15/09/2026
We were back with a bang on September 1st...
We had a full agenda and the room was filled with our gorgeous members, as well as a lovely guest, Marcus, who braved answering a Table Topic to much applause.
Simon was our Toastmaster du jour and, as ever, he injected his humour and his dramatic flair to proceedings. Simon introduced his team for the night, starting with the Timer, Carlo, and the Grammatian, Joe. Both outlined their roles and Joe introduced his Word of the Day. Jasmin was our Poetmaster and she read a beautiful poem from Maya Angelou.
On the night, we had two speeches - the first was from a long-standing member, Ian, and the second was from Claire, who made her first ever speech. Both were very enjoyable and garnered positive feedback.
Following our break, where refreshments are a must, we moved on to Table Topics. For me, these are always met with curiosity, as each Topicsmaster brings their own style and sense of fun to the role. On the 1st, Phil encouraged us to argue how one thing isn't necessarily better than the other. So, plenty of food for thought...
Afterwards, we moved on to the evaluations of individual speeches, where we had Craig & Emer evaluate Ian & Claire's speeches respectively. Thankfully, Emer was able to stand in for another member who couldn't make it and both Emer and Craig offered invaluable feedback to Claire and Ian.
I had the role of General Evaluator and, to be honest, I found myself a bit rusty after the summer break. Nevertheless, I did my best to evaluate all elements of the meeting, aside from the individual speeches. I also invited the Grammarian, Joe, to the lectern to give his report, where he outlined the usage of his chosen Word of the Day and any colourful use of language. He also pulled us up on our filler words, which is handy, as it can really improve overall delivery.
As always, we finished off with announcements from our Vice-President of Education, Carlo. He then presented Lisa with her Certificate of Completion of Level 1 in Visionary Communication.
Well done, Lisa! 👏👏👏
Final words came from our President, Joe, who warmly thanked all those who came and all those who participated. Special congratulations were offered to both Claire & Carlo; Claire won Best Speaker with her speech entitled From the Bog to Toastmasters and Carlo won Best Table Topic with the retelling of an anecdote about his early love for cats which involved some entrapment.
Well done to both Claire & Carlo! 👏👏👏
So, while this post is long, and most certainly overdue, I hope it offers some insight into how our meetings here in Bray run. And, if you are feeling anxious about coming along, I hope that having such insight might allay some of those nerves.
We have a wonderfully personable Vice-President of Membership, Simon, ready to greet you at the door. And, once inside the room, you will only be further welcomed by all those who attend. There is no pressure to contribute; you are welcome to come along and merely listen. However, if you decide to contribute, that is also welcomed.
So, what are you waiting for? Come join us!!
Meetings are held on the 1st & 3rd Tuesday of every month from September to June. We meet at Open Door Day Centre, Vevay Road, Bray, A98 TA46. Doors open from 8pm, meeting begins at 8:15pm sharp. Parking spaces aplenty.
Hope to see you at an upcoming meeting!
Jane(Vice-President Public Relations) & all at Bray Toastmasters.
Pictures are of our lovely members Lisa, Claire and Carlo, whose achievements we wish to mark & celebrate. 🥳🥳🥳
