Special Summer Meeting 21st June 2008

A very enjoyable evening was had by all, including our guests, Eileen Twomey, Celine Slattery (Orla’s mum) and Pam (Phil’s beloved). The venue was both unusual and most interesting, being the Masonic Lodge, Tuckey St., Cork. The interior was bedecked with artefacts, medals, documents, finery and regalia. Something reminiscent of Hogwarts perhaps? We are indebted to Liam Cunningham for facilitating Carrigaline Toastmasters at this fine establishment.

The meeting commenced with Shay stimulating and challenging our grey matter with topics, including sweet potatoes, celeriac, hammers and other mind-boggling subject matter.

 

Liam gave a fascinating insight into the history, tradition and myth that surrounds the Freemasons. Whilst not betraying any of the secrets, it did help to reassure the audience as to the noble aspirations of this oft misunderstood organisation.

 

Celine Slattery was persuaded to give a speech instead of Orla, who was originally earmarked for this slot, and highly entertaining it was too, giving an account of how she went from housewife to modelling goddess until final succumbing to the temptation of an affair with Mr. Kipling!

 

Phil concluded with a brief history of brewing in Cork and of the ever-popular product that is synonymous with the Beamish & Crawford and Murphy breweries – stout.

 

For those who were particularly inquisitive about the Freemasons, Liam partook in a Q & A session after the meeting.

 

From there, we took a short walk in the cool, somewhat damp evening air to the Captain’s Table restaurant (Flying Enterprise), where feasting and merry-making took place. A fine feed was had by all, each of us leaving contentedly, whilst a little fatter of body and thinner of wallet.

 

Now we must look forward to the new Toastmasters season after the summer, embark on training of incoming officers and plan for another successful year.

 

See you soon and have a great summer!

Meeting report for Monday 9th June 2008.

At this, our Annual General Meeting, the meeting started with the President’s address, where Shay looked forward to the year ahead and also reflected on the roles he has performed to date, including that of VPE and Sergeant at Arms. Now he’s looking forward to a break from serving on the committee, but at the same time, will be able to concentrate on future speeches. Our thanks to Shay for his contribution to the club over the past year, and to all the other members who have also added in no small measure to the high standard our club enjoys.

 

Tim, our genial Toastmaster for the evening, introduced Orla, who gave a variety of topics to challenge us all. For example: ‘Do birds have eyebrows?’ They certainly removed us from that so-called ‘comfort zone’.

 

After the refreshment break, we were treated to two fine speeches, the first of which was a childhood tale by Andy Kirk, recalling how he and his brother ended up in hospital after consuming copious amounts of chocolate and port!

This was followed by Sean Murphy’s ‘The Ascent of Man’, with the aid of PowerPoint, depicting our evolution from primitive beings into a sophisticated creature known as Homo Sapiens (‘wise human’), although some may dispute that latter term!

 

The culmination of the meeting was the election of the incoming officers, and these are as follows:

 

Sergeant at Arms: Catherine McCague.

Secretary & Treasurer: Jean Cunningham.

Membership & PRO: Sean Murphy.

VPE: Sean Doherty.

President: Phil Soltan.

 

That’s it until next season, but we are having a special summer meeting on 21^st June – details by separate mail.

Meeting report for Monday 26th May 2008

A meeting that could have ended up being a disaster, but didn’t! In spite of a very low turnout of only 8 members, we rallied around and managed to fill all the roles, with some of us doubling up on jobs.

 

The meeting commenced with the President telling us about the mission of Toastmasters. It is useful to remind us from time to time about the function of the club and the organisation.

 

Toastmaster for the evening was Jean, who did a sterling job, with worthy introductions to the different roles and speakers.

 

Topics were dished out by Phil, largely off the cuff, as his intended role was General Evaluator. As it transpired, it proved to be entertaining enough, with some hilarious stories emerging from all quarters, combined with a little gossip, just for good measure. Shay was awarded best topic for his recollection of an unwanted ‘pet’ rat at home!

 

After the break, where we were tempted to make gluttons of ourselves with the extra rations of tea, coffee & choccy biccies, we were treated to two fine speeches.

The first, presented by Marg McInerney, concentrated on a current issue, that of saving the planet and energy conservation. This was accompanied by effective illustrations and was well received with its strong opening and summary. This speech was from the advanced manual ‘Speaking to Inform’.

 

Next was Orla, again from an advanced manual (‘The Entertaining Speaker’), recounting a personal experience combining humour, surprise, pathos and delight. Very dramatic, fulfilling the objectives very well.

 

Well done to all at this challenging but rewarding meeting.

 

 

 

Meeting Report – April 28th

A rather small number in attendance this evening, but all the roles were filled (just!). However, that did not detract from the evening’s enjoyment.

The meeting opened with the President’s address, explaining how, in an article Shay recently read about speaking to strangers, how similar the concept was to Toastmasters. By participation, and exchanging information, and in so doing, learning the skills that improves our abilities for public speaking. He also stated how he had, somewhat unwittingly,  volunteered himself to be MC at a forthcoming charity fund raiser at a watering hole in the city. He’ll do a great job!

Jean was Topicsmaster at this meeting, once again demonstrating her mastery at finding a breadth of topics to challenge each of us, and considering the numbers present, we each had a turn.

In attendance were guests Vera and John. Congratulations to Vera for earning the award for Best Topic Reply.

After the refreshments break, where mingling and chatting took place, it was time for the prepared speeches. First to the lectern was Celine McGrath with a speech entitled ‘Art Imitating Life’, which was well constructed and humorous, concentrating on the ever-popular ‘Father Ted’ TV series. Celine’s speech included the use of a flip chart with character photos to reinforce the effect. Next was Liam Cunningham’s Interpretive Poetry Reading. The selected poem was Robert Service’s ‘The Ballad Of Blasphemous Bill’. Before reading this piece, Liam gave a potted history of the poet as well as defining the difference between poetry and prose in a comedic way. A well-received reading.
We have only three meetings (including AGM) before the summer break, so for those members who haven’t been able to make the meetings in a while, now’s your chance to get back into ‘Toastmaster Mode’ before the summer is upon us. The next meeting has one or two posts that need filling, so please contact Phil to help out. Participation is key to the success of the club, so why not give it a go?

Meeting report for Monday 14th April 2008

A somewhat low turnout, perhaps attributable to the unusually kind weather, We welcomed one guest for the evening – John, who succeeded in being awarded best topic reply. Warmest congratulations John, and we look forward to seeing you again soon.

Our president, Shay, gave an introduction to the evening by underlining how one can benefit from the skills learned in Toastmasters.

The topics for the evening were given by Marg, and what a weird & wonderful variety we had! They ranged from gambling & drinking to mountain climbing to aviatophobia. A high standard of reply, with no less than 19 of the 26 being two minutes or more.

After the network break, the prepared speeches recommenced the second half of the meeting.

First, Vera Murphy recounted her experiences visiting China, giving us a fascinating insight into the people, attitudes and culture of that vast nation.

Shay McInerney then gave a comprehensive and educational presentation on the do’s & don’ts of how to give a successful speech using PowerPoint. Sound advice with clear and concise examples abounded.

For the next meeting, there are some roles that require filling, so Phil will be contacting members to undertake these. The meetings are of a consistently high standard thanks to all the hard work from you, the members. Let’s keep it going!

See you at the next meeting!

Meeting report – 31st March

A fairly lively meeting with medium-sized attendance. A welcome to Hilary, who was our guest for the evening. Shay’s opening address gave a report of our club’s success at the Area Final of the International Speech & Evaluation Competition. Liam achieved First place in the speeches and Brendan Third place in the evaluations. Congratulations to both. Liam now progresses to the next stage, this being held at the Radisson hotel, Cork Airport on April 19th.

The topics session was, as usual, varied and entertaining, with Jean the Topicsmaster adding her own spontaneous comments (incorporating some bluster it should be added). At times, it seemed at this was tantamount to inciting a riot!

Well done to Tim for collecting the award for best topic reply. We’d hate for him to be chief of police! For those recipients of this report that don’t get it, a friendly suggestion to attend the next meeting and enjoy the fun!

Two fine speeches presented by Vera Murphy and Shay McInerney. Vera’s ‘Bitter Pill’ included a punchy PowerPoint presentation to drive home the message of the double standards that exist in the Health Service, whilst Shay’s toast of 3 minutes (a challenge in itself to keep the speech that short) gave us a concise and emotive tribute to a departed relative of high stature.

We are rapidly approaching the end of our season before the summer break, so for those members that want to progress through their manual, please contact Phil & he will do his best to accommodate you. Do remember though, that it’s not a race and everyone should proceed at a pace that suits the individual.

Meeting report for Monday 10th March 2008

A veritable feast of speeches and evaluations on this, our competition night. An extremely high standard was maintained by all the contestants, and it gives great pleasure to announce that Liam Cunningham and Brendan O’Keeffe will represent Carrigaline in the speeches and evaluations respectively.

The area final of the International Speech & Evaluation competition will take place on Tuesday 25th March at the Montenotte Hotel. Your support for Liam and Brendan would be very welcome. (Visit http://d71.org/portal.php?page=4&p=(51.904591,-8.447242),12&m=(51.904591,-8.447242)&n=Montenotte%20Hotel for map).

Sean Murphy kept the entertainment flowing with a nice variety of topics.

A very special ‘thank you’ to John Skeates, who was our guest speaker for the evening and on which the evaluations were based. Thanks to all those who participated in the evening, some even fulfilling two roles to ensure the high standard of meeting that we have all worked hard to attain in Carrigaline Toastmasters.Looking forward to seeing you on Monday 31st March. For anyone that hasn’t been able to make the last few meetings, don’t worry – it will seem as if you’ve never been away!

Presidents Address – Meeting 25th Feb 2008

Fellow toastmasters, welcome guests and especially our area governor Eamonn Murphy who is joining us here tonight for his second official visit of the year.

A few weeks ago I received an email from the Ukheadquarters of an organisation I’ve been involved with for a long time now. Much longer than I’ve been involved with Toastmasters. I was being invited to speak at our annual conference next June and once I got over the initial shock, I answered “of course, no problem, love to”. Then I sat down to do an initial draft of the 20 to 25 minute talk I’m supposed to give.The initial draft went surprisingly well.

Meeting Report – 11th February

A well-attended meeting, including two guests (Orla & Vera), plus the welcome return of Vera Murphy and Derek Lynch. Liam stepped in as General Evaluator, as his better half, Jean, was under the weather (missing you already, Jean!). The revised layout of the room was kept and, as it seems effective, the consensus is that is should continue.

The topics were varied and often challenging. For example: Tim Forde & Andy Kirk were invited to describe the Empire State Building to a blind man and how to tie a bow without using hand gestures respectively. Award for best topic reply was earned by Jill Slevin who proved that her self-confessed complete lack of knowledge of football was no obstacle and proceeded to break the two minute goal!

After the refreshment break, which provides both members and guests the opportunity to mingle and discuss the various aspects of Toastmasters.

The prepared speeches commenced with Eamonn Scollard, who gave an authoritative and historic account of the cultural influence of the GAA. This was followed by Celine McGrath’s intriguing speech entitled ‘Rescue me’ which recalled her traumatic travels abroad and the kindly stranger who administered the tincture ‘Rescue Remedy’ as a calming influence.

The speeches were rounded off by Orla Fitzgerald with an educational speech from the Successful Club Series ­ ‘Meeting Roles & Responsibilities’ which summed up the activities, function and efforts required by the officers and members to ensure the high standards required to run a successful club. Teamwork is what counts! Orla’s message hit home with her solid presentation style, even without the luxury of computer and projector. This small technical hiccup was overcome in true Toastmaster fashion ands did not detract from the speech.

A special mention to Honor, who performed the role of timekeeper most efficiently and was her first time in this post.

Also worth a mention are Darryl’s comments: he hadn’t been able to attend the last couple of meetings and was not planning on coming this particular evening, but then received a call to act as Toastmaster. This then renewed his enthusiasm to participate and commit to attending in the future.

If you haven’t been able to make the last couple of meetings, know that you’re always most welcome. The meetings are informal, educational and above all, fun! See you on 25th February.

Spring Conference

I received a brochure re the Spring Conference to be held in Killarney on May 9th -11th next and which is hosted by Killarney Toastmasters Club.

There are a wide range of attendance options from accommodation for the whole weekend to one for day visitors only. The day only package may be of interest to Carrigaline members.

Package F:
Saturday: Workshops, Council Meeting and International Speech Contest (Cost: €35 + €15 for the option of lunch)
Sunday: Workshops, Evaluation Contest and Closing ceremony (Cost: €20)

Other packages include the Fancy Dress dinner on Friday evening and the Banquet on Saturday evening.
It’s an excellent opportunity to meet TM’ers from all over Ireland and the UK, to hear the best competition speakers and test the waters for future conferences further afield. Anyone interested in stepping outside the local comfort zone and sharing a car for one or both days might let me know.

Jean and Liam have attended conferences before (maybe others too) so have a word with them. No idea about the workshop contents. On behalf of the organisers, it really helps if they know numbers well in advance, so decide to go, pay the few bobs and assume the best.