By Alex Donald, Vice President Public Relations
Introduction
Our meeting opened with acting President Femi telling the story of how in the beginning, Bloomsbury Speakers almost never happened as it came up against quite a lot of opposition. People were saying there weren’t enough members for a new club to be successful. However in the face of this tidal wave of darkness, a small band of heroes braved the tides and made our club the success it is today.
From that story, we were led smoothly on to the topic of ‘leadership’ and Toastmaster Ratan revealed to us the characteristics of a good leader: someone who is honest, future focussed, competent, inspiring and intelligent. From then on, we were asked who our favourite leader is.
Timekeeper Dave gave clear instructions regarding the green, amber and red lights, but also warned us of the dreaded “gavel of embarrassment” if you go over time.
I played the Harkmaster tonight with the word of the day being “sybaritic”, a rarely used word meaning hedonistic, luxurious and pleasure-loving.
Prepared speeches
Hari’s favourite was JFK, and he went on to deliver a very descriptive piece on water, comparing it to liquid gold. We learnt how important the drink is for our health and the planet, and we were also led through Hari’s field trip in Wales where his bottled water wasn’t so visually appealing (what harm can a few insects do?) and he didn’t stick around to taste it either.
Fabrizio began with a quote (always a good start) in Latin. With lots of martial arts and stomping, we were taken on a fascinating historical and cultural experience of Belgium, including Caesar’s description of the “bravest” Belgians and a re-enactment of St George and the Dragon (the dragon being the dastardly plague who the Belgians defeated).
In a first for Bloomsbury Speakers (at least for me anyway), the TV at the front was dusted off and used by our advanced speaker Raj who took us through a highly interactive presentation on how internet users have (or have attempted) to profit from domain names.
Evaluations
Swarajit commended Hari’s descriptive language on water, but warning us to avoid those dreaded “ums” and “ahs”.
Douglas commended Fabrizio on being a great speaker and leader. He emphasised the importance of pausing and how it adds to the tension, like Chris Tarrant in Who Wants to be a Millionaire.
Todd took on the role of commending Raj’s speech, advising him to be aware of hand gestures and not to overdo them.
Table topics
Tonight Elena (whose favourite leader is Margaret Thatcher) took us for a ride with her transport-themed Topics.
Femi talked about walking and how it should be a time of reflection, soaking up the environment around us and clearing our heads.
Jennifer appealed to the men of the audience in their desire to attract the ladies. The answer? Skateboarding.
Joe gave us a glimpse into the world of top executives in their high buildings by recommending we all ride a hot air balloon into work.
Ivan blasted us into space on a rocket. He mentioned how the first spaceman Yuri Gagarin was from his native Russia, and how contrary to the visual handout astronauts don’t usually ride on a rocket with their legs either side.
Tony continued the theme of sexual attraction in transport by describing the bicycle as no less than a “babe magnet”.
Swarajit proclaimed the benefits of riding a helicopter into work, but warned of parking limits.
Alex G evaluated the topics speakers in his usual relaxed and authoritative style.
Other reports
Dave gave an accurate time report, admitting that it’s sometimes difficult to concentrate on the stopwatch when you have an interesting speaker.
I (other Alex) then gave recognition to Ratan, Dave and Alex G who used the word of the day “sybaritic”, and also mentioned some of the good grammar uses in tonight’s meeting.
Our guest General Evaluator was Dele who ran down the list of everyone who hadn’t been previously evaluated. One comment that stood out was his evaluation of Swarajit who he described as having a “Tony Blair” smile, as Blair had great presentation skills (compliment?).
The next meeting is on Monday 13th June at our normal venue the Rugby Tavern.
