Ashtead Peace Memorial Hall in Surrey was the venue yesterday for the very best humorous and impromptu speakers from Toastmasters clubs across South East England (Division H), among them our very own David Collins and Pete Steele. The audience was entertained, educated and enthralled by the electric energy, and enthusiasm of terrifically talented Toastmasters from Tunbridge Wells to Taunton’s College and all points in between!
Amazingly, David and Pete were both drawn first of seven contestants in their respective contests! Our ‘dynamic duo’ both set a very high benchmark for other contestants to follow. David as the bumbling ‘dick-head’ provided the audience with many laughs with his dyslexic tongue-in-cheek take on management-speak. Pete’s off-the-cuff speech affirming Einstein’s view that logic will take us from A to B but imagination can take us anywhere, took us on a highly charged creative 2 minute journey from the stuttering aircraft of the early days of aviation to super-charged rockets that can take our imaginations into the outer reaches of the universe!
Although David and Pete weren’t placed in the top three winners by the judges, in my view they were worthy ‘winners’ in more ways than one, gaining valuable experience alongside national standard speakers, putting Hamwic on the map alongside other longer established clubs, and giving all the Hamwic supporters who attended the opportunity to network with members of other clubs, gaining valuable insight into other clubs’ experience.