Exercise is an excellent mindsoother
Renfrew District Speakers’Club president Mary Phillips welcomed members and invited Dorothy Hamilton to offer a thought for the day.
Her idea was about planting seeds.“Positive thought and energy can change you,”she said. Norma Murray was chairman, describing her favourite exercise as swimming.
She introduced the first speaker, Cate Donaldson, who spoke about finding a balance between work and exercise.
“A couch potato can become voluminous,” she said.“Sitting at home can lead to arthritis and slack muscles.”She noted that working a four-day week could lead to increased productivity and a reduction in“sickies”, and the fifth day could be an exercise day.
Cate compared working in solitude from home with the social interaction of the workplace.
Joan Milburn spoke about dancing.
She found pleasure in many kinds of dancing, currently Scottish country dancing and sequence dancing.
“Dancing exercises the brain as well as the body,”she said. She told of tap dancing and salsa, ballroom and Latin-American.
The audience enjoyed the reminder of Joyce Grenfell’s song...‘Stately as a galleon I sailed across the floor, doing the military two-step as in the days of yore’.
The speech evaluators, Sheina Ross and Jess Cross, respectively, enjoyed the fact that both speakers used their voices expressively, adding to the enjoyment of those listening.
Sheina invited some members to give their thoughts on various aspects of exercise.
Are you“an exercise-ophile or an exerciseophobe”; the Chinese exercise of Tai chi to start the day; exercise for body or mind; and how to persuade a reluctant family to exercise.
Finally, we heard of the pleasure of swimming, childhood games such as climbing walls, and the enjoyable activity of the women’s league of health and beauty.
The general evaluator, Irene Thom, praised the chairman’s clear outline of the programme – and her bridging comments – as people spoke in turn in their various roles.
Meetings are held fortnightly at Ralston Golf Club with the next gathering this evening from 7.30pm. Visitors are always welcome.