Here is a list of some of our members who have chosen to make their profiles public.

Carlton Toastmasters Meeting 65: Wednesday June 17th

The 2014-2015 Academy Awards were held at La Notte Restaurant on the second last Wednesday of June. Sporting fashion’s best, our shiny stars arrived on red carpet with their typical understated glamour and overall sophistication. The room was electric; and the excited paparazzi were back and just couldn’t get enough of our handsome and beautiful Carltonians.

Our Toastmasters were Vivian and Paul, who were simply ‘all class’ and style, just perfect hosts for such a prestigious evening. Both were so charming and sooooo adorable; Paul’s quick dry wit complimented Vivian’s energetic loveliness beautifully. Up-coming superstar Kate chose ‘opulent’ as word of the day; and Michael (J)’s table topic questions gave speakers an easy opportunity to use it when they were asked to describe some of Carlton’s celebrities. Awww.... It was great!!!

Alas, the love in the room did not last. After the entrees, the meeting took a somewhat surprising and serious turn when 'nice' Sadie revealed she was actually 'Sarah the Dictator’. We laughed nervously, as with venom, she renounced ‘will and cooperation’ and told of her gloomy plans for the club.  Being Caltoinians, we all managed to laugh it all off over dinner, but then it got worse. Natalie had as wondering if we are infected by some sort of Toastmaster’s disease and if there was any hope for normality after we notice the early signs.

We all felt it. It was not what Natalie said that was worrying, but what she had omitted; even she could not speak of Sarah’s pending reign of terror.

Yes, scary times ahead. Maybe we can take some comfort though from our Evil Dictator’s parting words; that we are all about “friends, fun and family” at Carlton. Awwww…. Maybe there is some hope. And... We know she was ONLY joking… We don’t REALLY have to bow to her or anything…. and she can’t REALLY track us on Fitbit… Natalie and Sarah were awesome and hilarious, best of two wifeys we know and - the ship is still on course for another year – yay!!!

After desserts, the love was all back. Some of us got Oscars and certificates and pins. Anthony, our gorgeous and democratic President thanked our Executive Team of 2014 – 15. He was so cute but 'important looking' as he reflected fondly on our year that had past. So… Here’s to Evelyn our ‘Energizer Bunny' VPE, to Sarah our caring and prompt VPM, to Cleo our bubbly Sargent at Arms; to Darrell our succinct and patriotic secretary; and to Natalie our enthusiastic and passionate Treasurer. And…. Of course, big cheers and congratulations to Anthony, our distinguished and wonderful President.

Congratulations to all our award winners and thanks to Vivian, Paul and Michael (J) for a very special evening!

 

 

Carlton Toastmasters Meeting 64: Wednesday June 3rd

On brisk Wednesday evening we all gathered for our last conventional meeting of the Toastmaster’s year. Our bubbly Sergeant at Arms, Cleo and CI3 Toastmaster, Christine welcomed us in from the cold under a theme of ‘chilly nights’. Our lovely Grammarian, Vesna, aptly chose ‘gelid’ as the word of the day, which was used well in the Warm Up when Christine asked what these cold nights might keep us from. It turns out that the cooler temperatures may just prevent us from enjoying the sun, or exercising or from eating ice cream sometimes. So it was nice to learn that there wasn’t much else that a bit of heating or some good company might not address when it comes down to weathering winter.

All the speeches that evening hinted at culture, travel and family; and all speeches were quite creative in delivery. Jorge, Paul and Vivian all expertly used IT to enhance their messages of connection and learning; and Anthony cleverly used a seat in the audience to add impact to his story of flying to America.

Jorge sang beautifully as he introduced us to a concept of combining music, dance and sport; it was really quite enchanting! Then Paul used photography to introduce us to the delightful concept of ‘Tomato Sauce Making Day, where he convincing told how the trials and tribulations involved in such a day’s work is worth it, as it may yield a year of delicious sauce! Vivian followed with humorous tales of her adventures at Phi Phi Island where she concludes that although ‘cheap’ can still bring something, it may not always bring what was hoped. Then after the break, Anthony expertly delivered an entertaining though wise speech about how he discovered a key to prosperity through generosity and selflessness. Congratulations to our speakers, you were all as witty and brilliant as always!!

Thank you to our Table Topics Master, Darrell for some quite thoughtful questions and congratulations to all our participants; Andrea and Anna and our guests Phil and Maddy. Again, our Evaluators did a wonderful job; thanks to Kate and Andrea, Patrick and Ian. Thanks to Evelyn for quite a comprehensive Ah Counter’s Report and congratulations to Ha on her accurate and sensitive Timer’s Report. Special thanks to Cleo, our General Evaluator, Vesna our Grammarian and of course to Christine our polished and shiny Toastmaster.

 

Carlton Toastmasters Meetings 62 & 63: Wednesday May 6th & 20th

Amid the excitement of the District 73 Convention, the last few meetings at Carlton have seen some brilliant speeches and special guests, an educational session and our club executive election. Our cheery Toastmasters were Natalie and Michael (J), who respectively chose themes of laws and votes. Both of these Carltonians ran our meetings with captivating charm and charisma; thank you and congratulations both!

This month, we welcomed two new members, Jorge and Ha, who have in many ways both hit the ground running. Jorge, shortly after being voted in, was our terrific Ahh Counter and SSA. Then in his second meeting, Jorge was our Table Topics Master who put together a special session asking speakers to imagine themselves as advocates of randomly chosen topics; well done Jorge, it was such fun!

Our newest member, Ha, joined us last meeting and was swiftly voted in as our 2015-16 VPM!! THEN shortly after, proceeded to deliver an outstanding Icebreaker Speech about her experience as a guest at our Parkville joint meeting a few weeks ago. Ha spoke with such composure, wit and incredible insight that will no doubt place her in good stead for her Toastmaster journey. Welcome and congratulations, Ha!

Leading up to the convention, we were treated to a 'soon to be - first place' District International Speech from special guest, Bharat. It was such a delight to hear his dulcet tones of sincerity and inspiration! We wish him all the best and every success in Vegas! That night, Sarah also delivered an entertaining speech enticing us to attend the ‘newbies session’ that Andrea, Cleo and Darrell all expertly ran at the convention. Indeed Carltonians featured well this year with our esteemed members Christine, Anthony and Anna, Darrell and Cleo also being wonderful ushers, judges and MCs!! And.. of course by our Past President, Patrick, placing first in the district for the Table Topics Contest (Carlton) and second in the Evaluation Contest (Lilydale). Congratulations, Patrick!!! AND... to Christine being elected Club Growth Officer!!! What a weekend for Carlton!!!!

It’s been a big couple of meetings for our very experienced and generous member, Ian. Showcasing his diverse skills, Ian’s contributions have ranged from romantic comedy to ‘core’ inspirational ideas from Apple to an impromptu educational session on kinesthetic, audio and visual listeners. Whatever the topic or challenge, Ian always speaks with such confidence and conviction and it is always such a pleasure to part of the audience.

Andrea’s natural story telling abilities were evident in her vivid speech entitled ‘the ancient mariner and the latter-day indignant’ earlier in the month. Her clever introduction commanded our attention and she held it throughout with mellifluous dialogue and by using the stage as a timeline. This was an incredibly well written speech, Andrea, worthy of an International Contest!

Kate and Paul delivered two very polished and detailed speeches meetings apart. Kate spoke with much professionalism to inform us about water quality offsets and used PowerPoint well to enhance her message. Paul researched causes of ‘stress’ and gave us some good tips on how to perceive things and manage things better. Well done and congratulations, both! Excellent speeches!

Thank you to all our model evaluators this month, Natalie, Vesna, Kate and Andrea, Rob, Matt and special guest, Parkville’s President Keir. Special congratulations to Vivian who delivered an outstanding ‘first time’ General Evaluation earlier in the month and to our astute timers, Anna and Patrick, who both take this role very seriously! Thanks also to our newly elected CI3 and grammarian of the evening, Christine, for possibly her most endearing report to date.

Finally, congratulations to Carlton’s new executive team for 2015-16; Sarah President, Rebecca VPE, Ha VPM, Michael (C) VPPR, Treasurer Vivian, Secretary Bibi and SSA Paul. Here’s to Carlton’s third year!

 

Carlton Toastmasters Meeting 61: Wednesday April 29th

Last Wednesday night we had the privilege of being a part of the Parkville and Carlton Toastmasters Great Debate. The debate topic was 'Australians should be proud of our society.'  Everybody was involved, whoever wasn't speaking was a judge.

The night started with a perfectly in sync combined SAA welcome by Sarah and Cleo. We were then briefed on the rules by Parkville president Keir, followed by an introduction from the adjudicator Lee. 

Kate did a great job opening up the debate as the first speaker for the affirmative side. She raised some good points on why we should be proud, like our education system, infrastructure and health care system. She pointed out that we're a democracy and have freedom of speech, there even a reference to Tony Abbot and his budgie smugglers!

Gillion from the negative side was up next, making us laugh by pointing out we were about to have a guy with a funny accent telling us that Australians should not be proud of our society.  Some issues that Gillion raised included the treatment of indigenous people, refugees and racism.

Next up was the second speaker from the affirmative side, Tai.  She pointed out that we are not debating if Australia is perfect but that we should be proud of what we have achieved so far. Tai pointed out that our economy, living standards and general wellbeing are one of the best in the world.

The second speaker for the Negative team was Devika, who asked us "Are we walking backwards as a society?" She then went on to tell us how she believed in this country when she arrived in the 80's alerted us to the fact that the life expectancy of Aboriginals is one of the lowest in the world.

After returning from the break with our bellies full of cake, doughnuts and other treats, the two final speakers summed up the argument for their team.

On behalf of the affirmative side, Darrell reminded us of our beautiful environment, air quality and clean drinking water. He also pointed out that Australia has a long and proud history of immigration. Darrell told us that racism exists all over the world and that saying there's racism in Australia is like saying there's sand on the beach!

The final speaker for the night was Ash from the negative team.  He started by congratulating the affirmative side for reminding us why we have a great country and of the type of country we want to become. Ash asked "Does being proud hold us back?" and "Does being proud help us deal with all of the stories of shame we're heard?"

While the scores were being added up, we treated to three impromptu debates with Carly's debate themed table topics session. 

Michael and Alonzo were up first with 'What's the ultimate competitive sport, Ping Pong or Synchronized swimming?'  Michael was all for synchronized swimming, telling us that it's such a cut throat competition and that they even leave a warm spot behind for the competition.  While AIonzo told us of the mental sharpness and focus required to play Ping Pong at a competitive level.

Simon and Bibi were up next with the topic 'Where would you rather go, Hogwarts or Middle Earth?'  Simon was fascinated by the mystery of Middle Earth, shown to us by Frodo and that ring.  Bibi preferred Hogwarts where she could learn to cast a spell, mix potions and protect herself from the dark arts.

Jason and George were up last, topic was 'What genre of film is better, romantic comedy or action and thriller?'  George loves the way romantic comedies always have a tricky strange way of messing things up but in the end the boy and girl always manage to end up together.  Jason on the other hand likes being able to come home after a long day and watch two people kill each other without having to be there and get blood all over him.

The evaluations followed with Natalie and Mirna evaluating the Table Topics, Keir evaluated the affirmative speakers and Vivian the Negative speakers, the general evaluator for the night was Christine. All the evaluators did a great job and provided good points of improvement for the speakers.

Lee announced the Negative team as the winners of the debate and then Celina delivered her timing report, even timing herself as she gave it.

Our President Anthony closed the meeting with the statement "We may or may not be proud of our country but we can definitely be proud of Carlton an Parkville Toastmasters!"

It was a great debate and a great night.

 

Carlton Toastmasters Meeting 60: Wednesday April 15th

Celebrate Success was our meeting theme, and what a lot of success we had to Celebrate!

It started with a packed house full of Carltonians and our numbers grew with a large number of visitors, including Kier from our sister club Parkville Toastmasters, several Toastmasters from the Docklands Club as well as several visitors new to Toastmasters. Everyone was welcomed by our outstanding, stand-in Sergeant at Arms, Michael (J) and club President, Anthony.

Toastmaster of the day was Evelyn, who asked us all, what do we want to celebrate? Some of our celebration wishes would come true!

Sadie gave us our next celebration of the meeting, with the pleasure of welcoming Kate to our growing Carlton Family.

Our special guest, multiple Awards Winner Brendan, from NAB and Ivanhoe Toastmasters, inspired us as he gave a trial run of his International contest speech, followed by an Educational, "Speak with Impact", on how to write a successful speech. Brendon highlighted how to cut through with a clear simple message and back yourself to follow those wild thoughts outside the usual 'map' to choose your topic.

Kate celebrated with her Ice Breaker in an entertaining speech, titled "Excuse me Miss? What's a haggis?", describing her progression from Photography, to the Pubs in Scotland and most recently Tours of the Poo Farm. Congratulations to Kate and we all wish her well on her Toastmasters journey and with her forthcoming Industry presentation.

With "Neuroplasticity in Action", Vesna also inspired us as she celebrated her CC10. Vesna explained how Toastmasters provides a great workout by challenging our brains to create and keep new neural pathways. Congratulations to Vesna and thank you for proving that this old dog can still learn a few new tricks. S l o w l y.

W O O F !

As we had a break, Anthony gave us 10 more reasons to celebrate, before Michael (J) called us to order for the second half. Congratulations to all Carltonians for achieving the 9 points required for President's Distinguished Club! We're going Above and Beyond!

Christine, with her mother and sister in the audience as her special guests, rounded out the celebrations as she completed her CC manual for the second time! Her speech, "The Weight is Over", on sibling rivalry and the art of weight loss was, as always, very entertaining, even when she did reveal that she is a "fanatical Fitbit queen". Congratulations to Christine, it is well deserved!

With so many wonderful, inspiring speeches, what more could a Toastmaster ask for? Evaluations of course. Greg, Vivian, Kier and Patrick delivered, with four flawless evaluations. The quality of evaluations was fantastic! Well done guys.

Finally, thanks to Sadie for being Door Monitor, Supper Master and Timer, and to Michael (C) for his General Evaluation.

The meeting was closed by Anthony, but not before some more celebrations for Anna!

Carlton Toastmasters Meeting 59: Wednesday April 1st

The theme at Carlton was April Fools Day! Michael (C) was our very happy Toastmaster and Michael (J) was our very astute and smiley Grammarian. After a cute warm-up of lots of funny April Fools Day stories, it was time for some extra-special speeches and lots of awards!

Firstly we welcomed Ash to the club then, literally about five minutes later, he subsequently delivered a most fantastic Icebreaker Speech! Ash introduced himself with quite some charisma and no doubt, his natural speaking charm assures him of lots of fun and success on along his Toastmasters journey; well done, Ash!

Carly then delivered a gorgeous speech on passions to achieve her CC10 Award. Carly has the most lovely way with words and she crafted a very intelligent, thought provoking and beautifully assuring piece. Her insight, homour and warm demeanor make her a very special speaker and this was a perfect International Speech. Congratulations and thank you, Carly, you were incredible!

Before the break, Cleo gave us a brilliant and witty acceptance speech as the winner of a Playgirl Easter Bunny pageant. Cleo was very gracious in her manner and she generously shared with us what it takes to succeed in such a cutthroat industry. Of note, Cleo is not only Playgirl Bunny of the Year, but she has also finished all her speeches for her ACS Award!! Yay Cleo, you truly are inspiration!

Then Sadie gave an elegantly constructed speech about how happy endings can occur anywhere in a story. Again, she spoke with such pose and grace; and used the stage with purpose and creativity to achieve her thoroughly deserved ACB Award. Congratulations, Sadie! Vivian then gave a thoughtful and humorous speech about parallels between her life and that of Cinderella’s. Vivian was funny, engaging and lovely to listen to. In fact, both Sadie and Vivian gave us quite masterful speeches!!

Rob was our very endearing Table Topics Master who asked some very poignant questions; Darrell and Christine were hilarious and quite creative in their responses! Thanks, Rob! 

Thank you to all our brilliant Evaluators; Anna and Patrick, Paul and Andrea, Greg and special guest Norman. Thanks to Christine for another enthusiastic Ahh Counter’s report and Natalie for her very thorough and timely Timer’s Report.

Finally, congratulations to Natalie who received her ALB Award and also to Bibi, who achieved her CC Award a little while ago as a guest at NAB. Both are such wonderfully inspirational and loved Carltonians who absolutely deserve their awards. 

 

Carlton Toastmasters Meeting 58: Wednesday March 18th  

Happy 2^nd Birthday to all Carltonians!

Last Wednesday, we all celebrated our second birthday with a party! Darrell, our handsome ‘Pirate Birthday’ Toastmaster, gave us all our first present. It was a very special slideshow that captured some of our fantastic Carltonian adventures. We all gushed at memories of our merry excursions to competitions, conventions and all sorts of novel meetings we had shared throughout the year. Then, during the Warm Up, Darrell asked us what we have gotten out of Toastmasters. This was our second present, as again faces lit up but this time, about making lots of new friends and of course being a little less fearful of public speaking!

 

Carlton Toastmasters Meeting 57: Sunday March 15th - a Park Meeting

Last Sunday morning, eight enthusiastic Toastmasters braved the early morning cold and gathered together to drink coffee and deliver speeches in a beautiful park. What better way to spend a Sunday morning?

First up we had Michael who gave us a fascinating insight into the world of the recently departed Terry Pratchett with a wonderful interpretive reading from the book ‘The Carpet People’. Hearing lines from the book such as ‘We are the soul of the carpet’ delivered to us with such spirit and gusto, whilst sitting on our own beautiful green carpet (the grass in the park!) was magical.

Next up was lovely Cleo who delivered an inspiring and heart-warming speech in praise of an organisation close to her heart. This speech was so beautifully crafted and delivered, with personal stories of struggle woven in between a message of’ inclusion and respect for everyone, no matter what their circumstances’ , that we all agreed it was the level of an International Speech contest entry.

Our third speaker for the morning was the energetic, effervescent Nat who delivered a hilarious speech about a ‘mystery man’. With her impeccable comic timing and natural stage presence, Nat kept us enthralled with her tales of this mysterious stranger, and reminded us how important it is to play with everyone in the sandpit.

Our fourth speaker was our special guest Sruthi, who kept the laughs coming with a fabulous speech about assertiveness, and shared with us the true meaning of a DTM- Difficult ToastMaster!

Next up we had the amazing Darrell who accepted a challenge to do an impromptu 5-7 minute speech. He was given three possible speech titles on the spot by the Toastmaster, and was then able to launch into an outstanding impromptu speech about how the words of his primary school teacher changed his life. Incredible Darrell – we salute you!

Our seventh speaker was Bibi, who delivered a beautiful interpretive reading from a book written by her own Mother. With an impressive show of vocal variety, Bibi had us hanging on every word as she hauntingly echoed her Mother’s words about starting school in 1942 and the difficulties of living through the war.

Our final speaker for the morning was Anthony who delivered a fantastic folk tale with a twist, leaving us with an inspirational message on the importance of honesty and integrity.

Sadie thought she could get away with just being the toastmaster and writing the meeting report, however our President knows how to extend people out of their comfort zone and she was made to do a table topic to finish off the meeting. As the meeting drew to a close we felt happy and warm, despite the chill of the wind. No matter where it’s held, you will never feel cold at a Carlton Toastmasters meeting.

 

Carlton Toastmasters Meeting 56: Wednesday March 4th.

Last Wednesday, our Toastmaster, ‘maestro Cleo’, conducted an orchestra of Carltonians to celebrate Vivaldi’s Four Seasons in honour of the composer’s birthday. After Grammarian Darrell set our leading note with the word ‘orchestrate’, in the Warm Up we composed and sang quite a moving operetta seemingly themed on the colour ‘blue’. Needless to say, this piece was sung with such dulcet tones, perfect pitch and at times, of course, narrow avoidance of dissonance.

Following a series of special announcements by our VPE, VPM and Secretary, Sadie gave us a beautiful speech entitled ‘Ella’s Five Golden Lessons’. Sadie told her folktale with such exquisite and effervescent sincerity to remind us all it’s ‘what’s on the inside that counts’ and more importantly to ‘always love your aunty’. Then Paul delivered an especially witty speech about overcoming unexpected adversity whilst relaxing on a noodle. This was a brilliantly funny speech and is a definite contender in the next lot of Humourous Speech competitions coming up!

After the break, Michael continued the evening’s theme of ‘classy music’ when he spoke about the aria “Nessun dorma” and how in opera when boy meets girl, one is sure to die. Michael spoke with such endearing character to help us understand the riddles and perils of love at first sight. Special thanks to Darrell for helping us with the IT!!

Special thanks to Davy, our very bright and melodious Table Topics Master, who followed theme of weather in her line of questioning; and congratulations to the all the respondents for such mellifluous answers. Thank you to our instrumental and brilliant Evaluators; Michael, Vesna and Patrick, Bibi and Andrea. Thanks also to Rob for his sensitive ‘Um Counting’ and Jacqueline for her comprehensive Timers Report; thanks also to Christine for her very insightful and measured General Evaluation.

Extra special thanks to Cleo for hosting such an entertaining and harmonious evening! 

Carlton Toastmasters Meeting 55: Wednesday February 18th

Last Wednesday, Toastmaster Sadie had us thinking about what addictions plagued us and how we overcame them, if we ever managed it. Surprisingly, not many of us mentioned our Toastmasters addiction - probably because we're all still cheerfully here!! 

Ian then happily indulged our 'speech writing addiction' to deliver a comprehensive Educational Session on audience engagement. This was a fantastic presentation on how to interest audio, visual, kinesthetic and audio-digital listeners by identifying key stages in most inspirational speeches; thanks Ian for such an informative and helpful presentation!

Congratulations to Vesna and Carly who after this meeting are now just one speech shy of their CC Award. Vesna persuaded us to see all change as a good thing; and Carly convinced us to take a coconut tree change to somewhere like Vanuatu and wear colourful comfy clothes!!

After the break, President Anthony and Past President Patrick gave us two beautiful speeches about connection. Anthony told us such a lovely story about Mr Pigoty that had us wondering about our own family trees. Of course, it was magic to see Patrick back on the stage again after all his worldly adventures.

Thank you to our lovely Evaluators, Michael (C) and Louise, Rob and Cleo; thanks to our Timer, Paul and our General Evaluator, Bibi. Special thanks to Christine in her duel roles as Door Monitor and Supper-master - delicious!!! Extra special thanks to Sadie for being such a beautiful and 'addictive' Toastmaster!!

The evening finished with a very special presentation by our VPE Evelyn - Congratulations to President Anthony on achieving his ACS award AND his ALB award!!! Anthony, thanks for being such a inspiration and friend to everybody; we are so lucky to have such a caring and thoughtful, funny and patriotic President as you!!

Carlton Toastmasters Meeting 54: Wednesday February 4th 

Last Wednesday, our lovely VPM, Sadie, graciously accepted the Smedly Award on behalf of the club; this award is given to a club who receives five new members between August and September. President Anthony then presented Natalie (H) with her very deserving CL Award; and our newest members, Michael (C), Vivian and Greg were officially welcomed to Carlton by receiving their badges.

It was therefore especially fitting that our expert and effervescent Toastmaster, Anna, would choose the theme of 'Magnificent Mentors' for this meeting. Anna led an inspiring Warm Up where we all reflected on advice and wisdom of some our own most memorable mentors. This was aptly followed by an educational session on this theme facilitated by Natalie (H). Here we all happily shared and discussed ideas with the view to design our club's mentoring program. Well done to Natalie and many thanks to everybody for such insightful input.

The speakers of the evening were Ian, Bibi and Rob; and there's no doubt that each would have made their mentors proud. Ian convincingly preformed ‘Erik's Monologue’ from the Phantom of the Opera; and Bibi spoke about what a gift it can be to remain anonymous. We were then treated to a run-through of Rob’s outstanding International Speech and we wish him well for his upcoming division competition.
 

Carlton Toastmasters Meeting 53: Wednesday January 21st

Sargent At Arms, Cleo, once again worked the gavel to open the Carlton Toastmaster's meeting on 21st January 2015. A warm night in January is nothing new, but then, neither is the amazing talents of our toastmasters.

Vivian proved what a versatile toastmaster she is, with a meeting that had all in a sticky situation. Knowing how to handle the role of grammarian was Bibi, who delighted us with a Gecko for word of the day, in honour of their very sticky feet.

Vivian lead the round robin to discover what sticky situations the toastmasters and guests had found themselves in. For Vivian, it was being left in a car, without keys, as it blocked a laneway in Napoli.  Both Anna and Carly had us in the narrow streets of Europe, while Devika's Indonesian Passport Control situation was one we all wished to avoid.  Episodes with former wives and foreign visitors abounded as we recounted our sticky situations. Full marks went to Darrell, who was able to get the gecko into his sticky situation.

Michael C opened the speeches for the evening with his (CC3) rendition of 'The Man From Crooked River'. While this speech did continue his theme of hospital visits, from his last two speeches, it did explain his pathological fear of paper cuts. He also got one gecko seamlessly into his speech.

Next up from sunny Parkes in NSW was Elvis, with his (CC8) visual presentation of 'The Festival', about the annual Parkes Elvis Festival. The Festival is a celebration of the Kings Birthday, and Michael J had dressed for the part and even did a short Elvis inspired dance to entertain us all.

Third speaker for the night was Cleo with her roast 'Brownegate'; and who better to roast than our esteemed president Anthony. We discovered his love of cement mixers and other, best not mentioned, pursuits.  Not only was Anthony roasted, but Cleo also managed to do some spuds and gravy on the side. A meal that was thoroughly enjoyed by all.

After three fabulous speeches, Vivian then settled us down to hear three insightful evaluations. Darrell, Devika and Carly each gave food for thought with improvements sandwiched between the enthusiastic praise. Devika needed to verify first that Elvis had indeed left the building.

Anna provided the nibbles for the break. There was a subtle attempt to influence all to adhere to the time restrictions with the provision of Tic Toc biscuits.

Our calm Toastmaster, Vivian, put everyone at ease, with her warm and encouraging transitional comments. She was even quick to add to the Gecko count before it was time for the Grammarian's report presented by Bibi who also gave us the Ah Count. This versatility of doing multiple tasks in the one presentation was echoed (not geckoed) by Ian as he gave us a perfectly timed Timers report and General Evaluation in one.

But before the meeting was closed there were some awards to be made. 1) Vivian received an award for completing her Competent Communication manual. Congratulations Vivian, well done! 2) Bibi received an award for completing her first 5 CC projects. Congratulations Bibi, you're now halfway there, well done!

 
Carlton Toastmasters Meeting 52: Wednesday January 7th

Carlton Toastmasters Club brought in the New Year in blazing style, happily attaining the accolade of being one of the first in the district (and maybe even the world) to hold a meeting in 2015. It was hot that evening, but to the delight of everyone, President Anthony still wore his winter scarf with beaming pride; we were all very excited to be back at Visy Park.

Darrell was our fun and enthusiastic Toastmaster, who in the warm-up, invited us all to declare our goals for the New Year. Still giddy from festivities, it was quite special to hear and celebrate so many varied aspirations. Eyes lit up about CC manuals and taking holidays, finding jobs and living well. A little later, Natalie (G), our bubbly Table Topics Master, asked some piercing questions that extended this theme and again the responses were beautifully diverse and thought provoking.



Our speeches that evening were equally as cheerfully eclectic in both ideas and content. Davy was the first to speak and with conviction she reminded us how powerful a community can be in a democracy. Then Vivian gave us all some brilliant tips on how to effortlessly deal with a host of amusing awkward moments, all of which hinted at a vast and colourful experience of being in such. Carly then spoke vividly and affectionately of many delightful and historic tales carefully hidden along the pavements of Sydney Road.



After some more happy chatter during the break, we were then treated to two outstanding CC8 speeches. Vesna marveled at how theories in planetary genesis have been recently supported by images of HL Tauri. Leigh, citing the greats, then invited us to consider influences of modern architecture and to ponder whether we think ‘less is more’ or ‘less is a bore’ and how maybe the two can blend if ‘form follows function’. Both speakers delivered complex and thought provoking information with sharp wit in a very accessible and engaging manner.



Thank you to our able and considerate Evaluators; Cleo, Anna, Christoph (G), Rob and Michael (J). Thanks also to to our Door Monitor and Grammarian, Michael (C), our astute Ahh Counter, Anna and enthusiastic Timer, Christine. A special thank you also to our guest, President Keir, for joining us from Parkville TM Club and giving such a thoughtful, warm and generous General Evaluation.



Finally, extra special thanks to our ‘first time’ acting VPE, BiBi, for her outstanding work in gently getting us all organised for our first meeting of the year. This was no meager accomplishment so early after the holiday season and Bibi’s efforts were exemplary.



After these last few days of cooler weather, it might be difficult to remember just how hot that evening was now, but not so forgettable was the glow at Carlton in the first week of January.



Here's to 2015!!
 

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Carlton Toastmasters Meeting 51: Wednesday December 17th 

Wednesday evening saw the last meeting for Carlton TM Club in 2014. Ian was our very energetic Toastmaster who challenged us, but also capably got us through our very first 'upside down' theme!! Indeed, it was much more than a fun experience to get to time travel in the hands of such a motivating and encouraging leader. 

Natalie (G) was the perfect Grammarian who aptly chose 'higgledy-piggledly' as the term of the day, which was used quite often throughout the meeting!! After the Warm Up, where we considered all the things we are 'anti' we then jumped forward in time to have Christoph's Ahh Counter's Report and Davy's Timer's Report, which were both exceptionally comprehensive and 'textbook' in delivery. 

Then we went backwards in time for Michael's cheerful ice-breaker speech, called the '12 Days of Toastmasters'; which cleverly made use of the evening's theme, his CC manual and 'that' Christmas carol. Michael sang and he was animated, he used the stage well and he even had props!! It was such a delightful and engaging piece that everybody couldn't help but join in the singing towards the end. To echo the thoughts of his astute evaluator, Louise, he was natural, poetic and humorous; and we're very much looking forward to hearing more from Michael in the New Year.

Then we went forwards in time for Evelyn's Table Topics Evaluation. Typical of our lovely VPE, she delicately delivered many good points for improvement; including to avoid inappropriate scratches, punches, kicks, a range of filler words, using the gavel and even the lectern. Evelyn's quite a professional though, so she was also good with the praise and complimented our speakers on repeating their questions, their good use of the stage and vocal variety, their limitless imagination, artist minds and welcoming demeanors.

Then we went backwards again for some outstanding and imaginative Table Topics questions posed by Bibi. Congratulations to all the Table Topics participants!! You all did so well to incorporate Evelyn's evaluation into your responses!!! In fact, it was quite remarkable to watch!! 

After the break we all went backwards in time again to hear our seasoned speech Evaluators; Anthony, Michael and Vivian. Again, these were textbook evaluations and where delivered sensitively using PIPS. We all learnt something about story development and eye contact, creating tension and amongst other things, even the appropriate use of a crescendo.

Then we journeyed even further back in time to finally get to the three remaining speeches of the evening. Our VPE, Evelyn, delivered quite a clever and engaging speech based on the interesting notion to 'kill anger with kindness'; and Jacqueline spoke eloquently about the origins of Christmas trees and other traditions of this season. Both speeches were gorgeous to listen to and were perfect in their delivery; thank you.

Christine's speech was inspiring and brilliant, so much so it'd be a shame to give it all away as it'd be a wonderful competition speech in 2015!! Let's just say, if you ever want to climb the Himalayas, either literally or metaphorically speaking, then we've found the woman you'd want there with you!! Her strength and sincerity, determination and ultimate triumph is truly something special. It's always a lovely treat to listen to Christine speak; thank you.

Then it was either the beginning or the end again, depending! :0) On behalf of President Anthony and VPE Evelyn, thank you for a magnificent year of speeches, laughs and friendships.

Merry Christmas!!! Here's to 2015!!!
 

Carlton Toastmasters Meeting 50: Wednesday December 3rd 
Our Christmas Meeting

Well, what a night! It was great to see everyone that could attend in good cheer. And why not? It was something exciting, something new and a great excuse to share each other’s company in a less formal atmosphere.

The night commenced with a bit of socialising before we sat down for the planned events and speeches. This was followed by a run-down of how spectacular our club has been throughout year by our fearless President Anthony. Things such as Patrick being presented with a trophy for winning the Table topics of the M22 Area, this award was present by Christine. Another award was created and bestowed to Darrell, then to Natalie (H). As well as the Xmas messages from Anthony we also took time our to share our thoughts and best wishes for Andrea - we all hope you are recuperating well Andrea!

Then the very musically talented Anthony, Darrell and Cleo, gave as a magical rendition of an Xmas carol loosely based on Rudolf the Red Nose Reindeer, with sporadic comical interjections from around the club, Anna being one of the most entertaining. Thank you for those memorable moments.
Patrick was our illustrious Toastmaster who kept the night on track, and was always gracious, yet humorous with his compliments. The round robin quickly ensued... its subject was in line with the festive seasons celebrations 'What do you look forward to this Xmas?' Most of the responses related to relaxing and appreciating family and friends, however there were a couple of ingenious spins on the round robin, such as Anna informing us that her birthday unfortunately falls on the day before Xmas (bad luck Anna) and Natalie (G) looking forward to a Scottish Xmas meal which consist of various constructions of offal (haggis Yuk or Yum?).

After the round robin, Patrick introduced our club's first ever Roast, which was delivered by Darrell. WOW! Darrell outdid himself with the roast; it was focused on Natalie (H) and in the true sense of roast's it didn't leave any charcoal stones unturned, which turned the heat up. Darrell got down and dirty exposing the dark side of Natalie's (H) ambition. Darrell made great use of repetition to enforce the point of his roast, that 'there isn't a name for what Natalie is'. That being said, Natalie (H) took it like the champion she is. Darrell was hilarious got us primed for the rest of the evening as well as made us crave more roasts.

Our first speaker was Ian, who is a recent addition to the Carlton toastmasters club. Ian delivered an icebreaker speech, which was inspirational in both its delivery as well as content. The speech's title "The Geek that Speaks" which was a collection of memories that grew into Ian's inspiration to guide and help others. His creative use of painting a timeline of events, which we could all relate to, such as the evolution of computers, in particular the enormity of them back in the 80's. Ian illustrated how he ended up in Information Technology, but the most valuable experience he obtained through working on IT projects was that of working with people. This allowed Ian to meet a friend who introduced him into toastmasters (25 years ago).

Next speaker was Matt; Matt's speech title "The Most Selfish Thing" was about how by helping others we gain a sense of gratification that we have done good. His was a great example of how at this time of great excess (Xmas) we can be a little bit more compassionate and extend our wealth to others that are less fortunate. "Be selfish by being unselfish and pay it forward".

Then we took a break to eat the beautifully prepared meals by the wonderful staff at La Notte Restaurant. After some friendly conversation and a yummy main, which was washed down with a (your favourite) beverage we recommenced the evening's events.

Patrick retook the reins; and introduced Cleo who spoke about Natalie (H) & Sarah’s dedication for their international speech contest journey. It was a great and fitting tribute to them. Which was a great introduction to present a new award; The Extra Mile Award... that was presented to both ladies.

Anthony came back to the stage to introduce and present another award, which was created as a tribute to the clubs founder and to recognise the winners of the international speech contest and best speaker, the award is known as the Patrick Shing Medal. This award is perpetual in nature, and was retrospectively awarded to 2 of the previous winners of the Carlton Club, based on the 2 years the club has been active. The first winner was Darrell and the second winner was Natalie (H). Congrats.

And then the Table Topics session began... this was run by the perpetually festive Anna and was very festive in is delivery, by including the table topic subjects in the form of Bon-Bon's party crackers. After these great table topics, others were invited to contemplate what might have been by exploding their Bon-Bon crackers and looking at what questions were inside whilst eating their yummy sweet desserts.

There was also the official naming of the clubs mascot (rubber chicken); it was a unanimous vote for COTY.

The night was closed out by a farewell and Xmas message from Patrick and Anthony.
 

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