‘Sing your own song’ with Mullingar Toastmasters

Toastmasters were delighted to have Ashleigh Tobin attend the Mullingar Toastmasters Club meeting on 28 January, via Zoom. Ashleigh is the 2020 winner of the D71 International Speech contest. D71 covers Ireland, Scotland, Northern Wales, Northern England, Midlands and East of England. So to say we had a great speaker is an understatement. Ashleigh’s core loves are life-long learning, giving people hope and also embracing this funny old world.

She took us on a journey through her childhood, a time where children were to be seen but not heard. Reflecting on her schooldays, she wondered why some teachers were so mean to the poor kids in school. She asked herself perfectly obvious questions like why women earn less than men. She struggled to understand and came up short. In the Ireland of the 1980s, people knew their place, it was in the midst of large recession. People were encouraged to be Patient, Pragmatic and Practical (The miserable 3 Ps). People were told to be happy with their lot, to be sensible but really they were just bored!

Ashleigh wanted more, more nonsense, to feel alive every day, to have passion and a purpose. She could see the extraordinary in the ordinary. Other people wanted her to sing their song. She enquired of her audience if they had ever wanted more, felt more and sensed new adventures ahead. Ashleigh became a nurse and spent a lot of her time nursing people who were at end of life and soon to depart this world. It spoke to her soul. There has to be more, she told herself. The world wanted her to dance to its dance. A pivotal moment for Ashleigh was when an elderly patients of whom she was very fond whispered to her to ‘sing your own song Ashleigh, sing your own song’.

Soon after, Ashleigh left her practical job in search of more, a leap of faith and further adventure. She sought out adventures filled with thrills, spills and more. At her life crossroads, she undertook a massive life change to wave goodbye to the steady job and start to work for herself in the whole-health and coaching world, allowing more time for the jugulars in her life. The rest is history and the terrifying decision paid off for her in her legacy offering. Her thinking is “that we all leave a legacy – it might as well be one that makes us proud”. Ashleigh encourages others to sing their own song. She asked us all to consider, “what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?”.

Mullingar Toastmasters could be your social network this year

Life in Toastmasters is never dull and meetings continue online twice a month, and are the highlight of the month for members during this time. It provides our community with a great social outlet. Attendances average at 25 to 30 per meeting and it has been a real tonic over lockdown. If you would like to attend, please reach out as we are running a Free February, when non -members can come along and see what it is all about. It is a safe, enjoyable environment, where our community practise speaking, get feedback, have a lot of laughs and learning along the way. We had four new members last year and two new members this year already.

Back to our club – we had the great storyteller Maureen McCormack creating an enchanted garden as she took us on a mystical and magical journey into Elves and fairies in her night garden. She used great imagination and imagery to give this story life. Her grandchildren are sure to get a repeat performance. Then the enigmatic Pat Kenny spoke about ‘Big Tom Kilmartin’, a giant of a man and a giant of integrity. He told us how he made his career in England and came back to Ireland and challenged the political system. He fought against corruption underpinning political party donations. He lay the foundations for a more just system in Ireland, Pat believes.

We had the fantastic Joan Heduan present a masterclass on ‘table topics’, when members speak off the cuff. She encouraged speakers to ground themselves, take deep breaths and smile, as that levels you. Good advice for any speaker. She highlighted the importance of structure, a start, middle and end. Looking at the past, present and the future. On the one hand or the other. All great ways for us all to tackle any topic on a day to day basis or even at work. Finally she encouraged us all to get creative, which is timeless advice for us all.

The imaginative Tara Wright took on the table topics for the night and used the letter ‘C’ to ask questions. We were not allowed mention Christmas, Covid or Corona, which provided an excellent backdrop for creativity and sanity.

Our next meeting is on 25 February. We welcome you into our community and would be delighted to have you along. Maybe this is the year you will join us. Please contact us with any queries, and we are happy to answer. We have had lots of guests this year and if you would like to come along as a guest get in touch. I promise you it will help you enjoy the dark evenings.

Contact us on Facebook: Mullingar Toastmasters, Website: toastmasters.org and Email: mullingartoastmasters@gmail.com.