It was a most unusual start to the new season of Redditch Speakers Club. About five minutes into the first meeting, the lights in the room fused and very rapidly, another room had to be made available.

Many congratulations to the chairman for the evening Pat Langley as she stalwartly continued the meeting as the room gradually became darker.

There were 14 newcomers, all of whom enjoyed a demonstration evening.

This consisted of speeches given by Adam Turnball, a new member who bravely gave his first speech where he shared his new love of cycling and Lycra and Linda Parsons, a more experienced member giving a speech entitled "Big", based on humour.

Everybody enjoyed the topics session led by Alan Young. Speakers were asked to imagine they were famous people like David Beckham or Ken Livingstone who had been offered new and exciting roles in their lives and had to persuade the audience of their aptitude for the role.

The demonstration evening was the first of three taster evenings and the club has some interesting educational speeches planned for the future.

For more details contact Alan Young on 01527 459516.