Lutterworth Speakers Club lost one of its most entertaining speakers in April when Steve Wagstaff died. He was a preacher, writer and humorist, and found in the club a great outlet for his thoughts. An abridged extract of his notes on the theme of “Is the Female of the Species Deadlier than the Male?” shows his great sense of humour:

“In some species, spiders for example, the sole purpose of the male is to fertilise the female egg. Once they have completed their task their lives become meaningless. Yes, it is true that the female then kills the male but this is an act of mercy. If the female did not take pity on the male and end its miserable life after mating then the poor male would have to spend the rest of his days in a totally meaningless parody of life, his ears continually bombarded by the constant whining of the female with no point to his continued existence. You see, rather than being cold and deadly killers the females of the species are in reality, warm and generous and compassionate. To say otherwise is to misunderstand their motivation.”

Steve will be much missed.

We meet again on 3rd September, 7.30p.m. at Karter’s Café, 20, Church Street Lutterworth. For more information about our club see our website LutterworthSpeakersClub.com

Lutterworth Speakers Club enjoyed an evening of reflection, information and nourishment in our last ordinary meeting of the season.  Steve Wagstaff described in poetic detail the reflections of an older man on his birthday – where does the time go?  It’s a question we all ask as we grow older. Genny Beck changed the mood with a fascinating speech about the microbiome – the bacteria that live in and on our body, and the role they play in maintaining our health – with advice to eat fresh vegetables aplenty and avoid processed food. Steve and Genny both passed their particular speech assignments– congratulations to them.

Finally, a topics session on food seemed an appropriate way to end. From Sunday lunch to BBQs, picnics and Christmas food Oz-style, we covered it all.

For more details about our club and meeting dates, please see LutterworthSpeakersClub.com.

In recent meetings members have treated us to a variety of fascinating subjects, reflecting their varied interests. Sarah Waters, in a Showpiece speech, talked about Energy Medicine – a new concept whereby we can literally ‘tap in’ to our body’s energy stores, awakening them to benefit our health, by tapping and massaging particular areas of the body. Sarah gave a wonderful demonstration and we all had a go.

Derek Eastwood then gave a speech about William Morris, later Lord Nuffield, founder of Morris Motors and Britain’s greatest philanthropist.  He gave away £30million of his fortune in his lifetime, and Derek’s speech shone a light on a truly great man. Edward Taylor, a great lover of flight and aviation, followed with a speech informing us about the nesting habits of a variety of birds.

A Topics session led by Maggie Barlow encouraged members to digress from a subject, rather than stick to it, to gain experience of using a difficult subject to springboard onto an easier one. Gary Hayward took this furthest, going from washing-up liquid to trains in under three minutes, a fair achievement.

We welcome visitors and guests. We meet at Karter’s Café, Church Street, Lutterworth on Mondays c. twice a month. See our website LutterworthSpeakersClub.com for more details or ring Maggie Barlow on 01455 207774.

Our club kicked off the New Year in style, with a terrific trio of speeches.

New member Emma Thompson took us travelling to America, South Korea, and Italy, via the Cayman Islands and Cozumel (an island off Mexico). In her young life she has already packed in a tremendous amount – teaching horse-riding, English, and working on a cruise ship being just a sample we learned about in a speech that took in skunks, spiders and grizzly bears along the way.

Then Allan Rimmer gave us a Showpiece speech on the pros and cons of the electric car, in particular how much cleaner the air would be, although the tricky problems of initial cost, range and availability of charging points have yet to be solved.  We can dream. The Showpiece speech means that Allan has completed the full range of speaking assignments, one of the goals of our Club.  Well done, Allan!

Finally, Dave Hanger gave a light, entertaining speech, inspired by his Christmas, about toys through the decades.  Remember Meccano?  Many budding engineers were inspired by this construction toy, and of course by Lego, still a firm favourite everywhere.  Action Man got a nod, and Barbie and Ken too, with their more recent 21^st century make-overs.

We meet at Karter’s Café on Church St, Lutterworth, 1st and 3rd Mondays of the month, 7.30 to 9.30pm.  We welcome guests and visitors – for further details please ring Maggie Barlow on 01455 207774 or see our website LutterworthSpeakersClub.com

Lutterworth Speakers Club has blossomed since our move to Karter’s Café, with new members Genny Beck, Derek Eastwood and Gary Hayward giving fascinating maiden speeches on their various interests. We continue to challenge members with a variety of fun, impromptu Topics and send club members forward to Area competitions where we wish them every success.

We meet at Karter’s Café on Church St, Lutterworth, and begin again after Christmas on January 8^th.  In the meantime we wish all our members, friends and associates a very Happy Christmas and a peaceful and prosperous New Year.

This month saw two new members give their maiden speeches.

Animal lover Genny Beck gave us an insight into her life and in particular her love of horses, as the owner of one. Her affection for her animals shone through.  Then Derek Eastwood related a series of highly unusual transport events that have punctuated his much-travelled life. Fascinating titbits that would each give rise to a mini-speech on their own!  Both new speakers showed enthusiasm and confidence despite the inevitable nerves that come with a first speech, and we look forward to hearing much more from both.

A very topical Topics session followed, led by Margaret Baldwin, with members rising to the challenge of talking about autumn happenings or events. Star turns included Steve Wagstaff leading us through his lifetime of ‘Trick or Treat’ – from eager child to cautious father to grumpy old man, –  and Dave Hanger, self-proclaimed fashion leader, having us in stitches with his take on ‘Getting out your Winter Wardrobe’.  Emma Thompson loves the sparkle and promise of Christmas window displays, while her guest Gemma, another animal lover, dreads Bonfire Night because of the effect on her horses and dogs.

We meet at Karter’s Café on Church St, Lutterworth, 1st and 3rd Mondays of the month, 7.30 to 9.30pm.  We welcome guests and visitors – just drop in any time or for further details ring Maggie Barlow on 01455 207774 or see our website LutterworthSpeakersClub.com.

Once again our team of Margaret Baldwin, Steve Wagstaff and Edward Taylor did superbly well in the Area Chatterbox competition, taking on the theme of ‘Coach and Horses’ and competing against teams from Market Harborough and Barwell Cedars Speakers Clubs.  However, despite Lutterworth winning the audience vote, sadly the judges awarded the trophy this year by a narrow margin to Market Harborough. Next year will doubtless see the club even more motivated to win it back.

Back at the club, in the Topics session Edward Taylor invited us to go down Memory Lane and recall a humorous event. Among the many contributions, Sue Hanger told us the hilarious tale of how she was transported to her wedding not by chauffeur-driven limousine but by council cleansing cart, arriving first of all at the wrong church.  A memorable day indeed.

We have also been busy strengthening our ties within the local community. In conjunction with staff at the Sir Frank Whittle Studio School, six of our members helped giving feedback to students taking their first steps in public speaking.  An interesting and successful initiative pioneered by our President, Allan Rimmer and Vice President Eileen Fox.

We meet at Karter’s Café on Church St, Lutterworth, 1st and 3rd Mondays of the month, 7.30 to 9.30pm.  We welcome guests and visitors – just drop in any time or for further details ring Maggie Barlow on 01455 207774 or see our website LutterworthSpeakersClub.com

LUTTERWORTH SPEAKERS CLUB returned fresh for a new season with several new faces in the group who received a warm welcome from all.

A rehearsal of our ‘Chatterbox’ Area competition entry on the theme ‘Coach and Horses’ threw up a great many fascinating facts about the history of both. Team speaking has its own challenges of coordination, communication and timing, and with luck our team (Margaret Baldwin, Edward Taylor and Steve Wagstaff) will pull out a winning entry.

Maggie Barlow chaired a Topics session – sending members out to various places such as a supermarket, petrol station or leisure centre, with a ‘Fantasy Friend’ from long ago, with the challenge of explaining to the friend in 3 minutes what the place was all about.

This was interesting and entertaining.  Eileen Fox took Shakespeare to a petrol station, explaining how to get in a car (not through the window), how to fill the tank and fasten a seatbelt.  Gary Hayward chose a different angle – he took a deaf friend round a hospital, explaining instruments and procedures.  Steve Wagstaff took Julius Caesar to a football match (it’s not lions that come out of the tunnel), and first-time guest Emma joined in enthusiastically, showing a sculptor (Michelangelo?) round a museum to see how his work had lasted.

We meet at Karter’s Café on Church St, Lutterworth, 1st & 3rd Mondays of the month, 7.30 to 9.30pm.  We welcome guests and visitors; just drop in any time, ring Maggie Barlow on 01455 207774 for more information or see our website LutterworthSpeakersClub.com

September sees the start of our new season when we look forward to getting to know our newer members, meeting speakers from other local clubs, taking part in the various competitions throughout the year, and having a lot of fun.

Ordinary club nights see a range of speeches, readings, and impromptu topics delivered by our regular members. New people sometimes ask what they should speak about – well, the answer is anything, apart from the unholy trinity of sex, religion and politics! Our members have a wide range of interests and experiences, indeed passions, from trains to the marine environment through gardening, dancing, and F1 – we’re always learning something new. But we’re not all about leisure – work or other formal presentations can be given, for advice and constructive feedback.

The first competition is the Area ‘Chatterbox’ at the end of September, a night out where teams from the four local clubs try to out-speak each other.  This year the theme is ‘Coach and Horses’ and our team will attempt, in the 10 minutes available, to come up with the best interpretation and presentation.  Imagination and humour are the key things that have brought us success in the last four years of ‘Chatterbox” – no pressure, team!

We meet at Karter’s Café, 20 Church Street, Lutterworth, 7.30 – 9.30 pm 1^st & 3^rd Mondays of the month, September to May. A warm welcome is assured to anyone who drops in. For more details, ring Maggie Barlow on 01455 207774 or visit our website http://www.LutterworthSpeakersClub.com.

Lutterworth Speakers’ Club – here to help you speak!

Do you secretly want to try public speaking, but haven’t plucked up the courage?  Do you need to develop your speaking skills, or perhaps have to give a speech at a special occasion and would like some help?

If so, our club could be for you.  Lutterworth Speakers’ Club aims to give people the skills they need to speak with confidence.  We follow a structured programme that enables you to progress at your own pace, with encouragement and feedback from more experienced members.

A typical meeting will have a variety of speeches, with constructive feedback, and a topics session of impromptu speaking with the emphasis on fun. We also run occasional special evenings such as our Mock Trial last year. Every year there are competitions with other clubs in the area, starting in September with a team-speaking event called  ‘Chatterbox’ which Lutterworth has won four years in a row!

Following our summer break we start again on Monday, September 4^th, 7.30p.m. We meet at Karter’s Café, 20, Church Street, Lutterworth, a friendly and relaxed venue with drinks and a wonderful selection of cakes available. For more details ring Maggie Barlow on 01455 207774 or see our website LutterworthSpeakersClub.com.