Shrewsbury Town Crier Martin Wood is getting ready for the annual Town Crier competition.
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00:00Well, even before we get to the top, we know who it is, don't we?
00:04Hello, Martin.
00:05How are you, sir?
00:06How are you?
00:07Guess who it is.
00:08Guess who it is.
00:09And you're involved in a competition coming up, aren't you, Martin?
00:12Yeah, I've got the World Championships for the Town Criers taking place on the 14th in
00:22Montgomery, just down the road.
00:25Is it a different place every year, is that how it works?
00:28Oh, yeah, yeah.
00:29It's a home run for you.
00:30It's a home run for the season, yeah, that's it, right.
00:32Feeling confident?
00:33Well, you know, there's a lot of good criers going.
00:36Yeah.
00:37Is it a competitive event, or is it more of a kind of a gathering and a, you know?
00:41A bit of both, really.
00:42But, you know, I mean, obviously you want to do as well as you can.
00:45Yeah, especially when it's in Montgomery.
00:47Especially when it's in Montgomery.
00:48Yeah, yeah.
00:49So what do you get to cry?
00:50Is it up to you?
00:51Is there a theme, or how's it work?
00:53There's a theme.
00:54I have to do a hometown cry.
00:57Okay.
00:58And then I have to do a cry then about one of the poets who was born in Montgomery back in the 1600s.
01:09Yeah.
01:10Who was that then?
01:11George Gilbert, I think.
01:14Okay, yeah.
01:15Something like that.
01:16So we have to make a crier call about him.
01:21Yeah, yeah.
01:22And then, you know.
01:23And what's the home cry going to be then, the Shrewsbury cry?
01:26Basically it's just greetings from Shrewsbury.
01:28Got you, yeah, yeah.
01:29And, you know, inviting people to come and see the lovely town.
01:33And you're in, this is brand new clobber as well, isn't it?
01:35So you're looking very sharp.
01:37Yeah, yeah.
01:39And your lad's coming down, isn't he, this weekend?
01:42Yeah.
01:43Has he ever had a go at the crying with the bell?
01:45Oh, no, no, no, no, no, no.
01:46He'll keep out of the way.
01:48Yeah, yeah, yeah.
01:50What does it take to be a good crier then, Martin?
01:52What are the...
01:53Insanity.
01:54Insanity, I love it.
01:56No, you've got to have a good voice, obviously.
01:58Yeah.
01:59You know, you've got to know a bit of history about your local area.
02:02Yeah.
02:03Have you always...
02:04So back when you was a young lad, you know,
02:06and you were shouting your might across the field,
02:08did you always have a voice that would kind of project?
02:10Oh, yeah, yeah.
02:11Yeah.
02:12Yeah.
02:13And then it all came to a head, really,
02:15when I had a job with Christmas Carol.
02:19Yeah?
02:20Oh, the film that was done?
02:21Yeah.
02:22Yeah, yeah.
02:23Because I doubled for Edward Woodward.
02:26Oh, okay.
02:27And he taught me a lot about voice projection.
02:30Oh, wow.
02:31So, you know, just...
02:32And that really brought it on?
02:33Yeah, yeah.
02:34So how many years have you been our crier then, Martin?
02:3640 years now.
02:3740 years?
02:3840 years now.
02:39Wow.
02:40And you're still going strong?
02:41You're not ready to hang your boots up or anything, are you?
02:43No, no, no, no, no.
02:44No, we're still going.
02:45Such a fixture in the town, you know.
02:47Oh, yeah, yeah.
02:48I enjoy it.
02:49Yeah.
02:50I mean, this is the thing, you know.
02:51Yeah, yeah.
02:52When I go past the metal sculpture that there is of you by the river, the cut-out,
02:57I always think, oh, there's that Martin.
02:59I know, Martin.
03:00Yeah, give me a wave.
03:01So it must give you a lot of pride when you...
03:03You know what I mean?
03:04It does.
03:05Yeah, yeah.
03:06Well, we wish you all the best no matter what happens.
03:08Thank you very much.
03:09You're always our legend of Shrewsbury.
03:11Thank you very much.
03:12Good luck, Martin.
03:13Good luck, Martin.