“Rhapsodic” was our word for the evening, and the meeting was indeed a rhapsody of fun, learning, and fantastic story telling.
Toastmaster Ellie got us going with a request for our greatest achievements of the week. Many achievements big and small were shared, with the most notable being David K’s excellent thesis result – congratulations David!
Ben shared an article from the Huffington Post, explaining why the French are more productive than Americans. The answer lies in taking long lunches and plenty of breaks – now that’s a productivity tip I’m sure we can all enthusiastically embrace!
Jonathan had us all engrossed with “The Waystones”, his own re-imagining of a traditional story. A trail of white pebbles, a dark and mysterious forest, and a magical cottage at its centre – but this story was no fairy-tale. A darkly imaginative retelling that made us rethink our assumptions about fairy-tale characters, and kept us all on the edges of our seats.
Sergie introduced Table Topics: the inaugural meeting of the Cathedral City Bookmasters club. Speakers presented their rhapsodic reviews of a selection of books, based solely upon their covers. Jennifer explained how Organise Now had changed her life in the space of just a few days, gaining her the respect of friends and colleagues; Sam shared Gifted Hands, the story of a heart surgeon providing his services for free to the poor of South Africa; Dave B sold us on Die Trying, Lee Child’s account of preventing his own death while writing the book; and finally Jane helped us resist temptation and the devil with ex-priest David Baldacci’s book Deliver Us From Evil.