Sidney’s town crier is stepping down after nearly three decades of service saying he has been “honoured” to serve the town.
Kenny Podmore, 81, has been making public announcements and proclamations for 26 years and will officially retire Dec. 31.
After obtaining permanent residence in Canada, he joined Bert Stevens as the city's deputy town crier in 1998. Podmore has attended numerous high-profile events in Sidney since being appointed the official town crier on Dec. 1, 2003.
But now he is ready to retire.
“I feel the time is right. I’m not young anymore and with years of experience, I want to go out on a high," he told Peninsula News Review.
Early beginnings in England
For Podmore, a former Sidney councillor, his interest in town crying started as a joke with some friends.
“In September 1992, when I was living in Stafford, England, a friend of mine saw an ad for a town crier and he rang me and said, ‘Hey Kenny, you've got a big mouth…just the job for you’, and we had a good laugh about it. I gave it a lot of thought and decided I would like to do this and so I applied and auditioned.”
With a tricorn hat and a bell, Podmore read a proclamation in the town square and got the role.
The longtime town crier describes his role as a profession, a calling and volunteer work rolled into one.
“You are appointed by the local town and when I first started they gave me a small honorarium to cover any travel that's involved in representing the town, but it’s not a full-time paid career for me.”
By December 1992, he was officially appointed as the town of Stafford’s official town crier.
Aside from his town crier duties, he also worked at the Dudley Social Services in England as head of transport dealing with people with various disabilities, children in care, meals on wheels and the like.
Journey to Canada
A fateful meeting in 1995 with then Sidney town crier, the late Bert Stevens, in Ballarat, Australia at the 5th World Town Crier Championship started his journey to Canada.
“In August 1997, I had my competition in England and a couple of the criers asked me if I was going to Canada in September for the World Championship.”
Podmore, who was single at that time, was not interested in going. However, he did think about it and eventually got in touch with Stevens.
“I asked him if they had any room in the competition at this late stage. He said, 'We'll always make room for you.'”
He ended up joining the contest and showed up for the 6th World Championship in September 1997.
He remembered that the old pavilion on the waterfront, now the Sidney Pier Hotel, was windy and blustery during the competition period.
“I blew my voice away and I was crying against the wind. I didn’t win, but I did win a bride.”
The 81-year-old town crier met Anita Brewster, one of the volunteers during the competition.
After completing his paperwork, he left England for Canada and returned to Sidney in 1998, where Anita was waiting for him at the airport.
“She asked me to marry her, so we did, in 2000 on Valentine’s Day.”
What it takes to be a good town crier
Now that he’s hanging up the bell, it’s unclear at this time if the town of Sidney will be looking for a replacement for Podmore, whose commanding voice and towering 6'4" height have literally set the bar high.
But what does it take to be a good town crier?
“If you ask my wife that question, she'll say you've got to be a good actor. You’ve got to have a good voice and personality.”
He says his wife noticed how he completely changed when he put on his full town crier regalia.
The full regalia
Criers often dressed elaborately, by a tradition dating to the late 17th to early 18th century, in a red and gold coat, white breeches, black boots and a tricorn hat.
Instead of black boots, Podmore wears a pair of black shoes, which are interestingly both left-footed.
The town crier served as the first media outlet in the past, possibly the only person with reading and writing skills. They would circulate announcements and news, whether positive or negative, from town to town.
"There was no electricity back then, so he (town crier) would constantly be called out. He would just grab shoes or whatever was available, and most of the time he would end up with two left feet or two right feet." He chuckled. "I wanted to be authentic, and my shoes are two left feet."
The soon-to-be-retired town crier has three complete sets of regalia: an orange one in honour of the First Nations, a blue one that is Sidney's official colour, and his original red one from Stafford. The blue and orange garments were made by the late costumer and embroiderer Dale Gibson, who did all the costumes for Butchart Garden’s 12 Days of Christmas with the Victoria Operatic Society.
A tricorn hat with feathers, a bell, a scroll and sometimes a staff, complete the whole regalia, which he intends to pass along to someone to continue his legacy.
Asked how he gets his voice ready for each announcement, Podmore tells Peninsula News Review: “Believe it or not, I've done it for 32 years, I still get nervous. I believe in the good Lord, and I always say a little prayer, give me the strength.”
And, he sucks a pebble.
“That was a tip given to me by an elderly, to help moisten your throat and get your voice ready. Also, whenever I feel like my voice is fading, I try and sing it – it works.”
Plans after retirement
Podmore has wrapped up all his town crier duties for the year and now works three shifts at the Victoria International Airport as a passenger engagement safety officer.
Around this time of year, he also gets to play the role of Santa. He appeared at Victoria's and Sidney's Santa parades.
When Podmore retires, he hopes to continue his English Toastmaster duties and carry on helping the underprivileged and the community, which he claims has been the motivation behind his work for decades.
It's his way of saying "thank you" to Canada for accepting him as a citizen.
“I will be forever grateful.”
He mentions Victoria, Esquimalt and Duncan town crier, Bob Alexander as one of his biggest advocates.
“You know, I'm getting congratulations and I've done all this, but it isn't just me. Everything I've done I could not have done without people around me. This has been a big team event. Thank you to Sidney and everyone from the bottom of my heart.”
