A huge thanks to those who have sponsored prizes for the final... so far we have Granthill Telecom Solutions, Erika Nash, Fox Auto Rent, Des and Judy Nix, Jameson, Guinness, Dez O'Connell, Hunters Harvest Wines and the IHBC...you're all angels! I say 'so far' because I know there are more of you out there just ready, willing and able to support this great cause. Just drop me an email at gotg@speechslam.com. And we are working with Daniel at the Orphange to track down a suitable bed for Norbert. Don't forget to reserve your table through the Orpheum! See ya'll next Wednesday.
It's hard to believe that we're nearing the final - seems like only yesterday that I was roping in Tim O'Sullivan to participate in Round I. As you know, we're heading for the Orfeum for the grand occasion and plan a night full of entertainment and surprises. As the next day (March 15) is a holiday, we figured that you might want to party on after the speeches have finished and the winner has been crowned so THE JOKERS will be on stage with some great music and to tempt those budding singers amongst you to join them in a few songs. It'll be open mic for anyone who wants to be able to tell their mates that they 'played the Orfeum in Budapest'. Lots of bragging rights in that little sentence.
The event will be seated so tickets are limited. When you book your tickets you will also book your table. The gig itself will start at 8pm and you'll be able to come along earlier to eat. We'll have full table service throughout - for those of you who haven't seen this place, you're in for quite the experience. We've raised more than 400 000 huf so far and our aim is to put a minimum of 600 000 in the bank towards that bed for Norbert. Tickets for the final are 2000 ft each and need to be booked in advance. You can book them directly through the Orfeum website or buy from their box office any evening from 4pm onwards. We'll be working with them this weekend and booking should be fully operational by Monday. Looking forward to your continued support and to seeing you there on March 14. It was 7.25pm. I had two speakers in the house and about 35 people in the bar. A mild panic was in danger of spilling over into full-blown hysteria. Blame it on the snow. Although we had a slow start last night, the 80 or so people at Smiley's got to see a full complement of speakers.
First up was Ambassador John Deady - a last-minute replacement for Harry Harron. Despite the short notice, he treated us to a lovely account of the magic of Guinness and the importance of adding the famous ingredient - Liffey water. A lasting memory will be himself eating his sandwiches in school while drinking a heady mixture of guinness, milk and sugar! Next we went to Rome with Norwegian Denise Olimb who shared her story of how she went to the Pontiff's city on a romantic weekend and found it closed. Damn snow! Martin Zdarek gave a hilarious account of what the Czech mean by being 'happy as a turtle'. True cominc genius. Canadian Maja B shared the angst her name has caused her; she left us with a memorable descriptive of a teacher: she looked like a witch and dressed like a whore. Last up, Hans Peterson entertained us with his memories of a past love - Carolina - and the things men do to get a girl to go for a coffee. Why does this sort of thing never happen to me? Going into the second half, Maja had to choose between Best night in Budapest and How to behave on a first date. No prizes for guessing which the audience picked. After her account of speed dating, I think I'll stay well clear of it. For Denise, the audience had to choose between Why would anyone want to get to the final of the GOTG and Office injuries. They chose the latter. A soon-to-be doctor, Denise gave us an insight into how doctors feel about their patients. It explained so much - who would have thought that doctors were human,too. Hans's choices were If alcohol were invented today, would it be legal? and How to break-up. The audience was in a particularly voyeuristic mood and wanted to dirt on break-up, which is something Hans has never had to do, apparently. Instead, he gave the ladies three pieces of valuable advice. 1. Don't just disappear. 2. Don't do it by letter or e-mail. 3. Don't send your mother to do it for you. Ambassador Deady struck lucky with his choice of Hungarian Palinka. Having waxed poetically about guinness in the first half, he could now do likewise on palinka. And he did. From the jaw-locking numbness to the rubbery-leg feeling induced by the fruit brandy, he captured it all. Martin rounded off the evening with an account of How to propose badly. Advice for the men out there contemplating popping the question: don't do it on the frozen Danube! Martin's comic genuis won the night. Watch out for this man - he's going places. He was a happy little turtle wandering home with his bottle of Tullamore Dew (kindly sponsored by GrantHill Telecomm Solutions) and his trophy (sponsored by the Fun Palace). He'll join our other finalists on 14 March at the Orfeum to see who will win the coveted title. Thanks to Jeremy, Kath, Csilla, and Steve (our resident photographer) for their help on the night. And to Kenny and Terry at Smiley's for hosting this season's qualifying rounds. Thanks to judges Lisa, Matt, Gearoid, Rupert and Amanda. But most of all, thanks to you for braving the elements and for turning up on the night. We have tipped the 400,000 mark on the fundraising, which is gratifying to see. Thanks to the negotiation skills of Bozo Zsuzsanna (she belongs in the UN - I've seen her in action!), the Orfeum Music Club has agreed to partner with us to host the March final. To my shame, for as long as I've been in Budapest, and the number of times I have passed the door, I've never noticed it, let alone been inside. It's right beside the Corinthia hotel on the korut. Stepping inside is like taking a trip back to the 1920s. A great space - three bars - good food - and lots of seating. And a 5am closing time :-) Simply perfect for the final of the Gift of the Gab. More details to follow... (Note to self: Send posh frock to the cleaners!)
Where would we be without booze? A lot saner perhaps. A lot healthier, definitely. But sure taken in moderation, it does wonders to oil the cogs of conversation. It's when we over-indulge that we run into problems. Perhaps drinking a dram of whiskey from the GOTG cup doesn't yet rate with sipp
Good news for the soon-to-be-winner of Round V. The bottle in February will be sponsored by GrantHill Telecom Solutions, a local company that provides a one-stop source for managing the entire lifecycle of wireless network. It provides complete solutions that serve the traditional network, third and fourth generation technologies, triple-play (voice, data, and services) and specialized applications for microwave communications. Way over my head but then lucky for them, I don't work there! Thanks very much, young Malcolm. If you've not had a chance to sponsor a round, don't worry! We will gladly accept tombola prizes for the final in March. Remember... the aim is to raise as much money as possible for the orphanage....and to be able to get that bed for Norbert. And if we get some really good prizes - we might just get ourselves an auctioneer and have some fun! _ All sorts of records were broken during Round IV of Gift of the Gab last night. We had a stellar line-out with three IHBC members battling it out for a place in the final, in the company of a Hungarian actor and an Irish-language teacher. Richard Holmes was first to line out for the public speaking section and share his secret of the marketing world (sex) and how he does everything he can to avoid sex – like drive a Seat, wear cords, and grow a beard (though that one apparently has backfired!) but does a Seat-driving, corduroyed man with a beard really warrant a 6??? mmmmm - I wonder. Next up, Miriam O’Hara entertained us with her account of being the only woman (on staff) in an all-boys school Ireland and her in-class struggles to introduce 16-year-olds to Irish verbs and her on-pitch struggle to get the hang of soccer (her being a GAA girl herself). Mark Downey followed on a more reflective note with his musings on the answer to a better world punctuated with wry and insightful humour. By his reckoning, taking account of national averages, being an Irish man living in Hungary, he’s exactly mid-way through his expected lifespan. Last but one came Patrick McMenamin with an account of putting together Ikea furniture: furniture bought by women and built by men – with a hangover! His tale of putting together a Hermes bed only to find that it didn’t come with all the parts – it was missing the 150 cm blonde with a pony-tail that appeared in the instructions – had the room in stitches. And finally, what started out as a pretty sombre account of leaving Hungary and arriving in New York in 1957 by Gaston Vadasz turned into a very comical rendition of language differences, a little bebop, and left me craving a chocolate malt (or was it a choco mal?).
The judges were tough from the outset and the excuse of ‘I’m new at this’ was bandied around a lot at first but soon gave way to some solid and not-so-solid reasoning. It seemed as if everything from which soccer club the speakers supported to their ability to sing and dance and even their accent was up to be judged. With more than one hundred people in Smiley’s, it’s little surprise that the audience made its feelings known and wasn’t at all backward about coming forward with boos or cheers depending on the scores. The impromptu round – speaking in public – was, as always, a little more exciting. Everything seems to hang on the topic pulled from the hat. First up, Richard, let the audience decide between Blue Moon and his First Kiss. No competition really. One of the judges was more than a little peeved that he didn’t reveal all: her name, how old he was, where it happened... The armchair gabbers – i.e. those sitting in the safety of the audience – had lots of opinions of what he could have done with the subject, but like a first kiss, this first GOTG impromptu is one Richard will remember for a while. Miriam, perhaps learning that giving the audience the choice isn’t always the best option, took a chance on her first pick – Is the age of chivalry dead? – and told us how some knight in shining armour helped her with one of her bags when she first arrived in Budapest airport. He picked it up and kept on walking! Mark had the misfortune to draw 18th Century Italian Opera on his first pick – and no matter what else he choose, he just knew that the audience was going to go with that. But in fairness, he tried to tempt them by drawing The art of tying a bow tie. They didn’t fall for it. He did get extra points for singing something vaguely operatic and he’d have gotten extra points from one judge had he been able to name even one 18th century Italian opera – tough judges – very tough subject. Neck and neck after the first round, Patrick and Gaston were the ones to beat. Patrick drew the awkward Spa vs Wellness and the equally awkward Golden Globe Award. No prizes for guessing which the audience picked but they were left guessing when he launched into an account of football matches shown in the Caledonian. How were people to know that SPA stood for Scottish Premier Athletic (or some such) and that Motherwell FC had to change its name to Wellness when it went bankrupt? Inspired. Gaston stuck with his first pick – Bald men are better. He reckoned that being follicley challenged meant that you have to try harder – and as Mark had already cornered the singing market, Gaston showed us a few nifty dance steps. Judges were suitably impressed and despite their abuse of superlatives (cmon lads...if ‘excellent’ doesn’t warrant a 10, what does?) the cup went home with the right person. Patrick showed us what the Gift of the Gab is all about: that ability to talk readily, glibly, and convincinglyabout anything. He was so convincing that three notables (names omitted to save their embarrassment) actually wondered when Motherwell changed its name! A huge thank you to all involved – to David Saddington for standing in for Jeremy (and no, they’re not related); to Kath and Csilla for doing the door; to Fun Palace for sponsoring the trophy; to IHBC for sponsoring the bottle; to Maiya (sp?) for taking the photographs; to the audience for coming out and supporting the event; to the judges for being so.... judgemental (it's a thankless job but someone has to do it!); to Smiley’s for the hospitality; and to the speakers for braving the stage. The final is going to be one helluva night! Welcome to 2012 - and for those of you who have had to be dragged kicking and screaming into this new year, why not come along to Round IV of the Gift of the Gab and cheer yourself up! We have five speakers taking the stage this month and it promises to be an eventful evening. Three IHBC members (Mark Downey, Patrick McMenamin and Richard Holmes) find themselves on stage (hey ho! some friendly rivalry going on there no doubt) alongside Ms Miriam O'Hara and Hungarian actor Gaston Vadasz. A note to the regulars: this would be a good night to throw your hat into the judges ring!
Tickets reservations are flowing in so if you haven't booked your ticket yet, please do so. See ye on the night! Wednesday 18th January, 7.30pm SHARP at Smiley's. Where are ye all coming from? Yet another GOTG with lots and lots of new faces. Word seems to be getting around. We had more than 70 packed into Smiley's to hear our five contestants battle it out for a place in the final in March. Emese Jankó started us out with a hilarious account of how her boss (known to many of us as Rupert Slade) had suggested some public speaking training. While she was imagining all sorts of prestigious instruction involving at least a week away somewhere exotic, he had the GOTG in mind. This woman is seriously funny, clever, and has some killer shoes. During her impromptu speech on legalising prostitution (the audience voted on this topic rather than the less imaginative one of Hungarian beauties), she managed to align Rupert's antics and her resultant capitulation with the prostitution of her soul. Remember, you saw her first at GOTG!
Next up was Judy Nix who enthralled us with the origins of sayings like paying through the nose and descriptives like hangers on. Judging by the sea of bobbing heads and the collective round of ah-has!, both native- and non-native-speakers alike learned something from Ms Judy. Her impromptu speech about roomates gave us an insight into the wild living of young bank officials in Waterford back in the day. It's the quiet ones we have to watch. Our first male performance of the evening was given by Julian Ingram, who, having attended Round II as a judge decided to give the judges themselves valid reason for giving him high scores. And it worked. A former opera singer, Julian isn't at all backward about coming forward and the audience got a little more than they bargained for. Nothing like a bit of culture to wake up an evening. His impromptu speech (the audience had to choose between one-night stands and Margit Sziget) gave us a little more insight into the real Mr Ingram and the collateral damage caused by poor lighting. David McCall, a regular GOTG goer, took us to South Dakota, a place where even those who have lived there are in no hurry to see again. The highlight of the social calendar is sitting on the porch, listening to the corn grow (apparently it sounds like popcorn in July). His impromptu on energy vampires led many to hope for insights into how to 'borrow' their neighbour's electricity. Had David realised that Budapest's regional vampire expert, Anna Laszlo, was in the audience, he might had taken a different tack. Stepping in at the last minute for Richard Holmes, Steve Collison was obviously taking notes during his competitors' speeches and the comments from the judges. In classic presentation style, he structured his speech - told us he would tell us three jokes, he told us the jokes, and then he told us that he had told us. His rather difficult impromptu topic - Lonely boys and fishes - had him waxing poetically of countryside thickets and ponds. There's a stand-up routine in there somewhere! First-time GOTG'ers reportedly had a blast and one audience member has already signed up for January which means that we have only three spots left in February. Amazing stuff. The other great news is that thanks to a very generous donation by a certain someone, we have doubled our charity fund! Am well impressed. Thanks again due to Kath and Molly for doing the door; Diz for taking the photos; Jeremy for scoring and being his inimitable self; David for doing the website; the Fun Palace for sponsoring the trophy; PHD media for sponsoring the bottle; and Smiley's for hosting us. Thanks, too, to our judges - Julia, Molly, Diz, Hunter, and Lorenciu - and to all who showed up to support this worthy cause. See ye all again in January. Seems like Round III is going to be the round not to miss. Reservations are coming in thick and fast so it promises to be an interesting evening. Five countries will be represented and I'll be sharing the stage with not one, but two other women. Don't forget to reserve your place and submit your suggestions for the impromptu speech at www.speechslam.com
Thanks to PhD Media for sponsoring Round III of the Gift of the Gab. Much appreciated. As always, thanks to the Fun Palace for the posh trophy and good luck to next week's competitors. It promises to be an interesting event with not one, but two women going head to head for a place in the final. That's not to say lads, that you'll be in any way disadvantaged! I'm just delira and excira to see the sisters take to the stage! Limited places left so get your spoke in if you're interested in competing in January or February.
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