Mozaic of pictures from Trafalgar Square Celebration

 

very short video of the mood in Trafalgar Square

the photos and the video, a mini reportage of the joy together on the streets, at the Trafalgar square where I was for about an hour

Royal Celebration in Trafalgar Square

After looking at TV I took the train to Charing Cross and from there to Trafalger Square.

"It is finished" a guard said me, before I went.

Nothing was finished, only the TV transmission from huge sreens, the celebration very popular and very varied went on and on. What a wanderful mood!

The slideshow of photos I have taken is here.

Granada, in a rainy day of December

A little square in Granada

December, two years ago I went for 5 days in Granada, Spain.

I rediscovered the pictures taken there yesterday, as I emptied an old memory card I found in a drawer.

Great memories !

This small square was not far from our hotel and the center, but in a "hidden" corner of a narrow street. There are many things to discover in Granada city! With time, I will come back and see which of the pictures - too many almost - taken at that time, I did not "use" or show when, very tired, I came back.

Tired, because the last trip lasted a lot, as the snow begun to fall in Madrid and our flight was again and again put for farther in the night, with no one to give us advice. At the same time, I lost the friendship with was just begining, between me and the one I went to travel. We had different views of how to behave in necessity.

A long "afterdiner entretaining" speech as delivered at Meridiam speakers yesterday
Yes, perhaps the begining is skippable... but it sounds better as voice as I thought


I have also a video version that I will  have put it to the Competent Comuncator blog

Alas, we were not many and many were unsure as to laugh or not, probably someone has to begin it
I do not believe there where no places where it was funny, but perhaps only me...

I found out, whenever I have the smallest uprehansion, even if I learn well, my voice is not too bad either, somehow I use less free body language, less outgoing, and that hurts the delivery of the message. I was in fact afraid not of the audience and not even at the two four letter words that I used twice in the same context, "speak in the audience's language" but afraid or boasting about me, I or myself...

http://www.box.net/shared/pltiqo2i7n 

and here is the wonderful evaluation / feedback given to the speech by David Thomson

After so many times

Tonight it is the 30th project used to speak at the Toastmasters club, but I have spoken in my clubs and other neighbour clubs a lot more times already.

If I add in the count the storytelling in the Cafe Canal Theatre and elsewhere in London, and even Manchester, the number goes up even more,

I am sure, almost, that I will be confident enough to make the lsiteners enjoy themselves, when I deliver it. Enjoy myself also doing it,

So why then I tremble?

I woke up so many nights thinking different versions of it and yesterday it all came out finally differently - so I could write a funnier version of it. I liked how I finaly found some equivocal expressions with double meanings and punchlines, My lectures of Stand Up comedy books begins slowly to pay,

Nevertheless I feel for the moment not yet the confidence I need to put in it tonight, but I have a whole day to rehearse it yet before me and I will,

At the end, just enjoy myself, because that is what it is most felt by those listening and then they can let themselves enjoy too,

I did really enjoy that last manual The Entertaining Speaker, who in fact was I do believe the first advanced manual writen, as in my old, 33 years ago CC manual its first chapter, project is included,

One day, I will come back and repeat it,

Sunday's morning stroll around Canary Wharf

Wonderful reflections in the early morning sun on water and on the windows, here is one of the three sets from flickr.

Through the leaves

A misty morning has its charm and special mood as an old woman, too.

There is no bad weather, no bad time of the life. Depends on us what we do with it.

As long as we can of course.

This night I remembered my father, telling me thirty years ago "you lived always too seriously" loosen up. It is true that too long time I took life very seriously but I begin to see more and more also the humorous side of it.

I do nowadays, with Stand Up Comedy;;; it teaches me HOW to loosen up.

I died two years after my Icebreaker

this is not the best video, nor my best speech, so why should I put it here?
- a better version of the same comes from Dailymotion who transformed it with better resolution -
but at the same day, same hours, where I delivered that target speech who taught me not to speak when I am embarassed or to speak just staying calm and ejoying the experience, I learned so much from Fredie Danniels workshop on evaluation that a few days later I got the Best Evaluator award in my club!

I begun to learn something, as I understood that besides giving a sincerre but friendly feedback, depending on the level of the speaker is, and that was a first where just standing up the first time after having well prepared was the most important, I can give a lesson to all the club, on how we look to the audience. A lesson I know all will remember as I made it humorous.

Then, I compared the voice projection - I could barely her him - with that at the begining of the speaker who gave just wonderfully his speech number ten as she also was barely audible at her first speeches. I was told I could have found, also I did some more prise, even more. True, I still have long way to go and lots to learn.

And hear better, perhaps too,

Long Hollydays

Long holidays begin today.

The spring is here to last now, and in London even summer time, these days.

I thought how wonderful would be to go away, and I decided to go. Visit London!

A beautiful city, so much to be seen!

This table set to welcome guest was photographed when I spend the last time Eastern in Bucarest.

My nighbour invited me and gave me too, five colored eggs, that day, and even a great soup I still remember today, after five years! Smile to someone or offer something theses days, already a smile counts so much!

I found a Hungarian writer Sandor Marai's poem or thoughts about celebrations on youTube.
Translated to English it looks like this.
=======
"When it comes to celebration in your life, celebrate all the way. ...

Put on a black costum. Brosh your hair with humid brosh. Clean yourself inside and outside. 
Forget all that everyday rituala and tasks. The celebration is not only written in red in the calendar.  Look at the old ones, how reverently, with how much awe, how complectly, with all put into it, and with how much joy they did celebrate! 

The celebration is the difference.

The celebration is a deep and magical costume. Let the celebration become a festive holiday. It should have dance, flowers, young women, special foods and drinks to fire up and to forget.

Above all, has in it to be something of the old order, the seventh day, the interruption, complete detachment. The go all the way and the devotionm, too. The celebration ia the order of life, its higher sense. Prepare yourself for it in body and soul.

And not only for those celebrations in the calendar those days with red letters, The life brings other kind of festive occasions to you, unseen ones. In those times forget all, be attentive only to the celebration.

Fun meeting at Lewisham speakers

Having an Icebreaker, a speech number nine and one ten from Competent Communicator manual does not mean we can not have also fun. We can all learn better in a fun environment!

Camden School StandUp Diploma

It seems so far away now, but it was only end of March this year!

I received a CD from them, but only with my own performance.

Mr. CEE is such a good Stand-Up performer and introducer, knowing wonderfully how to speak WITH the public! It was a joy to learn from him, and look at him "working and warming" the audience.

I will have to go to one of his one or two hour performances, too!

22 years ago

22 years ago, if I count well from 1989 to today, Judy Carter already had ten years behind her of practice of Stand Up comedy and had taught hundreds new for it.

It is a very good book.

The only probem for the moment, for me, that with a tiny incident, that I made a great deal of it, I lost for the moment my sense of humor.

Also, I got yesterday a new book, from Jeanne Robertson, "seven potions for developing a sense of humor". I need those!

For the moment, I did like the first potion, also it takes time to learn not to laugh at myself but to laugh at what life deals to me on the way.

I hope, with time, I will learn.

Happy Pesah

With Mazsos and Honney and Apple, tonight many jewish famillies gather together, to remember.

Remember the bad days and how one can break out of it and find sweeter days.

I assisted once, in my childhood and the children have to find something then they are given gifts.

I assisted also twice in America and tales are told by elder and b y the eldest children around the table.

I wish them a paisible night and days and years.

Tribulations of a stand-up

Tribulations of a Stand Up by julie70
A video taken is always good to think about what one did well and if not, why. In this one, I was still thinking "do I say those four letter words or not' in the Toastmaster environment, instead of being totally in the moment. My movements were not totally free either.

My storyline was ok and I will improve on it next time. Either way, it was there mostly to be evaluated. What a wonderful Evaluation workshop it was! I hope, I learned from it and could apply it for next times.

As it is, it tells part of the story of my tribulations at the Comedy School Stand Up class I took for six weeks.

Book about Humour

This is by Logan Murray from the Stand Up and Deliver curse in Camden

I did not dream when I bought the book that I will have to find a new reason to humour = my bridge falling down and me resembling more a Dracula vampire - at least for the moment

So yes. with time I will be able to see the humorous side of it for sure

I should have thought that teeth on the cover were not good signs - for me!

Make them laugh, ok, but why should that be with my three front teeth!

Books about Humour

This book written by Logan Murray is the first I found about stahd-up, and promptly decided to go to his curse in May.

Then, I found another book, called The Comic Tool box from John Vorhause, which treats comedy at large, not only its Stand Up part, and has a great description, of what is a story, the bone of any comic or dramatic story in a film a soap or of a storyteller.

The third book, Stand Up Comedy, the Book, by Judy Carter, a storytelling friend lended me and I promtly ordered too, is the oldest one, Judy is one of the firsts Stand Ups in California and teached also in 1994 when she wrote her book.



All in all, of course one has to practice, and I did not yet begun to go out there, but one can learn a lot from books too.

How to help a speaker and listeners

Freddy Daniels taught me yesterday a lot.

How to evaluate a speaker, either in a club, a contest or, at the end, the short Tabletopics.

L=t me begin with the Tabletopics, the most difficult to tell opinion about because the shorter.

Find a good point a recommendation and end by the best point; if you have time, if not, only one of the three but developed specific and useful to learn for the club. Write down the first thing you observe, do not wait to the end, as other speakers come in and it is not easy to remember.

For the evaluation of a longer speech when you have more time, write down all you liked and all that could be improved, then note in order which three where the best points, 1, 2 and 3. Begin telling the 2 and 3, then one or two detailed specific recommendations, followed by 1 the storngest from that speech.

At the end, summarize telling what you felt is the strongest point of that speaker or that speach.

Never use BUT in your evaluation. Keep it on the level of the speaker expertise. Do not use "you" but "him" or "she" so you address all the audience whom you speak and who then can learn more about speaking in public and what made great and how it could have been improved and, what you felt was the most wonderful from all.

I was the target speaker yesterday.

It was a humorous speech that could have been more humorous if I was not somewhat disturbet to tell two short four letter words at that Toastmaster meeting. When I was at ease, I got laugher. Good lesson. Also I could have ended like I begun instead of rushing to the end, and even added some, at least one of my setup punch. Paused more in some places, too.

It is recorded, so I wil be able to look and tell more about it, and also listen more carefully to the three evaluations of it, and what else they said, But, yes I can use here but perhaps, the most important is all I got, learned from the great Workshop.

What was the most important I have to remember?

Be always specific. Tell what, where and how. In third person, using I felt, I oberved, and no But. Instead, the speech could have been even stronger, or next time, try also.... Always find a recommendation, at least, and not more then two. End on a very positive point.

Otherwise, look for the Delivery, Structure and Content and try to find some points in each. Content being not the point made, but the short or easy to understand words and sentences, use of story or facts, number and strength of those, and so on.

Not bad all this remembered from memory!

That shows, how wonderful the two hour workshop of Freddy worked.

Camden Personalities

Hope to meet in May week ends, more personalities like her.

I will be going to the classes called Stand Up and deliver, hold by Logan Murray, all through the month of May.

Very nice fellow, he also wrote a book about Stand Up comedy.

Going, takes me a bit more then an hour, but coming back at weekends will be less easy as the Camden Town station is closed the afternoons for all people out going,

So I will have to walk or find a bus.

20 people in a class, quiet a lot!

But they seem, interesting nice people too, and for sure, I will find new material to my stories... if anything does not go as I hope.

What do I want? All well or new humorous material from what does not go well?

I am happy that I begun to see the world like this!

Camden tonight

Stand Up And Deliver's long established, respected and most popular Absolute & Almost Beginners comedy course is usually held in LONDON.

And yes, I am on for May.

The Information Evening for the last Absolute & Almost Beginners comedy courses before the Autumn.

It is tonight evening (Wednesday) in Camden, arriving about 7.40 / 7.45.

The evening includes a Graduates Mini-Showcase, featuring Comedy Reserve's LUKE BENSON, Rob Brydon Show's CARLY SMALLMAN, critically acclaimed 'Life of Si's SIMON FEILDER, and recent graduate RICHARD TODD who has only this week moved up from 5 minute to 10 minute sets.

Then the course leader LOGAN MURRAY will talk about the course, and after the mini-showcase there will be a Q&A section when the performers and course leader will answer any queries you have.

It seems I will have an interesting evenig!

Citi criers

That is the entrance to Citi criers, at Citigroup centre, directly from the Underground at the Canary Wharf.
A very nice group of Toastmasters, where I have been already twice.

Thursday, will be the third time.

I am preaparing again a speech, this time not a "Romance in Paris" but the tribulations of a naive 77 year old lady at the Stand-up course of the School of Comedy. There is much to say, and I think I can also say it with humour, now that it is finished.

The only problem now is take out, all that is not needed for my speech point: speak relative to the audience. "Romance the room" said one book in its title. I did, and succeeded. But how, there is the tale. And perhaps the lesson is "get out of the club and try different audiences", to really understand what "different audience" means.

Contest Div B-17

Deborah Henley, here in green, the only woman send from Areas in the Speech contest, won the second price. She has rehearsed her speech also at the Canal Cafe Theatre, when we spoke, she and me too, about the subject Family.

Humour and drama and great delivery. And yes, finally standing up for herself, is very important.

Andrew Chuck; has taken us through the worst time of his life and the smiles that count so much in those moments. And other moments, too.

Each contestant had an important message as well as a touching personal story. And great delivery combined also with humour.

Before the contest, I went to the workshop Charisma by Tom Salinksy. Wonderful! And what an actor! We lived through everything he said and showed at the same time.

Great day: Div B TM contest

What high level speeches all 7 contestants have given1
and all told us one or more personal stories
good lesson for me confirming my idea of the importance of personal stories in a speech

great evaluations also of an interesting Target speaker and wonderful Workshop on Charisma
it was a very interesting day

The house I lived

From 5 to 15, I lived at the second store of this house, along the small river Samos.

At that time, there were Acacia trees along the river and one could go down easy near the river.

The house and the appartment did not change in all those years, but instead of a courtyard with empty basements, that vwere near it, at the corner, now there is a huge hotel. But after it, the street is the same quiet and still no much circulation on it.

Small gardens before the houses, and this one perhaps was and still is the only one with 2 stores, on the street.


I went back after so many years, and was stunned how little in fact had changed.

But I did miss the acaccia trees.

It would not have been a story

If everything went with no problems today, it would not have been a story.

I have spend half an hour the morning to find the best way to go to my appointment, a testing, old people use of the website and their problems.

As I got to the bus station the problems begun, and I knew it would not be the first, because prpblems arive one after other, as arrive luck too.

The bus 53 arrived and did not stop.

Also the driver had seen me making sign from afar.

Ten minutes later another bus arrived; which did take me on, to the New Cross Rail station, where I was supposed to take the overground. There was a problem on the line and the train arrived with more then 15 or 20 minutes late, but that would not have been the biggerst problem.

It was full and the workers going to their work pushed before me. "No more place" told me a young mideastern looking gentlemen. Please. No! and he pushed against me aven. Finally, near him, an old black nice man made a bit of place so I could get on.

From age 20 till 77 I was not so sqeezed!

But I did survive, and at the next station we even made place for another determined man.

Two more station like this nearer then sardines.

At once, at the Canada water, almost everyone got down and I could even sit.

I got out from the overground to take another bus, who took me, after another long waiting to the station I needed, and a very nice young girl explained me wich direction to take.

As I always start early, finally I arrived 5 minutes before I was due.

Great two hours spend with a researcher or student from York University. And I had a huge pleasure to discover when I look at YouTube at Julie70 I discover on the top not one of my videos but one made for me using some of my autoportraits. Peter was impressed to.

Home in time for a second appointment. This time the train had almost no one, but the bus did not came fast. Then two of them came one after the other.

That is life, all can not go as you would wish.

But here I am having survived the negligent busdriver and the rude man from the train and even being squeezed between people. I do not regret I insisted I want to go up and I will not forget the faces - even if I not have them on my camera of the rude youn gishman nor the nice old man.

Tiny flower or big willow trees

From tiny flower to big willow trees, spring is beautiful around me and today it is a gorgeous day.

I went down to the garbadge small house around the builing taking my camera with me, and then delighting in so many different flowers and plants.

And the light of the sun coming through the red leafs of a tree. And the mushrooms in the courtyard.


The colours and shapes, too.

Stand up Comedy & TM speech is as making love

Original idea and realisation - this is the preparation before the Stand up comedy night but I told it also as Target speaker at Croydon in my snowball speech

Snowball effect, Target speaker at Croydon

Eurotunnel 16th July

Less then three years ago, I passed the tunnel from France to England, unsuspecting what will wait for me on the other hand,

As I was afraid, I put on the shield a photo of me at three, when I still had all the courage, even to stand up and tell a story.

I did not know, at all that, that will be on the other end of the Tunnel: an oportunity I did not have, or take, in France, to speak up, to tell stories.

In less then three years, in London, I have came a long way, that I measure, today again, as I prepare an "after dinner speech" for end of April,

Area 35 TM Contest Portraits

Area 35 TM Contest Portraits, a set on Flickr.

A few portraits from the Area 35 Toastmasters speech competition, held not far from my place

Area Competition

So much went on at the competition that was invisible, organized by Matt, Meridiam speakers president. A wonderful toastmaster, president and human being.

He was my mentor for my first speeches at Meridiam speakers club. Meridiam speakers meet every second and forth Tuesday at the Spanish Gallion pub center Greenwich.

The International Speech contest in the Area, was gained by Malachi, a Toastmaster from Croydon Communicators,  with a speech intitled "keep going". We heard so many touching or interesting speeches!

The Evaluation Contest's firt price was to Chris, from Lewisham speakers, but so many others have spoken and evaluated superbly.

It was a superb afternoon, indeed. It is always worth to go to a contest.
.
Here are only the first portraits I could upload. Another set of the rest of images taken tomorrow.

It was also great to meet all the people who arrived from five different clubs.

The worst, for me, was that someone took a picture of me, with my camera, as I was sitting, tired. I did not realise I looked like a porc! I really have to loose my stones I gained till arriving in London!

Expectations

There were many professional level speeches yesterday, at the Croydon Communication Contest.

As much between the speakers as the evaluators.

But the one that impressed me the most, was him. He made me the biggest compliment.

He spoke about how my speech, I was so called Target Speaker, about which all evaluators had to speak, through my speech, reversed, again and again his expectation.

That is one new thing I learned in my comedy class. Reversing expectations to make people laught.

Of course, I am not so sure, that is always good, as perhaps I should have from the begining showed this was a funny speech...

But I was so impressed by his words!:

Yes, he is a newcommer, and stilll has to learn, and Vathany has spend hours and hours, days and days to learn how to make the best evaluation, and she was right on spot with it, this time, again, but I do judge all relatif to themself.

After only a few month in the public speaking club, he was wonderful! They all were, each in their roles.

And I can now rest for some time, no more speech for me soon1

But it was good to go back after two years where I have given my first speech and to measure how far I have come in only 24 month!