Published: Thursday, 29th May, 2008 08:20
Town criers descend on Dunfermline
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RINGING ENDORSEMENT: Three-year-old Aidan Hutchison, from Dunfermline, tries his hand at being a town crier with help from John Smith, who will host Saturday’s event
O Ye, O Ye ... Dunfermline will be the centre of the universe for town criers this weekend.
For the city will host a town crier tournament on Saturday, with experts in the field from throughout Britain converging on West Fife.
The entrants, who are sure to be dresses in colourful regalia, will be judged on a range of categories including sustained volume and clarity, diction and inflection, confidence and bearing, content of the cry, engaging the audience and accuracy.
The host crier will be John Smith, who is currently the only Scottish town crier and who has led 10,000 pipers down Fifth Avenue in New York for Tartan Day. He also regularly leads the Edinburgh Festival carnival through the capital’s streets.
John will lead the town criers from the Mercat Cross in High Street at 12.15pm to the Glen Gates where the event will take place, finishing at 4pm.
City-centre manager Susan Hughes commented, “There are two things I can guarantee for this event – a lot of noise and a fantastic display of colour. Town criers are not known for being shy so we should expect a lot of funny scripts and good family entertainment.”
Silver trays will be awarded for first, second and third places with medals up for grabs in categories such as the best content of cry and the best-dressed crier.
Deputy provost Lizz Mogg, a councillor for Dunfermline Central, will be the chief judge along with her husband David Mogg, a councillor for Dunfermline North.
The winners will be presented with their awards at an evening reception to be held in the Elgin Hotel, Charlestown.
Dunfermline City Centre Management is organising the tournament.
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