Halloween Hilarity

Tracey in her finery with sweet goodies for the crew.

What an outfit! – complete with a basket full of sweets in the form of ‘body parts’ to reward her subjects. The theme was carried through by James who presented Table Topics which required speakers to dig deep for scary stories from their past...

Graham had been pursued relentlessly by steam trains, Nicks prank on his younger brother came unstuck, Wayne delved into the meaning of Halloween, Craig recounted a ghostly encounter, Netta considered the involvement of children in Halloween, Peter related a farming disaster and Amys Napier Prison experience scared everyone!

A theme which certainly brought out some forgettable stories!

Nick could not hold back his delight in recounting a Halloween party trick!

The first (and only) prepared speech for the evening was presented by Alastair who spoke with great energy about the ‘beauty’ of the American political system – yeah, right. This was an incredible story with plenty of examples to illustrate how the system is driven by extreme wealth, which in turn is supported by the system.

Robyn and Wayne were Table Topics evaluators for the evening and provided sincere and helpful feedback.

Amy gave a model evaluation of Alastairs speech noting especially the value of humour combined with an extensively researched topic which enlightened the audience.
The break was a little longer than usual and was a pleasant opportunity to catch up with fellow orators. What’s more, Amy provided cake and Tracey’s bag of ‘body parts’ was ever popular!

Alastair delivering his wry view of American politics

Craig delivered a creative educational session to prepare members for the next meeting (23 November) when the Club’s Evaluation Contest will be held. A (mostly) helpful quiz gave us a few challenges – just as well it wasn’t a pass/fail.

With a thorough background, judges guide and evaluation worksheet, we are now all prepared!

During the business session run by Wayne, Amy reported on the District Table Topics contest in Marlborough. Amy did the club proud; battling a bug she took the flights and the stage and then was faced with a very difficult topic. Well done Amy, that was an impressive effort.

Wayne gave an explanation of Easyspeak and asked for members to book their speeches.

Netta, in her Grammarians report spoke in detail about how to win a new friend named ‘pause’.
Ian gave a succinct General Evaluation, particularly commending Tracey for her theme, interlude Halloween snippets and control of the meeting.

Awards:

• Best Speaker - Alastair
• Best Evaluator - Amy
• Best Table Topics - Amy
• Bets Contribution - Robyn

Quote of the day (C/o Alastair):

American politics are like a box of chocolates; they may be beautiful, but they can also kill your dog! 

Peter