THE recently formed Malvern Speakers Club is full of surprises.

Following the previous meeting’s exploding grandmother, this time there was strong and humorous emphasis on animals, from the theft of a fictitious champion Gloucester Old Spot boar to an (also fictitious?) Jack Russell guide dog, in the lead speech by Dave Bradley.

Despite a few gremlins in the form of an absent speaker and some defective projection equipment, the fourth meeting of this fledgling club on Tuesday was a well-attended success.

Almost all the members present contributed to the evening, either by giving original talks of their own or assessing the efforts of others.

Constructive evaluation of speakers’ performance to help them improve their style and technique is a key aim of the Toastmasters’ movement to which the club is affiliated.

And despite being deprived by the gremlins of her visual aids, Sarah Williams gave polished and comprehensive guide as to how members should approach this evaluation process. As someone remarked afterwards, “Who needs Powerpoint?”.

Next meeting will be at the Great Malvern Hotel, Graham Road, Malvern, on Tuesday, July 9, at 7.15pm for 7.30pm, when a good attendance is expected to hear guest speaker Tania West give her humorous speech.

More information can be obtained from club president Steve Birch on 01684 568676 or the club website, malvernspeakers.co.uk.