Last year XtC had a good run of guest speakers, and I would like to see the same happening this year... but on a slightly more regular (and formal) basis. There seems to be some enthusiasm for making this happen although more than one person has said that it would require a lot of organisation.
IMO the main points up for discussion are:
should we have guest speakers (yes formal presentation / yes but informal / no)
when should we have guest speakers (whenever the speaker can show / in advance, to a schedule)
who should invite speakers (anyone / committee / rotating responsibility)
where should the speakers present (BofE? / somewhere else)
I would leave the choice of topic up to the speaker.
My personal preference is for
formal speakers
a published schedule (doesn't rule out the ad hoc / informal eg if Mr Beck should come to town)
rotating responsility for arranging a speaker among pairs (splits the load and copes with illness, and hey we do everything in pairs right?) If you really love the planning game, you could publish a list of available slots and/or suggested speakers, and let pairs "sign up" for whenever/whoever they want
presenting at another location (as we can't guarantee access to the room at the BofE?)
MonthlySpeakers