Meeting Snippets (for 2002)

See also meeting snippets for 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004 or 2003.

Tuesday, December 3rd, 2002

Hi Toasties the last meeting of the year and an excellent end.

Blair set the tempo of the meeting by playing festive music as everyone arrived. He then proceed to officiate the meeting with some excellent bridging and what some might call racey jokes.

Clive proceeded to inspire and entertain the audience with his S10. Do I look fat?! was a tale, chronicling his Toastmastering experiences and walking the talk augmented with his victory moonwalk - Congratulations Clive look forward to seeing that moonwalk again for your ATM.

Aidan gave his S8 - explaining why his wallet was empty and keeping everyone in suspense with the contents of a card board box. We lookforward to Aidan completing his CTM early next year.

Anthony gave some awkward table topics - asking the table topicees to give a reply to a five year old to some life questions. Good fun was had by all particularly Glen who explained and acted with the help of some magic pills how Father Christmas could squeeze down chimneys...missed his vocation!

Happy holidays every one - Back on the 4th February.

Tuesday, November 26th, 2002

Hi All

Even though the year is nearing an end, the fun and entertainment continues. John was Chair today and he packed the agenda with a variety of prepared speeches and tabletopics.

Patrice told us some horrendous facts regarding the Fast-Food Nation - I know a number of Club members won't be asking for fries or a strawberry milkshake in the near future.

Warren then shared a heart-warming tale with us about the death of his goldfish and his quest to save the life of his remaining aquatic chum. (I'm sure Disney will want to pick up the film rights!!!)

An inventive Tabletopics session, saw the Table Topics Master using posters in the room to generate a topic. Aidan defined A Good Start for us. Andrew shared his thoughts on Everybody's Understanding Mark threw a twist in regarding Creating New Futures

Next week (in honour of Christmas - Xmas refreshments will be provided at the break).

Tuesday, November 19th, 2002

2 Meetings to Go for the year!!!

Today's session captured the true essence of being a Toastmaster. The art of Impromptu Speaking.

Mark served us up an interesting selection of impromptu speaking opportunities.Table Topics were provided (courtesy of John's 80 year-old mother) and focused on morales such as

• A stitch in time saves nine,

• Better to have loved and lost than never have loved

• Sticks and Stone may break bones, but names will never hurt you

This was followed by 2 speeches concocted by Mark and the audience. Chris spoke about Vienna in Summer and somehow ended up in Martinborough on a winter day. John regaled us with tales of traffic terror on the Auckland motorways.

Then all the Club was able to participate in a free-forum evaluation session. A really inventive meeting - congratulations to Mark.

Tuesday, November 12th, 2002

HOO-RAH

And that's exactly what our Chair (Henry Lee) had us yelling at the tops of our voices today during speeches. Inspired by Anthony Robbins book Awaken The Giant Within - Henry took every opportunity to push the theme of getting energised and be in control of your destiny.

The atmosphere was electric for our two speakers today (HOO-RAH). Andrew shared with us the tale of His most frightening experience. An excellent topic to launch his Ice Breaker speech. Then John gave us a Keynote address (as part of his Advanced Speech manual) and appealed to us to embrace success by having a sense of purpose, getting productive and finding fulfilment in our lives.

But it didn't end there (HOO-RAH) - Blair tapped into the creative, energised pool of available speakers and asked people to share their most embarrassing moments. This involved Phil throwing desks and eating mudpies to get the girl of his dreams, Konrad destroying computer equipment in the course of doing his job and Chris sharing anecdotes about his love life.

A fantastic meeting - and a reminder that there are only 3 more meetings this year. Don't miss out on your opportunity to speak!!

Tuesday, November 5th, 2002

We met in the Fellowship Room today - and it certainly generated a warm, cosy feeling. Konrad ran a text-book meeting today. Congratulations are in order - as it was his first time as Chair.

Phil as Table Topics Master promoted the theme of healthy living. This covered the topics of smoking, drinking Coke, playing sport, walking to work, Trolley buses and litter.

Anthony broke the Ice by telling us of the two major events that changed his life (the arrival of his son and daughter !!!) It was a fantastic speech - which incorporated humour, structure and no notes. Very impressive for a first time speaker.

Then it was time for an Educational on Impromptu Speaking. Leanne shared with us some simple tips on handling a Tabletopic, strategies for applying structure and bad habits to avoid.

Tuesday, October 22nd, 2002

Greetings Toastmasters

With Chris Lee as Chair today - how could we not have a fun session??? As Phil (The General Evaluator) said - Chris has his own unique way of doing things!!!

Konrad helped us regress to our childhood with tantalising topics such as My favourite Toy and Food I hated as a Child. Congratulations to our 3 newest club members (Blair, Anthony and Andrew) who did their first Table Topic today. Trust us - its gets easier. Iain gave a very thought provoking S4 speech entitled Student Debt.

Leanne did an astonishing job as Time Keeper. (hey I have to get a mention somewhere in this email).

Tuesday, October 15th, 2002

Hi Toastmasters A vibrant, vivacious and vigorous session this week chaired by Leanne. Iain warmed us up with a Tabletopics challenge involving excuses. (John with lipstick on his collar, Clive being late and for driving too fast).

Scott then told us all about Love Marks in his S2 ( Speak with Sincerity). For those of you who want to know what a Love Mark is....you should have been there!!!!

We were then exceptionally honoured to have two Ice Breakers from Patrice and Blair.

Patrice painted us a picture of a little girl, who loved pink and fairy stories, grew to be a ballerina and then discovered the world of IT. A truly fascinating jump from the Arts to Technology. Blair intrigued us with the story of how he turned his 1-man security business into a thriving corporation. He also had us believe he was the father of 5 until we caught on he was referring to dogs, cats and horses.

Tuesday, October 8th, 2002

Hi Team Another fantastic turnout from the Club. Rod was the Chair and he hosted an action packed agenda. Maria made us spring into Tabletopics with a set of topics cleverly designed around the seasons of the year.

We had speakers from the two extremes - Konrad with his IceBreaker and Mark with his last Advanced speech from the Speaking to Inform Manual. Konrad told us the tale of his immigration to NZ from South Africa and how he ended up in Wellington. Mark regaled us with the concept of Success and called on the Warriors to illustrate his speech. Scott gave a magnificent first time General Evaluation. We continued our concept of having separate introductions from evaluations. We will keep doing this for the month of October. BABY ALERT :Tiri had a girl, 8pds 1 ounce, her name is Sierra

Tuesday, October 1st, 2002

CRIKEY!!!!

That's how Glen started our session off on Tuesday and CRIKEY what a meeting it was. A fantastic turnout - a cast of thousands - everyone got an opportunity to speak and we got to hear some interesting speeches!!!! Glen has really set the standard for other Chair's to match.

Aidan as Tabletopics Master - chose some current events and asked people to take a strong stance (eg should taxpayers pay for Helen Clarke to go to the Warriors final? Should Wellington host the Hero parade? Should the drinking age be lifted) Well done to Konrad - who finally got his first Table topic. An excellent effort for a first time speaker.

Then Phil described his passion to us - NINTENDO - the things you learn about people!!!! Paul then took an interesting stance on the Lord of the Rings (TLOTR). He refuted the claim that TLOTR was the book of the Millennium. And Leanne got us to join her in a toast to the first anniversary of The Ministry of Social Development.

We separated introductions from evaluations this week and our speakers did very well at setting the scene for their speaker. We will continue to do this for the month of October.

Tuesday, September 24th, 2002

NEWSFLASH!!!!!

Tea Cosies, Irish jokes and plastic lobsters. What do they have in common? They were all major headlines from British tabloids and therefore selected as Tabletopics by Paul to give to his selected victims.

Congratulations to first time speaker - Patrice - who had us spellbound with her rendition of the plastic lobster and the set of inflatable teeth!!!!

Maria then wove us a story as one of her advanced speeches from the Storytelling Manual.

The E2 Area Governor, Peter Scholten - gave us a speech on how to keep Toastmaster meetings exciting.

SO INSPIRED BY PETER'S WORDS - WE ARE GOING TO TRY SOMETHING DIFFERENT FOR THE NEXT MONTH. Clive visited a club in Christchurch recently. In order to give everyone an opportunity to speak at every meeting, they have people nominated to do the introduction (rather than the evaluator). So we want to see how this goes for the next few weeks. We will send out templates to people help them with their introductions.

Tuesday, September 17th, 2002

Bonjour Fellow Toastmasters

Another action packed, interesting meeting today (hosted by first time Chair - Scott). Scott did a fantastic job- great atmosphere, excellent bridging and supportive comments.

The Table Topics were awesome. Glen chose chapter headings from a book called Raising Boys. As you can imagine the topics ranged from Boys in Trouble, to bullying, through to Body Image.

We were then treated to two S3 speeches. Iain gave an informative speech on Refugees and Rod regaled us with the benefits of a Vegetarian diet. Both speeches were thought provoking and well structured.

Leanne gave an educational on Taking the Terror out of Talking!!! The secret is that being nervous is normal and can be controlled through practice, visualisation and relaxation techniques.

Tuesday, September 10th, 2002

Greetings Toastmasters

An Awesome Assembly of speakers and speaking opportunities today.

Aidan appealed to the petrol-heads in the audience today with his S9 speech entitled KING OF THE MOUNTAIN. This of course related to Peter Brock - 9 time champion of Bathurst. Aidan also took the opportunity to promote Holden (not that he's biased!!!)

Tonia chose a topic for her S7 that was current, topical and seems to have divided New Zealanders - FUNDING THE LEGAL COUNCIL OF A DYING SMOKER. She contrasted the plight of the lady dying of cancer because she chose to smoke, who has received legal aid with that of the man who is dying of cancer from passive smoking (who has had no help). Thought provoking!!!!

Rod ran a superb Table Topics session today based on famous sayings. Very hard and very challenging.

Tuesday, September 3rd, 2002

Hi Toastmasters

A small intimate crowd met this week and experienced a flexible fun-filled session chaired by Clive. Scott (a first time Table Topics Master) cunningly used tracks from Split Enz Albums to set the speech topic. Chris, Phil, Iain and Conrad all rose to the challenge accordingly. Then we had an S2 from Glen about Caring. It was very powerful, thought provoking speech and made us think about what type of person we were. Leanne gave an After Dinner Speech about her 5th Wedding Anniversary. Thanks to the audience - who participated freely in heckling and after-dinner humour.

Tuesday, August 27th, 2002

Howdy all

WOW!!!! What a meeting!! Congratulations to our first time chair Philip Ruthven. A well organised, on-time, interesting session.

Clive (TableTopics Master Extraordinaire) - set us an intriguing challenge. 6 speakers had to tell the life of Joe covering various times of his life (ie 5 years, middle-aged, geriatric). But there's more - Clive threw in a twist that the speaker had to incorporate (e.g. Having quadruplets). But then he added another twist - speakers had to hand over the story to the next speaker (like a relay race). A huge amount of fun and laughter was experienced by all. A special mention goes to Mark Waters who had the geriatric session and just refused to die.....

Then we were treated to two Advanced speeches. One from Chris (Special Occasion Speeches Manual - Speech 2, Speaking in Praise) and one from John (Public Relations Manual - Speech 3, The Persuasive Approach). Fantastic to see and hear, two very different styles of speaking.

The evaluators today were magnificent - they provided thoughtful, insightful, constructive evaluations. Thanks to Rod, Maria and Tiri.

Tiri would also like to advise club members that she will be taking a few months off (to have the baby) so it was her last session today. The baby is due in 3 weeks time and Brian (her husband) has been given strict instructions to ring us.

Tuesday, August 20th, 2002

Hi All

What a glorious morning it was today - we got to see the sun - an excellent sign that spring is on its way.

And spring into action is what John Woolston had us do today. PAST-PRESENT and FUTURE was the framework he got his victims to use for advertisement by-lines.

More spring madness saw Clive (for his S8) put Rod and Chris on Dog Leads in an effort to explain Quantum Physics and the Chaos of the Universe!!!

And to wrap it all up, Scott broke the Ice by explaining how as an ex-Aucklander, he works in Wellington but lives in Alexandra - (figure that one out)!!!!

A well run meeting - thanks to Tonia.

Tuesday, August 13th, 2002

Hi All

We had a complete wipe-out this week in terms of speakers - they were all struck down by the dreaded lurgy. But the intrepid Warren Chin came to the rescue (as Chair) and got Kevin to develop a complicated set of Tabletopics for every attendee. Not only did we have to do a Table Topic each - we also had to evaluate!!!!

Memorable moments included: Paul Warwick selling 250,000 rolls of toilet paper Jeff Raffills talking about a packet of hot chocolate in a lift stranded on the 19th floor Mark making notes about the competency of a bus driver while it is rolling/burning down a hill Hey....you had to be there.........

John was also persuaded to give us an Ice Breaker. This enabled Clive to have last minute practise for the E2 Area Evaluation Competition this Thursday morning 7am at Capital Breakfast

Tuesday, August 6th, 2002

Hi Toasties

Paul Carr (The Chair) got us off to a cracking pace on Tuesday. Jayant kept us on our toes with Tabletopics based on EXCUSES. Phil broke the Ice by telling us a few home truths (including his real name - hint: its not Philip). Chris showed us the correct way to Toast a person. Jeff used us as guinea pigs for a real Best Man's speech he is giving this Saturday. As he told me afterwards - it was a good chance to try out a few jokes - without getting lynched!!! Good luck on Saturday Jeff.

Tuesday, July 23, 2002

A Big Thank You to all those that braved a cold July Winter Morning........

A marvellous session....chaired by the enigmatic Kevin Olsen. Philip provoked us with a Table Topics session based on Super Heroes. Chris, Leanne, Scott and Tonia all rose (or should I say soared) to the challenge.

Then Paul Warwick served us up a sizzling S2 entitled All you didn't know about SQUASH. As Aidan (his evaluator) aptly stated - I've made a mental note not to accept a game of Squash with you.

Jayant had us spell bound with a tale about his favourite product - Him and his family. An awesome Ice Breaker and even more spectacular considering he lost his notes on the way to Toastmasters and did the speech without them!!!

Tuesday, July 9, 2002

Hello Toastmasters Another fun-packed session today. Glen Houlihan got us warmed up with Table Topics that focused on personal experiences and emotions (such as disappointment, an awkward moment and Elation). Iain chose a very topical subject for his S2 - Police and Guns. Paul Carr regaled us with tales of his boyhood (including ghosts and John Wayne) for his S5. And Tiri achieved CTM status today with her S10 speech - Do You Know How Lucky You Are? Well done Tiri - who achieved her CTM in just 12 months!!! As John Woolston said at his evaluation today - Tiri is a Competent Toastmaster - who picks her topics well to entertain her audience.

Tuesday, July 2, 2002

Hi all We had an unusual meeting today - thanks to our Table Topics Master Clive. Clive set the following challenge - we had to incorporate a famous saying/morale into the very end of our speeches (before the light went red) and then evaluate the next speaker. This gave most people the opportunity to speak twice. The topics were fascinating and the evaluations excellent. Another highlight of the day - was Glen Houlihan's Ice Breaker. It was entitled The Many Hats of Glen Houlihan and gave us a terrific insight into his life. Well done Glen - we are dying to hear your next speech!!!

Tuesday, June 25, 2002

Hi Toasties A fantastic turn-out for the Evaluation competition. And the winner is..........Clive. Clive will now represent our club at the Area Contest on the 15th August. The judges commented that they were impressed with the extremely high standard of evaluations - so well done also to Henry and John.

Jeff Raffills completed a major milestone this week. He gave his S10 entitled The New Zealand Way and has now achieved his Competent Toastmaster Award.

Tuesday, June 18, 2002

Hi Toasties A cast of thousands today....who braved the weather and accepted the challenges thrown at them by Iain (first time Table Topics Master). A choice selection of topics was offered that covered $200,000 shopping sprees, Super-heroes and chocolate rice (to name a few)!!!!Then Mal entertained us with his Ice Breaker - quite an event given that he has already participated in 2 competitions.Chris gave us a serious educational called MOMENTS OF TRUTH. What can one say - except that the audience and the speaker were in tears (of laughter)...... Darren excelled as the UMMM dinger. Congratulations to Paul Warwick - who was a first Time Chair today. The meeting was memorable.

Tuesday, June 11, 2002

Hi Toasties A big Thank You to everyone who participated/attended the International Speech Competition this week. The visiting judges were very impressed with the standard of speakers - and commented on the structure and originality of the speeches. Tiri spoke about It's the small things that count, Clive's speech was a living diary of his migration to NZ and was entitled Wish you were here and Leanne told a tale about High Ropes. Leanne was the winner of the Club competition. Glenn Tamahori had some curly Table Topics based around roles in the Film industry. Darren explained to us what a BEST BOY was and Warren told a tall tale about what a GAFFER was (ie the Australian version of a JAFFA)!!!!

Tuesday, June 4, 2002

Hi all Fantastic session on Tuesday. Great turn-out especially given that it was a long weekend!!!. We had a bit of everything. Challenging Tabletopics from Mal, an Ice Breaker from Iain, Tiri's s8 (What's in a name?) and an educational from Leanne on Evaluating. Welcome to our newest member - Glen Houlihan. Also welcome back to a new-old member - Glenn Tamahori. And a goodbye to Darren, who has given us notice of his intention to travel overseas soon to the USA (for job reasons).

Tuesday, May 28, 2002

Hi all

A BIG Thank you to all members for a great turn out on Tuesday night. An excellent venue, yummy food, stimulating company and lots of humour. Our newest member - Mal - kicked the competition off with a very humourous set of ancedotes about himself. Fantastic effort Mal - we're looking forward to hearing some more of your speeches. Leanne won the Humourous speech contest with a speech entitled EXCUSES and will represent the club at the Area Finals.

Tuesday, May 7, 2002

Hi Toasties WOW!!! A New venue. A full turnout of old new members and guests. Awesome speeches. Wonderful company. A big Thank-You to Jeff for organising an enjoyable meeting. Mark ran an excellent Tabletopics session - based on the headlines from that day's Dominion. Henry told us the tale of the 3 Little Pigs and had us singing TRA-LA-LA-LA - Not bad for a Tuesday morning!!!! Susan had us spellbound with her dissertation on Historical Claims. This was her final speech for her ATM Bronze Certificate. The speech was thought provoking and a testament to Susan's skills as a senior member of the club. Susan is going to take a 4 month sabbatical from the Club to do some travel (both local and abroad). We will see her again in August. Bon voyage.

Tuesday, April 30, 2002

Hi all Fantastic last session at Booker Spalding this week. Challenging Tabletopics were set by Rod. Advertising made me do it - Daycare. Maria described the crche from hell for us - in vivid detail. Spare the Rod, Spoil the Child - Long live the Smack.Paul Carr gave a fantastic speech spanning his childhood - his children and his grandchild. Should the Drinking Age be lowered - Susan gave us a sobering story on binge drinking God - through the eyes of man. Tiri pointed out that there is an awful lot of fighting and death in the name of religion/God given that all religions state Thou shall not kill. Quite ironic. Paul Warwick also gave us his IceBreaker. Terrific first speech Paul. Good use of anecdotes and humour.

Tuesday, April 23, 2002

Toastmasters It is the end of an ERA!!! Next week will be the very last session at Booker Spalding before we move to new premises. I am told that today's session was very lively. A Tabletopics Educational followed by some colourful topics such as Kevin about (White/Purity), Henry (Yellow/Bananas), Bruce (Brown/Chocolate), Susan (Red/Embarrassment), Rod (Gold/Wealth) and Clive (Green/Clean). Good topics to our first-time Table Topics Master - Paul. Warren expanded our knowledge on Pyramids with his S6. Yah - half way there Warren - only 4 speeches to go!!!! Welcome also to our guest - Ian Halliday

Tuesday, April 16, 2002

Howdy Toastmasters Only 2 more sessions at our current premises before we move to the St Johns Conference Centre!! We had a really informative session today chaired by Tonia. Clive's S6 speech State of Mind discussed how Eastern influences have helped him have a better state of mind. Rod's S2 speech was Tree Hugger and explored the topic of veganism. I don't think anyone will forget Rod's explanation of what jelly truly is (boiled guts!!!) Henry treated us to show and tell today. This included most of his children's toybox - Barbie, the Batmobile, a Captain Hurricane mask, Thunderbirds, and a dolphin to name a few. All club members used a judging form today to evaluate the Table Topic speakers. This was to get familiar with the judging skills/forms required for the upcoming competitions.

Tuesday, April 9, 2002

Howdy SIM-masters What a full session we had this week. Many thanks to Bruce who fitted in Tabletopics and 3 speeches (including 2 Advanced speeches). Maria set the scene for Table Topics by using word association. There were some interesting speeches..... Topic - HOME - Clive - LIFE Topic - AUSTRALIA - Chris - WORLD CUP Topic - SUN - Paul W - AUSTRALIA I explained to the Club about SIMS and my experiences to date with the my SIM-family. Kevin put a proposition to the club (as if we were a company) regarding the reasons why we should mandate a software solution purchase. Susan briefed us on the 4 rules of Assertiveness. Susan is now only 1 speech from gaining her ATM-Bronze!!! TRAINING: Clive and I attended the free training session on Microphone use. It was excellent. The instructor gave clear instructions on how to use the 3 types of microphones that are in common use. He also told us common mistakes to avoid. We then had to do a formal introduction of another person to the group. It was amazing - how many people still made very obvious mistakes when using the microphone.

Tuesday, April 2, 2002

Howdy all Congratulations to those Toastmasters who braved the worst morning of the year (so far) and attended today's session. And what a session it was....the Gingerman was Chair - Tiri was the Queen of the Shopping Isles and Paul Carr transported his audience to the Philippines. Kevin selected some meaty items for speakers to get stuck into during Table Topics today. While Rod did his first ever Table Topics Evaluation. Congratulations to Paul Warwick for doing his first ever Table Topic today. Another farewell has been tendered to the Club today from Hone Watson. Hone is transferring to Auckland to expand his business opportunities. He is disappointed not to be able to complete his S9 and S10 at our Club but will be transferring his membership to an Auckland Club. Hone - we wish you all the best. It has been a pleasure watching your speaking style develop over the last year. I hope you apply the skills and disciplines you have acquired to your business and that success will be your constant companion.

Tuesday, March 26, 2002

Hi Toasties WOW....what an action packed session today. Tabletopics included an acceptance speech from Hone for Best Actor, Mark as the President of the United States urging us to war with Iraq and a humble speech from Rod (emulating Craig Perks). Fantastic topics - many thanks Paul Carr. Speeches were awesome today Bruce's S5 on how to get around Italy. Tonia's S6 on Don't worry - be happy Warren's s5 on Violence, Playstations and children Also congratulations to Paul Warwick who had his first speaking opportunity today as Time Keeper. On a more personal note - John Woolston (affectionately known as Woolly) is taking a sabbatical from the club for a few months to pursue an amazing opportunity that will require 100% of his energy and focus. John has been an inspiring mentor for many of us at the Club. He has motivated club members to achieve a level of excellence that we might not have accomplished on our own. My two own special memories of John are his speech The Living Dead - a stunning call for us to evaluate our life and purpose and to ensure we are not the Living Dead, as well as his call to arms to save the Business Breakfast Club when it was in severe difficulties 2 years ago. John epitomises what it is to be a Toastmaster. His achievements include - CTM, ATM Bronze, - Past President of Business Breakfast Toastmasters - Area Governor (E2) - Club Winner (numerous occasions) of International, Humorous and Table Topics Competitions - Area Winner (International, Humorous and TableTopics Competitions) - And very nearly a contestant in the Nationals for the International speech competition - And finally a person who gave freely of his time, experience and passion to our Club. John - a big thank you from the Club and all the best for your future venture.

Tuesday, March 19, 2002

Hi Toasties Daylight Saving is over for another year but Toastmasters goes on!!! A small but select bunch of Toastmasters met today. They were: - challenged by Mark Waters (as Table Topics Master) with a variety of unusual objects. Speakers had to inform the audience as to the potential use of these objectives. Darren did a thought provoking piece on finger-torture tools for manicurists, while Tiri used a spondollicks to fight off the StarTrek Borg villains. - educated by Jeff's coverage of the moon (with full use of a datashow and graphical displays). - entertained by Rod's Ice Breaker where he showed his sincerity and ability as a very competent speaker. His S2 is eagerly awaited.

Tuesday, March 12, 2002

Hi Toastmasters I love Toastmasters!!!! What an amazing session chaired by Warren today. Usually we have an issue with not enough speakers. Not today. Warren managed to fit in 4 speakers plus Tabletopics. An impressive achievement for a second-time Chairperson. We had an Ice Breaker today from Kevin - congratulations. We're looking forward to hearing the next 9 speeches. Clive spurred us on to deliver R.A.P.I.D service to our customers (with his S5 - Vocal Variety speech). Aidan regaled us with the joys of parenthood - to a puppy!!!!! Hone wrapped it up with a session on commitment and consistency - topics close to us as Toastmasters. He also got everyone to commit on paper to what they are going to achieve as a Toastmaster in 2002. I have that paper and will hold you to those commitments!!!!

Tuesday, February 26, 2002

Hi Toastmasters Wow!!! What can I say. A fabulous meeting today organised by Susan. The meeting was characterised by humour, a superb standard of speaking and a number of people doing roles/speeches for the first time. Congratulations to Bruce - who had us in fits of laughter with his speech Why you wouldn't want to be me. Welcome aboard to Rod and Kevin - our two newest members. Both took the leap today and joined in the Tabletopics session. They both gave excellent first speeches - and I know they are looking forward to making many more!!! Clive was in great form as Table Topics Master. The theme was explaining the pros/cons of certain everyday objects to readers of New Scientist. We now all know why men have nipples - thanks to Warren. Apparently it has something to do with hunting animals and being used as wind detectors - say no more. Mark also gleefully got into his topic which involved squirrels, nuts and forest carnage. Darren gave an excellent first time evaluation and used the CRC method well.

Tuesday, February 19, 2002

Hi All

I think this week was a demonstration of how difficult it can be to get every thing in sync, moving from Table Topics to Speeches to a Bull Rush to end on. Organisation is not an easy process and does not lend itself well to playing off the cuff. Nontheless there were two excellent speeches from Tiri on Plants and ESP could they have feelings and intelligence and Warren on How not to think which actually got us thinking!

Clive

Tuesday, February 12, 2002 (Open Day)

A big Thank You to all Club Members for helping with the Open Day Henry did an amazing job as Chair. There were 3 excellent speeches - Tonia with tips on house-hunting, Hone inspired us to learn and Jeff briefed us on Global Warming. All members who had roles in the meeting took time to explain their responsibilities to our guests (especially Clive the Time Keeper). And superb muffins were provided by the Gingerman. Thanks everyone for bringing guests. It was a large meeting. Well organised. Entertaining

Tuesday, February 5, 2002

Howdy all Yesterday's session was well managed by The Gingerman. After an unexpected start (no speakers)!!!! - Mr Lee marshalled the troops and swung into action. John hosted an excellent Educational - Selecting Your Topic. Quite appropriate for the start of a new Toastmasters Year - when people are struggling to come up with ideas for speeches. Then an excellent session of Tabletopics was had by all - based on the theme of linking a word to personal anecdotes. Congratulations to Warren for a notable speech. His word was RUN. He told us about his dream of emulating John Walker and about selecting the 1500m as his event on school athletics day. After a brilliant first 3 laps, where he jostled for position to ready himself for the final surge, apparently the wheels fell-off and Warren's dream crashed - as he came a distance last!!!!

Tuesday, January 29, 2002

Hi all A big Thank You to Stephen Spencer who arranged some interesting Table Topics to get us all back into the swing of things. Stephen regaled us with topics taken from this week's editions of Woman's Weekly and New Idea!!! (say no more about his recreational reading material....) No one was let off (except Clive who was doing his S4 and Warren who was Table Topics Evaluator). However Bruce stole the show. His topic was Who provided the better value for their appearance fee - Tiger Woods or Anna Kornikova? Bruce explained that Anna had a lot of critics (as opposed to Tiger) and summed it up in the now infamous one-liner Anna has a lot of knockers.

THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW.....

There is an Open Day on the 12th Feb. Chartered Chatterers (a fellow Breakfast Club) want a intermediate member (s6 and above) to come and do a General Evaluation of their club. They will provide someone in exchange. This is a great opportunity to meet other Toastmasters and see other Club styles. A committee member will be available to attend with you (for support, advice) if needed.

Tuesday, December 11, 2001

Hi All

What a fantastic ending to the year. Some deeply ethical and moral Table Topics from Sandy. Three superb speeches from Clive - don't get angry get hugging?! Jeff - the snoreage of storeage and Henry's S10; congratulations Henry on an expertly and eloquently executed speech. Based around what Toastmasters means for himself and for us all as individuals, past, present and future.

Special commendation for Darren's first time as chair and his ability to dynamically adapt to the change in roles required.

Best Wishes to everyone at Christmas and New Year.....bound to be lots of material for your next speech?

Back on the 29th January.

Clive

Tuesday, December 4, 2001

Hi all Wow - what a meeting on Tuesday. Fantastic turn-out and visitors as well!!!! Credit to At for a fun and well run session. Hone gave a thought provoking speech about Giving. He challenged us to consider giving 10% of our wealth (or time) away on a regular basis and to watch the returns that gesture brings. To add weight to his speech - Hone gave everyone in the club a beautifully wrapped book called Money secrets of the Rich. On behalf of the club - I would like to thank Hone for his generosity and hope that club members will call on his offer to assist with any queries regarding the book or his speech. Tiri entertained us with yet another superb speech focused on the BAD NEWS BLUES - an excellent synopsis of the role the media plays in shaping public opinion. Everyone participated in a Bullrush. Some excellent 30 second speeches on Winning ways of NZ. Don't forget the Christmas Get-together THIS SUNDAY at 11:30am.

Tuesday, November 27, 2001

Hi all

What a great meeting this week!!!! A large turnout. A great Chair (Tiri), out-there table-topics (from Clive), terrific speakers (Henry and Toni) and a very amusing Bullrush. Only TWO Meetings to go. For your diaries - the first meeting of 2002 is scheduled for the 29th January.

Tuesday, November 20, 2001

Hi all Only 3 more Toastmaster meetings this year!!!! The theme of the morning was success. Hone put us through our paces with Table Topics focussed on success. People got so involved with their topic - that the average talk time was 2 min+. Aidan built on the momentum - by sharing with us his decision to give up smoking and why. And Warren outlined for us the reasons why the Allblacks MUST WIN!!! Congratulations to Darren who gave his first Table Topics Evaluation today. It was also great to welcome an old member today - Lalith de Silver.

Tuesday, November 13, 2001

Hi all Only 39 sleeps until Christmas....... Apologies for the lack of an update on this week's session. I was exerting myself on a High Ropes Confidence Course in Martinborough and have not had the chance to catch up with Warren

Tuesday, November 6, 2001

Happy November all...... Only 5 more meetings left this year!!! Chris (our resident over-achiever) was Chair AND Tabletopics Master today (who said men couldn't multi-task???) Darren regaled us on the topics of BANKS and their FEES ( a topic that was relevant to all in the room). A welcome back to Paul Carr who participated in a lively round of Table Topics. And then Chris told jokes.......

Tuesday, October 30, 2001

Howdy all Jeff did a superb job as Chair today - a full agenda, delivered on time and with great bridging and humour. Henry helped us feel a lot less stressed, Tony increased our knowledge about dot.net and Sandy showed us how to present an award with style. At provided a challenging mix of Table Topics which ranged from Tiri explaining why Bald golliwogs should be considered PC (politically correct) to Clive sharing his idea of heaven with us!!!!

Tuesday, October 23, 2001

Gidday A new twist. A summary from the Gingerman. Excellent start to this morning's session with Darren's table topics featuring pizza's, terrorists and bent spies. Clive then took us on a journey through time, and the importance of not wasting it. Apparently, we spend an average of 2 years on the bog!! Is that a waste? We were then reminded by Henry that we do have a choice - in everything we do. Henry always gives us plenty of food for thought. Two excellent speeches.

Tuesday, October 16, 2001

Hi all Many thanks to Hone (who despite some defections) pulled together an excellent meeting. Clive struck again as the Table Topics Master from Hell (this involved club members sniffing Dettol and fondling Clive's socks!!!!) Tiri hypnotised us with her S4. Leanne gave an educational on Practise makes Perfect. Warren did a great first time job as Table Topics Evaluator (except he forgot Chris), however the score was evened when Chris forgot to evaluate Warren as General Evaluator. NOTE - COFFEE MORNING next week after the session at EPIC.

Tuesday, October 9, 2001

Hi all After a very slow start (probably due to Day Light Saving) - Henry swung the meeting into high action by handing over Table Topics to Clive (say-no-more!!!). Bruce took us to the last male bastion - THE BBQ while Leanne regaled us with tales of famous escapologists. Special mention to first time evaluator - Tonia. Well done and hopefully many more to follow.

Tuesday, October 2, 2001

Hi all - what an OBSTREPEROUS meeting (Word of the day)

Warren shared the secret to staying young - HAVING CHILDREN!!!! (We'll take advice on that) Well done to Darren who tackled his Ice Breaker today. We learnt lots of interesting things about Darren including: his home town is Adelaide, he is 1XRF Engineer on the Telecom CDMA rollout and he is a middle child. Tonia set some challenging topics this week as Table Topics Master (using newspaper clippings). I have heard the victims mumbling something about revenge and Henry broke the all-time record for shortest speech and exiting the stage in the quickest time. And as for Mark - SCARY STUFF!!!! And Clive did an excellent first time role as General Evaluator.

Friday, September 31, 2001

Hi all Congratulations to John Woolston - who blitzed the competition today and won the E2 Area Table Topics Competition. The topic was: What car would you be? (Weird topic)!!! John had a well crafted speech that covered the types of cars he has been in the past (Ferrari, Station Wagon, etc..) leading up to his current vehicle - a big, black, 4-wheel drive truck. John will now go forward to the Division E Conference on the 6th October.

Tuesday, September 25, 2001

Hi all WHAT A MEETING!!!! Superheros was the theme - thanks to the Table Topics Master - John Woolston (who openly admitted to stealing the idea from Clive)!!!! We were treated to WHISK WOMAN (Maria), VACUUMHEAD (Jeff), HOOPMAN (At), THE SUIT (Leanne), PENCIL ERASER (Stephen), the INCREDIBLE WAFFLE Man (Mark) and who could forget BANANA-MAN (Clive). Clive also regaled us with his life story (his Ice-Breaker). Tony did an excellent job as a first time General Evaluator. By the way - the Speaking Night (held on Wed 19th) was a GREAT success. Matt completed his CTM and we had 4 other entertaining speeches from John, Tonia, Sandy and Henry (along with lots of wine). Then dinner at Tulsi followed into the wee small hours (along with lots of wine). For those of you who missed out - DONT WORRY - Xmas is on the way - and details about the next social event will be available soon.

Tuesday, September 18, 2001

Hi all Another excellent meeting with speeches about Prejudice from Tiri and the Evils of Discipline from At. John gave an excellent educational on How to get rid of Notes. A big Thank You to Tonia who was an excellent first-time Chair. Welcome Aboard to Darren - who did his first Table Topics today and Clive enthralled us all with his choice of Humanitarian Table Topics.

Tuesday, September 11, 2001

Hi all CONGRATULATIONS LUCA - You are the first CTM for our club for the 2001/2002 year!!!! Well done. Luca regaled us with the joys of being a Wellingtonian for his final speech - S10 Inspire Your Audience. Jeff told us - NO PAIN - NO GAIN and Tony did his Ice Breaker (and we found out all about his early years of growing up on the West Coast). Special thanks to an ex-member, Tony van der Lem for dropping in.

Given that there is a real rush on speaking slots currently - would anyone be interested in attending a Speech-Evening on Wed 19th September? This is where we would meet at 6:30pm (hopefully at Booker Spalding....if not a venue close by) and have some wine. The meeting would be prepared speeches and evaluations only It would go to 7:30pm (i.e. maximum of 7 speeches + evaluations) and thenthose that wanted could go on to dinner. This would give people who want to speak - an opportunity to do so As well as the chance to socialise. Partners are welcome to the session. Are you interested?

Tuesday, September 4, 2001

Hi all Thanks to everyone for an excellent meeting today. Our Area Governor - Mark Waters - gave us a speech on Tim Allan and persistence (an unusual combination) Warren told us of the Killing Fields of Courtney Place - RIP flies, mice and chickens*!*! Bruce informed us of the pitfalls associated with companies selling/using our personal data. Thought provoking stuff!!!!! I did something in front of the Club that I haven't done for 25 years. Enough said.

Tuesday, August 28, 2001

Hi all We were treated to potential competition standard speeches this week. Aidan had us in stitches with us - The Life of a Cockroach; Tonia shared a near-death experience and Matt regaled us with the benefits of attending Victoria University.

Tuesday, August 21, 2001

Hi All

I think the COFFEE morning was a big success at EPIC. It was great to be able to sit and catch up with everyone socially after the meeting. EPIC are VERY keen to have us come back on a regular basis so unless anyone has any objections - we will schedule it for once a month. Great S4s from Henry and Jeff today!!! as well as an impassioned S2 from Tiri. And well done to Hone, Tonia and Bruce who completed their roles (for the first time) as Evaluator, General Evaluator and Table Topics Master respectively. WELCOME BACK Mr Spencer - a motivating table topic about your aims for the future and masterly timekeeping