242nd Meeting
By Mohamed Athif
Following the historic Gavel Avurudu meeting, 242nd gavel meeting was called to order in the ENTC PG Seminar room at 5.15pm as usual. The meeting started off with the national anthem led by Rochelle Silva and the control was handed over by the president to the Toastmaster of the day, an outstanding Gavelier and a phenomenal speaker, Sirimevan Jayasundera.
Focusing on the upcoming long weekend of 4 days, Gaveliers shared their ideal holiday plans in the round robin session which for some was to study all day and for some others to sleep all four days straight. Some members said they would spend the holidays engaging in religious activities for Vesak.
After the round robin session the control was handed over to the Table Topics Master of the day Rochelle Silva who introduced the table topics for the day, encouraging the members with a dash of enthusiasm. The well balanced table topics consisted of 8 topics in different areas. Gavel members eagerly shared their magnificent views on different topics. Speaking on whether pressure is precious, Shehan Jayasinghe made a creative analogy. “If it’s too much, it can crush you, like a tin can. If it’s too less, you’ll burst like a balloon. Pressure is precious in right amounts”. Another member Insaf Ismath gave a message of courage and strength regarding the recent disastrous Earthquake in Nepal, taking the mythical phoenix as an example. Table topics session came to an end after about 14 magnificent speeches.
The Timer’s report and Ah counter’s report were read following the speeches. The evaluators Vibhanu Arachchige and Samavath Mallawarachchi provided insightful evaluations encouraging the speakers further. The control was then given back to the Toastmaster. He said that he is pleased to see speakers coming to speak on stage despite of feeling nervous when speaking. He said, encouraging them that in fact it’s quite natural to feel nervous and with practice it will fade away.
Following the Grammarian’s report, Grammar tip of the day was presented pointing out the difference in usage of the words “Since” and “Because”.
The General Evaluator made some comments on the meeting in general. The control was given back to the President. With another bunch of wonderful memories added to the Gavel diary, the members dispersed with renewed enthusiasm only to meet again in a weeks’ time.
Role players for the day:-
Toastmaster – Sirimevan Jayasundera
Table Topics Master – Rochelle Silva
Timer – Wimali Galgamuwage
Ah counter – Chathuranga Amunugama
Grammarian – Shehan Avindra
CL evaluator – Vibhanu Osanka Arachchige
Table Topics evaluators – Vibhanu Osanka Arachchige, Samavath Mallawarachchi
General evaluator – Piyumi Bandaranayake
Word of the day:-
“Stupendous”: So great in scope, degree, or importance as to amaze
Grammar tip for the day:-
The difference in usage of the words “Since” and “Because”
“Since” – Used to speak about something that started from a point of time in the past
“Because” – Used to imply the cause for something to happen
E.g.:- “I am feeling better since I stopped drinking”
The above sentence doesn’t mean that the reason for you to feel better is stopping drinking. It just means you are feeling better after you stopped drinking
