Report by: KEVIN WALSH
Fermoy Toastmasters enjoyed a most pleasant and entertaining second meeting of the new season on Tuesday evening, September 19th at 8.15 pm in the riverside Youth Centre where we always receive such kindness and hospitality for which we are ever so grateful and appreciative. And this same bright and convivial and welcoming spirit fills all our meetings with a great sense of gladness and joy. Every member and visitor is greeted personally at the door and it is always so lovely to hear the air fill with the buzz of genial and cordial chatter in another delightful gathering of friends. We were delighted to welcome the President of Mallow Toastmasters, Helsa Giles who as always enhanced our gathering with her charm and grace as well as the lovely sweet cakes of her own baking.
Club President Kevin O’Neill sounded the gavel and extended warm greetings and good wishes to all who had joined us on this autumn evening beside the Blackwater to celebrate the spoken word and the enjoyment of great listening that stimulates the mind and brings cheer to the heart. Proceedings were then chaired by Fanahan Colbert who introduced the speakers and guided things seamlessly from one key phase of the meeting to the next with genial and relaxed informality. A good and lively topics session always makes for a very pleasant and successful meeting. In the hands of David Walsh as topicsmaster, a very enjoyable atmosphere soon built up in the room as he presented us with a range of light but engaging topics that got everyone thinking on their feet and actively taking part. It can never be over-emphasised: Toastmasters is all about people expressing their own ideas in their own words. Apart from guests who are never asked to speak – unless they feel the spirit moving them at the right moment – every member is given the opportunity to have their voices heard.
David evoked the enduring romance of rail which prompted several lovely reflections of easy-going train journeys watching the countryside roll gently past the carriage window. Eilish Ui Bhriain spoke tellingly of her childhood memories of the West Cork railway when the hooter of the evening train heralded the time to boil the eggs and make the tea, a graphic illustration of how the passing of the trains shaped and regulated daily life for generations. John Kelly spoke with enthusiasm and feeling of his satisfaction and fulfilment in his long career as a car salesman in helping someone find the right vehicle for their needs and said he could write a book on the subject. Such a work would be a masterpiece and huge success written by such a gentle master of the art.
Other topics encompassed the pleasure of going to the cinema and whether Ireland was really a good country to live in. Most reactions were positive emphasising how beautiful the country is, if only we had a little more sun and less rain. Angela Ngethe contrasted her native Kenya with its turbulent politics with the peaceful orderly change of national leadership that occurred here last summer, while John Kelly drew attention to such stark national failures as the scandal of homelessness. From Padraig Murphy we heard a beautiful description of home as the place where we are with those whom we love and where our most significant memories are for our homes are not just bricks and mortar, but people. All of this and so much more was featured in a truly memorable topics session in our club where in coming together as friends we make a very real sense of belonging and a wider home mutual support and goodwill.
All of this put us in an eager and receptive mood for the three very fine and accomplished set speeches just before the tea break. Nina Keating took us succinctly along the Five Essential Steps to Happiness with the message that we can do so much to make ourselves as happy as we are minded to be. She emphasised the importance of getting out with nature and enjoying the calming effect of natural light. Of enjoying pleasurable little treats such as fruit or books or friends or whatever that makes us feel good. She spoke insightfully of the beneficial effects of taking regular exercise whether in walking, playing sport, swimming or dancing and of paying attention with clarity to the everyday joys all around us whether in birdsong, of children at play and the pleasure of animals and pets to name but a few. Lastly and most importantly, we need to accept ourselves as we are and to be happy with ourselves. Evaluator John Kelly warmly endorsed this positive and optimistic well-researched and finely delivered message and of how much he looked forward to evaluating Nina’s next speech just as we will all enjoy the pleasure of hearing it.
Kevin O’Neill is a hands-on President who leads by example and gave an absorbing talk on the health benefits of consuming milk. A prodigious source of vitamins and nutrition, Kevin pointed to the positive effects of regular milk consumption in terms of healthy skin and bones as well as offering a major energy boost so that the tale of the ancient Egyptian queen Cleopatra talking exotic milk baths to maintain her legendary ravishing beauty has a real basis in truth if not in fact. Using an assortment of dairy products from cartons of milk, yoghurt, creams and cheeses as an effective visual aid, this presentation encouraged us to look at the health benefits of milk in a new and original ways. Its optimistic note might have been even further enhanced as suggested later by evaluator Michael Sheehan if a glass of milk had been raised by way of toast to healthier living with milk!
It is remarkable how several speeches in the one evening can sometimes follow a similar line of thought. Our final speaker Angela Ngethe strongly advocated the need for nutritional testing arguing that we are ultimately what we eat: for just as cars are subjected to NCTs, so all of us should make it our business to quantify the effects of the foods we are consuming. Evaluator Mary Whelan praised Angela’s achievements and rapid progress as seen in the poise and confidence she displayed in her presentation.
After a thoughtful overall summation from General Evaluator Kevin Walsh, we adjourned with a warm looking forward to our next gathering which will be our annual Humorous and Table Topics Contest which is always such a sparkling and convivial occasion which will be held on Tuesday evening next, October 3rd, in the Fermoy Youth Centre at 8.15 pm. For further information, please contact Mary Whelan at 087 7971006 or Kevin Walsh at 058 60100 or log on to our mobile-friendly website toastmastersfermoy.com or find us on Twitter @ FermoyT.