Chester was very quiet last week after the departure of 25 visiting town criers from all over the world. The bell men and women came from England, the Channel Islands, Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, Australia, Canada and the United States to compete in the World Town Crier Tournament.
We were invited to the launch party at Oddfellows and the colourful visitors soon made an impact with their period costumes and eccentric charm. Chester last hosted the event back in 2014 and our own Crier David Mitchell had long campaigned for its return to the city known for being the only place in Britain to retain a regular midday proclamation. Thanks to Marketing Cheshire and £50,000 in funding from Airbnb’s £1 million Best of British Fund, the dream became a reality.
And dream like was the opening party, as guests and accommodation hosts mingled with the visitors, all happily posing for the camera, many looking as if they had stepped through a time portal or jumped out of the pages of a fairy-tale. Essex crier Jody Huizar walked around with a half a cured pig , whilst the Australian Judy Campbell delighted us all with her kookaburra cry. MP Sam Dixon played a video from the Speaker of the House of Commons welcoming the event, official photographer Bob Hadfield gathers everyone for a group photo , and later Marketing Cheshire ask me if I can recruit internet star Kalani ghost hunter to attend the tournament ( sadly he was away in Italy). Being a fly on the wall at this quirky gathering offered some unreal vibes.
The next day the Criers paraded from to Town Hall square, led by a kilted piper (Tim Yuskaitis from Fair Lawn New Jersey) for the first round of the Tournament. The mass of criers ( no one knew what the collective term was) assembled on the Town Hall steps in front of the assembled media including Reuters, Radio Merseyside, The Times, Granada Reports and the Daily Mirror.
Introduced by host David Mitchell, each Crier had to deliver a proclamation championing their home towns. This proved to be a fascinating cultural exchange. James Stewart from the exotic sounding New Glasgow :
“Not the old one you know, I come from the cold one . In summer Nova Scotia is a playground with sea and sand galore, but when old man winter comes around its no fun on the shore.”
Paul Gough from Nuneaton told us that Larry Grayson resided in the town and that “The ring road goes through and not around!”
Throughout, the banter between the Criers and their interaction with the public was a joy to behold- despite early concerns the seats soon filled up and attracted a large crowd, with many tourists delighted by the free show. At the end of the 25 , 2 media guests took to the stage, with Will Pavia from The Times providing a New York cry. “We don’t have Town Criers, but we do have people who shout in the streets. do not make eye contact with them! New York was named after King Charles’ II brother, the Duke of York- who got into trouble and was stripped of his title, its obviously a tradition that continues to this day!” Finally Radio Merseyside’s Kevin Duala gave a Beatles twist to the traditional cry and commented afterwards that “People think town crying is just somebody standing up on stage, and talking or shouting, but it brings happiness and it brings joy and I think it brings hope to a lot of people as well”
Day 2 took place in Eastgate Square with the Criers all allocated a business in the centre to promote, and once again they excelled, delivering their specially written proclamations- a real challenge for the Criers for whom English was not their first language. They all rose to the task admirably as the surreal scenes unfolded. Whilst day 2 was more corporate, it did provide cross promotion for the numerous businesses. Tim from New Jersey was on stage with a pink hobby horse from The Works. Another crier wore a jacket from Trespass and Ben Philips from Belgium delivered a wonderful Ann Summers cry. Whilst some would dispute that Costa Coffee offered the best coffee in Chester, the clever “God save the bean” twist made us all laugh. As Australian Kevin Howarth prepared to go on stage with a giant Nipper from HMV dog, youtuber and auditor Charlie Veitch could be seen documenting the event. In the interval the Criers continued to mingle , with Halifax’ Les Cutts handing out Yorkshire tea bags.
Celebrity Judge Louise Minchin, known for her championing of Chester and local events, noted that Town Criers were the original news readers. She awarded a special prize of a copy of her recent book to her 4th placed crier on the day. Judy Campbell.
The final day and one final parade, bell waving and smiles for the camera as the happy sounds from a bygone age filled the streets, and onto Exchange Square. In the last round Criers proclaimed about the hotels they were staying in. This was a neat conclusion to the well structured week and again offered more cross promotion for Chester businesses. Crazy Kevin Howarth was crowned overall winner of the Tournament by that day’s celebrity judge Lucy Meacock. A well deserved winner.
Jamie Christon, Chair of Marketing Cheshire and CEO of Chester Zoo commented after the event that “Chester has a habit of surprising people, and this week the city did exactly that – historic streets filled with colour, character and a bit of theatre, showing the world what makes this place so special” Without a doubt this was one of the most joyous events in Chester ever, the Town Criers spread some happiness and magic over our city, and in these often dark times, oyez, this is exactly what we need. Every single one was an excellent ambassador for their towns and cities.
