19/07/2026
We had another wonderful meeting last Wednesday, 15th July, at the Lansdowne Hotel. To tell the truth, we never have meetings that aren’t wonderful, do we?
The hotel was full of guests. Well... not because of us. 😄 It was because England were playing Argentina. While the guests watched the match on big screens in different rooms around the hotel, we enthusiastically practised our public speaking skills. Who cares about football when we can deliver speeches? 😆
We were delighted to welcome back Bilikis, and we also had Isha as a guest. We hope to see them both again soon.
After Tara, our Club President, and Giles, our Toastmaster for the evening, kicked off the meeting, we started with the supporting roles. Every Toastmasters meeting has both smaller and larger roles. The Timekeeper, Ah-Counter, Grammarian, Hot Tip presenter and Warm-Up speaker may be considered the “smaller” roles, but they are just as important in making the meeting a success.
I’d like to mention one of them in particular. Lucy took on the Hot Tip role for the first time, and she did an excellent job. Well done, Lucy!
Then came the prepared speeches.
Hamer, who is preparing for a speech in Las Vegas, presented his speech entitled “Hypnothoughts.” As always, both the evaluator and the members gave him some valuable last-minute advice. We wish him every success in Las Vegas!
Our second speaker was Geraldine, whose speech was entitled “Juxtapositions and More.” She took us into the fascinating world of art.
One of the wonderful things about this club is that it serves so many purposes in our lives. We are entertained, we improve our communication skills, and we also learn a great deal from one another.
During the second half of the meeting, Tara took us on a Table Topics journey to the Lake District. It was a fantastic topic that inspired some wonderfully creative responses.
By the time the meeting came to an end, England had lost the match. 😔 But never give up! England are the bronze medallists! Better luck next time!
Without mentioning everyone individually, we would like to thank all our members and guests—not only for their participation, but also for their never-ending enthusiasm for the club.
Our next meeting will be on 5th August. We hope to see you there!
📸 Photo 1: Andrea talking about public relations matters.
📸 Photo 2: The beautiful Lake District, where we organised our imaginary trip during Table Topics.
Photo of Andrea: Geraldine
Photo of Lake District: Gus G / Unsplash
