HE'S at it again, that illustrious town crier winning competitions and putting Barnoldswick on the national map.

It's not quite two years since Kevin Griffiths was appointed Town Crier of Barnoldswick by the town council, as one of its millennium projects. But in that short time he has studied his ancient craft, mastered his bell ringing skills and perfected his crying technique.

Last weekend was one to remember for Kevin, whose rise through the ranks has astounded many a veteran crier throughout the realm.

Belper, in Derbyshire, was the venue for the annual general meeting of the Loyal Company of Town Criers, one of two bodies which Kevin has joined.

Of course, no such meeting could pass without a crying competition and this one attracted some of the best.

But it was Kevin who beat the odds to take second place out of the 20 competitors, just behind the Town Crier of Birmingham, Barry McQueen, and ahead of two former world champion criers.

For a little town like Barnoldswick to be rubbing shoulders with mighty Birmingham - Britain's second city - is an achievement indeed.

The competition was judged solely on the competitors' "home cry", the one they take with them everywhere to promote their home town and its many attractions.

Kevin's home cry touches on the proud textile history of Barnoldswick, delighting the residents of Belper, itself a cotton town.

They were surprised to hear of Barnoldswick's Bancroft Steam Engine Museum, several promising to come and see it in full steam.

As his prize, Kevin was presented with a one-off Denby jug, specially made at the Denby pottery near Belper. All the competitors also received a commemorative Denby mug and a trophy made of reclaimed timber from the Belper cotton mill.

But the weekend was far from over for Kevin, his wife Val and their children Oliver and Rosalind, who went along to support him.

Readers may remember that back in August, Kevin took up a challenge from the chairman of the Loyal Company of Town Criers to perform a cry under the most unusual circumstances or conditions. Never one to shirk a challenge, Kevin dreamed up the perfect scheme.

So it was that one Tuesday evening he and his trusty sherpas, brother Nigel and his partner Liz, together with three dogs and myself - there to record the event for posterity - set off on the hour-long slog from Clapham up Ingleborough to Gaping Gill.

Waiting there were members of the Craven Potholing Club who twice a year set up a "winch meet" at Gaping Gill, lowering people the 340 feet to the floor of the massive cavern.

Once at the bottom, Kevin changed into his full regalia, complete with tricorn hat, to perform his historic cry, the peal of his brass bell clattering around the cavern walls. Some say Ingleborough itself shook as Kevin rattled its very foundations.

His mission accomplished, witnessed and chronicled according to the rules, Kevin sent off all the evidence, including pictures, to the Loyal Company, then waited.

Last weekend, at the annual meeting, there was a display of the escapades of all the town criers who took up the chairman's challenge.

For example, the crier of Nottingham went to sea on HMS Nottingham to perform his cry, while another took to the skies aboard a jumbo jet.

But the outright winner, chosen by an independent judge, was our Kevin, Town Crier of Barnoldswick. His prize was a weekend break for two at one of a national chain of hotels.

Back home this week, Kevin said: "It was a fantastic weekend. I was really pleased to do so well in the competition, especially based on just one cry, and winning the chairman's challenge was the icing on the cake.

"We had a lot of fun doing the cry down Gaping Gill and it was worth it just for the experience.

"But to win the competition was a real bonus and it's all putting Barnoldswick on the map, which is what it's all about."

To carry on competing at the top level, Kevin is desperate for some corporate sponsorship to help cover expenses.

Anyone interested in sponsoring Kevin can contact him on 01282 816832.

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