Man became town crier after wife's 'big gob' jibe

A man says he became a town crier after his wife told him "you'd be good at that because you've got a big gob".

Kevin Ruane has been the Southport and Sefton borough town crier for less than 18 months.

He said his wife Sam's words of encouragement came as they watched the Knaresborough town crier in action during a visit to the market town in North Yorkshire.

The Army veteran said Southport had not had its own town crier since 1987, so he decided to contact Sefton Council offering his services.

He now has a British Championship title under his belt - and has his sights on the World Town Crier Championships being held in Chester, Cheshire, next month.

The 61-year-old serves as the Honorary Sergeant Major for the Royal Army Ordnance Corps Association, so said he was "used to bellowing".

He has been living in Southport for about six years - having moved over from Yorkshire - and said he loves the resort and is proud to be its ambassador.

He said being the town crier "means a lot to me as it allows me to be part of a tradition that brings people together".

"Ringing my bell, shouting out the announcements, and bringing pageantry and fun to local events is great," he said, adding it was "a real privilege to represent the area I live in".

Ruane, who opened Southport Airshow this weekend, said the ceremonial role is "great fun".

He won Best Home Cry category in the Loyal Company of Town Criers British Championships in Biddulph, Staffordshire, earlier this month.

The Best Home Cry is given to the town crier who creates the best proclamation to promote their area.

Ruane highlighted the proud docks of Bootle to the Southport shoreline, Sir Antony Gormley's iron men on Crosby Beach and Royal Birkdale as well as the Grand National at Aintree Racecourse in his winning proclamation.

He also finished runner-up in both the People's Choice and British Champion sections.

Ruane, who was awarded an MBE for his services as a firefighter, is now looking forward to competing in the Chester tournament.

It will see 25 town criers from England, the Channel Islands, Australia, Canada, Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands and the USA competing for the world titles.

Despite all his confidence and success in Biddulph, he admited to feeling "very nervous" about it.

He said it was "a huge step", especially as he was only in his second year in the ceremonial role.

"The level of competition is exceptional," he said, adding there will be multiple world champions as well as national champions in the line up.

"I'm going to give it everything I can, though."

He said if he finished higher than midway in the event he would be "over the moon" and would feel like "doing cartwheels through Chester".

Chester's town crier tradition stretches back to 1554 and it still has a daily town crier proclamation throughout the peak summer season.

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