Breaking the ice

What a start to the day! This morning at 8.30 I was due to give my Icebreaker speech at Toastmasters Breakfast Club which has already been put off once due to flu. I got up early so that I would have at least 40 minutes to get to Fish Hoek, which is the required amount of time due to traffic congestion in the mornings. As I drive up my road, the car just cruised to a halt and wouldn't restart. As my small amount of luck would have it, He Who Can Fix Anything was still at home and so I phoned him in a panic about the lack of transport and the time factor, but as usual, there was no answer. I phoned K and again, no answer - probably had her headphones on - so there I sat 50m down the road with rain pending! Bah!

I stomped back home in my high heels (you have to dress up for Toastmasters) only to find I had left the gate remote in the car and had to shout to draw some attention to myself. This is what happens when you don't have a bell at the gate - useful sometimes but not when you are on the wrong side. Suffice to say, within a few minutes the jumper pack (a very handy portable battery with leads) had sorted out the problem, but I still had to stop and put in petrol in case I cruised to a halt in a rather less salubrious area later on.

What luck! No one else at the garage! R50 later (so it wouldn't take too long - it's not quite up to the standards of an F1 pitstop) I was on my way with 25 minutes to spare. And more luck - school holidays, so no traffic! Hmmm - that rather points to the congestion culprits, methinks.

As I drove to Fish Hoek, I said my speech out loud by way of practice. I was still composing the final details as I lay awake in the early hours. I was first up, and it wasn't long before I realised that the story I was telling was quite different to the one I had practised in the car, and that it was so much better than the original idea. I went on way past the red light (we are timed) despite my worries that I wouldn't find enough to say.

I am thrilled to say that what I thought was going to turn out to be a nerve-wracking disaster was a great experience and the positive feedback made all the effort totally worth it. I'm almost ready for the next one!