Jocelyn chaired our 5 August 2025 Spinnaker Toastmasters meeting with the theme “time for a tidyup”, and Table Topics Mistress Lin followed this theme in her session.

Speakers were asked to talk about cleaning up their digital photo gallery, their social schedule, online subscriptions, garage, new year’s resolution list, wardrobe, email box, cutlery drawer and desktop on their computer. Everyone had a tale to tell about why or why they didn’t need to have a tidyup. Table Topics Evaluator Jacqui loved the theme and topics, especially the positive energy and humour of all the speakers.

Grammarian Dale’s word of the day was “Razzmatazz”, which means “a confusing or colourful often gaudy action or display”.

Speech 1 by Katina, introduced by Ash, was a Level 3 Descriptive Language speech about her recent holiday. Titled “Too much of a good thing” she described her experience of being a tourist in Athens and how tourism is wrecking some of the most special places there. She said there are so many beautiful places in the world, one of them Athens in Greece, which is often called a land of marble and myth. The Acropolis reigns over a city that is both modern and ancient. Many people flock to Athens to soak up the history and admire the monuments, temples and ruins. And yet, amid the beauty and myth of Greece we can’t ignore how over-tourism is threatening the soul of these sacred places. As travellers, we must tread lightly, with reverence and responsibility, embracing slower, more mindful journeys that honour history, culture, and the living communities we visit.

Evaluator Ash said “we went on an adventure without actually going there” and praised Katina’s creative use of descriptive language. Ash won the Best Evaluator Award for the night.

Speech 2 by Junior, introduced by Ron, titled “Why I matter” described the Samoan concept of service. Evaluator Ron said it was a speech with a purpose, touched our hearts, was well prepared and delivered confidently.

General Evaluator Megan said she loved the meeting theme, that it was a most enjoyable meeting full of laughter and fun. She enjoyed the two powerful evaluations, and thought the Memory Master Darril excelled in his role, it was her favourite part of the meeting.

Best Speaker – Junior

We also acknowledged Zi’s completion of the recent Speechcraft Course and he was awarded his certificate by Speechcraft Coordinator Ron.

Spinnaker Toastmasters Club welcomes guests, and would love to hear from you if you are interested in developing your public speaking and leadership skills. Just contact us on spinnaker@toastmasters.org.nz and we’ll get back in touch pronto. Our next meeting is Tuesday 19 August at 7.30 pm at the St Andrew’s Church Hall, 11 Steyne Avenue, Plimmerton.