Christine Igot: Town Crier

‘It brings me joy’ … Christine Igot in Annapolis Royal, Canada. Photograph: Andrew Tolson

“In May 2022, Christine Igot donned a feathered hat, white ruff and multicoloured tabard in the middle of the market square in her home town of Annapolis Royal, Canada. “Oyez! Oyez! Oyez!” she shouted while ringing a bell at a bemused crowd. “My gracious lords and ladies, wily judges, esteemed citizens and visitors, the town of Annapolis Royal greets you, along with any layabouts, ne’er-do-wells and scallywags, who are most certainly present!”

:”A decade earlier, Igot had moved to the quiet seaside community of Annapolis Royal from inland Nova Scotia, adding to its population of 540 people with her mother, husband Pierre and three cats. She would spot the town crier, Peter Crofton Davies, ringing his bell and making booming proclamations every Saturday morning. Intrigued by his theatricality, she struck up a conversation and the pair soon became friends.”

Former Town Crier Peter Davies at the start of Day 2 of Ride the Lobster, an 800 km, 5-day unicycle marathon from Yarmouth, Nova Scotia to Baddeck, on Cape Breton Island. June 17, 2008. (contributed)

“In September 2021, Davies announced he was stepping down after 20 years in the role because of illness. The same month, Igot’s 92-year-old mother died. “I was terribly sad after losing my mother and since I was retired, I was looking for something to do,” she says. “I was used to performing in the classroom and I’ve always volunteered, so my husband suggested I’d be a great town crier.”

Find the rest of the story where it first appeared recently, in The Guardian newspaper in the UK, here.