Saturday comment: Alan Myatt celebrates 25 years as town crier

WITH two parades taking place in Gloucester today, it will be hard to miss the city's larger-than-life town crier, Alan Myatt.

The portly purveyor of fun and frivolity will be quite literally leading from the front – giving us the benefit of his world-record 112.8-decibel dulcet tones.

Alan is celebrating 25 years of being the city's town crier, which is a huge achievement, given that; when he started, the big man had no experience and the city council didn't actually have a vacancy for the post!

In addition to being our official town crier, Alan is also town crier for Hitchin in Hertfordshire, London's Covent Garden and various other venues in the capital, including the world-famous Stables Market in Camden Town.

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Alan, now aged 55, was born and raised in the heart of this fine city, but his early years were hard.

The Myatts lived two to a shirt back then, so he was a far cry from the epitome of sartorial elegance that we see today.

Alan's first experience of education was at St Paul's School, in New Street, where he often endured swearing and witnessed outbreaks of fighting – and that was just the headmaster!

Soon after, he was packed off to a boarding school in Exeter. This would probably have traumatised a lesser child, but Alan reckons it was the making of him, as the experience taught him to be independent.

He learned how to cook and tidy his bed… skills which Jackie, his wife of 18 years, said he's somehow managed to lose.

In 1987, the city council held a competition to find someone with a voice loud enough to be town crier for Gloucester.

Not surprisingly, Alan walked away with the title and asked what his duties would be, but as usual with Gloucester City Council, nobody had thought that far ahead.

Alan proceeded to build his own role and was so successful that his appointment was eventually made official.

A quarter of a century later, he's still at it, supported by Jackie and their 14 and a half year-old son, Dan.

Here's to the next 25 years!