Ruminations About Christmas, The Past And Blue Mascara!

We were welcomed to the meeting by our President Sarah, who reminded us of the importance of "thanking ourselves", and giving ourselves credit for our achievements. Sarah quoted the words of Snoop Dogg, and delivered a convincing impersonation of the man himself!

Cormac then took to the podium as Toastmaster. This was his first time to chair a meeting, but he took to it like a pro! Jennifer was equally successful in her role as Topicsmaster. The opening question was, "who was your hero growing up and why?" Eamonn could not think of a single person he looked up before eventually settling on Christiano Ronaldo. Sarah told us how she admired her father and her older cousin for the amount of Guinness they could drink. To the experienced, it tastes just like “a pint of milk".

There was some debate about whether modern technologies such as Facebook and Netflix are bringing us together or pushing us apart, there were valid points from both sides. Jenny's view is that these technologies can connect you with people around the world but at the same time, disconnect you from those closer to home.

Given it's the silly season, we also chatted about the Late Late Toy Show. Jennifer's chosen topics were excellent conversation starters and were it not for the agenda, I'm sure the banter would have continued into the early hours.
Christine delivered the first of the speeches for the evening. As this was an ice-breaker speech, we all learned a little more about Christine. There were plenty laughs in the room as she described her childhood and we were all treated to a trip down memory lane. Sonic the Hedgehog, Bunty magazine, He-Man, red lemonade, and not forgetting Italia 90! Christine then shared some words of wisdom, "the only place blue mascara should be found is on a smurf!"

The second speech of the evening was also an ice-breaker, delivered by Marie. In the words of Cliff, she reminded us that "Christmas is love, Christmas is peace". Marie questioned the true meaning of Christmas and described the celebrations in her house as a child. Her fondest memories were the games of cards and Cluedo, and the most treasured present was a pool table built by her father. Marie urged us all to go out and make memories and give the gift of time this Christmas, "your heart will be lighter for this and your pockets heavier".

In the next speech, Declan explained shadow work. We were shocked with such statistics as "for every one job created by a machine, there will be four to five job losses". Unwittingly, we perform unpaid tasks in the form of self-service every day, for example: the self-check-out at Tesco, sorting our recyclables. Our list of chores is on the rise and it seems, we have less time to spend with our loved ones. However, Declan tells us not to fret!

The final speech of the evening was delivered by Pat, and was entitled "Let it Go". Pat opened his story by telling us "very little in this story happened but all of it is true". This somehow made sense at the end of his tale.
Pat vividly described how the past had invaded his garage. Unwilling to discard his father's old radio and his mother's sewing machine, he decided to escalate the matter and file a formal complaint with the UN High Commissioner. To his surprise, he was told that the past was not on the attack, "it's you, fighting with yourself". The inner turmoil seemed real, as Pat battled with memories and the past while we waited for the twist!

Eamonn was very creative indeed in the Creative Corner, and we heard a unique rendition of "100 Miles"..! As General Evaluator, Jenny described it perfectly when she said, "Creative Corner is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're going to get!”