Al Fresco in the Car Park
This must have been one of the most unusual starts for a club meeting ever.
The world was against Speak Easy on this particular evening. The Suffolk Show caused heavy traffic around the area and the access road was closed past the hall.
People arrived from all directions either on foot or via detours.
Usually the hall is opened by the dance club that's in the hall before us.Not tonight though, the school holidays meant the hall was locked and in darkness.
The crowd gathered in the carpark awaiting the key holder of the hall to arrive. You've guessed it, they were were held up in traffic following a delayed train back from London.
The final attempt to throw us off track was that we had one speaker missing and another speaker silenced by a sore throat.
As experienced Toastmasters, we soon had everything under control and we started the meeting in the car park !!!
Introductions completed and the word for the evening introduced we were on track for a 'meeting Al Fresco'.
The 'normal' meeting resumed in the hall 20 minutes later.
Andy Pitts provided a topical topics session by introducing the theme of Fetes and Shows. Topic titles included 'fairground', 'Childrens Entertainment' and 'events in the arena'.
The only speaker for the evening was Howard Smith. He managed to deliver a well prepared speech despite the fact that he was knee deep in boxes at home as he was moving the next day.
With two speakers missing the agenda was rather empty. Never fear, Debs is here. Deb Lawrence stepped forward with some excellent time fillers ideal for such an occasion. She explain that she was a spy and
then revealed here true self ... an alien from outerspace !! She then invited members to reveal who they really are.
A second activity involved Deb asking members to think up alternative uses for everyday objects such as a glasses case or a watch. A very interesting challenge which all rose to with great imagination.
So a lesson to all Toastmasters, plan for the unexpected as one day it will arrive ...
Jeff Bartrop
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