WHILE the main aim of the Toastmasters movement is to encourage members to improve their public speaking skills, the Malvern club seems to attract ready-made accomplished performers.

Yet again, at last week’s meeting the vote for best speaker went to a débutante making her first speech. Elaine Watt’s description of how a woman’s identity changes with motherhood to being just So-and-So’s Mum rang bells with every mother present. And her listing of the manifold roles played every day by a working mum, confidently delivered without a single um, earned her the evening’s top award.

The competition was strong too. Chris Little’s intriguingly titled The Voiceless Alveolar Lateral Fricative and All That proved to be an account of the pleasures and problems of learning the Welsh language. Dave Bradley’s entertaining recollections of high and low lights of the career of an accidental broadcaster varied from interviewing Prime Ministers to encountering the studio ghost in the middle of the night. This speech, prepared at two hours’ notice because of the withdrawal of a scheduled speaker, also had an enigmatic title: It’s Only Rock’n’Roll And No-one Ever Dies!

The off-the-cuff Table Topics presided over by Sarah Colloby produced some lively accounts of holiday delights and disasters from caravanning to outdoor eating. Indoor eating was well catered for with the usual fine selection of member-made cakes.

Evaluation of all contributions by other members is an important feature of meetings – a mixture of friendly encouragement and constructive criticism with suggestions for improvement. Even the evaluators are evaluated, and the award for best on the night went to club stalwart Amanda Duncan..

Next meeting will be at the Great Malvern Hotel on Tuesday, August 26 at 7.30pm.

COLIN JACKSON 01684 577604