Dorchester Town Crier says 'silent' contest just won't be the same
Town criers won't be judged by their loud cry, but their wordsmanship for this year's competition
Every year town criers gather to shout aloud in contest with one another, but this year not a sound will be heard.
The pandemic's forced the Loyal Company of Town Cries to take their Oyez' online. So instead, for this year's British Town Crier Championships they'll be judged solely on what they write.
Dorchester's Town Crier and 10 time (and current) champion, Alistair Chisholm says it won't be the same.
He said:
"You can't beat the company and the camaraderie when you all gather in one place and you do a little bit of crying and probably quite a bit of throat moistening of one sort or another, usually with a pint of beer.
"We'll get back to real ones but rather than doing nothing I think town crying competitions simply based on the content of the cry is perfectly acceptable given the strange circumstances in which we find ourselves."
This year's competition is held alongside alongside Mental Health Awareness Week between 10th - 16th May. All proceeds from the competition will go towards Mental Health Charity SHOUT.
This year's crying theme is Nature and the Environment.
Greatest Hits Radio asked Alistair for some tips. He said:
"You need to hold people's attention all the way through. I happen to write my cries in rhyme because that's just more fun, to try and find the words that rhyme with the previous line.
"I think you have to get a grip on the subject, take a particular angle on it that might be particular to you."