As well as being our new mayor, Robert is an active member of Friends of the River Marden and campaigns relentlessly to improve the health of our river and reduce pollution. In this new column Robert will update us monthly with news from his mayoral year.
Robert writes: On Saturday July 15th the Town Criers Championship was held in Calne. Because of the rain, it was held in the Town Hall. There are two national championships for Town Criers, and our event was for their Ancient and Honourable Guild of Town Criers. Mark Wylie, our very own Town Crier who lives in Calstone is last year’s National Town Criers champion for their other title. He won it in Hastings last October.
Mark Wylie, two other Criers, Kevin O’Daly our mace bearer, and Robert MacNaughton
There were 29 Town Criers in the competition including ones from Bermuda, Nova Scotia and Australia. During their first round in the morning, each Crier had to give a a very positive description of their local town in a cry of between 100 and 120 words. Most of them were very witty, and fun to listen to.
Ros Charlton Chard from The Manor of Hatherleigh and Okehampton was the winner of the Cry Me A River cry in the afternoon.
Mark Wylie knows my interest in rivers, and their health, and so asked me to judge the afternoon session which was based on the theme of Cry Me A River. There were many different, imaginative takes on the the theme but the one which appealed to me the most was given by Ros, who basically said without water there is no life. How can we poison something which is so essential to our life? It was the first time she had won any competition, and so she was both astonished and delighted. It was lovely to see.
There will be another Town Crier’s championship next year in Calne. What struck me about the Town Criers is that although they are in competition with each other, they are also good friends, and are very supportive of each other. It was great to see.
Bike Meet 2023
The Bike Meet was held last Saturday, and was as wonderful as ever. I have never owned a bike, and know nothing about mechanics, but I really enjoy seeing so many bikers filling the streets of our remarkable town. The Bike Meet Committee, led by Jennifer Jennings and Greg Widger, work all year round to put the Meet on. There is nothing easy about organising an event for 4 to 5,000 people. Their desire to have camping and music in the evening on the Rec this year didn’t work out, but hopefully it will be in next year’s edition. The Meet really puts Calne in the map. Another area in which we excel.
Bike Meet day
What was also great for me was to see kids having fun in the Marden on Beach Terrace whilst the bands were playing at the Meet. The River is a very important part of our lively town. It has looked after us for millennia, providing the water we need to survive, and now it is our turn to protect and treasure it, eliminating the poisons that are poured into it. Ask any local angler about the amount of fish that used to be in Marden, and how few there are now. Hopefully we can reverse that trend.
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