You can still register to take part and join the people already hosting dinners. For more information please download The Great Three Counties Dinner information form. As this is your dinner party, you can make the rules; chose who to invite, your menu and how formal or informal it should be and you’re away. Once you’ve signed up, we will send you a welcome pack which will include discount vouchers from local food producers including butchers, fishmongers, a baker and more.

If you aren’t able to participate, you can still join the occasion by taken part in a live auction that is set to close on the day of the dinner. With 36 items starting from the sewing of 50 school name tags to a week in Provence there is plenty to bid for. Go to The Great 3 Counties Dinner page on Buy Once, Give Twice for more details.

Liz Harvey is one of many hosting her own dinner party and has her own particularly personal story behind it. Liz’s husband (pictured above with Liz and their "Granddog" Lukee) died of pancreatic cancer five years ago. 18 months later she was diagnosed with cancer of the tongue. Thankfully, Liz lived on to tell her story and joined the 3 Counties Cancer User Group, where she was first told about the proposal to build a Maggie’s Centre in the Cotswolds.

Liz said, "I felt, that because of my experiences, I wanted to support this venture and became involved with Maggie’s on a voluntary basis. It has been a joy to work with the Maggie’s team. I have met many new friends and been to so many places helping to raise money for Maggie’s Cotswolds."

Liz will be hosting 16 guests and has elaborate plans for her menu for the evening: "I have structured my Menu on the 6 stages of building Maggie’s Cotswolds, each stage representing a Course in my Dinner."

Stage 1 – Preparing the site – will see Liz serving drinks and nibbles and Liz’s menu goes through Laying the Foundations, Erecting the Building, Topping Out and Creating the Garden all the way to Stage 6 – Finishing Touches – featuring coffee, biscotti, mints and liqueurs. Liz’s aim is to bring together a bit of everything, with traditional West Country dishes and a host of memorable dishes.

The surgery that Liz underwent with her cancer meant she has lost about a third of her tongue, making eating difficult. As a result she has been required to make careful alterations to her diet to make eating easier, but as her menu shows, Liz has not lost her creative flair.

The invitees to Liz’s dinner are destined to come from far and wide, with some set to make a 300 mile round trip to join her. When asked if she had any advice to people hosting their own party Liz said: "Be organised. Think about what you can do before the big day.  Many items freeze well and tables can be laid the day before the event. Make lists of what to do and time everything to make sure you are the Hostess with the mostest when the first guests arrive.  This is particularly relevant in my case as I am an ardent Rugby fan and my team – Gloucester of course – are playing a Premiership match against Northampton at 3.00p.m. on 19 September."