Birthday Cake, Dates, Beetroot Cupcakes at HOD meeting March 2015

What a wonderful selection of food we had. Heart shape biscuits from my previous themed Valentine's meeting, Bronte biscuits from our contest, Bijan's mother's dates in pastry, Robert Baker's wife's beetroot and chocolate cupcakes with buttercream swirls on top, and my birthday cake from Morrisons supermarket, a traditional sponge birthday cake with a topping of white icing and the words Happy Birthday.

Bijan's mother offering date-filled pastry confections.

Birthday cake from Morrison's, for Angela Lansbury's birthday theme. Madeira sponge with raspberry jam and buttercream.

I am waiting for Robert to send me the recipe for the beetroot and chocolate cupcakes.

What will our toastmasters pick for the themes of two meetings in April, and what will members and guests bring?

Birthday Party Theme Speakers' Meeting at HOD Speakers' Club in Harrow and what I learned

Birthday Theme
Birthdays was the theme I chose when I (Angela Lansbury) was toastmaster of the evening at an HOD Speakers' meeting because that week was my birthday. I wore a badge which said Birthday Girl; I placed a larger stand up It's My Birthday badge on the table; I asked a member to hang my Happy Birthday banner across the pinboard behind the lectern and I wore a gold foil hat.

Birthday theme topics was part of my plan. Importantly I had prepared half a dozen topics on the theme of birthdays and written them on a sheet of A4 paper to hand to anybody at the meeting if I had to ask somebody else to do topics unprepared, even a newcomer. All they had to do was look nonchalant and read out the topic.

Looking back, I could have gone a step further by asking each person who came onto the stage to say their birth sign or birthday month and why they like it.

I could have said, "My month is March and it's daffodil month," and I could have brought my vase of daffodils. I did think of that. But I had banner and badges and cake to carry. No time to tip out the water, nor find an unbreakable vase.

It would have been quicker to have grabbed scissors and cut a couple of flowers on my way out through the garden to the car. Maybe next year. If we'd had only two speakers at the meeting I could have filled time with the ongoing chats about birthday months.

Panic, Problem - Keep Calm & Carry On
Panic could have set in. President, Tony Winyard, was unable to attend because he was the winner of another club's contest.  Three more backbone members of the club were absent. Gil Ornstein was a target speaker at a contest.  Founder member and meeter and greeter Mike was away on holiday.

So I was greeting, waving at newcomers, rushing forward to hand out badges and pens. I wanted badges with names written large - preferably felt tip pens, not biro or pencil, to help me remember who was who when calling them onto the stage.

If I could not read the badge at a distance at least thanking them by name and leading applause as they left. The name is important for the audience to remember if they want to vote for that person - in fact next time I'm Toastmaster of the Evening I shall say that, "Please help me give a rousing round of applause for our speaker - 'John/Joan Smith' - and note his/her name on your feedback form and tick his/her name on your agenda it or make a mental note if you think s/he deserves a ribbon."

The reminders about feedback and voting would also help me to remember to ask the audience to write feedback for one minute after each speech and to vote.

Alan was taken ill leaving un unfilled speech slot. President Tony had helpfully emailed members asking for volunteers to fill roles. Early in the week I'd had trouble logging into the club website. At one point I found myself on an old website, which delayed matters further.

I also had too many photos from toastmasters meetings worldwide on my laptops, phones and icloud storage. I knew that I would have computer trouble later in the week. I offered to give up the role of Toastmaster to somebody else who had access for phone and laptop and website, but Tony told me to carry on and said he would get David to send me login details and he (Tony) would email members and try to fill the remaining roles.

The evening before seemed like a total disaster looming, as I had been out all day and had no laptop access at all and very little an intermittent phone coverage. Tony and I agreed that 'it'll be all right on the night'.

Luckily I had printed off one copy of the agenda with mostly empty roles the previous week. I had thought of doing what I'd seen done in a club in Singapore. Set up my laptop, or somebody else's, either to project on screen, or to read off it as a reminder.

Three of us arrived an hour early, David, Peter, and me - thanks to Peter, our Sergeant at Arms (the person who often has the key to the venue as well as setting up the room/s, banners and lecterns and chairs). I wrote onto my agenda the names of people as they came in through the door and volunteered them.

Stand-in President was former President David. Coralie, president of another club and former Area Governor (managing five clubs) could be relied on to do a major role. She wanted to be an evaluator as she was to be an evaluator later in a contest.

When I was driven to the meeting by Peter, our SAA, extra time talking together was a great help, because I was able to persuade him to give a third speech. As meeting organizer it's my policy to always have a minimum of three speeches to be sure that you can present prizes, which are not awarded when the meeting has only two speakers.

First speaker - 'Lucky' Kuldeep
Out speech session started with an Icebreaker, the first speech in the Toastmasters speech manual, by Kuldeep, whose name means light. His title was 'Lucky'. His punchline was, The harder you work the luckier you get.

Second speaker - Bijan enjoying 'Happy New Year!'
Bijan on Happy New Year, the Persian Muslim New Year which marks the vernal equinox. He explained that the vernal equinox is when the days and nights are the same length in the northern and southern hemisphere. He also showed the set of foods eaten then, which all begin with the letter S in the Persian language.




Third speaker - Peter on 'Belief - or Relief?'
Peter's speech featured a drama, imagine you are in the Lake District following a group, it gets foggy, you lose the others, and fall, hurting your ankle and tumbling over the edge of a steep drop. You call and perhaps pray for help. When your group leader or friends return to rescue you, do you feel belief or just relief?

Table Topics - Birthdays

What was your last/best birthday gift, given or received?
Richard Baker said he got pneumonia in the evening, after a great birthday.

Describe your best birthday restaurant.
Angela Lansbury: Magic restaurant - door handle hidden in a wall of door handles. Magician throws scroll on table which turns out to be the menu. Restaurant now closed. Previous years we went to Fellini and other Italian restaurants in Hatch End dim lights and bring the birthday boy or girl a cake slice topped by a candles which has a flame a like firework rocket, which you blow but it goes out and relights. Happy Birthday music fills the room.

Break time Birthday, Beetroot and New Year Date
I had brought birthday sponge cake. Bijan's mother offered her confections of dates in pastry. (See later post for more pictures.) Robert Baker brought beetroot and chocolate minicakes.

Evaluations
Peter had no evaluator so he conducted an audience Evaluation of his speech.
Coralie praised speakers for triads (sets of three), deeper, steeper, longer.

Evaluator David congratulated Bijan on 'impersonating a clock'.  (The countdown hand on TV/radio going tick tock, Bijan's hand left right left.)

General Evaluation
As we did not have a general evaluator, we asked the whole audience to act as general evaluator of the whole meeting. Toastmaster Angela, was commended for verve and theme. One suggestions was to have a printed agenda, although some people said they'd enjoyed the more informal meeting just for once for a change, like a holiday, or Friday. Another recommend: welcome guests by name at the start and invite them to introduce themselves.

I think the Toastmaster's in HOD has too much to do. In other clubs the President or VPE prints the agenda. The Toastmaster's main job is to set the theme, plan introductions to speakers and guests, and check everybody knows what to do in their roles. So I think the VPE, President or another helper should do the printing and find the GE, timer, and other last minute roles to fill.

Speakers: Peter pointed out that at least two people stood casually with a hand hidden in their pocket. Amusingly Peter said, mentioning no names, then mentioned their names.

Prize Winning Speakers

Peter won the best speaker ribbon, presented by President of the night, former President David Phelops.

Best Speaker ribbon went too Peter Jacques for his speech on Belief and Relief
 Best evaluator ribbon went to David.

Best Table Topics speakers

Best table Topics speakers were Angela and Robert Baker.

Coralie asked how many people had brought their manuals to the meeting and got their role evaluated? I'd brought my manual but not had it filled in for the Toastmasters role. (Can somebody now do that, please,  Coralie?) Coralie asked who had read the entire manual.
A heckler shouted, "Are you going to test us?"
"Yes," enthused Coralie, "read your manual and I'll test you at the next meeting! Manual test - ten questions!"

Birthday Cakes at Clubs - how to serve it, save it - who should provide it?

Who should provide a birthday cake at clubs?

Affluent clubs, or those keen to attract members, serve birthday cakes for members' birthdays. The club funds the cake, organises the birthday message on top, organises the cake cutting knife, and proper china plates, or paper plates, or serviettes, cuts enough slices for everyone. Leftovers will be given to the birthday boy or girl, and/or taken by the president or shared amongst the committee or those present to take home. If the birthday boy of girl cannot attend (ill, working at an evening job, kept late at work, overseas, forgot) they are sent a picture of the cake, possibly with all those present waving or raising a wineglass in a toast. and a congratulations message from the president.

At other clubs the birthday boy or girl is expected to supply a cake, because at most other meetings, especially in a large club with forty or more members, they have been offered a piece of cake by other members.

At other clubs it is entirely haphazard. Those in the catering business may chose to bring in a cake for themselves, or a friend, to demonstrate their cake making skills and hope to get orders (leaving their business cards next to the cake). If another member has organised the cake, either the birthday girl or boy, or president, or VPE, or Toastmaster of the evening or the General Evaluator will commend the cake maker or organiser and propose a round of applause.

Maybe you don't want to go to the expense of ordering a cake costing £8 for every club, if you belong to four or more clubs. (In Singapore Ernest Chen belongs to six or more. In the UK Tony Winyard belongs to four. Coralie Francis belongs to two. I belong to two.)

However, if you have a large cake for your birthday for the family, and still have leftovers, you might want to bring them into your club.

Leftover Cake
At a recent meeting I brought in leftover birthday cake saved from the weekend. My family recently read that the way to save a cake to keep it fresh is to cut a vertical slice with two parallel lines instead of triangular cake slices, so you can push together two halves. Depending on the decoration on top, and whether you cut out an oblong vertically or horizontally, you might also be able to preserve the original decoration or wording intact. I had brought a plastic knife to cut the cake but our venue has proper knives, as well as rockery. You just need the time and energy to wash up afterwards.

Harrovian Speakers Monday 16 March 2015 - What An Evening!

President Indra, ATMS, AL* opened the meeting and he and Ruth Vishnick had co-ordinated well during Ruth's absence, as Indra had brought the fresh milk, teabags and old biscuits and fresh ones. I was observing what he did, noting it for when I am Toastmaster at sister club HOD. (I belong to two clubs in the UK and was a member of a club in Singapore.) The President is allowed only five minutes, which gave him time to introduce the guest, Nadine. He joked about the 'political' badge I was wearing, 'Birthday Girl', and the birthday cake I had brought for everybody to enjoy at the interval.

Toastmaster of the evening, Veeren Taylor, introduced Timekeeper Karen Carter succinctly by saying the Timekeeper was an important role. In the past I've heard the timekeeper or teamaker introduced as a 'thankless task'. ' A positive phrase such as 'A vital role' applies to both the timekeeper and the teamaker and anybody else. How much more encouraging for the evening's timekeeper, makes people listen to her, or want to volunteer to take the role.


Grammarian Jay Makwana had chosen the word of the day, LIMINAL. She had remembered to write it up on a card and bring Blutac to fix it. She went to stick it centrally, then sensibly moved it to the right of the stage so it would not be hidden by the speaker, helpfully telling everybody the reason.

Table Topics Master Minh Tran told us how she'd been longing to be the Table Topics Master ever since she joined. Great to see such enthusiasm. She had brought photos cut from newspapers for the impromptu speakers.

Table topics speakers were:
Indra, Warren, Chi, Angela, Nadine, Nigel, Dupe, Chi.

We had four longer planned speeches. Harri Seth, a mortgage adviser, gave a speech on mortgages. He advised, 'The best way to make money is to use somebody else's money, banks', and pay back using rent. Britain is landlocked with a rising population so there's dwindling supply and increasing demand. Population in London alone is 8.5 million now with an estimated 10 million in 10-15 years. The mayor of London plans building 42,000 homes a year. Where there is a demand for social housing, sometimes you are offered guaranteed rent, and maintenance paid for.

I was filling in my feedback slip, on a scrap of paper the size of my thumb, wondering how to condense my 'recommend' that he should answer the audience's prospective mortgage taker's fears about the rent being paid not to the landlords but to tenants who run off with the money, but we were on to the next speaker.

Thulasi Arunthavanatha gave a speech on drugs and clinical trials.

Jayanthiny Kangatharan gave an Icebreaker speech. She revealed that she is doing a PhD in psychology and impressed us with her use of several languages to translate research documents to report for the news section of her radio programme for graduates.

Lorna Burns CC gave an advanced project on How to Negotiating to Win-Win (both sides feel they have won or gained). After introducing the subject, she demonstrated a negotiation with her boss acted by Seema. Lorna's tips included picking your time to negotiate, whether with your spouse or your boss, preferably not first thing in the morning nor first thing in the evening. Talk about how I feel, listen to the answer, I appreciate your point, (and you benefit, not you don't understand).

Tea Break and Birthday Cake. I counted we had present 20 members (19 members and one guest). So I cut the cake into twenty pieces, hoping nobody would take two. I hung back for the first five minutes in case there was not enough for everybody. In the event a few people were not cake eaters so at least two people had seconds.

As a general rule, the thin people refuse cake. The people who are or were plump and jolly types smile broadly, discuss dieting, indulge themselves by taking the first piece, and want to be persuaded to take another. (Me, definitely, Indra, highly likely, Thulassi - possibly.)

Evaluators Nigel Tranah, Chinemelu Ezah, Sarda Hirani, Sanjay Ratnam, Jesus Parada.

General Evaluator Warren Sheng, ACS, AL, said 'the job of the General Evaluator is to evaluate everything', (including the Evaluators of speeches). He commented 'brevity is the key'. He said that the timekeeper should time everything, including the break, to be sure the evening ran to time. You should could call people back two minutes early, because nobody would notice or complain, and it takes two minutes to get everybody back to their seats. A Timekeeper should not simply stand up at the back, but come to the front stage (and enjoy) - the Timekeeper's five minutes in the limelight.
Warren's comment on the Table Topics Master, Minh Tran, was that she did well to invite the guest to speak.

Future Meetings
March 28 Contest on a Saturday, starts at 9.30 am, at London Business School a walk from Baker Street station. (Cost?) Warren Sheng is doing a workshop/training session (so he won't be paying).

You will have a chance to hear Harrovian Speakers' Gosbert Chagula, a former president, giving his prize-winning speech on Africa. He is Harrovians' winner of the club contest, then won the Area contest, now reaching the third level, division contest. If he wins that he represent us in the International Contest.

Another personality at the event is Hilary Briggs who has already visited clubs in the area giving training sessions on Evaluations - the other contest on the day being the Evaluation contest.

Our toastmaster for the evening, Veeren Taylor, is planning a workshop/training about success, including various motivational topics, at the club meeting place, Glebe Hall, Glebe Road, dates and details to be confirmed, fee covering the cost of hall hire and/or other expenses, to be announced later.

WINNERS
President Indra Sikdar presented prizes.
Jayanthini Kangatharai was presented with a ribbon for having the courage and dedication to present her first toastmasters speech, project one, the Icebreaker.

The winner of the table topics ribbon was the President, Indra Sikdar.

The winner of the speech ribbon was Lorna Burns.

The winner of the evaluator ribbon was Jay Makwana.

Nigel was presented with his CC award, a wooden plaque which has a tab at the back to enable you to stand it on a shelf.  This was Indra's good idea. I had received only a certificate from head office for my CC and Indra said the club would not pay for the plaques for previous years. So now I shall go through the manual again to win a point for the club and the plaque. Meanwhile I photographed myself with Nigel's plaque.

(Note the letters listed on agendas: PP which is short for a Past President. IPP is immediate Past President).
More on newsletters see later post.
For more on cakes see later post.
Angela Lansbury CL ACG* (For more on Toastmasters awards letters see later post.)

Cakes for Clubs and members birthday and anniversaries

A copy of the Magna Carta on a cake is on display in Salisbury Cathedral, Wiltshire, England. The cake maker spent 22 hours carefully copying the writing, painting it by hand with edible ink using a brush with a cut down point for the tiny writing. What's in it for me and you and your club?

In some countries

1 Visit Salisbury cathedral to admire the cake maker's work - and consider how you can adapt this idea.
2 Commission a cake from her with writing drawn on.
3 Commission a cake from somebody else with writing drawn on.
4 Bake a cake and ask another member to draw on writing imitating an old document or invent your own.
5 Buy a shop cake, such as a Marks and Spencer fruit cake topped with white icing ,and write on your own message or document.
6 Order a birthday cake with a photo (of book or document including writing/text) printed on. (I have four family birthdays and one wedding anniversary this year. I shall probably have an exam pass to celebrate.
7 In some clubs and countries the affluent club would pay for a cake for all members to enjoy. In other clubs and countries the birthday boy might use their initiative to bring in a cake to share with members. If you are overseas during your birthday you could ask if you could give a speech - with the promise to the president and committee that your speech ends with sharing a cake with the members.
8 Seasonal celebrations. Plus of course Easter, Xmas, club events. In Singapore some Toastmasters International speakers' clubs celebrate the club birthday, the club President's birthday or every committee member's birthday or every member's birthday - followed by a speech from the member.)
9 For one birthday my family ordered a photo showing me and my latest book. The photo is sent to the company at least three weeks in advance.
10 Order edible cake toppings from a company which prints the photo. One large picture or several small ones to go on cupcakes. If ordering the small size, watch out that the message does not cover the face of the birthday boy or girl.