A packed house greeted the five speakers who took the stage at Round III of the 2014 Gift of the Gab in the Cotton Club last night. Dublin man Dave Lally, our first speaker from Ireland this season, did his bit to convince us to print our photos - to make them real. And some of the images he left us with are already imprinted indelibly on my brain: Camembert cheese and men in white lycra shorts - a heady combination. Second up, also from Ireland (just like buses - you can wait for one for ever and then they call come together!) mad man Brendan Dunne drew some great parallels between Hungarians and the Irish. He may well have given his Hungarian wife a sense a humour, but he did better from the trade with the new-found appreciation for culture that she so generously bestowed on him. Second-time gabber, Miklos Morandini had us in stitches as he wondered how food was discovered. I am still laughing at the thoughts of one caveman betting another three foxpelts to suck on a cow's teat. Zita Harsányi, herself a GOTG veteran, regaled us with tales of love in West Yorkshire and how she had to compete with a cat for one man's attentions. Last up in the first half was Tasleem Lalji who gave a hilarious account of arranged marriages in India. Hubbie of 26 years was in the audience as living proof that they work!
Heading into the second half, Dave asked the audience to choose between airplanes and how to tell your colleague you're in love with them. I'm wondering how his day at the office is going :-) For Brendan, the audience ignored the question - do you think high school ever ends? - and instead asked him to dream that he was Chuck Norris. Now, Chuck might have the six-pack abs and the bank account, but Brendan reckons he can match that smile any day. Zita had a challenge to make something of her subject, the Eurovision Song Contest, but the EV fans in the audience appreciated her account. Miklos was faced with silence as he asked the audience to choose between his best adrenalin experience and how to avoid large ships. Large ships won out and at long last, the iceberg that sank the Titanic got its due. No one wanted to hear Tasleem talk about going to the dentist - we wanted to her about what she thinks the best freebie is... A veteran fundraiser, she had little trouble accounting for various freebies from that extra baby (twins!) to hubbie's paycheck.
In what was a very exciting night with some excellent presentations, we had our first tie-break of the season. Miklos and Tasleem faced off, both speaking on the same topic: Facebook stalking. While Miklos repeatedly assured us that he wasn't guilty, Tasleem fessed up to stalking with relish. As the inimitable Jeremy Wheeler put it - there was just a fag-paper's width between the two of them with Tasleem going through to the final in March. It all worked out well though. Tasleem (a teetotaler) gave the bottle of whisky, generously sponsored by the Caledonia, to Miklos, so both went home happy.
A great night - one of the best for far - in which we raised 136 000 forint for the orphanage. Thanks to the IHBC for sponsoring the trophy, the Caledonia for the booze, and the Cotton Club for the venue. Huge thanks , too, to Steve and Ed for taking photos and to the team - Jeremy, Kath, Ilona, Bea, and David - for making the night run smoothly. A big thanks to our judges - Monica, Eric, Emese, Patrick and Zsuzsa.
We're having a break in December so will see you all again in January - the 15th - for another great lineup. There still are some speaking slots available, so don't be backward about coming forward.
And a date for your diary: if you're out and about on Saturday night, come see Ancient Truth (a play in English) at the Atrium and follow it up with the
Heading into the second half, Dave asked the audience to choose between airplanes and how to tell your colleague you're in love with them. I'm wondering how his day at the office is going :-) For Brendan, the audience ignored the question - do you think high school ever ends? - and instead asked him to dream that he was Chuck Norris. Now, Chuck might have the six-pack abs and the bank account, but Brendan reckons he can match that smile any day. Zita had a challenge to make something of her subject, the Eurovision Song Contest, but the EV fans in the audience appreciated her account. Miklos was faced with silence as he asked the audience to choose between his best adrenalin experience and how to avoid large ships. Large ships won out and at long last, the iceberg that sank the Titanic got its due. No one wanted to hear Tasleem talk about going to the dentist - we wanted to her about what she thinks the best freebie is... A veteran fundraiser, she had little trouble accounting for various freebies from that extra baby (twins!) to hubbie's paycheck.
In what was a very exciting night with some excellent presentations, we had our first tie-break of the season. Miklos and Tasleem faced off, both speaking on the same topic: Facebook stalking. While Miklos repeatedly assured us that he wasn't guilty, Tasleem fessed up to stalking with relish. As the inimitable Jeremy Wheeler put it - there was just a fag-paper's width between the two of them with Tasleem going through to the final in March. It all worked out well though. Tasleem (a teetotaler) gave the bottle of whisky, generously sponsored by the Caledonia, to Miklos, so both went home happy.
A great night - one of the best for far - in which we raised 136 000 forint for the orphanage. Thanks to the IHBC for sponsoring the trophy, the Caledonia for the booze, and the Cotton Club for the venue. Huge thanks , too, to Steve and Ed for taking photos and to the team - Jeremy, Kath, Ilona, Bea, and David - for making the night run smoothly. A big thanks to our judges - Monica, Eric, Emese, Patrick and Zsuzsa.
We're having a break in December so will see you all again in January - the 15th - for another great lineup. There still are some speaking slots available, so don't be backward about coming forward.
And a date for your diary: if you're out and about on Saturday night, come see Ancient Truth (a play in English) at the Atrium and follow it up with the
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