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Reuben in the News
Cotswold Life, 1997
The text of this article reads:
"I was 14 years old when I first came to England from Montserrat,
which is still a British colony in the Caribbean. My father had
sought work on the other islands during the depressed state of
the economy in the early 1960s, but then had to look elsewhere,
so he borrowed money to come to England. He couldn't read or write,
but he worked hard and eventually sent for the family to join him.
I am one of nine children, and it was a big achievement for us
all to be educated here. I remember we arrived in the middle of
winter, but had not been prepared for the cold. I was in shorts
and short-sleeved cotton shirt and terribly excited when we landed
but was shocked to see steam coming out of our mouths. We thought
we must surely be going to die with all our breath escaping like
that.
As was common practice on the sugar plantations, our family took
its name from the owner, but it was a happy island, there was no
animosity between the black and white people. The last time I went
back I took some 30 British soldiers with me - it was a way of
seeing my homeland so I put forward the idea that it would be an
ideal way to foster better relations between different peoples
and to get the soldiers accustomed to tropical heat. The pass was
granted, but I suspect my reasons for the request were accepted
with a lenient view and it was a wonderful experience for the whole
group, especially when we visited the school and I discovered that
I was related to about a third of the students there.
Perhaps there is a degree of novelty about my being the only black
professional toastmaster in Britain, certainly people appear to
like the distinctive figure that a coloured surrogate host, Master
of Ceremonies, management specialist or event co-ordinator - which,
in effect I am as required - adds to the occasion.
My colour would certainly not in itself be a qualification, of
course. My military background was the initial training ground
for discipline and attention to detail, protocol and social etiquette
which I learned in the last ten years as manager of the Officers'
Mess of the 22 years I served in the Army. That has in effect qualified
me to work in the British Embassy anywhere in the world, and special
clearance to work on a royal flight or ship.
There are many variations on etiquette, which I believe to be
a kind of tribal observance of rules and customs and manners; there
is a set of different codes of these for different occasions such
as military, royal or social - sometimes all of these can be involved.
I am a member of the Northern Guild of Toastmasters, for which
the criteria is already to be a member of a professional service
and a proof of certain disciplines.
My introduction to the English Sunday teas was when I joined the
Army in 1969 and met Pat, my wife, when I was posted to the North
Cotswolds. Nicely served afternoon tea, with linen table napery
and fine china, made an early impression on me. After my Army service
I worked as a banqueting manager at a large hotel and perfected
my toastmastering skills, learnt a great deal about catering and
organisation of functions, and gained the confidence to set up
professionally. I spent a lot of time researching where necessary
on forms of address
and information as Orders of Chivalry. I keep an enormous file
of contacts as I am contracted more and more on a variety of events
for which I am prepared to oversee everything from start to finish.
For weddings, for instance, I am often called upon to advise on
drawing up the menu, the budget and even write the speeches where
necessary. I really enjoy my work, and knowing that I can smooth
the path for the host or hostess by attending to the dozens of
details involved gives me immense pleasure."
Reuben Lynch was talking to June Lewis,
Picture: Mike Charity
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