Chrissie Posted September 17, 2007 Share Posted September 17, 2007 No, I don't need to know if the gardener's can sit next to the vicar[:D] etc etc.......BUT:Everyone seems to go to elaborate lengths to make the name cards or whatever look really individual. We've had the fancy italic/gothic writing, the gold-writing-on-leaves, and even personalised photos of the hobbies that people practise (yes, that WAS interesting...[:$]), so now I feel I have to compete!Has anyone any novels ways of doing name cards or whatever?Chrissie (81) (getting known as "Desperate of Tarn") Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zeb Posted September 17, 2007 Share Posted September 17, 2007 I didn't realise this was a trend! We went to eat at a British friend's house and she had written (caligraphy style) guests names on pretty blue and white ceramic tiles. Oh dear, I'm worried now. Several friends are coming here for spag bol on Wednesday. What are the latest colour schemes/styles for table ware? Maybe I should go and buy new to keep up! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mint Posted September 17, 2007 Share Posted September 17, 2007 Zeb, I don't know much about trends in tableware. I only know that if my Oh was coming to your house for spag bol, I'd make him wear his tomato coloured shirt and perhaps the tie with the jokey wine stains already printed on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catalpa Posted September 17, 2007 Share Posted September 17, 2007 [quote user="Chrissie"]Everyone seems to go to elaborate lengths to make the name cards or whatever look really individual. [/quote][:-))] Did these "Everyones" have lives before they moved to France? Is it some form of therapy to go with their meds? [6] What really matters is the food...! [:P] My OH is already under strict instructions to shoot me if I ever start gazing with longing at the polyester, floral, wipe-clean "housework overalls"... me making elaborate name cards could be a whole new trigger point...[:D][:D] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Katie Posted September 17, 2007 Share Posted September 17, 2007 Chrissie, I really must agree with Catalpa only I did not have the courage to go first. You really could not beat making the statement that you dont get involved in such tack. Spend the time on your food and making yourself look pretty edible. That'll 'learn em'[:D] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eos Posted September 18, 2007 Share Posted September 18, 2007 Keep things simple is my advice.Small, flat glass ramekins half filled with water & each containing a different flower head or coloured tea lights & placed in front of each diner is quite effective. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry Posted September 18, 2007 Share Posted September 18, 2007 I would suggest that you fry up a pile of fish and chips. Get a load of old newspapers. Neatly place the chips on a couple of sheets of newspaper place the fish on top of the chips. Wrap up as many portions as you have guests and serve them on a bare table apart from some of those plastic tomatoes that contain ketchup and salt and vinegar. If you really want to show off you place a pile of plastic forks on the table. You will be the talk of the town. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iceni Posted September 18, 2007 Share Posted September 18, 2007 [quote user="Eos"]Keep things simple is my advice.Small, flat glass ramekins half filled with water & each containing a different flower head or coloured tea lights & placed in front of each diner is quite effective.[/quote]Err, no - keeping it simple is telling people where to sit.BTW placing your ramekin in front of each diner indicates that they are already sitting/standing at the table. Or if they are not how does this method help ? Johnnot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eos Posted September 18, 2007 Share Posted September 18, 2007 Exactly my point, Iceni.The original post did have a "whatever" included in the question and in my late night response, it was actually the whatever rather than the place names I had in mind! Guess I'll have to stop this late night trawling as I'm only too tempted to reply when clearly not alert enough to do so!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Katie Posted September 18, 2007 Share Posted September 18, 2007 [quote user="Iceni"][quote user="Eos"] Keep things simple is my advice.Small, flat glass ramekins half filled with water & each containing a different flower head or coloured tea lights & placed in front of each diner is quite effective.[/quote]Err, no - keeping it simple is telling people where to sit.BTW placing your ramekin in front of each diner indicates that they are already sitting/standing at the table. Or if they are not how does this method help ? Johnnot[/quote]John, is that picky of you or what? I made perfect sense of what Eos was saying and thought the idea was really nice. Keeping it simple is NOT telling people where to sit. Style is free and effortless. I must say I really liked Harrys idea even though I am wondering how serious he was. I would certainly consider doing this and wrapping the newpaper parcels in string sitting them on white plates. Chrissie if you really wanted to go with the name thing then maybe you could attach a name to each parcel, with one of those brown paper parcel tags although personally I would not bother. Just whip them out of the oven when your guests are ready to be seated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TWINKLE Posted September 18, 2007 Share Posted September 18, 2007 [quote user="Just Katie"]John, is that picky of you or what? I made perfect sense of what Eos was saying and thought the idea was really nice. Keeping it simple is NOT telling people where to sit. Style is free and effortless. I must say I really liked Harrys idea even though I am wondering how serious he was. I would certainly consider doing this and wrapping the newpaper parcels in string sitting them on white plates. Chrissie if you really wanted to go with the name thing then maybe you could attach a name to each parcel, with one of those brown paper parcel tags although personally I would not bother. Just whip them out of the oven when your guests are ready to be seated.[/quote]Bit quiet in the office is it JK?[:D] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Katie Posted September 18, 2007 Share Posted September 18, 2007 What are your views on the topic Twinkle? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TWINKLE Posted September 18, 2007 Share Posted September 18, 2007 Make individual bread buns for your guests and when they are baked and cooled 'paint' their names on with a dark food colouring (gravy browning maybe?). Place on a side plate on top of a fig leaf. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pierre ZFP Posted September 18, 2007 Share Posted September 18, 2007 As long as you're having a steak starter, this is what you need (well I'd be impressed)[IMG]http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/bb233/Pierrezfp/brandingiron.jpg[/IMG] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pierre ZFP Posted September 18, 2007 Share Posted September 18, 2007 Deleted - duplicate post Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TWINKLE Posted September 18, 2007 Share Posted September 18, 2007 Paint the names of your guests on pebbles or shells which they can take home with them. Or throw at your window as they're leaving if the meal was rubbish[:)] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quillan Posted September 19, 2007 Share Posted September 19, 2007 According to Charles Mosley of Debrett's it's not the done thing to have place cards anymore but to have a seating drawing displayed outside the dinning room in a bright light. Alternatively it is quite acceptable to simply tell people where to sit. The reason that you don't put place cards out anymore is because it causes congestion round the table with people reading them, some people might also be short sighted, and the resulting traffic picking it's way round the table would be worse than Hyde Park corner in the rush hour.As to whom sits next to whom well there is a pecking order, in fact there are a 168 of them and the postman is not included (sorry Mr Postman). This could result in the possibility of other members of your party signifying their disapproval of your seating arrangements by turning their plates upside down. Not only is this embarrassing but the newspaper parcel, if not tied up with string, may well deposit it's contents all over the floor making a nasty mess [;-)] . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pierre ZFP Posted September 19, 2007 Share Posted September 19, 2007 [quote user="Quillan"]This could result in the possibility of other members of your party signifying their disapproval of your seating arrangements by turning their plates upside down[/quote] Has anybody really done this? If say the person on my right did this my immediate reaction would be to think 'Up yours Matey' and turn mine over. This of course may lead the person on my left to think the same of me and so on all around the table!This is where BBQs score heavily - just put a slab of partly cooked meat in a bun and walk around chomping on it [:D]Is it acceptable to collect up the bits of discarded string? Useful stuff string.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quillan Posted September 19, 2007 Share Posted September 19, 2007 [quote user="Pierre ZFP"][quote user="Quillan"] This could result in the possibility of other members of your party signifying their disapproval of your seating arrangements by turning their plates upside down[/quote] Has anybody really done this? If say the person on my right did this my immediate reaction would be to think 'Up yours Matey' and turn mine over. This of course may lead the person on my left to think the same of me and so on all around the table!This is where BBQs score heavily - just put a slab of partly cooked meat in a bun and walk around chomping on it [:D]Is it acceptable to collect up the bits of discarded string? Useful stuff string....[/quote]I have only ever seen it done once at a dinner where the Master of the Horse was placed on the wrong side of an hereditary peer (Labour one funny enough) and the Master of the Horse turned his plate over as he/she takes precedence over a peer if placed in office after 1907. It was done very discreetly as was the changing of place. Normally both withdraw for 'the toilet' and then return to their correct places. It's a potential nightmare as there are several groups of precedences depending on what type of dinner and who is invited. In the case of the event I went to it was a charity dinner run by the Red Cross. The Queen Mother was the 'host' as she was then patron although her place was attended by a person standing in for her as in the latter years she did not dine due to health reasons. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jc Posted September 19, 2007 Share Posted September 19, 2007 What a lot of POSERS! It was a wonderful meal-the champagne was warm and the food was cold!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Katie Posted September 19, 2007 Share Posted September 19, 2007 Chrissie,Have you come up with any ideas yet? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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