Cheese Store
Ilse, Lisa and Lucy
Ilse Ackerman, Lisa Borgnes Giramonti Emma Fairley and Lucy Lean

Ilse Ackerman, Lisa Borgnes Giramonti Emma Fairley and Lucy Lean
Ilse Ackerman, Lisa Borgnes Giramonti Emma Fairley and Lucy Lean
Ilse Ackerman, Lisa Borgnes Giramonti Emma Fairley and Lucy Lean

Emma makes seafood salad
Emma Fairley makes seafood salad
Emma Fairleys seafood salad

Fred Cros-Roig and Emma Fairley prepare seafood salad
Fred and Emma prepare seafood salad
Emma Fairleys seafood salad

Lucy Lean
table set candles lit
table set candles lit

Ilse Ackerman, Lisa Borgnes Giramonti and Piero Giramonti
Ilse Ackerman, Lisa Borgnes Giramonti and Piero Giramonti
Lisa Borgnes Giramonti, Piero Giramonti, Caroline Wheeler and Ilse Ackerman share a photo

The cover of Novel Interiors
Lisa, Borgnes Giramonti, Piero Giramonti, Caroline Wheeler and Ilse Ackerman share a photo
Piero, Caroline and Ilse share a photo

Trevor, Luke and Caroline
Didier and Luke Dinner Party
peiro didier and luke

peiro didier and luke
didier opens wine
didier opens wine

Luke Thornton
Lucy Lean, Ilse Ackerman and Piero Giramonti in kitchen
Liz Silver talks to Lisa Borgnes Giramonti

Didier pours wine
Cheers
Cheers!

Lucy Lean makes the first speech of the night
Mississippi Mermaid film poster
Luke Thornton and Caroline Wheeler

Luke Thornton, Didier Lean Rachou and Caroline Wheeler
Caroline Wheeler and Emma Fairley
Veggie tart made by Caroline Wheeler

Filet Mignon and curry roasted vegetable salad
Filet Mignon and curry roasted vegetable salad
Filet Mignon and curry roasted vegetable salad

Lucy Lean, Luke Thornton and Caroline Wheeler
Lucy Lean, Luke Thornton and Caroline Wheeler
Lucy Lean, Luke Thornton and Caroline Wheeler - Luke makes his speech

Luke Thornton, Caroline Wheeler and Didier Lean Rachou - Luke makes his speech
Luke Thornton, Caroline Wheeler and Emma Fairley - Caroline makes her speech
Didier Lean Rachou

Caroline Wheeler, Didier Rachou and Emma Fairley - Didier makes a speech
Caroline Wheeler, Didier Rachou and Emma Fairley - Didier makes a speech
Caroline Wheeler, Didier Rachou and Emma Fairley and trevor Gilchrist - Didier makes a speech

Emma Fairley and Didier Lean Rachou - Didier makes a speech
Emma Fairley and Didier Lean Rachou - Didier makes a speech
Fred Cros-Roig, Lucy Lean and Luke Thornton










When I look at these photographs I see laughter. I see fun. I see true friends whom we have known for varying amounts of time.  They help me to remember the warmth of friendship as we shared wonderful heartfelt speeches. Everyone, in turn, like a Mexican wave around the dinner table stood up, a tradition we began many moons ago thanks to Luke Thornton, and have continued despite some of our shyest friends fears and reservations. It takes a lot [and no not a lot of booze – although a couple of glasses of Champagne certainly helps] to stand up in front of people and speak – even if those people are old friends. speeches.jpg

Luke Thornton recalls with the true self deprecation you’d expect from an Englishman: “I myself had nothing that interesting to say… simply a meandering toast to the two of you and all of your lovely friends.” That meandering toast had us all in stitches.

Lisa Borgnes Giramonti – of A Bloomsbury Life – stayed true to herself and read this quote from Virginia Woolf: “What is the meaning of life? That was all- a simple question; one that tended to close in on one with years, the great revelation had never come. The great revelation perhaps never did come. Instead, there were little daily miracles, illuminations, matches struck unexpectedly in the dark; here was one.” Virginica Woolf, To The Lighthouse.Dinner Party

I read the 11 life lessons Bob Hoskins taught his family before he died -words to live by – starting with Laugh and ending with Love…
1) Laugh. There’s humour to be found everywhere, even your darkest days there’s something to have a joke about.
2) Be yourself. If someone doesn’t like you they’re either stupid, blind, or they’ve got bad taste. Accept who you are, you’ve got no one else to be.
3) Be flamboyant, it’s who you are and always have been. Be eccentric and unique. Don’t try to adapt yourself to someone else’s view of normal.
4) Don’t worry about other people’s opinions. Everyone’s a critic, but ultimately what they say only matters if you let it.
5) Get angry, it’s ok to lose your temper now and then. If anger stays in, it turns to poison and makes you bitter and sad. Get angry, say your piece, then let it go.
6) What ever you do, always give it a good go. Don’t be afraid of failure and disappointment.
7) Be generous and kind because you can’t take it with you. When you’ve got something to give, give it without hesitation.
8) Appreciate beauty, take pictures and make memories. Capture it, you never know when it’ll be gone.
9) Don’t take yourself too seriously. People who take themselves too seriously are boring.
10) Never, ever, ever, ever give up. Keep on punching no matter what your up against.
11) Love with all your heart. In the end, love is the only thing that matters.
After 16 years of marriage Piero’s quote summed it up for me, “The days go by slowly but the years in a blur”- or something like that – it was late, I am old and the Champagne takes a serious toll on the memory.

When Meeno’s father died on Easter Sunday I gave him a copy of Poems That Make Grown Men Cry: 100 Men on the Words That Move Them. In this beautiful anthology of poetry is Philip Larkin’s Unfinished Poem which Meeno read as part of his speech. Meeno spoke about finding his father’s body and about his recent experience of death. His words were raw and spoke to the heart of the matter, like Lisa with the Virginia Woolf quotation, and myself with the advice of Bob Hoskins – the meaning of life, has to be truly understood in the context of death.

“Someone has to die in order that the rest of us should value life more.” Virginia Woolf

 

Filed Under: Dinner Party, Entertaining Tagged With: 16 years, Anniversary, Bob Hoskins, Caroline Wheeler, death, Didier Lean Rachou, Dinner Party, Emma Fairley, Fred Cros-Roig, gracious ghost, gracious host, Ilse Ackerman, La Jetée, life, Lisa Borg, Liz Silver, Lucy Lean, Luke Thornton, Meeno Peluce, Philip Larkin, Photo essay, Photographic movie, Piero Giamonti, quotations, To The Lighthouse, Trevor Gilchrist, Virginia Woolf

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Comments

  1. Liz Silver says

    May 14, 2014 at 3:45 am

    What a beautiful photographic portrait of an incredible evening. I can’t wait for the next dinner!

    Reply
  2. Meeno says

    May 14, 2014 at 5:48 am

    Count me in always. I will cook up my dreams and all that is harrowing and beautiful about waking life.

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Filet Mignon and Roasted Root Vegetable Anniversary Salad Recipe says:
    May 19, 2014 at 11:01 pm

    […] Mother Forkers cooking club we usually chose a cookbook to explore and cook from. For our recent Anniversary Party I asked everyone to bring a dish inspired by our wedding menu. Now I knew this was a big ask […]

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