When the Ashendon WI asked us last year if us 'Belles' would be willing to do a talk about our adventures at one of their monthly meetings we couldn't refuse, so in the new year when the flyer came throught the door for the Ashendon WI schedule for the year and there we were in print for March's meeting there was no getting out of it!!
Sian is definately the most confident of speakers in us 'Belles' as she does this regularly as part of running her business, but to Alex and myself it is a daunting task to stand up in front of a hall full of WI members.
March came up quicker than ever and soon we were days away with no real speech prepared, however a hasty meeting in my kitchen two afternoons before our 'date' we bashed through a rough schedule and some great photos soon got our memories jogged and with some new found confidence we felt prepared enough to face the ladies of Ashendon!
Despite a slight village hall lighting problem we set up our projector and laptop and as the ladies came pilling in through the door and took their seats my new found confidence was already starting to slip, but with Sian getting the talk off to a very slick start I found enough confidence to deliver our account of the South Downs Way experiences. We seemed to be recieved well and we even got to partake in a nice cup of tea and a piece of cake, well Alex and I did, unfortunately Sian missed out on that bit as she had to rush off to play in a netball match!
So we can now add public speaking to our list of talents, although I for one actually prefer cycling to speaking!!
It has been almost three years since the Belles set a challenge. We haven't stopped, we simply need to re-set and re-focus and find time to get ourselves back in the zone.
