Phew, what a scorcher!

I joined the meeting at 6.55am, my computer showed a temperature of 15 degrees C. When I closed the meeting at 8.30 am it was 21 degrees and rising

After some weeks of starting our meeting just after 7.20am, this week and hereafter it was it was and will be 7.20 precisely.  We started with 19 members and within 5 minutes 6 more slipped in through the back door, not a bad turnout.

The Performance League

Newbie James Humphreys is still out front with Scott Griffiths and Terry Maylin in hot pursuit with several members scoring 100 points or more.

Education Presentation

Val Doonican , entertainer of yore, would have been proud of Ben Goldings extended metaphor relating to butterflies.  A man watching a cocoon opening and a butterfly starting to emerge interfered with the course of nature and in trying to assist caused, damage to the developing butterfly.  We develop our strengths through our struggles was the final message.

The 60 Second Round

Toby Acton, master of metaphor, was much appreciative of Ben’s efforts but settled down to adjudicate the Oscar and accordingly got the 60 second round underway.

The much-dreaded requirements of the EWS Form were relaxed by the government yesterday in relation to apartments up to the 18 metre height limit so some relief for beleaguered owners who cannot sell because of the post-Grenfell restrictions.  It was Dean Caldon who acted as public information broadcaster notifying us of the change.

Nick Cooke explained that whilst he can design steel beams, he needs to make inspections to ensure that the walls that will support the beams are fit for purpose.  Beware when you extend.

Stuart Smallcombe educated us regarding Data Structure Networks …..it’s Cabling to you and me.

There were a variety of locations displayed by our members this week.  Pride of place goes to Neil Bellham who was catering for a wedding in a medieval house in Salisbury, John Freeman and William Verner were enjoying the sunshine in garden settings and of course Paul Booth, recently approved partner with Starling Bank, was speaking to us from his desert island.

Following our release from Covid Regulations a further attempt to restore normality came from Brian Painter who returned to his well-rehearsed theme of the dangers by way of intake or various poisons that the smoker puts himself through.  He steered clear of cyanide but explained the effects of tar on breathing and walking.  It felt like the old days!

Terry Maylin has been receiving instructions from one of our local sheriffs and rather than the usual “get out of town” order he was putting him in touch with people who need to sue.

Whilst John Freeman was in a garden, Allan Moller was not in his van.  Both were looking for small jobs.

Paul Delieu extended all of our vocabularies with the word “forwallowed”  This describes the state of anyone who has tossed and turned all night and is now feeling knackered.  A word we should all be able to use going forward.  It does sound as if it could be used as a verb as well as a noun or adjective.  I am going to try it today!

Toby Acton, in awarding the Oscar ignored metaphor and went straight for “an opportunity seized”, to wit  Mason Edwards’ decision to espouse domestic cleaning as an adjunct to his very successful cleaning business. He indicated that he was going to oversee it himself initially but then appoint someone else to run this side of his operation.  There is an expectation that he will then turn up to our meetings without looking absolutely ”forwallowed “

10-minute presentation by John Hammond

Who would have thought that an explanation and illustration of security devices could be really interesting? John Hammond demonstrated how wrong you can be.  Locks activated by fingerprints, hands, face and head were considered within the inevitable context of Mission Impossible.  Cutting off somebodies finger for use on a lock will fail, the lock has to see blood flowing.  Hand Scans actually measure the length of a finger but you could cut off a hand and use it,  Facial recognition I am sure would not respond to those rubber masks and if Tom Cruise was driving a lorry a road blocker would soon put an end to his antics.  Entertainment aside, John is in a really high tec business is a more than reliable referral.

Referrals and Testimonials

A snappy round brought to an end a very focused and effective meeting.  We started on time, we were disciplined without 60 seconds and the meeting was finished by 8.30am.

Congratulations to All.