We were in for a special treat tonight, with three excellent speeches, including one icebreaker!
First up was Kathy who demonstrated once again her natural talent for story-telling. Following the Advanced Communicator Manual, we heard a fascinating story of a trip to Israel in the late 1970s, where she received some unwanted attention from a group of overly keen local youths, and even had a brush with the local police!
Next up was Vida who delivered an in-depth discussion on Early Childhood Education. Everyone in the audience learned a great deal about this subject, which included the differences between play centres and kindergartens, and when is the right age to send your kids off to early childhood care. Vida’s knowledge and passion for the topic was clear to see, well done!
Our final speaker of the night was Gray, who delivered an amazing icebreaker! He described what it’s like being the ultimate procrastinator, and he told us how he coped with moving from China to New Zealand at a young age, especially in regards to the language barrier that he encountered at school. Accompanying the speech were a series of humorous Internet memes that he showed to the audience in order to enhance the point he was currently making. Gray’s first speech was delivered at an extremely high level, and his evaluator Ellie suggested he jump straight to speech 10 in the CC Manual. High praise indeed!
Table topics was run by Matt and had us answering random questions. To keep the meeting running to time each speaker was (graciously) allowed only one minute to talk.
David K started things off and had to explain which singer (alive or dead) he would sing a duet with. The answer was of course Cliff Richard, since everyone loves his famous Christmas carol albums.
Binaya was asked to choose which time period he would choose to get stuck in. Following classic Table Topics coping techniques, he instead told us what sort of animal he’d rather be, because apparently eating grass and having no responsibilities is a definite plus. Nicely done, Binaya!
Jan had to choose which famous landmark she would bring to New Zealand if she had the chance. Her answer was the London Bridge, since it could create a link between the North and South Islands!
Jane was asked to tell us which reality show she would rather host. Dancing With The Stars came out on top, because there is nothing better than being swept off your feet by a man who knows how to dance!
Jennifer finished the Table Topics session by explaining what sort of overseas holiday she would most prefer. The European getaway was the clear winner, mainly because being on a cruise ship is too much like being stuck in a boring hotel!
It was a fun night, and our Toastmaster Dave Brierley did a fantastic job of organising everything. See you all next week!
