This week’s jam-packed meeting featured not one by two competitions – an evaluation contest and the International Speech Contest, which pitted John’s boiling charisma against Bruce’s nerdy preparation.

Lorne, who chaired, was kept busy doffing one hat and donning another. He was setting up. Then he was telling people where to go. He was an icebreaker and a headwaiter and an interviewer. At some point he might even have parked someone’s car.

Visitor Margaret delivered a spectacularly moving and theatrical speech that the three evaluators – Angela, Megan and Bruce – somehow had to find constructive criticism about.

Lots of people quietly did their jobs well. Debra was a graceful sergeant-at-arms, and Vincent a meticulous ballot-counter.

Nicky covered the timing role like a Trojan. It was important job. Any contestant who went overtime – or under time – was disqualified.

In the end, Bruce nosed out John in the speech contest. (Though John handily won the subsequent fight in the alley.)

A quick hat-tip in closing to, of all things, a bank.

The ING on Howe Street has a boardroom it makes available to folks for nonprofit, first-come-first-served use. It’s where we met this week when our usual digs were unavailable to us.

That room is what’s sometimes called a “third space.” It’s not public, not commercial (you don’t have to buy anything) — just a private spot for people to gather. It’s an emergency lilypad for groups like us who need to get together to talk and listen to each other.

The regional speech contest goes March 25.

Next week we’re back at our usual meeting place at 889 West Pender — fingers crossed.