00:00Oh-yay! Oh-yay! Oh-yay! Welcome to Otley in beautiful Wharfdale!
00:20Hi, I'm Terry Ford and I'm the bellman for Otley. Fourteen and a bit years ago,
00:26the town was blessed with two town cries or two bellmen, a bellman and a deputy.
00:32The deputy bellman retired for personal reasons and they were searching for a replacement.
00:39And to be honest, to be quite frank with you, nobody wanted that job.
00:43And I was in a pub which had newly opened, a pub called The Old Cock,
00:47which is fairly famous in the town now, propping up the bar one early evening when the town clerk came in.
00:53We had a chat. We had a couple of beers. And in the course of the conversation, I said,
00:57have you got yourself a town crier yet? And he went, it's you.
01:01I then had to go and shout at the council, which is always a pleasure.
01:05And I was loud enough and clear enough that they accepted me.
01:09And I've been doing the job ever since.
01:11The tradition goes back certainly to the 17th century.
01:16And it's a highly traditional role.
01:21Of course, nowadays, we don't fulfill the role that we were originally meant to do,
01:26which was providing the news for populace who were largely illiterate.
01:30It is now our job really to be ambassadors for the town.
01:37And town tryers generally fulfill this function really rather well.
01:41And I do my level best here to make certain that everybody knows about Otley.
01:45Otley literally upholds the palace of Westminster.
01:50It was from a quarry on Arsheven that the foundation stones for the houses of parliament were hewn.
01:58Over the course of the last 13 years or thereabouts, I've become more and more proficient at town crying.
02:05I've been British champion, I think now five times.
02:10And I've won international competitions also.
02:14I became the British champion for the loyal company of town criers in Cromer.
02:19I do a lot of stage work.
02:20And I think that that contributes immensely to the clarity and the volume.
02:25Because when we're out in competitions, we are judged on volume and clarity, sustained volume and clarity.
02:32And that is one of our requirements.
02:35And I'm fortunate that because I can sing and project, I can also shout and project.
02:41This part of Yorkshire is full of friendly, kind and really generous, if occasionally boisterous, folk.
02:50And I thoroughly enjoy them.
02:52I come from the Northeast.
02:53We're renowned, it seems, in the Northeast for our friendly attitude.
02:57And it's matched very easily here.
02:59deux.
03:00Four.
03:01Five.
03:02Four.
03:03Four.
03:03Four.
03:03Four.
03:05Four.
03:07Four.
03:07Four.
03:09Four.
03:10Four.
03:15Four.
03:16Four.
03:17Four.
03:18Four.
03:19Four.
03:20Four.
03:20Four.
03:21Over.
03:21Two.
03:22Five.
03:23Four.
03:24Four.
03:24Five.
03:25Four.
03:26Up.
03:27That is always the sponsor.
03:27That's my pleasure.
03:27Why not guys are much happier?
03:28Famous.
03:28Hello is the sponsor.
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