Speakeasy speakers rise to the challenge of talking nonsense
DUE to Government guidelines on the Covid 19 Virus, Speakeasy Toastmasters have cancelled all club meetings until further notice.
The health and well being of members and guests is of the utmost importance and keeping an an appropriate social distance is essential in reducing the spread of this virus. Once the current shutdown has concluded, meetings will resume.
Regardless of future events, the last club meeting was a high note on which to (temporarily) depart.
A lively Topics Session conducted by Sean Corcoran provided members and some guests with the challenge of talking nonsense. At times, it resembled a Boris Johnson Press Conference.
Several members engaged in flights of fancy. Others tried to bluff.
Gerry O’Callaghan described a bad hangover. It was based on experience or else it was a complete work of fiction. But many in the audience could relate to “the extra step” on the stairs that trips you up.
The meeting had a contribution on how learning to drive is an ideal way to learn how to perfect our use of profanities. Theories on why we persist in pushing harder on the TV remote when the batteries are failing.
Success and failure elicited the comment - “It is not enough to succeed. Others must fail”. Aladdin’s Lamp provoked a wish that “my hair is straight”. There would be no untidy, unruly mess to be untangled. Life would really be straight forward.
Perhaps, we should take a leaf out of Indian culture and cancel marriages if the Star Signs are incompatible. Speaking “off the cuff ” can be daunting. It can also be fun. It can be a combination of challenge and opportunity.
Continued practice in Toastmasters helps members to become adept in social situations, job interviews and general conversation. And, as the Best Topic Contribution from Gerry O’Callaghan demonstrated, it can provoke works of imaginative fiction.
Until our fortnightly meetings resume, Speakeasy Toastmasters wishes the Health Service every success in dealing with the current situation and they wish continued good health to the readers of this newspaper and their families.