WELCOME TO THE BAYLISS LINE. This blog has been created for my family. By "my family" I mean all those who are related to the Bayliss family either by blood, marriage or even relationship. There are, of course, other Bayliss families not related to us but this blog has at its heart a very specific family who had their origins in Gloucestershire. I am connected to that family because my mother was a Bayliss and it was her curiosity that started my research back in the early 1990's. So, what are you likely to see on this blog? Well, as it is a blog, I want it to be as entertaining as possible rather that a dry listing of facts (that is for Ancestry.com). I will, hopefully, be posting entries on our ancestors and relatives, on the places where they lived, and the historical times they lived through. I have an extensive collection of photographs of people and places which I will, of course, be sharing.
I'd like to ask anybody who reads this blog to give me some feedback. I'd really like this to be a two way thing. It sometimes unearths new information and, to be honest, it gives me encouragement. There will be two ways of providing feedback - either through the comment button (you will need a Google account for this) or via the e-mail address which appears on this page - alternatively, ring me. Now scroll down to read the latest entries.....and, of course, via Facebook.
I joined Toastmasters early this year. They meet weekly in the conference room of the library where I'm children's services librarian.
ReplyDeleteThe door to the room is glass and, although most of the room is obscured by a wall, in passing I'd see strange red, amber and green lights and hear muffled laughter and applause.
Curious, I asked around to see what I could find out about Toastmasters. The result was that I was tempted to join.
I'll not elaborate on Toastmasters, as, if you are keen to know more you can simply look at their website or even visit your local club.
Enough to say it seemed like it would be great fun for me. The one thing that held me back for a long time was fear of the 'table topics' aspect of the meetings, where anyone can be called to the floor and at that point given a topic to speak on for one or two minutes.I was terrified that I'd be given something highbrow or political.
Truth is, if you are given a topic you don't know anything about it is necessary to sidestep the point and address the question from a comfortable position. This is a skill that I'm learning and I really admire Toasties that are slick in this manner.
Now to the photo.
I'm a 'life be in it' kind of person, if anyone says 'let's' I'll always reply with a 'yes'. This often gets me into situations where I have to stretch myself. I often curse this part of my nature, but on the other hand I gain lots of satisfaction when I achieve what I set out to do.
'Hay! Sue, there's a Humerous Speech competition coming up, are you going in it?'
There was only one reply I could give.
The outcome is captured for posterity in the photo above and you can almost see my tail wagging - as I won.
The speech was titled 'A nice quiet cup of tea' and was abaout 'toilet paper'.
You are quite right, it is good to step outside your comfort zone and try new things - big or small - I'm doing it myself at the moment. Well done with your prize, toastie!
ReplyDeleteStar job there Sue, but then we expect nothing less from you! :-)
ReplyDeleteSo happy to hear about your success Sue, well done. :-)
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