Our second meeting in April and our second meeting in the Oasis saw us displaced into the smaller of the meeting rooms to make way for a Meditation AGM, it did not stop us having our usual fun filled and educational entertainment.
The evening started on a high with two new members joining, Carolyn Barber and Marie Newman, and we also welcomed John and Pat Tunstall as guests from Solent Speakers.
It fell to Brent Crouch to welcome members and guests as Toastmaster for the evening as he effortlessly led us through the changes to the agenda, protocols and procedures for the evening. Pat Tunstall took on the role of Timekeeper and explained her role while also adding some pertinent quotes.
Brent then asked Sue Windell to explain her role as Grammarian, which she did and also introduced the word of the evening, which was Battology meaning a needless repetition of words in speaking or writing.
Allan Wadsworth set the warm-up asking the audience to indicate their photographic memories, photos of bodies with no heads, and landmarks obscured by buses abounded, as well as peoples favourite pictures, and intentions to one day sort through their photographic memories.
We now moved to the prepared speeches. Wendy Benson got us underway with “Does my bum look big in this” bemoaning the often less than tactful responses of her spouse, and her hopes he may one day join Toastmasters to provide better feedback.
Keith Oliver then gave a brief educational talk on the Leadership Programme, before John Tunstall entertained us with a talk entitled Headlines, reflecting on his not so memorable sporting moments.
After the voting we broke for a 15 minute network break.
We returned to the evaluations which applied to the two speakers only and were given by Michael John Smithson and Wendy Benson, both offering insights and areas for improvement for the speakers.
Elena Grigorieva set the Table Topics with a eclectic mix of subjects, from hi-tech toys, and the energy crisis to concert tickets, and wedding venues. All who participated threw themselves into it and it was good to see even the new members participating like seasoned pros.
As the evening started to draw to a close it fell to Wendy to evaluate the Table Topic Speakers which she did by emphasising the structure of each mini-speech. Sue Windell followed with her Grammarian's report, highlighting some of the fine language used during the evening.
Chris Ellis concluded the agenda by giving the General Evaluator's report, where amongst other points he commended the choice of venue.
Keith Oliver gave the Club Business, congratulating Wendy on being appointed Area Governor for 2014-15 and presented her with a card signed by all present to mark the occasion. He also highlighted some of the coming events planned including the delayed Charter Dinner.
Finally Michael John gave out the awards, before Brent closed the meeting.
Best Speaker – John Tunstall
Best Evaluator – Wendy Benson
Best Table Topics – Allan Wadsworth