Hear ye, hear ye town crier rivals clash over shouting rights in seaside town.
A shouting match has broken out between two town criers who both claim the right to shout "oyez oyez oyez" in a seaside town.
Decibels were raised when Doris Eastwood accused rival crier Alistair Chisholm of venturing onto her patch, breaking town crier etiquette.
The war of words began when Mr Chisholm, the crier of Dorchester in Dorset, was asked to compere the annual birdman competition in nearby Weymouth.
But this appointment upset Mrs Eastwood, the crier of Langton Herring, who claims that as her crying area is nearer to Weymouth she should have compered.
Doris Eastwood is angry that she was ignored by organisers of the annual birdman competition in Weymouth
Mrs Eastwood, 74, cried foul and cited the rule book of the Ancient and Honourable Guild of Towncriers, which she claims states that the nearest crier should be asked.
She said she has compered Weymouth's annual Trawler Race - held on the same day as the birdman competition - for years.
And she said she was "heartbroken" when officials overlooked her for the birdman competition - in which daft competitors jump from a pier in an attempt to fly.
Alistair Chisholm admits he doesn't see eye-to-eye with fellow town crier Doris Eastwood
Mr Chisholm, 61, the reigning British champion of the Loyal Company of Town Criers, said the problem would be resolved for good if Weymouth got its own town crier.
He claims that the "absence of sweetness and light" between the pair is a "sadness", but if a town doesn't have an official crier it can ask anyone to do the job.
Mrs Eastwood, a former national champion herself, said: "I was confirmed as town crier for Weymouth and Portland 1982, but I later suffered a heart attack. I am currently the crier of Langton Herring, the village where I live, and as I am closer to Weymouth than Mr Chisholm I should have been asked. That is the etiquette and if you were to ask the secretary of the Ancient and Honourable Guild of Towncriers that is what they'd tell you. So even if I am no longer officially Weymouth's town crier I should have still been asked first. Mr Chisholm knows this but he insists on coming to Weymouth. It happens all the time. I'm 74 and all this man does is try and belittle me I have compered the Trawler Race for years and people told me they were very sad that I wasn't doing the job this year. I was heartbroken, but was encouraged by the support I got from people afterwards. Mr Chisholm is a fantastic crier and is an actor. He waves his arms around and "acts". I just stand there and cry. I think he just wants to be the crier in Weymouth when the Olympics come."
Four times national champion Mr Chisholm said: "Mrs Eastwood and I don't get on very well, but the fact is that she is no longer Weymouth and Portland town crier. She is the town crier of Langton Herring, but I've seen nothing in any rule book that states the nearest crier has the right to do the job. A town without a crier can ask anyone - even if they're from Australia. In this case I was asked to compere the birdman competition much to Doris's irritation because she still considers herself as Weymouth and Portland town crier. The simple answer would be for Weymouth and Portland to have a competition and find their own crier. Then they could have one in place for the Olympics. It's difficult sometimes for the organiser of an event to say they are bound to have their local crier even though there's a better one somewhere else. I'm four times British champion and I'm not surprised that some people want to get a town crier with that sort of track record. The absence of sweetness and light between us is a great sadness."
The row has got tempers frayed in the usually quiet area of south Dorset and commenter Stan Perks from Weymouth wrote on a website comment section: "Mr Chisholm, stay off our patch. You're not welcome in Weymouth ringing your bells and giving it Oyez, Oyez, Oyez. That me ol' mate is reserved for our Doris. Pull a stunt like that again Cocker and we'll find if you can fly or not! Oyez."
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-461314/Hear-ye-hear-ye--town-crier-rivals-clash-shouting-rights-seaside-town.html#ixzz1A98Rykw6
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