Town criers from all over the UK will return to Rye this weekend as the town hosts the national championships. Competitors will face judges in two rounds on Saturday October 12 in Rye’s Gun Garden from 11:30am.
The day, which will be hosted by Rye town criers Paul Goring and Arabella Ansar, will officially begin just after 11am with a procession through the town.
Once the competition is under way next to the castle, the town criers will be asked to make two cries. The first, the Home Cry, will celebrate each competitor’s local town. After lunch at the Mermaid Inn the judges will hear a second cry on this year’s theme – Tradition.
Judging and prize giving will take place at 3:15pm.
This year’s championship is the 71st and returns to Rye for a second time after previous hosts Hastings withdrew support. Paul Goring says each cry needs to be about 120 words in length. “We will not be checking the word count, but any cry which is significantly over 120 words may be penalised. The cries should start with three ‘Oyez’ and finish with ‘God Save The King’. As usual, no politics!”
