On a lovely sunny spring evening there was no better way to round off the day than with some
lively speeches & topics discussions. The meeting was opened by our Toastmaster for the
evening Marie. We were given a rundown of all the roles which would be active throughout the
meeting.
Tomas gave us a description of "ah counter"; as grammarian Astrid decided on "sophisticated"
for our word of the day; Alison explained how the timekeeper role works; Avril gave us a sneak
peak of the creative corner for the evening; Niamh gave an account of the role of scribe & finally
as topicsmaster Lorraine got the ball rolling with the topics for the evening.
In keeping with the time of year, Easter eggs were a hot topic with many members jumping to
the floor to exclaim their take on one of the season's most prized possessions. From Easter egg
hunts in the garden to world record attempts for Easter eggs eaten it was clear that this was a
topic the Toastmasters cohort were passionate about.
Keeping with the topic of food our next two topics were on branded foods we can't go without
and a meal we would be happy to eat everyday for the rest of our lives. Jaffa cakes & chef's
ketchup were the front runners for irreplaceable brands. The choice for only meal was endless
with suggestions from Fajitas, & chipper dinners to butter chicken & mussels with brown bread.
All fantastic choices in my opinion!
The first of our three speeches came from Lachlan who is on the pathway for presentation
mastery. His speech entitled "The Power of Jiu Jitsu" the objective of the module was to write a
speech with purpose. As we were brought through the history of jiu-jitsu and Lachlan's own
experiences with Jiu Jitsu it was clear that the purpose of this speech was to understand that
perspective & compromise may sometimes be the best way to achieve your goals.
Marcus brought us on a journey with his speech entitled "Magic part 1". The magic or "Draíocht"
coming from the Irish for magic can come from unexpected places. Marcus explained the
Draíocht of reading, bringing us from early childhood experiences right up to it's power of
connection with third level education. The draíocht was conveyed using wonderful vocal variety
& gestures. The magic of reading really being the opening of our minds to other worlds.
The final speech given by Jenny was from the leadership development pathway. She gave us
an insight into the highs and lows of planning a family holiday. Getting 15 people to southern
Europe in July 2023 is not an easy feat but this speech showed us that by putting project
management tools into place it is achievable!
After the tea break, Frances, the general evaluator got the meeting back up and running. Pat
took a moment to bring us through an educational speech on the importance of role taking
within Toastmasters. Next up we had our evaluators, Pat, Aisling & Martin. Each evaluator gave
a glowing reports on the speech makers performances, with some positive constructive
feedback for speech makers to take.
After our feedback, Frances gave an evaluation of the evaluators and the meeting itself. The
importance of starting on time was highlighted. Along with this, the evaluators were praised
highly for their feedback. We were treated with a poem from Avril entitled "Alone" by Edgar Allan
Poe, see below. Finally the meeting was closed by Frances ending another successful
Toastmasters session. Members and guests are welcomed back on Wednesday 27th April in the
Menlo Park hotel or online.
“Alone” by Edgar Allen Poe
From childhood’s hour I have not been
As others were—I have not seen
As others saw—I could not bring
My passions from a common spring—
From the same source I have not taken
My sorrow—I could not awaken
My heart to joy at the same tone—
And all I lov’d—I lov’d alone—
Then—in my childhood—in the dawn
Of a most stormy life—was drawn
From ev’ry depth of good and ill
The mystery which binds me still—
From the torrent, or the fountain—
From the red cliff of the mountain—
From the sun that ’round me roll’d
In its autumn tint of gold—
From the lightning in the sky
As it pass’d me flying by—
From the thunder, and the storm—
And the cloud that took the form
(When the rest of Heaven was blue)
Of a demon in my view—
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