Meeting Snippets (for 2005)

See also meeting snippets for 2007, 2006, 2004, 2003 or 2002.

29th November 2005

RUGBY.RUGBY.RUGBY.
Chris our Chair decided to indulge his passion and structure the meeting around his love of rugby. As you can imagine, Chris shared a variety of interesting tips and pointers on the game which were well received by the mainly male audience.
Clive (our Tabletopics Master) used a pack of cards and a story about a soldier to set a wonderful challenge to members today. They were given three picture cards (and like the soldier) asked to tell a tale that would win them their lives.
Miranda (The White-House, Rose, $$$) wove together a series of anecdotes from her life.
Mark (Baby, Crowd, Blank) had us riveted with his tale about his recent Taupo bicycle challenge.
Scott (Beefeaters, cross, sunset) outlined his purpose in life.
Then we had three magnificent speeches. Sebastian broke the Ice with his highly entertaining speech called Auckland. Hamish delivered an enquiring s8 speech about whether the All Blacks had lost the hearts and minds of the NZ public (by going professional) Henry relayed a humorous Advanced speech about the Fear of Flying.

22nd November 2005

Alice (our Chair) had an excellent theme for todays meeting TIME. She shared with us some excellent time saving techniques AND demonstrated their effectiveness by bringing the meeting in on time.
Sebastian (our Tabletopics Master) set a unique challenge today. He had a series of quirky book titles that he asked club members to elaborate on. So.
Hamish explained why he enjoyed The Art of TeaBag Folding
Miranda showed us why she found Build your own Hindenburg so educational
Pieter reviewed Potatoes of Bolivia and ended up recommending IT books as being more interesting
Chris urged us to purchase Locomotive Boiler Explosions as a vital addition to our bookshelves
Greg tried selling us his new WAVE technique to banish smokers with his S9 speech.
Then Hirata reached a major milestone - the completion of her 10 speeches to acquire her Competent Toastmaster qualification. Her speech was entitled Opposites Attract and motivated us all to cherish our best friends.

25th October 2005

Vocal variety was the focus of our meeting today. Mark (the Chair) devised a fantastic activity for all club members to trial their vocal variety skills. We then saw a number of club members put through their paces on convincing an audience that they were happy or angry or powerful purely by using their voice.
Hamish (Table-topics Master) challenged club members to see if their horoscopes for the last week, did in fact match what was foretold. This resulted in Greg and Mike sharing their experiences as Geminis, Henry and Clive relating their Aquarius adventures and Leanne embellishing her Cancer moment.
Alice wrapped it up with her S3 To tan or not to Tan? She had very vivid pictures of skin cancers to illustrate her talk, which were highly motivating to get us to slip, slop and slap this summer.

18th October 2005

Leanne (our Chair) ran a tight agenda today and managed to pack in 6 Tabletopics and 2 Advanced Manual Speeches. Mark (the Tabletopics master) got club members to muse on careers. This resulted in:
Norm telling us of his childhood dream job to be a farmer
Alice stating her worst job would involve either getting up early or getting dirty (or both)
Miranda did a pitch for a job (as she actually is on the job market)
Mike shared his parents influence on his job choices
Hamish described his dream job to us
Helen had us in stitches describing one of the most mundane jobs she had.
Then we had two of our most experienced speakers give speeches from the Advanced Manual Series
Clive gave a Goodwill speech from the Public Relations manual
Glen gave a Proposal speech from the Technical Presentations manual

13th October 2005

I-N-V-I-G-O-R-A-T-E.and that was what our Chair (Helen) managed, at this mornings session. She had an action packed agenda, great quotes from famous people and speaking opportunities for everyone.Alice (Table Topics Master) got club members to be magazine agony aunts/uncles. This resulted in
- Greg giving advice to Kevin Bacon regarding a compromising photo
- Chris endorsing Fergies (from Black-eye Peas) invigorating approach to her performances
- Hamish giving Brad Pitt some down-to-earth advice on how to apologise for infidelity
- Jayne sharing her youth secrets with Paris Hilton and Gwen Stefeno
Then Hirata shared some of the secrets of the Sistine Chapel with us in her S7 speech entitled Never Ever. Henry gave us a motivational speech from the Speeches by Management manual. It was entitled How far will you go on your travels through ToastMasters?

4th October 2005

Mike (This weeks Chair) valiantly arose from his sick-bed to run an awesome meeting. Glen (as Table Topics Master) had club members re-marketing common grocery items to give them a new lease of life.
Hirata turned Golden Syrup into a new vitamin supplement
Roger turned Sesame Oil into the hottest thing for speed dating
Leanne turned Lime Juice into a great cocktail for the young at heart.
Then we had three interesting speeches.
Mark shared his familys most recent trauma with us (in his s7) a burst appendix
Mirandas s6 involved praising those people who volunteer to assist disabled students at university
Henry showed us how to take the terror out of talking.

20th September 2005

The theme today was voluble \VOLL-yuh-buhl\, adjective meaning Marked by a ready flow of speech; fluent. And thats what our chair (Greg) delivered. He had an agenda packed with voluble speakers!!!! Mike (the Table-topics Master) got club members warmed up by handing them toiletry items to fend off wild beasts.
Roger used a deodorant to divert a rampaging elephant (or maybe not)
Clive went into the lions den armed with a toothbrush
Glen showed us how to be accepted by male gorillas in the forest by using hair-gel
But wait, theres more:
Norm gave us an Educational on Amazing Speech Openings
Hirata took us on an exciting journey with her S6 running with the bulls in Pamplona
Helen enthralled us with her Advanced Storytelling speech on the love affair of Hinemoa and Tutanekai

13th September 2005

On behalf of our Area Governor (Stuart Marshall), I just wanted to thank everyone who assisted with the Area Humorous contest today. We had an awesome turnout, great food, the Hall set-up was excellent, the Table-topics session was fun and all our visitors enjoyed themselves.
Glen (as our representative) was a fantastic contestant. His speech Lessons hard learnt had the audience in stitches. It was a tough battle today and Glen did the club proud by gaining second place. Because the winner (Eyleen Sheil - Harbourside) will not be able to compete in the Division E conference, on the 1st October, Glen will be competing against 7 other contestants.

16th August 2005

Ladies and Gentlemen:
The winner of our Club Humorous Speech contest for 2005 is Glen Houlihan with his speech "Glen Houlihans tips on dating". This speech had the audience in hysterics with Glens anecdote about his early dating efforts. He will go on to represent Business Breakfast at the Area Contest in September. Please join me in congratulating Glen on his achievement. It was a hard fought battle against worthy competitors, Henry, Norm and Miranda. Runner up was Miranda with "Why I joined BBC Toastmasters.  

A big THANK YOU to Chris for organising this contest the venue and food were great

9th August 2005

Today, the meeting (chaired by Tonia) rocketed along. Helen, the Table-topics Master set some interesting challenges by giving us famous slogans:

Leanne - "let her fingers do the walking" Mark - with "Not too heavy, not too light, its just right" Miranda - told us "Life's too short - play hard" Alice - promoted "Absolutely, positively, Wellington" Hirata - urged us to "Fly the friendly skies" Chris - reminded us "Don't leave home without it" Hamish's S5, entitled "Are parents dictating the curriculum in primary schools"? left us in no doubt on his thoughts. And Roger's S2, entitled "Real Estate : Marketing and Selling" had the audience ready to sign him up to sell their houses.

2nd August 2005

AND THE WINNER OF THE BBC Club Table Topics contest is Henry Lee. Henry took out the title by telling us "Why NZ has not lost its way". Leanne took 2nd place and Mark W was placed third. This means Henry and Leanne progress to the E2 Area competition to be hosted by all the Breakfast Clubs on the 2nd September. Glen was an AMAZING chair today (especially since it was his birthday). The contest was AWESOME. The judges commented on the participation (11 contestants), the organisation and the energy. A big thanks to the 11 contestants today who really made this competition special. The audience really enjoyed listening to the variety of speeches you delivered. I hope you all enjoyed the adrenalin thrill that only a contest can give.

26 July 2005

MAY DAY, MAY DAY.....PAN,PAN...APLHA, FOXTROT, BRAVO. We were treated to a quick tutorial on VHF radios today by our Chair (Mark). He jam-packed the agenda with a riveting set of Table topics and three prepared speeches. Hirata gave an S5 entitled "The Traveler" Mark asked us if "We were getting enough P?" with his S5 And Allan enthralled us with his tale of Oscar Slater.

NEXT WEEK IS THE CLUB TABLETOPICS CONTEST.

12 July 2005

Aloha, Jambo, Kalimera.. Glen (the Chair) took us to warm destinations around the world today, to alleviate some of the cold we were feeling on a July morning in Wellington. Our Tabletopics Master (Greg) utilised acronyms today. Club members were given an acronym and asked to give its definition and illustrate its purpose. This resulted in:
 Henry with TTL which he interpreted as Transistor to Transistor Logic.
Norm with ABS which he interpreted as Anti-Lock Braking system.
Roger with CS which he interpreted as Customer Service.
Then we had a triad of awesome Project 4 speeches. Hirata took us to the October festival in Munich with her speech "Wei'sn" Hamish took us onto a Tawa College rugby field with his speech "Courage" And Miranda challenged us to be heroes by donating blood with her speech "Become a Hero"

5 July 2005

Words, glorious words. Our Tabletopics Master (Chris) gave us an interesting challenge today. Club members were given a word and asked to give its definition and a story illustrating the use of that word. This resulted in: Glen with quotidian. He said this involved giving a bad quote and then rectifying it (and his story involved the Finance Minister) The real definition is Occurring or returning daily. Mike with furbelow. He said this referred to the bottom part of a possum (and his story involved using possum fur for women's accessories) The real definition is A pleated or gathered flounce on a woman's garment. Alan with oxter. Being a Scotsman. he nailed the definition - which is An armpit. Helen with philomath. She said this involved being good at Tabletopics and Alegbra (and related a story involving her brother and Leanne). The real definition is A lover of learning. And Hamish with panegyric. He said this was a disease that caused an allergy to cheese that made people want to dance in clogs. The real definition is A lofty, formal composition or speech in praise of someone or something.

Then we had our first Advanced Speech for the new Toastmasters year. Henry gave a Briefing to us from the Speeches by Management manual.

28 June 2005

What an awesome turnout for a cold, frosty winter morning…. …..but Tonia (The Chair) soon had us warmed up. Jayne (our Table Topics Mistress) plied us with Kiwiana: Mark shared his secrets for catching paua (hint: they don't run fast)!!! Heather promoted Peter Schnell as the next famous NZer to be put on a money note. Eileen explained how the Japanese sandal morphed into the NZ jandal. Hirata explained why possums are cute but pesky Leanne (as the Queen) addressed her NZ citizens

Then Greg did a great s5 about Awareness. He certainly got a number of our members reflecting on whether they live in the present or the past We wrapped it up with a BULLRUSH which took us from a cold, frosty morning, to the All Blacks versus the Lions, to anecdotes about netball, squash, yachting and mediums, until finally Glen put us out of our misery and wound up the story (in a most unexpected manner)!!!

21 June 2005

Good judgment comes from experience. Experience comes from bad judgment (quoted by Jim Horning). …..this was just one of a number of great quotes rounded up by Alan (The Chair) today regarding the theme of aging. And Andrew (our Table Topics Master) carried this through with Table topics: Norm shared his favorite age with us (30) Henry had to go back in time and give his 18-year old self some advice (party harder) Leanne went forward in time and got advice from her 80-year old self (love, eat and keep mobile). Then Hirata gave a thought provoking S3 entitled "If you haven't got it - maybe you should consider getting it". She delivered an excellent tale with an interesting twist. And then we had an interesting impromptu debate on the topic "Wisdom, experience & patience are better than vigor, speed and freshness".

14 June 2005

Time was the theme of today's session run by Miranda. One of her quotes that struck a note with the club was: "The bad news is time flies. The good news is you're the pilot. - Michael Althsuler " And with that in mind, we had a riveting S4 speech by Mark R entitled "To be or not to be" where he outlined some very practical and pragmatic tips on time management. Glen gave an entertaining educational on the different structures you can use to tackle Table topics. His handout is attached to this email.And Clive (our Tabletopics Master) helped demonstrate these different structures by setting Tabletopics from headlines in a local newspaper: Mark W did a pros/cons/summarise structure for Boy Racers Alan sold us on the past/present/future potential of Wainui as a retirement location Hamish gave us 3 great things about tradesmen (plus more)….rough hands, intelligent and earn big $$$$ Helen briefed us on the local/regional/international aspirations of Celeb the bike rider Norm took us through the 5W format - Who/Where/When/Why and How regarding his memories of being a boy racer.

7th June 2005

Is it a Bird? Is if a Plane? Noooooo……its Mike (our Chair) whose theme for the day was SUPERHUMAN. Leanne (as Table-topics master) asked the following Superheroes to step forward and explain their specialty: Miranda as Miss X explained that saving xenophobes was her thing, when she wasn't playing the xylophone or doing x-stitch on blankets for the homeless!!! Mark as Mr Q was quick to point out that he supported the queen, but thought he should quit while he was ahead. Hirata as Miss Z zipped in to report on the relationship between Zorro and Catherine Zeta-Jones.

Then Mike had a superhuman line-up of awesome speakers all introduced by superheroes such as Plastic man (Chris), Jade (Miranda) and Flash (Glen). The speakers were: Greg with his S4 entitled "Decide in Favour of yourself" Andrew with his S8 called "To Answer or not to Answer" Helen with her s9 provocatively called "Dogs are better than cats"

31st May 2005

TOYS - Treasured Objects of Youth was the theme that Mark (our first time Chair) wove through the meeting today. And what a blast from the past, seeing his Tonka truck and matchbox cars (from the 1960s).

Hirata (as Table topics Master) asked club members to sell the following travel destinations: BALI : Greg told us that the best sausage rolls in the world reside here FRANCE: Leanne sold us on bungee-jumping from the Eiffel tower while eating snails and drinking wine CHRISTCHURCH: Mark shared his thoughts on rugby and Crusader territory. Then we had three fantastic speeches: An S3 from Miranda called "The best education in the world" An S3 from Hamish called "Why everyone should visit Waiheke Island at least once in their life" An Advance speech from Jayne (Storytelling) called "A fishy tale"

24th May 2005

Toastmasters - May the force be with you…… And that was the theme that Andrew (our Chair) wove into today's meeting. He cleverly bridged the speeches with snippets of Star-wars trivia, which captured our imaginations and had us keen to hear more.

The Force was particularly strong today for Norm, who completed his S10 entitled The Machine. And those club members, who yearned to extend their mind/voice powers were treated to a Bullrush called "Jim's life". A tragic tale about a man cut down in his prime - yet lived life to the fullest in his remaining 5 months of life. Finally, we had an excellent round of Tabletopics, where: Jayne described her perfect outfit Hamish described his perfect day Greg described his perfect musical gig Clive described his perfect occupation Chris described his dream rugby team

All-in-all, an entertaining meeting that had lots of humour and fun.

17th May 2005

The elections are looming and therefore Hamish (our Tabletopics Master) used the opportunity to encourage club members to lobby for a Ministerial portfolio. This meant: Norm as Minister for Defense, called for peace not war. Glen as Minister of Recreation pushed his "Hammer Play" policy Jayne as Minister of Transport promoted the use of cruise ships to replace traditional modes of travel Henry as Minister of Education, decreed that Toastmasters would be mandatory for all citizens Chris as Minister of Police stated that the police force would be abolished and instead the community would exert peer pressure on offenders.

On top of that entertaining session, Greg (the Chair) had arranged three prepared speeches Hirata's S2 on community marketing Mark's S3 on Psycho-Geometrics - the science of understanding people and the art of influencing them. Helen's S7 on What matters the most?.....Your health.

10th May 2005

A great time was had by all today, with a table-topics extravaganza organised by our Table topics Master Norm. Mike explained what he did for Mother's day Hamish discussed bad drivers in NZ Clive debated the issue of raising the drinking age Hirata gave her views on the Toyota Bulls advertisement Greg had to sell us on the joys of acquiring a home entertainment unit Tonia utilized her table topics skills to apply for a job at Repco. Then Chris (the Chairman) arranged two excellent prepared speeches. Hamish's s2 entitled "Take Risks" and Greg's s3 called "Dealing with Difficult People".

3rd May 2005

Fellow Toastmasters,

The annual AGM was held today and the following club members were nominated onto the 2005/2006 Committee President: Glen H VP Education: Leanne G VP Membership: Mark W VP Publicity: Greg R Treasurer: Tonia J Secretary: Mark R Sergeants at Arms: Henry & Norm This team starts their new role on the 1^st July 2005. A big thanks to the outgoing President (Henry) and the 2004/2005 committee for maintaining the club's reputation as a high performing, successful, fun, innovative one.

We were also able to run Table topics and a prepared speech at today's session. Mark R produced a fantastic set of motivational cards and got club members to randomly select two. They were then challenged to link those cards to their work/personal lives.

Chris got the word TRUST and a sick man. He was able to spin a very good yarn about his role as an IT consultant and his hourly rate!!! Mike got some tombstones and lipstick/perfume. He then told a tale about a recent boys night-out, where he awoke feeling like the living dead and had to make amends to his wife (ala some expensive makeup). Hirata got a question mark and some vegetables. She recounted a tale about some vital missing speech material and linked it to a favourite stress buster - fresh market shopping on a Sunday morning.

Then Helen entertained us with her S8 called "2 months in Monglia". She painted wonderful pictures of her experiences in this very cold and fascinating culture

26th April 2005

DVD reviews were the challenge of today's meeting. Tonia (the Chair and Tabletopics Master) asked the following club members to give their comments. So we had: Chris on Point Break Henry on Dirty Dancing Mike on JFK Miranda on Sweet Home Alabama Glen on American Pie 2 Greg on 2 Fast 2 Furious

Then we had an Ice from Hari called About me, where she shared some personal stories and experiences about her life ranging from Tokoroa to Wellington. Sarah then followed with a great S2 about How to launch a new restaurant brand product. She had the audience salivating with her description of her dream-burger creation.

DON'T FORGET - next week is our AGM where a new committee for 2005/2006 is selected, plus there are more great tabletopics and one prepared speech.

19th April 2005

W-O-W…..Helen (a first time chair) ran a fantastic session today. The theme was "this day in history" and Helen briefed us on all the historical things that have happened on April 19^th over the last few centuries. (By the way - this is a very popular day for underground nuclear detonation tests!!!).

Mike (the Tabletopics Master) masterminded an intriguing set of Tabletopics based on past events (and then got the club to guess what it was). So… Hamish - evolved a story around obtaining his first car Mark - wove a tale about his life (pre-flatting) Glen - a late developer, reminisced about his choice of doing an OE or following a career Then we had THREE well-crafted speeches.

Miranda is going offshore to attend a seminar, and used today to give us a test run of her S2 speech which is about her research project on brain injuries and adolescents. Mark R gave a motivating S2 speech called "Going 100mph, Getting to 160mph" Norm's S8 entitled "The converted one" explored the joys recycling can bring into your life.

12th April 2005

Do you know what a DX466, 256Mb, 80Gb, SVGA 17" CRT with XP Prof and Office means? Well everyone who attended our Tuesday session does, thanks to Glen's Advanced speech "Computers 101". He de-mystified the world of IT-jargon for us. Greg also gave us food for thought (and some excellent advice) with his S2 speech "Starting new projects". And we had a stimulating round of Tabletopics provided by Miranda, who set up interesting introductions scenarios.

Andrew introduced himself to Bill Gates and gave him some advice on his software. Sarah greeted Camilla and shared her thoughts on Camilla's stylist. Hirata gave Peter Jackson an ebullient welcome and some great compliments.

5th April 2005

Success and Achievement was the theme of this week's meeting. And Glen (The Chair) orchestrated an amazing agenda, so that a number of club members achieved success on their journey to becoming a CTM.

Miranda broke the Ice with her speech entitled "A snapshot of my life". Helen had us spellbound with her S6 called "A Fox Story" Jayne transported us back to ancient Greece with her advanced speech "Dianna and the Golden Apple".

Sarah (Tabletopics Master) presented awards to the following club members and they had to respond with acceptance speeches Greg - as Mike Myers for his SHREK voice Andrew - as an 11 year old spelling bee winner Mark - as a 5 year old lamb-feeding champion. (Who will ever forget his rendition of Speedy the lamb)?

15th March 2005

Pure Positivism was the theme set by our Chair (Chris) today and that's what the club delivered. Henry the Table Topics master dished out newspaper headlines for people to report on. This resulted in: Tonia - Talking up a Tornado Mike - Explaining Umaga's use of cliché's after last weekend's Hurricanes game Mark - with "Sawmill closure cuts hard"

Then we had a great Ice breaker from Greg, who shared with us his love of sports, music and IT. Helen gave a thought provoking s5 entitled "Status Anxiety" which challenged our needs to "keep up" with our peers, acquaintances and neighbors. And Norm took us for a brisk walk through Aro Valley's unusual historical features for his S9 entitled Aro Valley.

8th March 2005

Speaking with enthusiasm was the theme for today's meeting, set by Henry (the Chair). And boy…did the club take up that challenge. Mix that enthusiasm with Tall tales & Big Gestures (Tabletopics)….and you get a very fun meeting.

Mark W took us on a magical trip in his Porse boxster Tonia told us about the wedding of the century Miranda did her very first Tabletopic and spoke wistfully of her perfect holiday in Fiji Sarah shared her lifelong dream of a world shopping spree Norm had an interesting anecdote about lice on his pet pig!!! (Spot the Tall Story) Chris regaled us with the hopes and dreams of his 5-year old twin boys Sandy (another first time speaker) explained why she had earned the title of Karoke Queen Mark (yet another first time speaker) wowed the audience with his hilarious rendition of Internet dating.

On top of all this we had an Ice-Breaker from our longest-resident club member, Mark - who enlightened us as to why he is so passionate about upholstery.Many thanks to Mr Lee, who provided us with a freshly baked batch of fantastic muffins.

1st March 2005

There was a wee Scottish theme to Tuesday's meeting, thanks to our very professional and Scottish Chair (Alan). His quick quizzes on famous Scots had the audience enthralled and Clive (our Area Governor) happily provided the answers. Then Glen (Table Topics Master) enrolled club members to SELL-SELL-SELL and therefore:

Henry promoted the benefits of beds Mike urged us to consider purchasing a new set of Windows Jayne informed us that Education was the answer to our technology woes. Warren gave us a demo CTM speech on the Benefits of doing your CTM. Clive gave us an Advanced speech on his model to increase your happiness factor. This culminated in him giving everyone a piece of happiness. And on that note…..

22nd February 2005

Once upon a time…. Jayne (our Chair) held a fairytale meeting that had happy endings for everyone. Her assistant (Norm the Tabletopics master) worked his magic which resulted in club members performing verbal feats: Mark: shared his inside knowledge about Helen Clark's plans to reinvigorate the berry industry on the Kapiti Coast Alan: told us about his secret job in the SIS Tonia: gave us the background on the history and development of the Johnson and Johnson brand Sally: shared with us what it was like manning the artillery emplacements during WWII Henry: talked about a steeple jack and why it was his ideal job. Jayne: told us why cats eyes are on the road and how they originated. Alan then led a round of fairytale Bullrush, about 3 bears living in an enchanted forest - David, Victoria and Cruz. Like our club members, they all ended up living happily ever after!

15th February 2005

Opinions and taking a strong stance were the themes of today's session. Helen our brilliant & devious Table topics Master - urged club members to take a strong stand on the following topics: Glen told us how he truly believed that the marriage of Charles and Camilla was a great thing for England. Greg sold us on the benefits of getting Botux injections Jayne confirmed her belief that men are the weaker sex with a series of excellent illustrations. Henry confirmed for us that breastfeeding in public was a good thing for mother and baby.

Then we had a GREAT DEBATE on the topic that Valentine's Day is a nothing but a commercial exercise. The FOR team of Mark, Alan and Jayne fought valiantly but were defeated narrowly by the AGAINST team of Warren, Clive and Mike (who appealed to the lovers in all of us).

8th February 2005

EXTRA - EXTRA - READ ALL ABOUT IT!!! That was the challenge laid down by Mark the Tabletopics Master on Tuesday. He had selected a number of headlines from the morning newspaper which club members could make into entertaining speeches. BARBIE GETS SPORTY - led Leanne to relive her childhood passion for collecting barbies. SPENDING SPREE - led Greg to share with us his indulgence for buying musical instruments GARFIELD and the Duck - led our guest Peter to revisit his duck-hunting experiences.

Rod (the Chair) then assembled an entertaining array of prepared speeches Jayne shared her thought provoking S10 - Celebrate Life Norm tested his father-of-the bride (s7) speech on us - called Claret Henry gave us an educational about "Keeping the Commitment"

1st February 2005

What do BANG - BLIP and BOOM have in common? They are all onomatopoeias - "a type of word that sounds like the thing it is describing". And that was the grammarian challenge laid down by Clive today.

Club members rose to the challenge accordingly with a variety of table-topics focused on Wellington Cup Race day and/or conflicting articles found in Woman's magazines.

Helen completed her S4 (How to Say It) with her speech "Thoughts provoked by a Wedding Invitation". She used excellent word choice and arrangement to deliver some entertaining thoughts about marriage in the 21st century.

25th January 2005

Happy New Year Everyone, A small but select group of members met this morning and found their "dharma" (grammarian word challenge of the day). Having established what dharma is and whether they wanted it, all club members then got involved in a stimulating set of table topics which allowed them to reflect on 2004 and things they had learnt. A copy of these questions are attached for your reference. And then Jayne became a Competent Toast Master by completing her S10 speech. This was entitled "Celebrate Life" and challenged us to celebrate and enjoy our lives to the fullest. Jayne took only 15 months to achieve her CTM and joins our hall of fame.

Also today, our Area Governor (Clive) presented Henry with his ATM-Bronze Award. Congratulations to you both, on your achievements.