It got very cosy in the bowels of Larry Murphy’s tonight as the talk turned to open fires, hot chocolate and beetroot soup. Toastmaster Rosie had participants discussing their favourite things about winter, and while my answer would be ‘it makes you appreciate summer even more’ there were plenty who stepped up with happy thoughts of snowflakes, walking in the crisp air and eating stew.
Topicsmaster Maria kept the group thinking with role plays and debates, resulting in some vigorous discussions on male vs female bodies, the rights and wrongs of wearing fur and whether SAD is a real condition. A spirited debate on arranged marriage vs marriage by choice threw up the opinion that arranged marriages are the way to go as there’s no need to go to Copper’s! Three skiiers stranded after an avalanche had to argue their case to get the last pair of skis (apparently a fear of heights is not sufficient reason) and a case was made for times when lying is the right thing to do.
Our first speech tonight gave us my favourite title in a while, The Missing Link – The
Heart & The Art of Wooing. Love was all around as we pondered how we can bring more heartinto our everyday lives. Fiona’s thoughts on the heart as love itself set the tone for some introspection amongst the listeners, as Colm urged us not to wait for second chances to tell our loved ones how we feel about them and Muna argued the merits of marrying a Crown Prince.
Tonight’s meeting included an official visit by Area 2 Governor, Tomas Conefrey, who
participated in topics and gave a warm appraisal of the meeting and club as a whole.
So we should all try life drawing classes to appreciate the female form while black grapes and Guinness may just revive you when you think you’re on your last legs in hospital. Could these be this week’s additions to the store of knowledge, trivia and life lessons I’ve been gathering over a year of meetings? Or is it the comparison of love with Katie Taylor, pursue it as she pursued her dream of Olympic
gold? If luck is meeting a Crown Prince and skill is getting him to marry you, perhaps luck
is also finding a club with heart like Vox Populi and the skill lies in keeping it going.
Enough philosophising for one night, time to put on the dressing gown and go in search of an open fire..
Merrilyn Campbell, VPPR