Ex-town crier shares tricks of the trade in talk

Jonathan Jones, 75, will give a talk on being the former town crier of Farnham

A former Surrey town crier has shared some of the tricks of the trade ahead of a talk on the tradition on Wednesday.

Jonathan Jones was the town crier for Farnham for 17 years after winning a competition for the role in 2003.

Now, Mr Jones is giving a talk on the history of the ceremonial role which he says was "like a performance".

The 75-year-old, who has lived in Farnham for over 40 years, will give his talk at the Guildford Institute on 5 February dressed in his full town crier regalia.

Mr Jones said: "It's a performance for me and a nice tradition.

"It adds a bit of colour. It used to be about giving out leaflets on a Saturday morning but now it's very ceremonial."

Coming from an amateur dramatic background, Mr Jones took up the role after retiring from working in IT for Vodafone.

Mr Jones said the role had changed dramatically over nearly two decades with the rise of social media and the internet.

He added that, at one point, he would hand out over 600 leaflets most Saturday mornings but that the role became "more ceremonial" involving attending mayor making ceremonies and Christmas light switch-on events.

He said he has given his talk, Role of a Town Crier, over 400 times across the country.

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