Paul had a long career in the travel industry followed by over 15 years working in the NHS as a senior manager and director. Paul retired at 58 then trained to be toastmaster which he thoroughly enjoyed.Paul has been survived by his wife Liz ,two sons Marcus and Tudor and two grandchildren.
Past President Gordon Richar Heywood. Our condolences go to his wife, Shirley, and his two daughters, Tamsin and Nicky. A full tribute will appear in the next addition of the TMV.
Past President Gordon Verran is third from the left in the back row. Our condolences go to his wife, Gladys and family. A full tribute will appear in the next addition of the TMV.
Dear Friends and Colleagues
It has been a busy two-year term for me, with 2 Christmas lunches – the first one at Vintners Hall and last Christmas at the RAF Club in Piccadilly. My thanks to Peter and Gillian Thompson, without whose assistance the venues would not have opened up to us. Also, we had 2 Social Weekends – the first one in Bristol last year and the second one in Norwich this year. A big thank you must also go to all those of you who have supported us at the Social Weekends. They were a great opportunity to meet
and network socially with friends and colleagues from the NAT and outside. I believe that this type of function only goes to make the NAT stronger and enables friendships to be forged. Past President Richard Heywood, along with Honorary Members Andrew Coy and Ian Haskell have always been worth their weight in gold in helping to organise these events.
I am looking forward to the next two years under the leadership of Robert Persell, our current Vice President. I am confident that Robert will continue
to maintain the high standards that have previously been set as I know his aim is to continue moving the NAT into the 21st Century and to keep us relevant and the premier Toastmaster Association in the country.
I would also like to take this opportunity of thanking everyone on the Executive, both Members and ex-officio for their unswerving support during my Presidential term of office.
The last few weeks have been very sad for me:
• Past President Gordon Verran, suddenly passed away. Gordon was the President in situ when I joined the NAT back in 2005. He was also a great supporter of our Christmas functions and could always be relied upon to bring a table of family and friends. Our condolences go to his lovely wife, Gladys, and their Family. We are still awaiting a date for Gordon’s funeral and this will be posted as soon as it is available.
• And then, only this week, I received the very sad news that Past President Richard Heywood has also died. Richard’s health has not been the best for a few years but he continued to be a stalwart supporter of the NAT. During his term in Office I served as his Secretary and he was the main force of our NAT Social Weekends, the last one of which took place in March of this year, in Norwich. All those who attended the Dunston Hall Hotel will remember him laughing and joking. Our condolences to his lovely wife and co-conspirator, Shirley, and obviously his two daughters, Tamsin and Nicky. Again, we await a date for Richard’s funeral and this will also be posted as soon as it is available.
• And also, we have only just been informed of the passing in March this year of Paul Kennard, a retired Member. Our condolences go to his wife, Liz and Family.
We have now received the very generous bequest of £2,200.95 from David Petrie, Honorary Member, who was a long-time supporter of the NAT.
I WOULD LIKE TO MAKE AN APPEAL, especially to our newer members. At the AGM to be held on the 6th October 2024, don’t wait, put yourselves forward for the Executive. We really do need to vitalise if we’re going to move forward. As has been said so often, this is your Association. Help get out of it what you need and the only way you can do this is by letting us know.
I also need to place on record my deepest thanks to Sue, my very longsuffering wife, PA, Honorary Member and gofer, without whose support, life would have been very difficult. I would like to assure her that once I don’t have the NAT to distract me, I might get some of those jobs done!
Finally, I would like to say a huge thank you to you all. It has been an absolute privilege to be your President over the last two years and I hope to see you all in the near future.
Tom Reddy
Welcome to the Summer edition of the TMV. Apologies for the slight delay –but ‘better late than never’, as they say. As ever, thank you to those who have contributed to this issue.
This is a rather sad edition of our magazine with the reporting of three members of NAT passing away, Paul Kennard and two Past Presidents Gordon Verran and Richard Heywood. Our sincere condolences go to all their families.
If you have any outstanding suppliers in the wedding industry that you would like to highlight, we would love to hear about them.
If you have any thoughts about what you would like to see in the TMV please contact me at richard@ cambridgetoastmaster.com with your suggestions.
Once again, thank you all contributors to the Summer TMV.
Happy reading!
Richard Mitchell
Annual General Meeting
Sunday 6th October 2024
11.00 at The Water Rats, London. This will be an in-person meeting, with a Zoom connection if possible.
Monday 4th November 2024
Mondayd 10th February 2025
Monday 28th April 2025
Monday 9th June 2025
Monday 15th September 2025
Christmas Lunch
Monday 2nd December at Bakers Hall, London.
This is just an image and NOT the item for sale
Liz Kennard wishes to try to sell Paul’s Toastmaster uniform. His two coats are a size 48 from Claremont. They are both in very good condition. There are also four shirts which are still in the cellophane, having come back from the Baker laundry in Bournemouth. Three of the shirts have collars and one is collarless and there are the detachable collars. There is also one waistcoat still in the cellophane, heavily starched and one which Paul wore once. There are also two pairs of trousers size 42 waist 31 leg. One pair is pure wool the other a wool mix. There are also patent shoes, gloves etc. If you are interested please contact Liz on 07975857400
This table plan was seen at a wedding and sent in by Si Shirley. Have you seen a plan that would rival this one? If so, why not send it in for the Winter edtion of the TMV
Si Shirley just having a bit of fun during a check of the wedding breakfast room, whilst everyone is outside enjoying champagne and canapés.
Si Shirley encountered some friendly Toastmaster red jacket competition from not only guest Ovidiu but also his wife Mihaela at a recent Romanian wedding. Several guests commented.
I was born in Sussex , I grew up , went to school and college in Kent. My first teaching job, was in that county too. My next move was to Liverpool where I worked as an “asm and small parts” in the the Playhouse Theatre in the centre of Liverpool. I was in the company of people like Rosemary Leach, James Hazledean. Gareth Thomas, Jean Boht and Lynda Marshell better known these days as Lynda La Plante who has such success as an author. I soon graduated to leads and after about three years I moved on to Leeds, but that is another part of the story.
Any one guessed yet.?
Earlier this month Guy celebrated his 80th birthday. Congratulations Guy from all of us in the NAT. We hope you had a fabulous day.
The second birthday that has come to my notice is that of Janine Robbins. All of us who have been trained by Howard will have been royally looked after by Janine with her wonderful teas. Congratulations Janine from all of us in the NAT. We hope you had a fabulous day.
Some of my clients take up my offer to review their speeches and I generally make a few slight suggestions to improve layout or delivery. Recently, I suggested to a bridegroom who only seemed to be talking about his new wife Esther:
“I think you should consider mentioning the following, but, of course, that decision is entirely yours:
- Esther’s parents and your relationship with them, now and in the future.
- Because your speech is following the Father of the Bride, you should thank him sincerely for what he has said. If you are able to, repeat some lines he used - perhaps “I particularly liked the bit where you said...........”
- Your Best man and the ushers. Thank you to them and tell us why they are important to you
- Thank Qiqi and Yan Chang for their singing
- Unless Esther is going to talk about them, the bridesmaids and how they have supported her.
- The family whisky brewed 40 years ago by your grandfather especially for your marriage, whenever it happened, and the jam that you are giving as favours and their significance.”
Another bridegroom told me that his Bulgarian father wanted to make a speech before the meal and please would I review it. It read:
“Good afternoon everyone. I’m Atlana and I’m the father of the groom. First of all, on behalf of my wife and me, I would like to welcome Tina and Andrew. I’d also like to welcome relatives and friends of both families and thank you all for being here, especially those of you who have travelled a long way to make this special
occasion so memorable. Anna and Georgi have obviously worked really hard on this beautiful wedding, and I’m sure everyone here agrees that the atmosphere is wonderful.
I’d also like to take this opportunity to thank everyone else involved in making the day so special. At this point, I would like to formally welcome Anna into the family, even though you have been part of it for a good while now.
It seems like just yesterday my son was a little boy, but what a little boy he was. Growing up, Georgi had a knack for turning the ordinary into extraordinary. He had the ability for example to turn an ordinary baby’s meal of sour cherry puree into an extraordinary picture on the wall. He also had the ability to turn an ordinary fishing day into an epic diving adventure to find the missing gear or an ordinary weekend in the villa turned into a frantic search for a missing child in the twilight. I get goosebumps whenever I think of it. It is hard to be a parent and I’m sure that many of you know what I’m talking about.
We had to find within ourselves the necessary patience and had to make difficult decisions. We provided him the space and time to learn life’s lessons, spread his wings, challenge himself, test his limits, and find his personality. At the same time, we were trying to be close enough to catch him if he fell.
But as the Greek philosopher noticed many years ago - everything flows and nothing stands still. The time has passed, and every piece of the puzzle has fallen into place. The resulting picture is the young gentleman over there and I’m proud of him. Now he has
proven that he can turn the extraordinary into ordinary. He can turn extraordinary situations into ordinary issues and cope with them. Thank you for being our son.
Thank you for being the reason we met this girl. Anna, you shine so bright. I remember, five years ago Georgi told us that he had met a special girl. He started to enumerate your qualities that have attracted him. He spoke for more than half an hour. I’m sure that if he tries to do it again now, he will need more than two hours. You are an inexhaustible source of inspiration and joy for our son. I hope he is the same for you. Sticking with tradition, I’d like to leave the new couple with some words of advice as they enter into this next stage of their lives together. Remember to be kind to each other. Be patient and understanding. Don’t forget to communicate, to laugh, and to love each other. Do these things and you will have a great recipe for a happy, long, and successful marriage. Don’t forget also the words of a great philosopher who once said - a man who gives in when he is wrong is a wise man. While a man who gives in when he is right is married.
Anna and Georgi - May you both live as long as you like and have all that you need for as long as you live.”
I said the following and am waiting for a response as TMV goes to press:
“I have been happy to review your father’s speech and it is fine. There are some
alterations I would like to make - nothing important, but, first, I must tell you what has happened at two weddings this year when the Father of the Groom has delivered a similar speech. The Father of the Bride said (and at one wedding shouted publicly, immediately after hearing the speech) “He’s said all this before the meal, and he’s stolen my speech. Apart from me saying a few things about my daughter, he’s done everything which my speech, as Father of the Bride, I’m supposed to say. I’m going to rewrite my speech and think that (name) has given MY speech! If I’d known he was going to steal my speech I wouldn’t have let him do his speech before the meal.”
Can I leave you to consider these comments and decide a way ahead? You both might check with Andrew that he’s happy with this speech perhaps or decide to amend it. Anyway, let me know what is decided and then I will be happy to review the words. I felt it was important that I write these comments to you before I do anything more so that you can consider a way ahead.”
Do you think I wrote correctly? What would you have said to him?
Paul Deacon
Many of our families and friends will have visited the iconic ship, HMS Belfast, which is moored on the south bank of the River Thames overlooking The Tower of London and Tower Bridge.
The White Ensign Association is a charity based on board HMS Belfast, which supports serving and veteran members of the Royal Navy, Royal Marines and the Royal Fleet Auxiliary. Having worked for them previously, I was delighted and honoured when they asked me to act as the toastmaster for a dinner on board to celebrate the 80th Anniversary of D Day.
We have all probably seen the film The Longest Day and when we remember D-Day we possibly also tend to remember the incredible achievements of the Allied Armies who landed on the D-Day beaches of Sword, Juno, Gold Omaha and Utah. None of that would have been possible without the naval operations to support them. The assaults on these five sectors (up to midnight on 6/7 June 1944) involved some 132,815 personnel, supported by 1,212 Allied Warships, 4,125 amphibious craft, 735 ancillary craft and 864 merchant ships.
As well as one of the few surviving vessels involved in Operation Neptune, the nautical element of Operation Overlord, HMS Belfast played a hugely significant role on the day. She was the leading ship behind the minesweepers heading into Juno Beach, ahead of other ships of the Royal and Canadian Navies. Her ship’s log records that she opened fire at 05.27 ‘with full broadside to port’ and many of the ship’s company believed they were the first to engage. HMS Belfast finally left the gunline on the 8th of July.
With such an illustrious history, and to commemorate such a momentous anniversary, it was an absolute privilege to work at this lovely dinner. As is customary I got there very early but just missed the firing of the guns in the afternoon. The evening was run largely on Royal Naval traditional lines but my announcements were also designed to assist non-naval guests to understand what was required to conform to those traditions.
Thankfully the weather was kind, and we were able to hold the Champagne Reception on the quarterdeck. Music was provided by the Candy Girls, performing by the forward gun platform, including many favourites from that era.
As this is still a warship serving and retired Royal Navy officers, of which there were many, saluted the ensign on the quarterdeck if in uniform, or came to attention if in ‘civvies’.
The City of London Sea Cadets performed a Sunset Ceremony, accompanied by The Royal Marines Association Band Brass Quintet, who had previously played the HMS Belfast March.
After ‘Dinner Call’ on the bugle I announced dinner in the former Ship’s Company Dining Hall.
The dinner was served with Grace (seated), Loyal Toast (seated) and a number of wonderful speeches, including by Professor Sir Lawrence Freedman KCMG, CBE, PC, FBA. Note to self – gavelling in a steel lined warship is not easy! Just before the conclusion of the evening a short video was played in which Bear Grylls interviewed the late Ted Cordery on HMS Belfast about his recollections of D-Day. This poignant video was received in silence and there were certainly some tears among the guests.
After thanks were given By Commodore Stuart Wight RN, it was time to usher guests off the ship and make my way home.
What a very special evening and what an event to remember.
Earlier in the year I had a job at a black tie charity “do” in Coventry. It was quite a posh event and I was doing the usual TM bit, guiding people around, announcing speakers, pushing the raffle and so on.
It was also quite boozy affair.
So much so that after carriages there was a guest slumped in a heap leaning up against one of the walls, obviously having over-indulged with the bubbly. No-one was taking any notice of him. All the other guests had left (most of them in a similar condition) and the waiting staff were walking past the gentleman, looking at him and pointedly looking at me.
Very well, I’ll take the hint.
Calling a waiter to join me I went over to the guest and checked his pockets. I found a wallet with matching items of ID supplying me with a name and, more importantly an address and house keys. It was late, but I knew I would have had to have waited for ages for a taxi and since the address was only a slight detour for me I decided I would take him home. I didn’t want to be any later than I already was.
I moved my car as close to the entrance as I could and with the help of a waiter got him stood up after a fashion, enough for me to lift him into a sort of fireman’s lift. Like this I rather agonisingly half lifted, half dragged him to my car, fortunately he was not particularly large or heavy, but still heavy enough to make me puff and pant. I put him in, belted him up and took him to the address I assumed to be his.
Once at the address the loading routine was reversed, with me dragging/lifting him from the car through the front gate, up a mercifully short path to the front door. This time it was even harder than the first time, I could feel my muscles complain at this unusual stress and the sweat resulting from my exertions running down between my shoulder blades, but nevertheless I persevered with the struggle, wondering how he had become heavier whilst sitting in a car for ten minutes.
At the front door I decided that rather than use the key I had discovered straight away, and possibly terrify anyone inside who would see an old chap dragging perhaps a loved one into the house, I rang the doorbell and waited. Nothing.
Just to be on the safe side I decided to give one more ring before letting me and my, by now severely overweighted load in. Just as well I did. An upstairs light came on and after a few moments I saw the outline of a figure approaching through the frosted glass of the door.
The door opened and I saw a woman standing there in her dressing gown and looking at me and my charge with sleepy eyes. Proudly and full of the sense of bonhomie caused by doing someone a favour and a job well done I boldly announced “I’ve brought him home”, smilingly inanely as I did so.
“Where’s his wheelchair?” came the response.
By Bryn Williams
All of us can remember the most unusual job we’ve ever done as a Toastmaster. OK, so they’re all frightfully regular, extremely samey almost to the extent of boredom. I reckon I’ve attended over 15,000 events. For one reason or another four stand out as extraordinary: elephant polo – which was the slowest job I ever did, two events when nobody turned up! – and this one….
Very many years ago the manager of Browns, (an old traditional charming hotel in Dover Street W1, now owned by Sir Rocco Forte and has been totally refurbished and made into a 5/6 star establishment) rang me to do a wedding. Arriving around midday we discussed the day’s events; I had absolutely no idea at the time what the afternoon would hold, to me it was just another wedding. My discussion with the manager went something like this.
Says I, “What room is it in? What time are they arriving? How many will there be? What time is it supposed to end? And where is the ceremony being held?” He replied, in order, “It’s upstairs in one of the small conference rooms; they’ll be here around 2 pm there will be about 20 altogether, it’ll be over by 3:30 pm and the ceremony will take place in the small conference room upstairs. Oh, and by the way, you are performing the marriage ceremony!”
“Who me?” says I. “Yes you!” says he. “You have to be joking!” “No, I’m not!” he replied. “You don’t mean it! Do you?” I questioned. Says
he, “I certainly do. You are actually going to marry the couple!” “But I can’t. I I ain’t a vicar, I ain’t the clergy, I ain’t ordained, how the hell can I marry the couple?” I exclaimed. He said, “That’s for you to decide. You can meet them when they get here to discuss it! They came to see me yesterday and said they wanted a simple ceremony in front of their family and friends just to seal their marriage – and I thought of you.” “Thanks a bunch chum! What do you want me to do turn my b****y collar around?”
Both in the late 20s this charming couple were in England for a three week holiday. They had been married at a very private civil ceremony in the US and told me that their family and friends were unable to attend. These would be arriving today to see them and they wanted some kind of ‘demonstration of their love and intentions’ in front of witnesses, and could I do it. I pointed out very strongly my total lack of qualification as a minister of the cloth and emphasise that whatever I did for them no way constituted a proper marriage commitment. They had no problem with this and in the intervening half hour, I set about writing a marriage ceremony! But where to start? Easy! I sent for one of the ubiquitous Gideon Bibles found in every bedside drawer in every hotel room in the UK. I had discovered that they were both Christians, so the New Testament would be acceptable. I also knew that they both had wedding rings which they had prepared to gift to each other; I found a desk in a quiet
corner, sheets of posh hotel note paper and began scribbling feverishly.
2:30 pm found me and about a dozen family and friends of this couple in one of the small conference suites. I made them walk in solemnly and slowly and stand before me. I told the ‘congregation’ what the couple had requested, and that I was not ordained but had agreed to their wishes to perform a kind of wedding ceremony during which time they would pledge themselves, with the other. I had written a ‘sermon’ and a set of promises I required them to take with their hands upon the holy Bible. Emphasising that whereas it in no way bound them to the sanctity of marriage, they were after all, vows taken before witnesses and over the holy book and therefore binding. As requested, they took off their rings given in the civil ceremony and using terminology taken from the deepest recesses of my mind, from all the weddings I had attended, exchanged
them. At the end, in true American fashion, I proclaimed with pompous grandeur, “I now pronounce you man and wife and may God bless you! You may now kiss the bride!
The Archbishop of Canterbury would have been very proud of me. I was briefly reminded that as a teenager, I had flirted with the idea of entering the ministry – but couldn’t stand squawking kids at christenings and I always blub at funerals!
They were thrilled and thanked me – gave me an extra ‘bung’. I shared a glass of bubbly with the happy couple, collected my fee and left, wiser, happy, and very virtuous!
By Bryn Williams
1. Did anybody go to the Paris Olympics? If you if you did, this would make a wonderful article. You don’t have to write a great deal but photos would be excellent.
2. Where’s your favourite holiday destination? What would be the one thing/event/restaurant you would recommend was a must do. All that is needed, is a photo and a couple of lines just to explain why it’s an essential visit.
3. Don’t forget, there is also the story competition, which has a bottle of Champagne the best entry.
4. Pets corner – send in a photo of your beloved pet