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Former Radio Bahrain Breakfast Show host Krazy Kevin Howarth has been crowned World Champion at the renowned World Town Crier Tournament staged in the historic English cathedral city of Chester.
The three-day event last weekend featured town criers from around the world, including Canada, the US, Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands and the UK and the 69-year-old travelled all the way from Australia where he now lives to take part. The 25 participants were assessed on their vocal power, clarity, showmanship and audience engagement.
Town criers and other attendees at the event
“When the announcer proclaimed ‘and the winner is’, I pushed this other guy forward who I thought had won and, instead, they said my name. I was just shocked,” said Mr Howarth, who also hosted the Drive Time Show during his long stint at Radio Bahrain.
“It has been so much fun and there were so many lovely people. The camaraderie with all the other town criers was great and everybody wanted everybody to do well,” he added.
World Champion
Talking about the different rounds in the tournament, the UK-born DJ, who moved to Toowoomba in Queensland, Australia, in 2011 for family reasons, said that there were three rounds in which all participants had to perform. The scores were then added up to finalise the winner.
“The first cry I did was about Toowoomba where I now reside as we had to do a ‘hometown cry’ to showcase where we come from. The second cry was about a retail shop which they gave us and, the third, was about the hotel that we were staying in,” he said.
Known for his barking mad antics on stage and in the studio, he didn’t let the fans down. “I took a big dog on the stage with me for one of the cries and I was just saying ‘oyez, oyez, oyez’. Then I suddenly pointed at the dog and I went, who let the dogs out? Just a bit of fun,” he added, nodding to his spontaneity as a performer.
Striking a pose with a newly-married couple
While showmanship comes naturally to the crier, he has activities that he does to train his voice for record-breaking dexterity.
“I met a singing teacher once and she said to me, you should hum and then you should also get a glass of water, put a straw in it and then blow bubbles. And, that opens your throat,” he explained.
A town crier is a historic official who was employed to make public announcements and proclamations in the streets. Criers traditionally grabbed attention by ringing a handbell and shouting ‘Oyez, oyez, oyez’, which is derived from the Norman French word for ‘listen’.
“When children ask me what a town crier is, I say they were the original Google because people couldn’t read and write in those times. The town crier was the one person in the village or town or city that could read and write and he read the proclamation from the King or from whoever and then he pinned it to a wall or a tree. And that was a decree for the day,” he added.
One with UK’s beloved marmalade-loving bear Paddington
Krazy Kevin will be participating in the Australian championships in November hoping for further glory. Last year he notched four awards including one for the ‘loudest cry’ and another for the ‘best dressed’.
In the past, he has picked up similar accolades at the Ancient and Honourable Guild of Australian Town Criers’ Championship and the World Invitational Town Crier Tournament where he bagged fourth place – both in 2019.
Mr Howarth’s 93-year-old mother, Mary, shows her support
Prior to that, in 2017, he was appointed as the Toowoomba town crier and honorary ambassador. “I continue to do a lot of mayoral assistant duties as part of my day job,” he added.
Before arriving in Bahrain in 1999 for a 12-year stint, Mr Howarth worked as a DJ, compere and master of ceremonies across Europe but a part of his heart remains in Bahrain. “I have very fond memories of the kingdom. I love the country and its people,” he said.
melissa@gdnmedia.bh
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