TMV Winter 2022

TOASTMASTERS’ VOICE

TMV WINTER 2022

In this edition we say farewell and remember Queen Elizabeth ii

The National Association of Toastmasters

It was just a short time ago when this dominated the news here in the UK and around the world. We often find for thinking that we knew a great deal about him as he

IN MEMORIUM.

We do not intend to highlight his great many outstanding personal qualities, It is perhaps fair to simply say that the many articles, TV programmes and interviews which have been aired since that we would endeavour

As protocol advised, a letter was sent from the President, Many of our members had the privilege of working at events attended by Prince Philip HRH The Prince Philip, Duke of

HER MAJESTY, QUEEN ELIZABETH II

21 APRIL 1926 – 8 SEPTEMBER 2022

This is the first edition of TMV after the death of Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth ii.

It was only a couple of months ago when this dominated the news here in the UK and around the world. We often find that we learn so much about a person after their death. In the case of Her Majesty we could be excused for thinking that we knew a great deal about her as for many of us she was our only monarch. We will have felt that we had shared the high and low points through her life.

We do not intend to highlight her many outstanding personal qualities, her dedication to the Country and the Commonwealth.

It is perhaps fair to simply say that the many articles, books, TV programmes and interviews which have been aired since her death illustrating the service she gave to this country, are a better tribute that we would endeavour to try to emulate.

As protocol advised, a letter was sent from the Past President, Peter Thompson and a copy of that is shown.

Many of our members had the privilege of working at events attended by The Queen. Some of their stories are included later in this edition.

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth ii - Requiescat in pace

that we learn so much about a person after their death. In the case of HRH Prince Philip we could be excused was such a very high profile, and larger than life figure. qualities, his dedication to his country or the details of his many achievements. since his death illustrating the service he gave to HM Queen Elizabeth ll, and to this country, are a better tribute endeavour to try to emulate.

President, Peter Thompson and a copy of that is shown. Philip and also to meet him. Some of their stories are included later in this edition. of Edinburgh - Requiescat in pace

MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT

Dear Colleagues and Friends

Firstly, I would like to thank everybody for placing their trust in me to fill the office of President of the NAT. I have very big shoes to fill and am very grateful for the help and guidance I am receiving from Past President Peter Thompson. I am also very grateful for the support of the Officers and Members of the Executive Committee. We are beginning to settle down to our various tasks.

It was with great sadness that after celebrating the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee in June of this year, she passed away in September. A new era for us all as King Charles III took over as our Monarch.

Although business is slowly returning to normal after the previous two years, it is still a fairly difficult environment out there and I know many of us have been affected in one way or another. As time moves forward into 2023, the restrictions of Covid will be eased but, of course, we will have a new set of challenges facing us. Flexibility and marketing are probably the only way we will regain the ground that we have lost.

On a happier note, the Christmas Luncheon is nearly upon us (Monday, 12 December 2022 at the lovely venue of Vintners Hall). I am looking forward to seeing many of you there, dressed in your finery. The Christmas Luncheon is always an enjoyable way of starting off the Christmas Festivities. For Sue and me it always marks the run up to

Christmas.

Looking slightly further to the future, you should have received invitations to join us at our annual Toastmasters Social Weekend in Bristol from Sunday, 26th – Tuesday 28 February 2023 (2-night stay). I am pleased to say we already have 24 people who have paid their deposits, so we’re off to a good start. Please don’t delay, the Hotel are holding 30 rooms for us until the beginning of January. Book now to ensure your place (information about the weekend is re-attached).

We are also looking at organising a summer outing – watch this space! It’s looking like a very busy year for us in 2023.

If I don’t get to speak to you before Christmas, Sue and I would like to wish you, and your family, a very happy Christmas and our best wishes for the New Year.

Tom Reddy President & Fellow of the NAT

Best wishes

TMV Contents

20 - NAT Event - Social event at The Grange Hotel

16 - A Magical Time at the Magical Taxi Tour

In Memorium - Her Majesty Queen

Elizabeth ii Message from the President

Editor introduction and miscellaneous

Memories of Her Majesty the QueenVanessa Saward

A Royal Calling - Tony Forward

The Office of High Sherriff - Tom Reddy

A Magical Time at the Magical Taxi TourPeter Thompson

Whither Thou Goest - Geoff Harris

Why Become a Toastmaster - Stuart Lugg

Social Weedend - Tom and Sue Reddy

Toastmasters and Data Protection - a brief overview - Michael Brunker 10 - Memories of Her Majesty the Queen

Why Worry - Janice Dorn

Welcome to the Winter edition of the TMV. Once again, I owe a huge debt of gratitude to all those who have contributed to this issue. Hopefully, you find the articles interesting, amusing or informative.

I make no apologies for mentioning the NAT ‘Event’ in several places in this issue, so here is another plug.

Drive the winter blues away and join us for a fantastic fun-filled ‘late-weekend’ in February next year. You may have seen brief details circulated if not, there is an article in this edition of the TMV that will give you the full details. So, if you like good company, wine tasting and a city with many interesting sites and much much more then this event will be ‘right up your street’!

Website changes and updates are handled by an outside company via our President Tom Reddy. As there is a fixed cost involved in updating the website, please send any requests for changes to your profile or suggestions for website improvements to Tom at thomasthetoastmaster@virginmedia.com by the end of January.

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.

The TMV is very dependent on contributions from the NAT members so please, if you are a budding writer, curmudgeon (grumpy old/young thing), enthusiast of anything that you think we should be aware of, or just have something interesting to share/say contact me.

All I need is the words, I will add everything else that, hopefully, will make your contribution something you will be delighted with. (apologies for ending on a preposition)

Once again, thank you to all contributors of the Winter TMV.

Finally, it just leaves me to wish you all a very Happy Christmas and a healthy and prosperous New Year

Happy reading!!

Editor

Richard Mitchell

A very elderly prisoner had been found guilty of an offence and, as he was an habitual offender was given a stiff sentence. “I’ll never live to do it,” said the old man. “Never mind,” said the judge in a kindly tone, “you do what you can.”

Another prisoner who had been found guilty called out to the judge just before sentence was passed “Say a few kind words, sir.” So, the judge put a few words together and made quite a good sentence.

A debtor in the witness-box exclaimed, “As God is my judge, I do not owe this money.” The judge replied, “He’s not, I am, you do.”

There was an old lady standing at a bus stop; the rain was pouring down and although she had a rolled-up umbrella under her arm, she made no attempt to put it up. At last, a bystander asked her why she did not protect herself with the umbrella from the rain. “Oh, no,” said the old lady, “it’s a Christmas present, and it mustn’t be opened until Christmas.”

A man dashed into a police station at midnight. “My wife,” he gasped. “Will you find my wife. She’s been missing since eight this evening, I must find her.” “Particulars?” asked the sergeant. “Height, weight?” “I don’t know,” replied the man. “Do you know how she was dressed?” “No, but she took the dog with her.” “What kind of dog?” asked the sergeant. “Brindle, bull-terrier, weight 53 lbs. Four dark blotches on his body shading from grey to white, three white legs and right from leg brindled all but the toes. A small nick in his left ear.” “That’ll do,” gasped the sergeant, “we’ll find the dog.”

Christmas Crackers from the NAT Archive (can you do better!)

Thousands, indeed millions, of people in this country and all over the world have their own personal memories of her late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. She was a remarkable and inimitable person who I believe never ceased to amaze us by her endurance and unfailing dedication to her role over so many decades.

I would like to share a couple of proud memories of Her Majesty with you. One from me and one from an experience of my dear late husband Alex.

You will recall that 2016 was the year of Her Majesty’s ninetieth birthday and many celebrations and events took place that year. In June that year, on the day of the annual Garter Ceremony, we were privileged to be invited to lunch in Mary Tudor Tower at Windsor Castle by the Governor of The Military Knights of Windsor. After lunch, we were expecting to stand in the little front garden of the Tower to watch Her Majesty’s royal procession make its way from the Castle to St. George’s Chapel. However, the weather was very uncertain so following an extremely busy few days for Her Majesty, it was decided there would be no procession and the Queen and her entourage would make their way to the Chapel by car.

After lunch, The Governor changed into

his impressive uniform in readiness to be on parade with his Military Knights before and after the service. Before leaving for the Chapel he informed us and his other guests, six of us in all, that he had obtained seats for us for the service in the Chapel. A wonderful surprise! We were relieved that we happened to be suitably attired, greatly helped by the Governor’s kind wife lending each of the ladies a suitable hat to wear!

Once in the Chapel, we found that members of the congregation sitting in the Nave were in rows on either side of the aisle facing inwards. Amazingly, we found our own seats were in the front row on the right hand side of the aisle. This gave us a wonderful view of Her Majesty, His Royal Highness, Prince Philip, notable members of the Royal Family and other Knights of the Garter, as they processed up the aisle within two or three yards touching distance of us. At the end of the service we had a similar front seat view as they processed down the aisle out of the Chapel. I should add that the ladies in our party duly remembered to curtsey and the gentlemen to bow as the procession passed us.

I also remember we were struck by how fragile and tiny the Queen appeared to be and hugely admired the way she coped with the heavy robes she was expected to wear for

St. George’s Chaple, Windsor

MEMORIES OF HER MAJESTY QUEEN ELIZABETH II (1926 – 2022)

- front and back

Order of Service

this important occasion. All in all, a memory to treasure!

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II’s Coronation took place on the 2 June 1953.

At this time, my husband Alex, was in his final year at Westminster School. Scholars and senior boys of the School were privileged to be present in Westminster Abbey, Alex among their number.

It was an experience he never forgot and I am privileged to be the custodian of the copies of the Official Programme and Order

of Service for this momentous and historic event together with the ticket for his seat in the Abbey. I have attached a scanned copy which might interest you and also front pages of the Programme and Order of Service. You will see that the ticket very formally refers to him by name as Mr G.A.D. Saward. His full names were George Alexander Douglas Saward, though he was always known as Alex. As you would expect however, everything was done perfectly in the correct way by the Earl Marshall!

Vanessa Saward November 2022

Invitation

A ROYAL CALLING

Near the end of June 2000, I received a telephone call asking me if I would be available on Saturday and Sunday, 1st and 2nd July. The call came from the late Peter Craft who had been approached by a committee member organising ‘The Duke of York’s NSPCC Challenge’ to be held at Buckingham Palace on 2nd July. By luck I had given a job away that weekend because my estate agent had organised an open-house viewing of our house. So, I was available and was not going to turn down the opportunity of a job at Buckingham Palace.

The event comprised a lavish lunch followed by tennis matches on the palace tennis court. It was in the weekend between the two weeks of Wimbledon championships and was to feature a re-run of the 1980 final between John McEnroe and Bjorn Borg. Tickets were over £2000 each and the event was to raise a million pounds for the NSPCC, of which HM Duke of York was patron.

I was required to meet the event ViceChairman, Nicole Hambro, on 1st July at the Goring Hotel in London, to be briefed on my duties for the following day. At the final meeting of the organisers, someone had asked about a toastmaster. Until that point, no-one had thought about it. A member had recently been to a function where Peter Craft had officiated and tracked him down. Peter had rung round until he came to me. No-one else was available.

The lady declined to tell me who was going to be there the following day and I had to wait until I arrived in the large set of marquees next to the tennis court. The court had been decked out with grandstand seating to emulate a smaller version of Wimbledon’s Centre Court. The caterer for the day was Anton Mosimann and his company.

I checked the seating plan to find that there were 13 guests with royal titles! In addition, there were several lords and ladies, many recognisable businessmen and women, a smattering of sports stars and a number of well-known faces from the world of entertainment. I found that they had been included to make sure that pictures appeared in the glossies.

Having rounded up the guests from the drinks reception and into their seats for the lunch, service began. After the main course, I introduced the Duke to speak from the stage and then I introduced the cabaret. It was Art Garfunkel and his band, flown from the USA specially for the occasion.

Dessert had not yet been served when I was approached by Sue Barker. The tennis was due to start in 10 minutes, going out live on BBC TV. Could I please get the 250 guests out of the marquee and into the seats at the tennis court. I announced the urgency and they all moved smartly outside. I then went to tell Mr Mosimann that dessert would have

Borg v McEnroe - Wimboldon Final 1980

to be delayed. He was not well pleased but understood.

The main match took place and was followed by a mixed doubles match between Jana Navotna and Mansour Bahrani v Anna Kournikova and Henri Leconte but the rain started, the match was stopped and all 250 guests ran back to the main marquee.

The marquee has been completely floored but at the end that faced the tennis court, there was a slight step up from the lawn to enter through glass doors. In the guests’ haste to get into the dry, the first few caught their feet on the step. I moved to the door and kept repeating “Mind the step Sir, mind the step Madam”. One of the guests was Elizabeth Hurley. She tripped on the step and I caught her in mid-air. I must say that toastmasters sometimes get the occasional pleasant duty!

Dessert was served; the rain stopped and the match went on. Sue Barker told me afterwards that the doubles match was recorded, put in the can and would be available to play to the Wimbledon audience in the event of rain during the second week. They then all had to be brought back in for afternoon tea and presentations by HRH the Duke of York.

Although during my 20 years as a professional toastmaster, I officiated at events at which

members of the Royal Family were present, I had never expected to have thirteen of them all at the same function. I was thanked by HRH at the end and now look back at my most auspicious toastmastering event.

(I record this, not to blow my own trumpet but to illustrate to less experienced NAT members what they could find themselves faced with.)

Forward Past President

Tony

John McEnroe Bjorn Borg

Sue Barker

THE OFFICE SHERIFF

On the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, various offices and protocols were activated. I thought you may find this article of some interest. Some of the functions may have changed in the intervening period?

Originally published in TMV – February 1993 Issue No 36

THE OFFICE OF HIGH SHERIFF

The office of High Sheriff has existed for over a millennium, and precedes that of the Chancellorship as the oldest continuous secular office under the crown.

During the evolution of local administration, the office has continued during the creation of the Boroughs, which have included Doncaster in 1194, Sheffield in 1843, Barnsley in 1869 and Rotherham in 1871, and the creation of the Metropolitan County of South Yorkshire in 1972.

The office of High Sheriff remained first in precedence in the Counties until the reign of Edward VII, when an Order in Council 1908 gave the Lord Lieutenant the prime office under the Crown as the Sovereign’s personal representative. Lords Lieutenant were created in 1547, for military duties in the Shires. The High Sheriff remains the Sovereign’s representative in the County for all matters relating to the Judiciary and the maintenance of Law and Order.

Modern Precedence

Modern precedence is defined by a Royal Warrant of 1904, as amplified by a Home

Office Memorandum of 1928, whereby the High Sheriff takes precedence in the County in the County immediately after the Lord Lieutenant except when precedence is deferred to a Lor Mayor, Mayor or Chairman of the Local Authority when they are undertaking municipal business in their own district.

Other responsibilities of High Sheriffs in the Counties of England and Wales, conferred by the Crown through Warrant from the Privy Council, include:

Attendance at all Royal Visits to the County.

The well-being and protection of Her Majesty’s High Court Judges when on circuit in the County, and to attend them to Court in the Legal Terms.

The execution of High Court writs, and the work of Sheriff’s Officers through the Under Sheriff, whose annual appointment is the High Sheriff’s alone.

To be the Returning Officer for Parliamentary Elections in County constituencies, and for elections to the European Parliament in the two South Yorkshire constituencies.

To be responsible for the Proclamation of Accession of a new Sovereign.

The Warrant of Appointment as High Sheriff remains valid on the death of the Sovereign.

To maintain the loyalty of subjects to the Crown.

OFFICE OF HIGH SHERIFF

In practice, some of these responsibilities are delegated to the professional services. For example, protection of the Judges and the maintenance of law and order are in the hands of the Chief Constable of Police.

Nomination for High Sheriff

Only a High Sheriff may nominate a person to the Lord Chancellor and the Privy Council for consideration by the Sovereign to serve as High Sheriff. The annual nominations of three prospective High Sheriffs for each County are made in a Meeting of the Lords of the Council in the Queen’s Bench Division of the High Court of Justice, which is presided over by the Lord Chief Justice and held each year on 12 November.

Subsequently the selection of new High Sheriff excludes Peers of Parliament, Members of the House of Commons, Commissioners or Officers of Customs or Inland Revenue and Officers of the Post Office, Officers of the Navy, Army or Royal Air Force on full pay, clergymen, whether or not beneficed, and also barristers or solicitors in actual practice.

Notification of Appointment

The Warrant of Appointment is received by the New Sheriff from the Clerk to the Privy Council and reads:

WHEREAS HER MAJESTY was this day pleased, by and with the advice of HER (HIS) PRIVY COUNCIL, to nominate you for, and appoint you to be HIGH SHERIFF of the COUNTY OF SOUTH YORKSHIRE

during HER MAJESTY’S PLEASURE: These are therefore to require you to take the Custody and Charge of the said COUNTY, and duly to perform the duties of HIGH SHERIFF, thereof during HER MAJESTY’s PLEASURE, whereof you are duly to answer according to Law.”

The High Sheriff takes up the appointment upon making a sworn declaration usually before a Judge of Her Majesty’s High Court of Justice. Since 1319 the appointment is for one year. However, in the event of something untoward happening to his expected successor, the incumbent High Sheriff must remain in office until the appointment of a successor is executed.

Revised by W.H. Wentworth-Ping High Sheriff South Yorkshire 1989-9

Reproduced by TOM REDDY, President 4 December 2023

A magical time at the Magical Taxi Tour.

Having nominated The Magical Taxi Tour as my chosen charity, after all the months of talking about it within the NAT, and having been really looking forward to the 16th of September - the day finally arrived.

What I had not been looking forward to was the early start, and it did start very early! Gillian had joined me this year to represent the NAT at one of the sponsor tables at Canary Wharf and we were woken up at about 3.45. Less than an hour later we were walking to The East Wintergarden from The Marriott Hotel in Canary Wharf. Gillian remarked how lovely the view was at that time of the morning and how mild it was.

included briefing waiter-service for sponsors, there was AV to check, sponsored tables to set up for spending money for the children, packed lunches to collect and distribute, greeting and escorting taxi sponsors, band to set up etc etc. In the photo you can see a small part of the hall before masses of people descended upon it. It was therefore slightly chaotic but when everyone started to arrive nobody seemed to notice or care.

None of the organisers had been able to get into the East Wintergarden on the previous evening so it was the usual mayhem which accompanies any very big event. In fairly short time, as well as preparing for breakfast for a very large number of people, tasks

Perhaps the main difference this year was that, following the recent death of HM Queen Elizabeth II, we were still in a period of national mourning. I understand that the organisers made the conscious decision that the trip would still go ahead but there were restrictions imposed on what was allowed. It is not unusual for the Lord Mayor and one or two of the Sheriffs to attend, often with spouses. Indeed, one year the Lord Mayor arranged his diary specifically to ensure that he could make it. This year the civic attendance was restricted to Alderman and Sheriff Alison Gowman. She was not permitted to wear civic regalia and we were advised that there should not be the usual presentation of bouquets. There was no music permitted outside on the street and no PA system allowed outside. The military

affiliations who usually assist with greeting and guiding VIP guests were obviously heavily committed elsewhere.

This did not greatly affect the overall atmosphere and the hall was filled with some very excited children and their families. There was lively music inside from the regular attenders - The Royal British Legion Band and Corps of Drums from Romford. They also joined us outside when the convoy set off but sans instruments.

It was a particular delight this year to see the taxi bearing the logo of the NAT showing our support for this worthy enterprise. Gillian was able to chat to the passengers whilst I was busy elsewhere. There was a very excited and really charming little girl called Emily, who proudly told Gillian that she was ‘five and three quarters’.

She seemed a very happy child but it was difficult not to notice that the front passenger space was largely filled with what was obviously a great deal of medication. Notwithstanding this, and many other similar situations in all the other taxis, there was an all-encompassing air of happiness and excitement to the whole event.

I am very grateful to all the assistance we had in raising the £1400 to sponsor just this one taxi but to my mind the real credit must go the taxi drivers who take responsibility for their passengers for the whole of the journey to and from Disneyland Paris and also throughout the weekend. In our case, special thanks go to Harjit (Bobby) Singh.

There are also the organisers, police both in the UK and France, the AA, Ambulance Service, nursing staff (a large number of whom had come straight from a shift at GOSH and other hospitals to assist with the trip), P&O staff, interpreters and numerous others. Their work was made increasingly difficult this year as this was the first year since Brexit that there were additional administrative burdens involved in cross-channel travel.

There is also a colossal administration team required to literally get this show on the road. This obviously includes the fleet of taxis, a few of which are shown.

Despite not being allowed to have a ribbon to cut to set the convoy off this year we were able to do a countdown to the word ‘go’ and a loud cheer to set everything in motion. As

usual Canary Wharf by then (around 7 am) was starting to come alive. This was just as well as there was the usual very enthusiastic honking of horns from the taxi drivers. This was accompanied by much cheering and arm waving from the large number of sponsors, the sheriff, catering staff, and band, together with Gillian and I, who had all got up crazy early to see them off. I could not have been prouder than to see the NAT taxi take its place and set off to bring a little delight to a very charming but obviously very ill little girl.

By the time the convoy was under way Gillian, who had said how lovely the day was at 4.45, was now shivering with cold and was lent a scarf by our friend the Clerk to the Worshipful

Company of Spectacle Makers. We then headed off for a leisurely breakfast at the hotel and to warm up whilst reflecting on a very special experience indeed.

I hope to have the privilege of helping with this event again and again but for me the 2022 will always have a very special place in my heart.

I would like to give a final and very sincere ‘Thank You’ to everyone who made it possible for the NAT to support of this wonderful initiative this year.

Thank you all.

Peter Thompson Past President

SOCIAL WEEKEND

Sunday, 26th February to Tuesday, 28th February 2023

IMPORTANT NEWS!!! For those who remember the very successful Social Weekend at The Norton Park Hotel earlier this year, we are delighted to announce that we have secured a fantastic rate for our next Social Weekend, this time at the fabulous Mercure Bristol North, The Grange Hotel, Winterbourne, situated close to the unique City of Bristol.

The weekend will cost £390 per couple, £270 for a single person (DBB), to include a Dinner/Dance on both evenings with ½ bottle of House Wine per person. Monday evening will include an English Wine Tasting (see below).

30 Rooms have been reserved and will be allocated on a “first come, first served” basis.

Overnight accommodation is in en-suite bedrooms, with full English Breakfast and a free day on the Monday to explore the exciting City of Bristol with such delights as Brunel’s SS Britain, The M Shed, Clifton

Suspension Bridge. These are just a few of Bristol’s unique attractions. Hopefully, should there be sufficient demand, return transport to the city will be available.

Our Weekend will incorporate a themed Dinner and Dance on the Sunday evening (26th February). Our favourite DJ, Ian Haskell, makes a welcome return with his inimitable Apache Disco. Ian will also be available to take photos of everyone as they arrive for Dinner. On Monday night (27th February) we have an exciting opportunity to hear about, and taste, new-style biodiverse English wines by Robin Snowdon of Limeburn Hill Vineyard, followed by Dinner/Dance including a half bottle of wine per person.

Please note, on Monday (27th) after breakfast, there will be a photoshoot for all Toastmasters, so please bring your “reds”. Group shots will be taken for use on the NAT Website. This is all included in the price and will, of course, be tax deductible!

Details of the Hotel and Vineyard can be found at: www.mercurebristol.co.uk. www.limeburnhillvineyard.co.uk

To book your place(s) at this wonderful NAT Event, please contact the Hotel direct and ask for either Carly or Katie. The deposit for a double room is £141 and £112 for a single room. Please confirm with Carly or Katie that you are booking for the NAT Event 2628 February 2023. Bookings can be made between Monday and Friday, 9am-5pm on Tel: 01454 771423. The balance of your stay to be paid on departure.

Additional nights can be booked as follows:

Whither Thou Goest

I do not think it is just me, but I foresee things becoming a little tough for the hospitality industry as a whole and for specialist niche suppliers like Toastmasters, in particular. I do not think it will be a short-term problem either. I think that this may be the case for potentially a couple of years, or possibly longer.

This is concerning at my stage of life as I don’t even buy green bananas anymore.

We are a luxury, and justifiably should be considered as such, so how can we work to ameliorate the impact of not just the forecast recession, but also to people’s changing attitudes?

There is no sweeping remedy, no one big idea that will solve the problems facing Toastmasters and our industry, or even our economy. If I did have such an idea I would be sitting in the Bank of England, or 11 Downing Street, directing affairs. However, we can make lots of little changes to what we do and how we promote that just might help. To paraphrase Richard Heywood, who paraphrased Vincent van Gogh, “Great things happen when lots of small things come together”.

Of course we can hold/cut our fees. That is the first and most obvious path to tread. This is becoming more and more difficult though with fuel consistently close to £2/ litre. (That is almost £10 a gallon. It was 35p a gallon when I started driving.) Are there other ways to make ourselves more attractive though? Are there other ways to create a positive impression that chimes with modern thinking?

Over the past couple of weekends two venues that use me have had “Ethical Open Days”. Attempting to tune into the current concerns about our environment and climate change. I felt this was a very positive move. The environment and the fate of the planet is much discussed these days and our target demographic group in particular are the ones who appear to care the most. So how to do it? How to move towards becoming an ethical supplier?

The simplest and most obvious way is to reduce printed material. I generated a QI code that leads people straight to my website. I reduced the amount of printed material (brochures, business cards etc.) and put out a couple of A4 pages. It really worked. People were happy not

Goest

to take a brochure, and so in their minds helping out the environment. It helps me, because I am not going to have to pay for a new brochure and business card run quite as soon as I had anticipated.

There will be people in the NAT who are far more up together with putting this kind of technology to use than I am. I am working here at a very basic level, but in this instance,

in these troubled times, it really did give me a bit of an edge. That is always useful, particularly now. So that was one small tip from me. Does anyone have any other ideas they can share? Helping each of us put these small things together that make great things happen? Post them here in TMV. You know it makes sense.

Geoff Harris

Why Become

a Toastmaster?

Way back in the 1990’s I embarked on a career (if indeed you can call my subsequent employment record a career!) as an audio-visual technician. Having trained as a photographer, I had planned a lifetime of jetting to exotic locations with beautiful women. Unfortunately, the reality was a pitifully low rate of pay as a photographer’s assistant, which I couldn’t afford to live on, or find a better paid role somewhere else.

I took a job as an audio-visual assistant for a top 20 London advertising agency, where I learnt a lot about live events as we pitched for accounts great and small.

After 7 years I was made redundant and set sail onto the events world as a freelance photographer’s assistant and audio-visual technician.

The A/V side of my business grew to the point where I have a full-time role as a freelance technician for a range of clients – AV companies, production companies, venues and event organisers.

I have recently begun to realise that the technical event world is more and more the home of digital natives – and I’m not one! Nor do I relish the very long hours and hard, hard physical work required to put on an exhibition, conference or awards show.

Whilst working on various events, I have seen toastmasters at work. Some have been excellent, some have left me less than impressed (obviously not NAT members!)

I ended up chatting to a toastmaster at an awards show for the French Chambers of Commerce and said to him that I wanted a job like his – shorter hours, sharp uniform and no equipment to deliver, set up or pack down. He suggested I contact Howard Robbins to sort out a training programme.

Some years passed, as life gets in the way of one’s plans, until I was chatting to Michael Brunker at a social event. He asked what if I had an exit strategy from my events work and I told him about my toastmastering (if that is indeed a word!) plans.

We met Howard and Paul Deacon and have now both qualified as Associate members of the NAT after COVID interrupted training. We have launched our website meninred.co.uk and have both delivered our first couple of events.

I am looking forward to being the Man in Red for a lot more events in the future.

Stuart Lugg

Toastmasters and A brief

Introduction:

Newly-admitted Associate Member Michael Brunker is, when not acting in his Toastmaster capacity, a qualified privacy consultant. He works principally with small businesses, helping them achieve compliance with the basic requirements of privacy law.

but either way it should not be ignored. It is a reflection of our litigious society that some people will use non-compliance with GDPR as a weapon, and civil claims for breaches of privacy rights are increasingly common.

So how is this relevant to a Toastmaster? If you look at how we interact with clients, it becomes apparent that we all process some personal data. Even basic contact information can be classified as ‘personal’, and when you get into the personal wishes and family history of a client then there can be little doubt we are in scope of GDPR.

So, what does that mean for you as a Toastmaster? Actually, it’s not particularly complex or frightening and requires just a couple of basic steps together with common sense in handling client data. The most important thing we should all have in place is a ‘privacy policy’ (sometimes referred to as a privacy notice). You will all have ticked boxes on websites indicating you have read and understood an organisation’s privacy policies – even if none of us actually read them!

I expect that we have all heard something about ‘GDPR’ and data protection over the last few years, and will have some understanding that it is all about maintaining our privacy rights in a modern world of ‘Big Tech’ and mass data processing. To most of us, the very mention of GDPR is either a scary notion or thoroughly sleep-inducing,

These documents are designed to inform your clients of certain, legally-prescribed, facts about your processing of their data. These facts include what you use their data for, the legal basis for the processing and how long you will retain it.

A common mistake is when people think they have met this requirement as there is a link to a privacy policy on their website

and Data Protection overview

when, in fact, this deals only with website use and not the subsequent client relationship. To prove this point, I reviewed a sample of sixteen NAT members’ websites: twelve had no privacy policies, two related only to cookies on the website and two had broken links to their policy. Some of these sites are gathering personal contact data on an enquiry form, and are thus automatically in breach of GDPR.

If you wish to compare your own website policy with a fully compliant one, my own can be viewed at www.meninred.co.uk/ privacy-policy. You will also note that I make mention of this policy on my ‘Contact’ page –

thus meeting the legal duty of ‘transparency’ at the point I gather the data. How can you check your status and get help if you need to take action? Well, that bit is simple – just call me. I am happy to advise fellow NAT members free-of-charge as it helps me to get to know you all better and build networking relationships. If you’d like to have a chat and find out more, please feel free to contact me directly. GDPR… are you sure you’re fine, or are you risking a fine?

Michael Brunker

Why Worry?

There are only two Either you are well, If you are well, there is But if you are sick, there are Either you will get If you get well, there is If you die there are only Either you will go If you go to heaven there But if you go to hell, you’ll hands with You won’t have

two things to worry about well, or you are sick is nothing to worry about are two things to worry about get well, or you will die is nothing to worry about only two things to worry about go to heaven, or to hell there is nothing to worry about you’ll be so damn busy shaking with friends have time to worry.

Janice Dorn - From a Tea Towel

How to be a part of the Spring Edition of the TMV

Lessons I’ve learned in business that have helped me with my ‘Toastmastering’

A Tale of Two Clients (Talk About What Makes a Great Client vs. Not-So-Great Client - (could come from your time pre-toastmastering)

Promote the top supplier you have worked with over the summer – flowers, photographers, bands, DJs etc (where, why – story behind why you made such a strong connection always interesting)

A Charity we at the NAT should know about

All contributions to be sent to richard@cambridgetoastmaster.com

The views expressed in this magazine are not necessarily those of the editor or the NAT