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.