Dinner Party Writer’s Salon, by @a__pugh
By Alex Pugh
I visited Larry’s yesterday for one of his renowned dinner party’s. I’d been on the waiting list for months. Sitting round the table, eating crab and pig cheek ragu I was struck by something. I was having a dinner party with fellow writers. I had made it!
1. We were plugged into pop culture. We were listening to the sounds of the mainstream psyche. Taylor Swift, Katy Perry and Miley Cyrus’ album Bangerz in its entirety. While this music served as unpretentious background noise which allowed us to focus on the really important business of conversation, we were also listening to the same stuff that is pouring out of open windows and headphones throughout the land. Know your audience.
2. We’ve made a new friend! Toph is our guest from California. I adore America and Americans. My dream is to one day become a citizen of the United States. Having Toph at the table gave us a whole new perspective. His take on things was different to James and Larry and myself. Any organisation can benefit from outside opinions. Particularly in business and in creativity. You don’t want people with all the same tastes, the same ideas about things, at your dinner party’s. That is just boring. Fresh perspectives keep things interesting.
3. No judging. What was great about our dinner party was the chat. We had superb chat. The reason we had such excellent conversation was because we were talking without filter. More on that below. There weren’t any Debbie Downers and more importantly nobody held back. As such, we laughed ourselves stupid and I had not one, but two, great ideas at the table, which I eagerly jotted down. Encourage an atmosphere of no filter. Don’t be a Debbie Downer.
4. External stimuli. The original plan was to drink Margaritas but we visited 6 shops looking for triple sec but to no avail. As such, I polished off a litre of Vodka with Larry, and James and Toph improvised by creating Wait-a-sec’s / Tijuana Train wrecks. The name is still up for debate. Anyway, it’s an annoying truth that, while drugs in the broadest sense may not necessarily enhance creativity, they certainly enhance the flow of conversation, debate and good times. So, lastly, drink more!