Sue Savage
Meeting Minutes – Thursday 12th April 2012
BEDFORD SPEAKERS
MEETING MINUTES
Thursday 12 April 2012
7th Club Meeting of the Year
We had 14 members attend Thursday’s meeting. All are thanked for bringing
energy, enthusiasm and enterprise in creating another rewarding evening.
The meeting opened with a warm-up opportunity for everyone to share Easter
experiences in response to the “What did you do” poser.
Val, our VPE, reminded of the clubs goal of achieving ‘Distinguished’ status, and that
by achieving our personal goals within the CC and CL manual, we can all participate
in taking the club forward. Members were reminded to have roles and speeches
signed off in respective manuals.
Paul’s Word of the Day: Oppugn
Speeches
1. Val Swanborough – All I know about ‘The English Language (Advanced TM
Series). Val’s topic was randomly selected from 5 possible themes. Val took
to the stage and gave wonderful insight to the skills, tricks and trips within the
English language. Well done Val on giving such an intuitive speech.
2. Kemi Tobias – Equal Opportunity (Ice Breaker). Kemi presented an
energetic, confident and thought provoking Ice Breaker by introducing her 3
best friends; determination, time and belief. Kemi gave personal insight in to
the challenges she has faced, posing some very intriguing questions. Well
done Kemi, this was an excellent speech and we look forward to hearing
more.
3. Paul Hindess. – Oppugning My Inner Voice (Competent Communicator 6).
Paul delivered a very well structured speech questioning ‘why challenge your
inner voices’ and ‘why commit to obligations’. Paul gave insight in to times
Table Topics
Dave Minzey indefatigably hosted the evenings TableTopics session, presenting a
challenging current affairs theme Tax and Charitable Donations. Sue, David Ryan,
Paul Breakey, Janet and Paul Hayward are congratulated for admirably rising to the
challenge and presenting excellent topics.
Evaluators
Janet evaluated Val, Jaimen evaluated Kemi and Sue evaluated Paul Hindess. Tony
evaluated TableTopics. All evaluations were insightful, bona fide and encouraging
with evaluators sharing opinions from which we can all learn.
Gayna as General Evaluator offered exceptional insight and feedback to Evaluators,
mentoring on the value of evaluations and providing some tips on methods.
Tim, our Meeting Evaluator, had clearly focused and digested every aspect of the
meeting evidenced by very articulate and well- resented round-up delivered with
detail and humour.
Awards
Special Awards – Toastmaster Pins:
Special Award – Most Improved:
Best Table Topics:
Best Evaluator:
Best Humour:
President’s Closing Words
In closing the meeting Janet thanked everyone for their supporting roles in making
the evening such an awesome event.
Janet invited volunteers for the new Committee. Names to Janet please.
Good News
Congratulations Maciej to you and your wife on the safe arrival of Emilia
Future Events
Next Meeting: Thursday 26 April 2012
Tim and Kemi
Jaimen
Paul Breakey
Jaimen and Tony (Tie)
Paul Breakey
Meeting Minutes – Thursday 22nd March 2012
BEDFORD SPEAKERS
MEETING MINUTES
Thursday 22nd March 2012
6th Club Meeting of the Year
This week’s minutes are provided by Paul Hayward.
Sergeant-at-Arms Roy Manley opened the meeting in his inimitable style.
Warm Up: conducted by Roy Manley on the meeting’s theme of Springtime. Each person gave their take on what Spring meant to them. Toastmaster of the Evening Sue Savage had generously distributed miniature chocolate Easter Eggs and Rabbits on all the tables to underline the theme and get all us ‘in the mood’.
President Janet Graham welcomed members and 2nd time guest Kemi, plus the Area Governor Jenny Chalmers who was paying one of her twice-yearly visits to see how well the Club is performing.
Toastmaster of the Evening Sue Savage described the slightly unusual programme for the evening, offering Narinder Kaubring multi-evaluations of her CC Project 5 speech “Serendipity” and the opportunity to evaluate the latest version of Gayna Cooper’s competition speech “Heads or Tails” with possible alternative endings. Sue also introduced the officials for the evening who were:
Timekeeper Dave Ryan, a relatively new member, who carried out this role for the first time and did it well;
Grammarian Jaimen Laitha who chose “Rejuvenated” as Word of the Day which was well used by those who spoke during the evening;
Grunt Counter Peter Goode who reported at the end of the evening that he had little to do as those who spoke grunted hardly at all. Grunt counter ‘winner’ of the evening was Jaimen Laitha.
1st Speaker was Narinder Kaubring with her CC Project 5 speech “Serendipity”. Narinder told the engaging, amusing and entertaining story of attempting to pass off some innocent boy as her fiancé only for the boy’s unsuspecting mother to learn of the ‘engagement’.
2nd Speaker was Gayna Cooper with her competition speech “Heads or Tails” with possible alternative endings. This gave her the chance for some extra practice and a way to test the effectiveness of the closing.
Table Topics was introduced by Val Swanborough with a longer session than usual because the meeting had few speakers. Val stuck to the theme of the evening and the Table Topics participants were:
- Gayna Cooper (favourite part of spring)
- Peter Goode (favourite season)
- Kemi (How to throw a party) Although a guest Kemi’s speech was notable for the evocative phrase “ballerina of the night” and her use of the Word of the Day. Kemi was voted Best TT Speaker.
- Jenny Chalmers (project plan for spring)
- Roy Manley (What lets you know spring is here)
- Jaimen Laitha (where to spend spring)
- Sue Savage (personification of spring)
The break was enriched by scrumptious cakes, again generously provided by Sue Savage, our benevolent commissary for the evening.
Evaluations of the speeches followed the break, with Paul Hayward giving the formal evaluation of Narinder’s speech. He particularly commended the humour, confidence and enthusiasm of the speaker and recommended avoiding speaking from a sitting position, if possible, because it restricts breathing and inhibits projection.
Narinder’s speech was then evaluated by Janet Graham and Paul Hindess under competition format with the meeting using judging criteria provided on the reverse of the meeting agenda to work out their own assessment.
Janet Graham followed the evaluation format advocated by Freddie Daniels in his training sessions. She particularly commended Narinder on her use of body language and descriptive idioms, finishing by hoping to receive an invitation to the putative wedding.
Paul Hindess, using great good humour, offered advice on using more of the platform among other things.
Other people remarked on the good use of body language in conveying the characters, the engaging nature of her storytelling evident in all her speeches and how well she portrays the colour and background in her presentations.
Gayna Cooper’s competition speech was also briefly evaluated by the meeting. In summary, its delivery had improved; it was more polished and flowed more readily. The ending where the coin is tossed away prior to the final close was generally preferred.
The Meeting Evaluator Roy Manley felt the evening had gone well and Jenny Chalmers, as Area Governor, felt the Club was warm and welcoming and making good progress.
Humour Vote was won by Paul Hindess.
Our guest Kemi said she would sign up as a new member!
The President Janet Graham thanked Sue for the cakes, Easter eggs and chocolate rabbits; asked for support for Gayna and Janet at the Division G International Speech and Evaluation Contest on 14 April 2012 at Hemingford Abbots; encouraged Toastmasters to sign up for Moments of Truth next week (29th March) – names to Janet/Sue by Friday and reminded members that 6 monthly membership fees (£48) are now due.
The meeting was declared closed at 9.35pm.
Area 44 contest – Bedford Sweeps the Board!
Bedford Speakers was well represented at the Area 44 contest last night – not surprising, with no less than three contestants to support. (Not to mention a lot of old friends to catch up with – and new friends to meet.)
First came the speech contest, where we were represented by Val Swanborough and her speech “Sparing the Blushes.” Gayna Cooper was also competing, officially representing Cornerstone Communicators – although of course we all think of her as ours. Despite some very strong competition from the other local clubs, Gayna’s speech “Heads or Tails” impressed the judges enough to win her first place and a place in the Division G contest.
Next came the evaluation contest, and the speech to evaluate was presented by Martin Berry from Camberley Speakers. Martin told us a hilarious tale of how on the way to a Toastmasters meeting he stepped through a tear in the space-time continuum and found himself in prehistoric Guilford.
Janet Graham represented Bedford in the evaluation contest – having attended Freddie Daniels’ evaluaton workshop the night before she was well prepared to give a superb evaluation, and while all the competitors were excellent, it was Janet who took first place. (And if Martin ever wants company in his time travelling exploits, he knows who to call.)
Other Bedford Speakers members at the contest included Dave, Sue, Roy, Paul Hindess and Paul Hayward, who were serving as timers, judges, counters, and the all important role of audience members.
We’re very proud of our two winners who’ll be representing Bedford and Area 44 in the next round. The Division G contest takes place on Saturday 14th April at the Cambridge Golf and Conference Centre in Hemingford Abbots, and features not only the speech and evaluation contests, but also no less than two keynote speakers, including the opportunity to learn a bit more about our past Division Governer, Graham Frost. All this plus lunch for only £10!
Officer training: so much fun I did it twice
I thought I was going to have to miss the area 44 club officer training, so not wanting to miss out, I took a trip to Huntingdon to attend area 41′s training instead, along with Narinder. Between us, we came up with a lot of ideas for improving the club and supporting our members. I also had the pleasure of meeting people from several different clubs outside the Bedford and Milton Keynes area.
Then the snow started, and my plans for the following weekend got cancelled. Suddenly I was free to attend the training – so why not?
Bedford had a great showing – no less than eight members present! The room was crowded, but bursting with enthusiasm as well. Any time I meet up with other Toastmasters members I find myself meeting old friends and making new ones, and this was no exception.
During the training we broke off into small groups, each discussing one objective, and identifying assets and actions. My group’s objective was attracting new members – identifying our assets gave us a lot of ideas for making sure the word gets out about Toastmasters.
We also had a presentation on district reformation – while this sounds complicated, all it means is that the UK and Ireland make up one of the biggest Toastmasters districts in the world with nearly 250 clubs, and we need to split in half. The complicated part is where that split is going to be.
We left the training ready for a committee meeting at Janet’s house where we could discuss everything we’d learned at the training (and also have coffee and biscuits!) After the success of the Christmas dinner, going back to the Ruby Murray for another social event with a Toastmasters twist was a popular suggestion.
In short, while officer training may not sound very exciting, it’s so much fun I wanted to do it all again!
Latest newsletter out now
The latest newsletter for our Toastmasters area is now available. Download it here. This edition has articles on stuttering and the educational manuals, as well as the usual area calendar.
The previous editions of the newsletter are available from the downloads page.
Minutes – Thursday 08 December 2011
In Tony’s absence, this week’s minutes are brought to you by Narinder.
MEETING MINUTES – THURSDAY 08 DECEMBER 2011
23nd Club Meeting of the Year
Season Greetings
What an evening!!! Scintillating speeches, felicitous table topics all with generous helpings of humour. Thank-you to all for attending and participating, special thanks to Mac our Toastmaster for his fascinating Christmas facts throughout the programme. We had 12 members and 1 guest (Linda).
The word of the day was replaced with:
Paul Hindess Request for the Evening: Any seasonal word or reference
Speeches
We had three speakers this evening:
- Jaimen Lathia –“ What goes on inside my head” (Competent Communicator: 1 Icebreaker). Jaimen ‘winner of the mind’ delivered a speech about his philosophical outlook on life. The speech projected both clarity and simplicity of expression and ended with Albert Einstein’s quote “I have no special talents. I am only passionately curious”.
- Cheryl Green – The Moral of the Story (Storytelling manual Project: 3). Cheryl, with her usual flare and energy shared a tale of Christmas past. A time where Space Invaders was a must-buy present for every man especially when diamonds were at stake. Great use of vocal variety and body language. Cheryl had us hook, line and sinker from start to finish. Well done!
- Tim Sawyer – “Ahead of our time” (Competent Communicator: 1 Icebreaker). Tim’s speech projected an air of cool confidence with panoply of description to set the scene. The speech was pitched and delivered at the right level with a perfect balance of humour. Tim was commended for negligible use of ahs and
umms, an added bonus on a first speech.
Table Topics
Gayna Cooper hosted Table Topics on a much-anticipated Christmas theme. Gayna’s natural positive approach helped to instil confidence and ease in the participants.
Well done to all those who rose to the occasion. Paul Breakey (Devising Plan B following Rudolph’s unfortunate broken antler), Paul Hindess (Worst Christmas present), Paul Hayward (invent new tradition at Christmas), Linda (Perfect Christmas present), Narinder (Explaining to child why Santa hasn’t delivered presents on eve) and Martin (Ideal person to spend your Christmas).
In addition, Mac’s ‘Just a minute’ part of the agenda provided the perfect opportunity for Dave to share his evening of Tall Tales at Eldergate, where we were intrigued to learn of his political links with Boris Johnson.
Evaluators
Paul Breakey, Martin, Paul Hayward, Dave and Val shared their pearls of wisdom and provided the speakers with good constructive feedback.
Meeting Evaluator
Narinder rounded off the meeting with a personal twist on the role of meeting evaluator, delivering a time travel summary of the year’s events with the added bonus of including every ‘word of the day’ from the last 6months.
Awards
Best Speaker: Cheryl Green
Best Evaluator: Paul Hayward
Best Table Topic: Paul Hayward
Humour: Cheryl Green
Future events
- Speeches and Evaluation Contest – 23rd February 2012
- Area Speeches and Evaluation Contest – 21 March 2012
- Division Speeches and Evaluation Contest – 21 April 2012
Have a merry Christmas &
a lovely New Year
Next Club Meeting: Thursday 12th January
PS. Note to self‐ “easy on the mince pies”.
Christmas party – tall tales and limericks
The Bedford Speakers annual Christmas party and Tall Tales contest was held on the 1st of December at the Ruby Murray Indian restaurant in Bedford, and the restaurant was a welcome sight on a cold December night. Friendly staff, stylish decor, and the promise of delicious food to come.
The contest chair Narinder already had things well in hand, with numbers at each seat ready for the limerick contest, which were soon joined by the programmes – a joint effort between Narinder, me and Val. Gayna welcomed everyone to the party, then handed over to Narinder, who set the scene in great style, despite the frog she had eaten at lunchtime which was still lodged in her throat.
I was looking forward to delivering my own tall tale, but first came starters and limericks, including a multi-verse epic from Gayna and a few picks from Narinder’s bag of limericks.
Then it was time for my speech – “Lovely Spam, Wonderful Spam” – a fast-paced tour of SPAM around the globe. My speech was factual, but mentions of SPAM sushi, SPAM gift sets and kosher SPAM managed to fool a few people into thinking I’d made it up.
With other groups in the same restaurant, it was quite a challenge to make myself heard over all the noise. Great voice projection practice though!
I was followed by Tony’s account of a trip to the Ideal Home Exhibition in the 1970s. Despite claiming that the singer Craig David was his nephew, he managed to fool a few people (including me!) into thinking that his story was true, rather than a complete fabrication.
Next up was our former Division G governor, Graham. Graham told us a fictional tale of his brief career as a saxophonist in a blues band in London, that sounded extremely convincing.
Then came last year’s winner, Paul. His speech told us of a steamy (or at least, very wet) August night in 1997, which not only displayed fantastic storytelling skills, but was also completely true.
At some point between speeches, dinner arrived, and the table was soon crammed full with rice, vegetable dishes and curries. A fabulous meal – although I did feel sorry for those who had to speak on a full stomach.
Last but one to speak was Val, with a ‘shaggy dog story’ about a dog she once met at a bus stop. The horrendous pun at the end led me to believe it was a fictional story, but several others correctly identified it as fact.
And finally came our club president, Janet, who told us a story of how she unexpectedly found herself in the middle of an African marriage ceremony with herself as the bride. Despite a certain amount of embellishment, I finally managed to correctly identify a true story.
But the show wasn’t over yet – we still had more limericks to come. Paul and I both managed to rhyme ‘Gayna’ with ‘no-brainer’ but it was Peter’s exceptional limericks including a man from Bedford who sang at a Welsh eisteddfodd who stole the show.
Narinder had one more surprise in store for us – cake! From a place of concealment under the table, she produced a huge plate full of home made fairy cakes, all decorated with the Toastmasters logo.
And finally, the competition results. Janet presented the certificates to the winners. Val took second place in the tall tales, and for the second year running, Paul took first place and carried home the trophy. Meanwhile, Peter’s masterful rhymes and wit won him first place in the limerick contest.
Limericks
Here are a few of the limericks entered in our Christmas Tall Tales and Limericks contest:
Val Swanborough:
We went to the Ruby Murray
For limericks, tall tales and curry.
There was copious wine
Which suited us fine
But the tall talles got taller … and taller …. and taller – no worry!!
Trish Page:
I’ve got a son who’s barbecue mad
It runs in the family and makes me quite sad
But he hasn’t used a tyre
To set a whole field on fire
So at least he’s not as bad as his Dad!
Sue Savage:
My humorous speech was no strainer
In fact it was quite a no-brainer
With language so pretty
And humour so witty…
And still I came second to Gayna
Dave Minzey:
Our President Janet is quite a catch
She is on the lookout for a match
Be it golf or man
We all know she can
Dismiss all duffers and duds with despatch!
Watch this post – more coming soon!
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