THE microphone was not needed at the February meeting – with his very loud bell and his powerful voice, Chard town crier Stuart Cumming gave members a history of town crying from its earliest form in ancient Greece until the present day.

As in the case of the first marathon run, the early messengers were often required to run enormous distances and were originally known as herald-men.

Over time, in Britain, the runners became known as leg-men and were mainly used by monarchs to announce news, mainly informing the public what the king required in the way of manpower support and taxes. So important to the king was the leg-man that it became illegal to heckle or attack him – the punishment was the death penalty. This is the only crime still on the statute books to carry this penalty.

In later Middle Ages, he became known as the bell-man and his main task was to cry the curfew each evening to remind residents they should damp down their fires overnight to prevent unexpected re-ignition and possible destruction of their houses.

Gradually, the position of leg-man turned into the town crier we know today and began to die out during the 19th Century. The 20th Century saw a resurgence of interest in the post but in a more ceremonial way.

Stuart is proud of his post and is a member of the Ancient & Honourable Guild of Town Criers. He travels over a wide area telling people about Chard and was recently elected Somerset Champion of Criers.

To his obvious delight, one of his official duties is to be the official town ale-taster, a duty he performs on a Monday close to Christmas each year.

Acting chairman Maureen Cornelius thanked Stuart for an excellent talk.

Members were reminded that the March meeting is the AGM. All the present committee are retiring and will need to be re-elected if they are willing. Other committee members and a new chairman and minutes secretary will need to be appointed. A request was also made for the guild suggestion box to be used again with suggestions coming from members themselves rather than the committee.

ChitChat are meeting on February 25 and the ramblers are having a meal and planning meeting in Ilminster on February 26.

Doreen Toms and Chris Williams won the competition and raffle winners were Linda White, Doreen Whitworth, Chris Williams, Mary Pring and Peggy Clarke.

The next meeting is the AGM at Manor Court School on Tuesday, March 3, at 7.30pm. Potential new members and visitors may like to attend to find out more about the guild