Meeting 1159 Table Topics and Humorous Speech Contest

 Contest nights are always exciting. President Helen welcomed our guests David (Area Director) Jenny, Suzanne, Chris, Mary, Sue who had come from other Toastmasters clubs as well as Robert (second time visitor) and Robbie (first time visitor.)

Helen

Gail H

Gail H spoke about people who are willing to turn up to take on roles and assist where needed. She then proposed a toast to "The people who do."

Trish was the Contest Toastmaster for the Table Topics contest. There were eight participants in the contest, Russell, Arun, John, Helen, Paul, Tracey, Peter and Christiane. 

Table Topics competitors

The same topic was given to all participants, so those who were yet to take their turn were escorted outside, way out of hearing reach and brought in one by one to answer the question, "What is the best age?"

Contestants waiting their turn

The winners were: First Place, Christiane. Second Place, Helen. Third Place, Arun.

Table Topics place getters

 During the supper break, contestants in the Humorous Speech Contest were briefed by Contest Toastmaster Arun.

Briefing contestants

There were four contestants, Gail W, Peter, John and Christiane.

Humorous Speech Contestants

All four speeches were very humorous and entertaining. 

The place getters were: First Place, Christiane. Second Place, John. Third Place, Peter.

Humorous Speech place getters

Peter offered a tempting raffle prize consisting of four kinds of cheeses, Ritz Cracker biscuits and a bottle of wine. It was won by Arun.

Peter's raffle

Narelle and Trish provided Supper.

Supper Break

Here are some random photos taken before the meeting and during the break. (Click on them to enlarge.)

 

Thank you to the judges, contest participants, Contest Toastmasters, tally counters, S.A.A, time-keepers and all the other "people who do."

Next meeting will be on the 24th September with the theme "The Eagles."

Meeting 1158 "The Beauty of Horses"

 

Helen

President Helen welcomed our 6 guests - Robert, Madonna, Nick, Sophie, Madeline, and Steve. Then switching to her role of Toastmaster of the evening, she explained that August is the month when horses in Australia have their official birthday, so she had chosen "The Beauty of Horses" as the theme for the meeting. 

Russell proposed a toast to "Spring," which was appropriate because it was a very warm evening.

Russell

Paul

Word Master Paul presented a challenge: to use horse related idioms.  This was combined with a new segment introduced by Christiane - Stress Reliever. A rolled-up newspaper was handed around and each person used it to thump the table in front of them as they told what annoyed them. This caused much laughter as everyone including guests told of their pet hate, while using a horse idiom, such "horsing around," "high horse," "putting the cart before the horse," etc.

Christiane

Shaun using Stress Reliever

Amy presented her Ice Breaker speech, "My Reality Slap" telling of a moving personal experience. 

It was evaluated by Marlene.

Amy

Marlene

The second speaker was Peter, who used Van Gogh's painting "The Good Samaritan" to illustrate his speech. It was impossible to take a clear photo of Peter as he took on the actions of each character in the story.

Peter

Van Gogh's painting

Shaun evaluated Peter's speech. George was a Timekeeper. 

Shaun

George

John T's speech, titled "Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow." was evaluated by Arun.

John T

Arun

Speech 4 was by Gail H, titled "Start them Young," and was an entertaining journey into the past.

It was evaluated by Paul.

Gail H

Paul

 In the absence of a Raffle Master, Christiane raffled Twenty Dollars. It was won by Gail H.

After a delicious supper, supplied by Gail W, John T and Marlene, the meeting continued with a Table Topics session presented by Gail W.

Gail W

Her Table Topics were:

1. What are your favourite physical features of a horse and why? (Russell.)

2. What is a common activity that people do with horses. (Madonna)

3. What is your favourite breed of horse and why? (Shaun.)

4. What is your favourite horse from history? (Helen.)

5. What is a memorable experience you have had with horses. (Peter.)

6. What are the reasons that people find horses good companions. (Robert.)

7. What do you find attractive about a horse? (Marlene.)

8. What would you say if your partner wanted to have a horse? (Arun.)

There were some very funny answers.

The Table Topics were evaluated by Christiane and Trish.

Christiane

Trish

 

Russell presented a "Who am I?" segment, with a series if hints until several people guessed that it was Sigmund Freud.

Narelle conducted a General Evaluation of the entire meeting.

Award winners for the evening were Peter (Best Speech,) Amy (Most Improved,) and Shaun (Best Table Topic and Best Evaluation.)

Award winners 27th Aug 2024

Next meeting on the 10th September will be a Table Topics and Humorous Speech contest meeting.

We are very sorry to say goodbye to Shaun who is relocating.  He has contributed greatly to our club and will be missed.

Shaun

Meeting 1157 "Clubs"

 It was a rainy night, but we were cosy in the salubrious room in the RSL hall.

President Helen proposed a toast "To those who stand behind the club." She also handed out awards to members who had completed levels in Pathways. (Our educational system.)

Narelle - Level 2, Shaun - Level 1, Helen - Level 1, and Trish - Level 4 + Level 5.

"Salubrious" meaning health giving or pleasant was the word of the evening chosen by Narelle, and there was much laughter as our members endeavored to use the word. 

 Toastmaster Will kept the evening running smoothly, with encouraging remarks to each participant.

Will

Amy

Round Robin Master Amy asked whether we liked or hated the rain. This led to many entertaining answers - and an opportunity to use the word "Salubrious."

There were two Ice Breaker speeches.

In his speech "My Diverse Work History - and How it Shaped Me," Russell shared some of his experiences working on oil rigs and finally working with people with mental health problems.

George, in his speech "Sink or Swim" told of his love of canoeing and demonstrated various safety devices.

Russell

George

Other speeches were by Peter and Marlene.

Peter told the familiar story "The Return of the Prodigal Son" and explained the features of Rembrandt's famous painting of the story.

Peter

Rembrandt's painting

Marlene

In keeping with the meeting's theme of "Clubs," Marlene spoke about her 40 years involvement with the Sandgate World Vision Club.

Evaluators were John, Gail H, Christiane and Trish.

John

Gail

Christiane

Trish

Tracey was Timekeeper. 

Tracey

Helen's raffle, a meat tray from her local butcher was popular and members queued for tickets. It was won by George.

Helen's raffle

Meat Tray Raffle

Helen selling raffle tickets

Supper was provided by Christiane and Narelle.

Supper

Gail

Gail's Table Topics were based on the current Brisbane "Ekka" and the Olympics.

1. What is your favourite Olympic sport to watch? (Russell.)

2.What would you like to see at the 2032 Olympics? (Amy.)

3.Do think the Brisbane River is suitable for a swim marathon? (John.)

4. Do you intend to go to the Ekka? (Marlene.)

5. Is the Ekka worth the money? (Peter.)

6.What is your favourite food at the Ekka? (Trish.)

Waldorf

Narelle presented a "Who Am I? segment with a series of clues. It wasn't until she played a recording of the voice that several people guessed it was Waldorf from the Muppets. 

Narelle had been kept busy all night collecting votes and counting the times the word "Salubrious" was used. She finally revealed that Helen had beaten Trish (who usually wins.) Helen had used the word 26 times while Trish used it 24 times.

Helen

Trish

Shaun presented a detailed General Evaluation, commending what had been done well and offering suggestions for improvements. He reminded us to clap until a presenter reaches the lectern and to pay attention to handing over control.

Shaun

President Helen presented the awards to the evening's winners. Trish (Best Table Topic,) John (Best Evaluation,) George (Most Improved,) and Russell (Best Speech.)

Winners 13 Aug 2024

Next meeting 27th August.

Speech contests 10th September and 8th October.