Christmas has come and gone, and now we find ourselves getting ready for another celebration: New Year!

    So what have you all gonna do? A day out with friends? Dinner with family? Everyone has started to plan what they’ll do on New Year’s Eve.

   And let’s not forget resolutions. Did you accomplish everything on the list? Or have you misplaced it? Well, now’s the time to make a new list, and try not to lose it.

   HAPPY NEW YEAR!

As you all know, Christmas is fast approaching. So have you started to buy present sfor family and friends? I seem to fail miserably at this, maybe because I can’t afford most gifts! Haha.

   I’m sure you all have plans for Christmas. Perhaps a good book? Or a good movie?

   Anyway, since I’ll be away for a few days at my grandparents’ for Christmas, I’ll just wish all of you out there first:

                      MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!      

   The school holidays hasn’t ended yet!

   So why not head to the cinema with family and friends and watch that movie you’ve been itching to set your eyes on! Here’s the top 5:

1. The Golden Compass

2. Enchanted

3. This Christmas (I don’t think it’s in Malaysian cinemas though)

4. Fred Claus (Same)

5. Beowulf

   I’ve also just realised that out of the top 5, I’ve watched all that’s shown at Malaysian cinemas!

   The Golden Compass is based on the first of Philip Pullman’s fantasy trilogy, Northern Lights. It’s about a girl who embarks on a journey to save her father and friends from danger with a remarkable instrument.

   Enchanted is a Disney production. So if you dislike Disney movies, I suggest you pick something else instead. Although, it IS a little different. It’s about a girl from some fairy tale who ends up being in New York! So it’s not exactly the normal Disney film. Yet, I have friends who regretted watching it.

   Beowulf is based on an old English poem. That’s all I know about it. Oh, and it’s slightly animated. I don’t know what you call it.

   So hurry up and get tickets! Time waits for no man, or woman!

   Our mentor, Toastmaster Lim Yeong Chuan, is now in France. You can still keep in contact with him by visiting his blog at http://lychuan.blogspot.com/.

   Also, I added a link to Extol Toastmasters’ blog.

   Sorry for the inactiveness. Since this blog is about the gavel club, I thought I’ll just give a brief history on how Toastmasters was formed.

   Ralph C. Smedley held a meeting in 1924, a meeting that would eventually become the first ever Toastmasters International meeting. And of all places the meeting could have taken place, it was in a basement. A BASEMENT!!! But hey, no worries! It’s not the type that is full of cobwebs. It was the YMCA building basement in Santa Ana, California.

   The meeting has took place because Smedley noticed that many young people are shy and withdrawn. Hence, he formed and named a club called The Toastmasters Club.

   Soon after, more and more people became interested and other Toastmasters Club were formed. In 1930, the name was changed to Toastmasters International.

   We certainly owe a lot to Mr Ralph Smedley. Now, Toastnasters International boasts of having 11,300 clubs and more than 220,000 members in 90 countries! Astounding how a basement meeting fluorished, isn’t it?