It isn’t the most prosaic of monologues, but the recent tragic events of flight 4U 9525 crashing in the Alps reminded me of Ewan McGregor’s Choose Life speech from the 1990s film Trainspotting. He chose not to choose life. For me, the plane tragedy reminded me that I Choose Life.
How we choose to spend the limited life that we have is up to each one of us (may I remind you of Swarajit’s recent speech The Wager, with which he took 3rd place at the Area 45 contest!), but if my time in Toastmasters has taught me anything, it is that Toastmasters are a breed of human that thrive from living life to the max.
On that note, looking ahead to…
Forthcoming events
At our Regular meeting next week, Wednesday 8th April at 7pm, we have *LOTS* of availability. Grab this opportunity with both hands and sign up for roles online or request your speech slot by emailing VPE Karthik. If you missed his club contest win or his Area 45 contest win, Errol will be rehearsing his International Speech Contest entry, so I am keen that we get a strong turnout on Wednesday to provide him with support and that all important Open Feedback.
Errol will be taking his speech forward to the Division B Contest on Saturday 18th April at 1.30pm, at Freemasons’ Hall, Great Queen Street. Ahead of an afternoon of contests – with our very own Andrew B representing Area 52 in the Evaluation Contest (which I am Chairing!) – the morning line-up is a choice of two cracking comedy workshops with guest speakers from the London Comedy School. Please reserve your ticket online.
With everything crossed, we wish Errol and Andrew all of the best to take their success forward to the District 91 Contest Finals on 9/10 May, at the D91 Spring 2015 Tower Conference. As always, the conference is jam-packed with interesting and educational seminars and presentations, not to mention the contests themselves! A glamorous Gala Dinner is also scheduled for the Saturday evening. The main difference to usual conferences is that this time, it is in Central London! So no excuses, book your tickets online…
On Monday 11th May at 7.30pm, Excaliburgers have been invited by Elizabeth Jordan, President at Hertfordshire Speakers, to join a celebration event in honour of Bob Ferguson who will celebrate 20 years as a Toastmaster and who is the founder of their club. The evening event will consist of a 3 course meal, speeches and Table Topics. Please contact Elizabeth directly to let her know if you are able to attend. Tickets will cost no more than £18.
Finally, I hope you won’t be too bored of elections by our May Regular meeting, as we will be holding our President Elections for 2015/16 at Excalibur Speakers. I have already received one name in the hat. If you would like to put yourself forward, or have a nomination for a fellow member, please get in touch.
Distinguished Club Programme
The Distinguished Club Programme (DCP) is Toastmasters International's framework of objectives that clubs should aim to achieve within the Toastmasters year, and different levels of recognition are awarded depending on how many of the ten criteria are met.
We are at 6.5 club points for the year, with just 3 months to go. Congratulations to Karthik for completing his CC and to Justine for completing her ALB.
Are you able to contribute a Communication award to the club before the end of June? We are looking for 1-3 Competent Communicator awards and 1-2 Advanced Communicator awards.
Membership dues
Thank you to all who have already renewed their membership. If you haven’t yet done so, please could you dig into your month-end pay cheques and transfer your share for the next 6 or 12 months per the details below.
Amount: £42 for 6 months, £84 for 12 months
Sort code: 30-91-79
Account number: 01377591
Account name: Excalibur Speakers
Reference: Include your name as the reference for the payment
Target payment date: Please make your transfer ASAP
Please also send our treasurer an email at chinkata12@yahoo.com to confirm that your payment has been made and received accordingly. If you have any questions, feel free to get in touch.
The Final Word
By way of a contrast to my opening quotation, I leave you with the words of Ghandi:
“Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.”
Wishing you all a glorious long weekend,
Cat
President,
Excalibur Speakers
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