Sylvia M Everitt's Staffordshire
Millennium
Embroideries
A history of
Staffordshire
A Crown
for Staffordshire
A history of medieval Staffordshire barons
Dianne Mannering
- Public Speaker and Writer -
The talks are all video presentations and I supply all of the equipment including a screen where necessary. I will travel anywhere in UK. I am used to giving talks at all types of venues and for all types of events including after-dinner engagements, charity evenings, National Trust, Rotary, PROBUS, TWG, WI, U3A etc. Usually my talks last between 45 and 50 minutes though I am very happy to expand them (without extra fee) when asked to do so. All of my equipment is PAT compliant.
A 1960's Business Woman in a Man's World
The YTS girl told customers 'Mrs Mannering's on her dinner' and in an effort to pursuade her to say 'Mrs Mannering's having her lunch' I drew a cartoon of me sitting in a plate of food to remind her what NOT to say.
I was persuaded to create this light hearted cameo of a 1960's and 1970's businesswoman after giving my talk The Not So Glamorous Side of Being a Writer to the Bewdley and Ribbenhall Ladies Luncheon Club in 2008. I happened to mention during the talk that I had been an Insurance Broker in Tipton, (which is in the heart of the Black Country) during those years and somehow, I came away having promised to deliver the talk for February 2010. One of my problems was that there were very few photographs to illustrate the presentation and so, I put pen and paper and drew my own cartoons. The talk covers the period before the days of 'same job - same pay' for women, Rotary wouldn't accept women, wouldn't tolerate them in fact, and even the Insurance Companies for whom I produced business were bemused, reluctant and on occassions even embarrassed and confused about the fact that it was a woman at the helm. Lots of laughs, lots of reminders of how it was when men seemed to consider that if a woman insisted on being in business, then surely a baby linen shop should be the pinnacle of her ambition. When I came to put this talk together, I found that the usual sort of photographs, staff outings, the office party etc were not up to the task. I tried using commercial cartoons, downloading them and pasting them into Power Point, but it just didn't work, so eventually, in desperation, I put pen to paper and drew my own.
Wednesday afternoons was half day closing and very occasionally, late in the afternoon, the manager would don an old jacket, get out a tin of emulsion paint and the step-ladders to do a little retouching of the office paint work whilst keeping an ear open for his young trainee motor insurance clerk, Martin. This particular afternoon a customer came in to arrange his car insurance and asked Martin a technical question. Not being too sure of the answer, the youth hesitated and so the manager, from atop his ladder answered. Martin repeated the answer and the customer nodded and continued with the proposal form. A few questions further down the form and another technical question cropped up and again Martin hesitated and the manager, still painting, answered. The customer put down his biro, glared up at the manager and called 'Hey mate, when I want a decorater to tell me how to fill in my insurance proposal I'll go to the Do It Yourself place in Wolverhampton, thankyou!'
Want to see me? Well have a look at my tv debut? Its not actually to do with one of my presentations, it is to do with a company I started with my daughter Laura some years ago www.thebigbloomerscompany.co.uk Let me warn you, I do normally comb my hair and put on a bit of lippy when I'm doing a talk but I forgot the tv crew were coming on the morning this clip was done (April 2010), so I'm even wearing an old jumper of Laura's! Anyway, don;t be put off.... click on the link below:- http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8647491.stm
