Every seat was full. We welcomed three new members: Peter Shreeve, Rupe Mann and Terry Edwards and were delighted to see two long-standing members again who had been absent for a while: Debbie Hunter and Tracy Miranda.
Table topics was a tough challenge with the theme of armistice day and wartime but everyone called up to the front coped well. Peter gave new meaning to ‘losing’ soldiers – his needed a map rather than an honourable burial. Mike Kavanagh let us know that he has become more of a confirmed pacifist than ever and Phillip Sheahan managed to find some dubious humour in the trenches.
Five excellent speeches followed:
Claire Sumner’s ice-breaker showed how Christmas has changed over the years but always remained loving and fun. It also showed that she has been learning from listening carefully at all the meetings she has attended. It was a stunning performance for a first speech.
David Selwood (CC project 6) fascinated us all with the history of the telephone and even brought along a ‘brick’ – a mobile (well nearly mobile) phone from the 1980s.
Julie Joseph (CC project 3) was very funny on the subject of her gardening efforts in her new house. She has clearly learned how to get results from the flower beds, her boyfriend and the neighbours.
Neil Dickinson (CC project 6) was his usual self-assured, warm self with a stage presence that helps to understand what the phrase means. He told us that there was no such thing as luck and that we should rely on our talents.
Mark Emanuelson (CC project 2) demonstrated the value of working through the CC manual for a second time. His performance was exemplary, and he applied each of his own five tips for giving a great speech that he had observed in action by attending TED talks.
Each speaker received a spoken and written evaluation from an experienced Toastmaster – and every one of them somehow managed to find a little suggestion for the speaker to make their next performance even better.
We all learned a lot, laughed a lot and look forward to the meeting on 6 December when Neil Dickinson will be in the chair.
