Gerald Goh (Contest Chair aka emcee), Rahul Breh (Organizing Chair of Area K6 Contest), Pranika Lama (1st place Evaluation, 2nd place Humourous), Rozana Yunos (1st place Humourous, 2nd place Evaluation), Farhan Jaafar Ali (3rd place Evaluation), Supatra Lee (3rd place Humourous) and Allen Ang (Area Director, in charge of Brunei Toastmasters) during the prize presentation of the Area K6 Humourous Speech and Speech Evaluation Contest at OGDC yesterday

Whooaa!! After a few years of hiatus, Rozana Yunos showed she ain’t rusty after dominating the Area K6 Toastmasters Humourous Speech and Evaluation Speech Contest held at the Oil and Discovery Centre (OGDC) yesterday. She’s no stranger to the Toastmasters scene as captured the hearts of other members of Brunei toastmasters where she came runner-up twice in District Level for Speech Evaluation Contest.

Yes, the terminology might be confusing for many as what do you mean by District Level. Ok, let me explain briefly in a simplified manner. Brunei Toastmasters is under Area K6 and we are privileged to have four clubs in Brunei – 1) Brunei Speakers’ Club 2) Brunei Advanced Speakers’ Club 3) Oil Town Talkers (OTTERS) at Seria 4) UBD Toastmasters Club. So the winners of the contest will proceed to Division Level (Brunei, Sabah and Sarawak) and then the winner will proceed to District Level (Brunei, Sabah, Sarawak, Indonesia).

Ironically, Rozana will be contesting in the Humourous Speech contest in Division Level (early October in KK). The 1st Runner-up of the Brunei Area K6 went to Pranika Lama and 2nd Runner-up went to Supatra Lee. This is for the Humourous Speech Contest.

Rozana holding Challenge Trophy endorsed by Stuart Lee (District Champion 2013 in Humourous)

Rozana and Pranika will be representing Brunei in early October 😀

The role players yesterday with their poses

A special day for the audience. A double shot indeed. Thanks JK.

The colourful feather duster is so eye catchy. Nice speech, Elaine 😀

As for the Speech Evaluation Contest, it was a reverse of the other contest as Pranika Lama bagged first place and Rozana settled for second place. The youngest competitor Farhan Jaafar Ali came third. The test speaker for the day was Chan Seng Yee.

The contest was full of laughters especially during the Humourous Speech contest. Rozana stole the headline when she teased the audience with her speech title “The F.. Word” and set the bench mark for the rest of the speakers. Totally fun and yes, she is very animated as well. A well-deserved winner.

My personal favourite will be Pranika’s speech about her journey as a Nepalese living in Brunei. I am amazed with her fluidity as a speaker. She is a very composed speaker and her delivery especially with her pacing is something to be amazed about.

In other matters, the confessions (in their speeches) between our two toastmasters members (no names to be mentioned hehe) ruled the Club Contest two weeks ago. However, their similar repeated performance yesterday couldn’t earned enough points from the judges. But at least, we learnt some new information between the two 😀

I was also contesting for both categories but I entered with a different mentality – to enjoy and have fun. Yes, I was sharing my “crying episodes” and my love for my mom. The best thing out of this contest that I love is the growth of the speakers especially the newbies (Sandy, Phillip, Jidun, Aziman, Rahul, the Liyanas, Saiful, Val, Dalton, Hilman and many more).

So I will be heading to KK sometime next month to support our toastmasters members Rozana Yunos (Humourous) and Pranika Lama (Evaluation). Let’s hope for the best of our Brunei toastmasters representatives.

Jati Transport treated more than 90 of their employees together with their families to the Durian Festival held at Bintudoh Greenspring Resort in Kg Lamunin recently. Yes, it’s the Durian season and I ain’t a big fan 😀

The outing event was organised through Jati Social Club with the initiative to support the local farmers as well as to encourange social activities among colleagues outside the work place. Looks like they had a very fruitful time indeed.

Car Boot Sale organised by Jerudong Park Medical Centre in collaboration with Jerudong Park Country Club.

 

A message from Mewsum Wong of Raw Food Asia: Come join us for a wellness weekend of healthy presentations, talks & of course healthy and fun stalls.

It all kicks off 10 am Oct. 25th. We have famous guest speakers from UK, USA & Singapore. England’s premier Iridologist Susan Laing will be showcasing the most advanced iridology equipment for an insight in to your health and well being.

America’s authority on Durian, Lindsay Gasik will be presenting an in depth look at the King of Fruits and its health benefits.

The inspirational Singapore Blade Runner will be visiting the Kingdom for the first time to give us an insight on his amazing life achievements.

Iridologist and Nutritionist Susan Laing, Durian Researcher Lindsay Gasik, Founder of Raw Food Asia Mewsum Wong and Senior Consultant at Astera Consultant Siti Kaprawi. Image taken by Rebecca Oi of The Brunei Times.

Report from Rebecca Oi of The Brunei Times: Reconnect to health and happiness by joining in the Wellness Weekend — an event that seeks to assist members of the public in nurturing their mind, body, and spirit — today and Sunday.

The two-day event organised by food movement, Raw Food Asia, is held at the Ministry of Industry and Primary Resources (MIPR).

Join in the many activities such as high intensity training and zumba sessions or connect with health experts who will share some of the biggest myths around nutrition and health that keep you from feeling your absolute best.

Take the opportunity to meet Susan Laing, an iridologist and nutritionist from the United Kingdom who will share her expertise on Iridology. Laing said just by looking at one’s iris, she is able to discover the root cause of imbalances such as food intolerances as well as deficiencies in basic minerals and vitamins.

She is also trained in nutrition, therefore will be teaching participants on how to make super foods, which is good not only for the gut but will assist in cleansing the liver and gallbladder.

Laing will also be providing an eye test with prescription and Iris photos for the price of $49.99 and it is available only by making an appointment.

If you need someone to motivate you, look no further than Singapore’s very own Blade Runner Md Shariff Abdullah, who runs with a prosthetic blade. The 45-year-old professional athlete and motivational speaker has taken part in almost 20 over marathons and has completed more than 1,500 kilometres worth of races from 2009 until 2012.

Be inspired by his exceptional story and his dream of running in the Tenzing-Hillary Everest Marathon to celebrate Singapore’s 50th Anniversary in 2015.

Durian fans, on the other hand, can look forward to hearing from Lindsay Gasik. The durian researcher from the United States will be on hand to share her scientific outlook on the king of fruits.

She, along with her husband Rob Culclasure, has been to 12 different countries in the past two years to research and record the various types of durians and will be imparting her knowledge on the different varieties, which are found throughout her travels.

Gasik has also written ‘The Durian Tourist’s Guide to Thailand’ which provides everything one would need to know such as harvesting the fruit on organic farms to arranging lodging in orchard guesthouses.
Founder of Raw Food Asia Mewsum Wong and Senior Consultant at Astera Consultant Siti Kaprawi said that the Wellness Weekend is a perfect opportunity for Bruneians to come together to relax and rejuvenate and connect with health experts.

Kaprawi told The Brunei Times that children from ages seven to 10 are invited to join a free durian drawing competition which will be held from 9am to 10am on October 26.

Drawing papers will be provided but participants have to bring their own colouring materials.

The event is sponsored by Sunshine Borneo Tours, The Brunei Hotel, NHF Astera Consultant, MSK Sdn Bhd, Brunei Detox Bar, Forever Green Organic, Superwater Marketing, Fruitime, Chambray Blue, Bath & Beauty by Charlene, The Borneo Pantry, Project SAFE, RFA Youth and RFA Fruit Enzyme.

For more information regarding the event or to book your tickets, please call Mewsum Wong at 895 7528.

Blade Runner Md Shariff Abdullah is in town. Image courtesy of Elizabeth Sim

 

Reunion Homecoming Party. You can get your tickets at the door!!

Yesterday International School Brunei (ISB) held their International Day at their school with the theme the 60s. ISB continues the yearly tradition and it was a huge success where students, teachers and even parents dressed up for the occasions. I missed yesterday’s event but thanks to social media, I can share the photos taken yesterday at ISB.

Don’t forget that there will be a Reunion Homecoming Party for all the ISB Alumni and it will take place at ISB from 3pm to 8pm and the ticket ($15) will be available at the door. I shall be there as well to do some coverage of the occasion.