Planning The Year Ahead For Meetings at HOD and more Toastmasters Club Meetings - Fireworks nights, November 5th, 8th and more

 I am Vice President Public Relations for HOD speaker's club. In order to get some publicity or regular event announcement in local newspapers and on the web, such as in Facebook, I need to draw up a calendar. The Toastasters International year runs from June to June.

I also want to plan my own holidays so they don't clash with important events such as club contests. This is what my plan looks like for HOD. The club meets on the first and third Thursday evenings every month. I can find both this year's and next years dates in my 2025 diary.

The first event is our club meeting just before an organized Fireworks display celebrating November 5th when the English parliament was saved from a planned explosion. Guy Fawkes Night is celebrated in England November 5th or the nearest weekend, with fireworks in public displays. 

Thursdays

NOVEMBER

HOD Thursday November 6th 2025 Theme Fireworks (Fireworks have featuref in Diwali, bonfire night Nov 5th and the nearest weekend, in the UK, and New Year's Eve worldwide on Dec 31st.) 

Theme Fireworks - love them or hate them.

Word of the day: Security./Brilliant.

(Saturday November 8th 2025 fireworks in Harrow.)

HOD November 20th 2025

Theme Thanksgiving, which is next Thursday Nov 27 in the USA with internet sales.

WOD Gratitude. (Or the word gift.) If the meeting has lots of academics you can use a multi-syllable word describing an abstract cocept. If most of the audience, both members and gusts, joined Toastmasters  

To improve their elementary English, you might choose a simpler one-syllable word.

DECEMBER

HOD December 5th 2025 Festival of Lights - Hanukah. 8 days eve of Dec 14 Sunday, 8th light eve of finishes.

Theme. Lights.

WOD Enlightenment

December 20th 2025 Christmas party. Theme and speeches on Christmas worldwide, food and drink. Wear red, white black and green.  Bring mince pies, Xmas cake, yule log, stollen, or pictures of them. If the venue allows alcohol, you can serve hot mulled wine (labelled alcoholic for drivers.  Proved tap water, bottled water, or no alcohol or low alohol drinks. If alcohol is not allowed, a hot fruit punch.

January 1st. 2026 No meetings. (Some clubs postpone their meeting for a week. Our HOD president decided it was less confusing to always meet the same day of the week.

January 15th 2026 Theme. New Year's Resolutions. Word of the resolution.

Feb 5th 2026 Valentine's Day, Love, Love & Marriage. Hearts, Gifts. Valentine's day is upcoming on Feb 14th 2026. What are your plans and shopts and restaurants?

Word of the day Love.

Feb 19th 2026 Valentine's Day - how was it for you? Word of the day. Decision.

March 5th Theme ...

Word of the day ...

March 19th Discuss British Summer time clock changes

2026 UK Time Change

Sunday March 29th 2026. UK. Clocks Spring forward.

April 2nd April Fools Day was April 1st - was anybody fooled?

EASTER April 3rd is good Friday. April 5th is Easter Sunday

April 16th ....

May 7th ...

May 21st Club committee role opportunities explained. Volunteers sought for roles and 2 club observers.

Jun 4th Club Elections. Theme Holidays.

Jun 18th BYO Summer party. Theme summer.

Sunday 25th October 2026 UK.Clocks Fall back.

Useful Websites

Harrow Fireworks

www.harrowfireworks.co.uk

Updated October 27 2025

More Dates For celebrations, themed costumes, decor, posters, theme of the meeting and word of the day.

Chinese New Year/Lunar New Year.

Halloween.

New Year Celebrations - Fireworks on New Year's Eve, Concert on New Year's Day

New Year's Eve was great. Watching the world, but surrounded by friendly family. We are now used to the world timelines. New Year's eve turning into New Year's Day starts in New Zealand, then Australia, then Asia, then Europe, then the UK, then the USA.  

In the UK the crowds are out, despite the cold. One year we had a New Year's Even dinner in a basement bar restaurant in central London. After midnight huge crowds were trying to board trains at the nearby station. The police had set up barriers and were letting people enter the station in a controlled way to prevent a crush.

We went back to our restaurant, hoping they had not thrown away our leftover Champagne. Our was gone, but fortunately they were good enough to give us a free top up from another table's leftover bottle.

The next year we stayed in the suburbs, partying with friends and watching the countdown on their TV. Here is the TV and a member of my family on New Year's Eve 2022, after 2023 is rung in. 

What about New Year's Day? Most years, when in Europe or London, we set an alarm to be sure we are ready to watch it.

New  Year's Day Concert in Vienna, on BBC 2, in Europe in the morning. If you missed it, after an hour or two's delay, I presume whilst they load it up, it's on the iplayer.

Looking back at 2022

Looking forward to 2023

New Year's Resolutions

1 LANGUAGES

My first resolution is to keep on learning languages. With more than 60 lessons, each of up to half a dozen five minute mini-lessons, that takes two to three months per language. I could finish between 2  and 4 languages a year. That is good going. 

I have French and English and Latin from School. I disregard Latin and the made up language Esperanto, as languages not actively spoken in any country as a major language. So I started with English and French. I did Duolingo, German completed, still working on Spanish.

If I can complete Spanish and German and Hebrew in 2023, I shall be up to 5 languages. Add Italian and Portuguese which are close to Spanish and Italian the following year. 

But I have to revise my previous languages in order not to lose them. 

You could do the same. Either work on the opening lessons of several languages out of interest. Or work consistently on one foreign language.

2 TOASTMASTERS

My aim is to become DTM. After a lull whilst I sort out my UK home and finances, I shall return actively to Toastmasters meetings online. If all goes to plan, I shall achieve DTM by doing a project at Writers Summer School with my good friend Carolyn.

3 

What to see on New Year's Day Celebrations 2021: Rose Festivals and parades in Pasadena USA, on TV

Parade in Pasadena

The Parade of The Roses takes place every year in Pasadena, which is just over ten miles north of the downtown (central) area of Los Angeles, USA. Pasadena is a separate city nestling under the mountains. 

The parade is five miles long. It features floats adorned with roses and marching bands from all over the USA and attracts visitors from all over the world. Expect to see huge floats of roses, horseback riders, marching bands.

Roses at Pasadena.

Horses parade.

Marching bands.

Resourcing Roses

Roses - in January? Apparently, they come from South America, from Ecuador. The country's name means on the equator.

Cancellation?

But in 2021 the show will be online. Why was it cancelled for New Year's Day 2021? This is not a last minute decision. The cancellation had to take place months earlier. They start planning the parade as early as February the previous year. The same goes for most major carnivals and parades, such as London's Notting Hill Carnival, in England, and the Rio Carnival in Brazil. The Pasadena people chose to go online for the following reasons. 

1 People such as the volunteers don't just meet up on the day. During the year for the preparations numerous people have to get together, organizers, performers, fund raisers, float designers and builders, volunteers. 

2 On the day numerous people mingle, especially the spectators. 

3 Many people fly into the USA, California, potentially bringing Covid-19 with them, and being exposed to it. They might import it to Pasadena.

4 Afterwards many people fly off around the USA and overseas. They may be taking it with them. They might catch it travelling en route.

5 Even if the organizers agreed to go ahead, the event could be cancelled at the last moment by changing circumstances or government rules. This would mean months of wasted effort,  disappointment, law suits, etc.

6 Safety and health comes first. 

7 The good news is they have alternative plans for the TV show featuring film stars. The show is sponsored by Honda.  One star you might know is Rita Moreno.

Rita the dancer.

In West Side Story.

Meeting President Bush.

President Bush presented her with a medal., the Presidential Medal of Freedom, in 2004.

Star Rita Moreno

Several stars lined up for the TV show include Puerto Rican Rita Moreno who starred in West Side Story. She has received many awards. She was in last year's parade, energetically dancing, in January 2020. The parade end with lots of dancing and singing, dancers on floats and spectators dancing by their seats.

Where can you see it?

Several US stations will be broadcasting it.

In years when January the first falls on a Sunday the parade might be held on a Monday because worldwide people are given Monday as an extra holiday because Sunday would in any case be a day off work.

What does it cost

To build a float costs a lot of money. Also a fee per float is paid to the   the organizers. http://phoenixdeco.com/ublic can pay for a seat on the stands. It is free to stand on the sidewalk (which is called the pavement in the UK).

Later Rose Parade Event in June

Another parade event called the Portland Rose Festival is held to promote Portland, Oregon, USA, in June, also cancelled in 2020 because of Covid-19, but could be resumed in 2021 or later. Features which made my eyes light up were the dragon boat event and the event notepaper with roses.

Dragon boat, in Portland, Oregon, USA.

In the year 2021, January 1st is a Friday.

MORE INFORMATION about Pasadena and the Parade from these Useful Websites.

www.visitpasadena.com

Builder and decorator of floats

http://phoenixdeco.com/

wikipedia 

https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rita_Moreno

wikitravel

wikivoyage

tripadvisor

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

About the Author

Angela Lansbury is a travel writer and photographer, author and speaker, fashionista. Please share links to your favourite posts or one or more of the blogs

travelwithangelalansbury.blogspot.com

dressofthedayangela.blogspot.com

Where To Go For New Year's Eve Restaurants North London and Lunch New Year's Day

LIST BY LOCATION

Ruby's Restaurant & Bar (see my previous post)

Christmas Pudding at Ruby's Restaurant, Bushey Heath.

Casa Mia Restaurant in Hatch End.

BUSHEY HEATH
www.rubysrestaurant.co.uk/specials_at_rubys.php
£50 including drinks New Year's Eve
Ruby's Restaurant, 81 High Road, Bushey Heath, Herts, WD23 IEL
tel:020 8950 8231
rubysrestaurant.co.uk


HATCH END
Fellini New Year's Eve dinner and Dance live music
£70 plus 10% service charge.


RUISLIP
Hawtreys Barn Hotel Ruislip
Hawtreys is already fully booked for New Year's Eve but you can have the same menu in the Cromwell Room.

Alternatively:
New Year's Day lunch at Hawtrey's Restaurant in The Barn Hotel, £29.95 three course meal including tea and coffee. Add a glass of sparking wine £5-£10.


WELWYN
The Wellington at Welwyn
New Year's Eve £75.

Fellini Restaurant in Hatch End.

LIST BY PRICE

NB - Check whether drinks, coffee and service are included. Adjust price if drinks are not included and you wish to drink bottled water, juices, alcohol and coffee. Allow for 10% service charge, any higher service charge listed, service not included, or more generous tip.

RUISLIP

New Year's Day lunch at Hawtrey's Restaurant in The Barn Hotel, £29.95 three course meal including tea and coffee. Add a glass, or two glasses, of sparking wine £5-£10 = £40 each person.

BUSHEY HEATH
www.rubysrestaurant.co.uk/specials_at_rubys.php
£50 including drinks New Year's Eve
Ruby's Restaurant, 81 High Road, Bushey Heath, Herts, WD23 IEL
tel:020 8950 8231
rubysrestaurant.co.uk

HATCH END
Fellini New Year's Eve dinner and Dance live music
£70 plus 10% service charge(Including service = £77).

WELWYN
The Wellington at Welwyn
New Year's Eve £75.

Too dear? Have a pub lunch at Wetherspoons Hatch End. You must book.

If you are outside the area, or considering going to different restaurants, you could draw up a chart or grid with locations down the left and prices listed on the right.