PR CALENDAR. Planning PR for a year's worldwide themed meetings, online if not in person

BHA Meeting online.

TCA meeting online.

I am PR for two Toastmasters International clubs in Singapore, BHA and TCA - the A stands for advanced, so one of my jobs is to plan and distribute posters for forthcoming meetings, using themes and colours. The three obvious ones for the calendar are New Year for January, Love for February (Valentine's Day) and Christmas or winter celebrations for December. I am looking at pictures of foods and festivities so that people can either cook up the recipes to eat at home, or wear fancy dress (red Santa hats), or have a background colour. 

Here are the Ideas I have found for themed meetings.  

I thought of starting with August, but it is simpler to arrange things by the calendar from January to December. So, as I am writing in July, the calendar is Jan to Jun for 2022 and July to Dec for 2021. Here goes.

JANUARY 2022

Colours

Foods Scottish porridge, haggis, potato and neeps (turnips), shortbread

Music

FESTIVALS

January Sales

Famous People's Memorial Days

Jan 1 New Year's Day (New Year's Resolutions. Plans. SMART goals)

Jan 7th. Orthodox Xmas. (Family. Food. Gifts. Religion.)

Jan 26 Australia Day. (Australia flag.)

Photos

Jan 26 Burns Supper Night. (Haggis. Burns poetry.)

Jan 27 Holocaust Remembrance Day. (Anne Frank. Jews. Holocaust. Yiddish. Gypsies. Homosexuals.)

2nd Monday coming of Age Day in Japan. (Age. Youth.)

3rd Monday Martin Luther King Jnr Day.

Online Toastmasters Club Dates: 

BHA (First Wed eve and third Sat afternoon) Wed eve 6.30 for 7 pm Singapore time, Wed Jan 5 in 2022.

BHA 3rd Saturday afternoon Sat Jan 15 in 2022, 1,30 for 2 pm Singapore time.

TCA  4th Tuesday evening Jan 25th 2022 7.15 for 7.30 Singapore time.

Both on Zoom.

FEBRUARY 2022

Colours Pink (for love) OOO Valentine's, red roses and hearts and , or orange for CNY

Food: Oranges, Lo Hei, chocolates

Music (I just called to say I love you)

FESTIVALS

Feb 1 and 2 (fluid) Chinese New Year (CNY)

Feb 6 Sunday 2022 New Zealand Waitangi day (Themes and symbols kiwi ,New Zealand map and flag, Maori, travel) (Mondayised so Monday is also a national holiday because Sunday is not a working day)

Feb 14 Valentine's Day (Themes and symbols. Love. Gifts. Hearts.)

Shrine to St Valentine in Ireland

Feb 15 USA Presidents' Day

Feb 21 2022 Chinese Yew Year (Singapore Lo Hei platter with fish and coloured vegetables and chopsticks)

Photos

Online Club Dates

BHA first Wed is Feb 2nd 2022; 3rd Sat is Feb 19 2022

TCA 4th Tuesday is Feb 22nd 2022.

Music

MARCH 2022

Colours Green (St Patrick's Day) OOO

Foods Irish whiskey, potatoes, sourdough 

Music

When Irish Eyes Are Smiling

Molly Malone (In Dublin's Fair City, where the maids are so pretty)

FESTIVALS

March 1 2022 Pancake Day/Mardi Gras (using up food before Lent) 

March 8 International Women's Day. (Themes. Equality. Sex. Women.)

March 9 Teachers' Day (Themes books. Teach. Knowledge.)

March 17 St Patrick's Day (Themes Irish. Song. Speech.)

2nd Monday Commonwealth Day

Commonwealth flag

Online Club Dates

BHA 2022 first Wed is March 2nd; 3rd Sat is Mar 19

TCA2022 the 4th Tues is Mar 22nd

APRIL 2022

Colours Red Poppy for Anzac Day OOO

Foods

Music

FESTIVALS

April 25 Anzac Day (Australia and NZ, Gallipoli, WWI)

Photos

Online Club Dates

BHA 1st wed is wed 6th April 2022

3rd Sat is Sat April 16th 2022 

the 17 th is Easter Sunday so people could be busy away all weekend

TCA 4th Tuesday April 2022 is Tuesday 26th

MAY 2022

Mental Health Month and Mother's Day

Colours

Foods

Music

FESTIVALS

May 1st April Fools Day

May 1st Labor Day

May 8 VE Day (Victory. Europe. Peace. France.)

Famous People 

May 7 Rabindranath Tagore - tribute to Tagore

May 16 2022 Vesak Day - Birth of Buddha

Buddha Statue. Vietnam.

2nd Sunday Mother's Day USA.

Last Monday in May is Spring Bank Holiday in the UK.

Photos

Online Club Dates

BHA WED May 4th 2022
SAT 21st 2022
TCA  TUES May 24th 2022

JUN 2022

Colours

Foods

Music

FESTIVALS

Photos

Online Club Dates

BHA Wed 1st Jun 2022

BHA 3rd Sat is Jun 18th 2022

TCA 4th Tues is 28th Jun 2022

JULY 2022

TCA 4th Tues 26th

BHA first Wed 6 July 2022

BHA 3rd Sat 16 July 2022

TCA 4th Tues 26July 2022

(JULY 2022

(Hari Raya Haji July 9 2022)

....................................................

JULY 2021

Colours

Foods

Music

FESTIVALS

July 4 American Independence (American flag. Themes: Freedom. War.)

July 14 Bastille Day. (American flag. France. Revolution.)

3rd Monday in July in Japan, Marin Day. (Sea, ships, sailors.)

July 20, 2021 Hari Raya 

Photos

Online Club Dates

In 2021

BHA  1st Wed was the inauguration of the new committee 

3rd Sat (past Lim Tong Lee)

AUGUST 2021

Colours Red and white for the Singapore Flag and the Swiss flag.

Foods Swiss Chocolate. Singapore chicken rice.

Music

FESTIVALS

August 1 Swiss National Day - Swiss flag, chocolate, time pieces, time

Aug 9 Singapore National Day, Singapore flag, chicken rice?

Photos

Singapore Flag

I have shown this bordered so that the white of the flag can be seen against the white background of the page. The plain flag is in Wikipedia but after months of searching and stress I finally found a bordered version in Wikimedia Commons.

Singapore flag. Red and white.

Swiss Flag

Flag of Switzerland. Red and white.

Online Club Dates

AUG 2021 BHA 1st Wed 2021 Aug 4th

3rd Sat 21st Aug 2021

4th Tues 24th Aug 2021

SEPTEMBER 2021

Colours

Foods

Music

FESTIVALS

3rd Monday in September. Respect for the Aged in Japan.

Photos

Online Club Dates 2021

SEPT BHA 1st Wed 1st Sept. 3rd Sat is 18th

TCA 4th Tues is 28th Sept2021

OCTOBER 2021

Colours

Foods

Music

FESTIVALS

Photos

Online Club Dates

BHA Oct 2021first Wed is 6th; 3rd Sat is 16th 

TCA Oct 2021 fourth Tues is 26th

NOVEMBER 2021

Colours

Foods

Music

FESTIVALS

Photos

Online Club Dates

BHA first Wed is Nov 3rd . 3rd Sat is Nov 20th 2021

TCA fourth Tues is Nov 23rd

DECEMBER 2021

Colours

Red, white and green.

Foods

Music

Auld Lang Syne

Silent Night

Religious Christian

Secular Xmas

Xmas carols

FESTIVALS

Dec 24 Xmas Eve

Dec 25 Xmas Day

Dec 26 Boxing Day (UK) Sales Start!

Dec 31 New Year's Eve

Photos

Xmas Spruce tree London

Online Club Dates

BHA first Wed  DEC 2021 is 1st 

3rd Sat 2021 is 18th

TCA Fourth Tues 2921 is 28th

2021

JULY - JUBILANT JULY

Theme/WOD Jubilant

WORKSHOPS & EDUCATIONAL SESSIONS (based on level one of Pathways)

1 Your first speech or role EASY ENGLISH LANGUAGE (Articles A and The, Plurals, Tenses, Pronunciation, Singlish)

2 CHOOSE YOUR PATH

Wed July 7th 

Saturday 17th

July 4th American Independence Day.

2021 AUGUST - AWESOME AUGUST

1 Pathway Level 1 Introductory Speeches

2 Evaluations

Wed 4th

Sat 21

2021 SEPT - SUPER SEPTEMBER

Wed 1st

Sat 18th SPEECH CONTESTS

Humorous Speech Contest

Table Topics Contest

2021 OCT - ODD OCTOBER

Wed 6th

Sat 16th

2021 NOV - NOVELTY NOVEMBER

Wed 3rd

Sat 20th Wed

Diwali Hindu Festival of lights Nov 4th.

Nov 25th American Thanksgiving.

Hanukah (floating) starts in 2021 28 Dec 8 days until Dec 6. Jewish Festival of lights, celebrated by Jesus.

2021 DEC - DARLING DECEMBER

Wed  1st (Hanukah if not previous month. Festival foods.)

Sat 18th

Speech on 

JAN 2022 - JOYFUL JANUARY

Wed Jan 5th New beginning - forget the past

Sat 15 Long-term plans = for the future/Chinese New Year (CNY for short)

2022 FEB FUN FEBRUARY

Theme Love and romance - Chinese New Year

Feb 1st and 2nd are holidays - do we move this Feb 2nd meeting date?)

Wed 2nd (Valentine's Day is  upcoming, Feb 14, which is a Monday in 2022)

Sat 19th

2022 MAR - MARVELLOUS MARCH

Theme

Wed 2nd

Sat 19

March 1st is Christian Pancake day. 

2022 APR - APRIL'S AIMS

Wed 6th

Sat 16th

Muslim Ramadan 1-30 April.

Jewish Passover (Seder meal=Last supper) April

 16

2022 MAY - MODERNISING MAY

Wed 4th

Sat 21

2022 JUN - JUBILANT JUNE

Wed 1st

Sat 18th

I am working on this list. It may take all day. Come back later to read more.

Useful Websites

PUBLIC HOLIDAYS IN ENGLISH SPEAKING COUNTRIES

Singapore Public Holidays

https://publicholidays.sg/2022-dates/

USA Public Holidays

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_holidays_in_the_United_States 

UK Public Holidays

Australia Public Holidays

NZ Public Holidays

Canadian Public Holidays

South African Public Holidays

Indian Public Holidays

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anzac_Day

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mooncake

About the Author

Fishguard Bay Hotel's Finest Food - and packed lunch for the train home from Wales to England

Liz Taylor and Richard Burton who starred in the film stayed in what was and still is the largest hotel, the landmark Fishguard Bay Hotel, on the cliff above the station and departure point for the ferry from Wales to Ireland.

Go up to the hotel for a fine view over the bay to the opposite side. You can buy drinks in the bar. The hotel is open to non-residents.

They also serve excellent traditional food. I stayed for a long weekend, Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights, taking the train's replacement bus at half past twelve on Sunday, missing the hotel's lunch.

During my stay I had three evening dinners and two lunches and three breakfasts. At breakfast you can ask for vegetarian sausages. You get four, enough for two people. You might prefer these, even if you are not a full time vegetarian.

I said to my friend, Alison, "That sounds good, if you want to avoid processed meat, which the Cancer Research sites say you should avoid as a precaution to guard against cancer."

Alison replied, "You are avoiding processed meat. However, the sausage most likely is full of preservatives anyway." She tucked into her sausages. Next year, or next time, I must remember to ask for vegetarian sausages.

Starters
At dinner I decided that the egg mayonnaise starter was the best option. The perfectly cooked halves of hard boiled eggs came in a nest of fresh green salad.

Our set menu offered three starters, a juice, a soup and an alternative.

One of the soup choices was vegetable soup. At another meal we were offered pea and ham.

On one occasion I chose a leek and potato soup. The leek is a Welsh and Sottish favourite vegetable.

I was in Fishguard in February 2019 at Writers' and Artist's Holiday. Leeks proved a good conversation point. A Scottish friend, Fiona - a good Scottish name, told us that leeks and tatties (potatoes) are part of the Burns supper celebrated in Scotland and worldwide, especially Russia. My leek and potato soup was too salty, two of us agreed.

Main courses
My favourites were:
Chicken in mushroom cream sauce. (I recall one mouthful of chicken being a little tough.)
My top favourite was the cottage pie. Perfect.

We also had some wonderful potatoes. The new potatoes were better than the average. The ones which were halved and sauteed were divine.

I live part of the year in Singapore, where potatoes are rarely seen. Most meals are with noodles or rice, my go to meal in the cheap hawker centres being the national dish, chicken rice, which is a mount of white boiled rice with slices of chicken. I dream of, yearn for, potatoes.

Desserts
My favourites included tiramisu and apple crumble. The cheesecake was good.

The strawberry gateau was disappointing. At supper, not a strawberry in sight, just what looked like a jam sauce on top. Next day at lunch time, the dessert has some tiny pieces of strawberry in the centre top.

The set meal choices were fruit salad or one of the two cakes or cooked desserts of the day.
I recommend the tiramisu. Moist, filling, tasty, alcoholic flavour. One of our group asked for the tiramisu, which was on the a la carte menu. She said the staff told her that you could choose from the a la carte menu instead. I suppose they speed things up for a group by limiting you to three choice.

Packed Lunch
They can also provide residents with a packed lunch for the train home. Very basic. Either a ham or cheese sandwich, an apple, and a bottle of water.

My sandwich had a generous double layer of cheese on white bread. Filling. However, my friend who is vegetarian was given the same sandwich containing tomato, which as well as being tasting is more moist.

I knew they would not pack up the starter or main course, but I thought a dessert could be packed into a lunch box. they allowed me into the kitchen. My options were a black forest gateau of a white lemon roll. I opted for the latter, fearing that I would smear chocolate all over myself in a jolting train, eating on my lap.

On the train I managed to get a seat. My apple rolled off the table onto the floor. I could have washed it in the toilets, but the water was labelled Not Drinking Water. I could have used the drinking water to wash my apple, but too much palaver, risk of making myself wet, keeping others waiting for the toilet, leaving my possessions in my seat too long.

Next time I go to the hotel I shall be well prepared. I shall also look at their a la carte menu.

My journey back from Fishguard and Goodwyck to Paddington station, London, was on a Sunday. The second train on my four stage journey had no drinks and food trolley. I heard the announcement and the moving text sign at the end of the carriage over the exit doorway confirmed it. So I was glad of the packed lunch.

A previous year I had visited Fishguard for a longer stay in summer, and enjoyed Welsh cakes, best at the hotel,but also sold on the train's trolley. This time on the train back, I had to get my last taste of Wales from the bilingual signs on stations in English and Welsh.

Useful Websites
To learn Welsh, free online:
duolingo.com

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. See my other posts on Fishguard, Wales, learning Welsh, Writers, artists, Welsh Whisky and Welsh chocolate. Please share links to your favourite posts.

What to wear for a Burns Night

Photo of Robbie Burns in public domain from Wikipedia.

Problem
What do we wear for a Burns Supper or Scottish night?

Answers
Looking out your kilts and tartan clothes. If you don't have much, you might already have in your wardrobe:

Scottish Gentleman's Clothes
Cheapest is a tartan tie.

Scottish Lady's Clothes
Tartan dress or skirt.
If you are seated all evening, a skirt will not be noticed except when you arrive. Instead wear a black skirt, a white blouse and a tartan sash or tartan hairband and necklace.

DIY Tartan And Scottish Clothes
Your old tartan clothes are too small? Cut a piece of cloth and make a sash over a white blouse. Or a necktie. Or a bow tie. Or attach to a hair clip.
A stiff hairband - print a tartan and stick the paper over the hairband.
Make a tartan brooch.
Find a badge and stick tartan on it for an instant tartan badge.
Make tartan ear-rings.
A large birthday boy or birthday girl badge, the sort found attached to birthday cards, can be temporarily adapted by sticking on a tartan or a picture of Robbie Burns.

Tartans and Table Motifs
Do you need a pattern? Look online.
Alternatively, buy a packet of Scottish shortbread and cut out the design.
1 Stick it on something you are wearing.
2 Cut out the back of the packaging and stick that on something you are carrying, such as a bag.
3 Make a cover for a printed copy of Burns Poems.
4 Use the cut-out, or a photocopy of it, as the heading or edging of the menu.
5 You could even print a tartan or a map of Scotland as a frame for a tablemat or as the centrepiece for a table.
6 Print three A5 sheets of tartan as a repeating pattern for a table centrepiece or table runner.
7 Set up an ipad on the table with a tartan pattern displayed.
8 Have Burns poems ready on your phone, and Scottish music.

Useful websites
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Highland_dress

Angela Lansbury
Travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.