07 January 2009

by Alison Shuttle

President Gray Standen opened the meeting by wishing everyone a happy new year and enthused about the really exciting year ahead for our club.

New member Alison Shuttle was welcomed, and Heidi Ashley Hacker was presented as new Mentoring Coordinator.

On a cold, shivery night Toastmaster Franco embarked on a warm-up about new year wishes. Franco, having returned from an exciting holiday in Switzerland, wished for more snow. Most of the other members were looking forward to more sunshine, as well as a general wish to get fit after the Christmas blow-out.

Timekeeper Robert Yuen gave a lively introduction to his task and Jenny Betts enthusiastically volunteered at the last moment to be Grammarian for the evening, introducing a most appropriate word for the evening: ‘resolve’.

Prepared Speech
An instructive and highly amusing account by Heidi Ashley-Hacker on the pros and cons of owning a leopard gecko. Her speech included much wry and black humour, including raising crickets as comestibles. Heidi concluded her speech by saying that geckos could potentially live for 30 years and that hers was only two!

Evaluation
Evaluator Corinne Berset gave her positive impressions of Heidi’s well-structured speech.

Impromptu Speech
Alison gave an impromptu talk on her winter holiday in Lake Bled, Slovenia.

Table Topics
A wonderful and highly entertaining New Year-related double-act was performed by Topicsmasters Sue Kennedy and Neil Mason, with Sue demonstrating the positive sides and Neil playing a Scrooge-like character. Topics included the best and least favourite months of the year, how to have fun, committing to get fit, planning for a third child, a member’s Toastmaster goals. To conclude, Franco offered to be the Queen and give all members present a gong in the New Year’s honours list.

Topics Evaluation & Grammarian’s Report
Andrea Blackie gave an excellent evaluation of 13 topics and Grammarian Jenny Betts expounded on word variety, including the great ‘detox-retox’.

General Evaluation
Past president Sonia Aste gave a dynamic general evaluation of the evening, concluding that the ‘atmosphere in this club cannot be matched’; a wonderful compliment to us all!

Awards
Best Evaluator went to Grammarian Jenny, and best Table Topic to Pamela Smith on her highly amusing take on her worst holiday. Heidi won a special award for helping to put Riverside back on the Toastmasters International site.