I am about to begin again the task of writing about my time as a Town Crier. I will be converting diary entries taken throughout the project into some more expanded descriptions of the year and a bit I had in the job. Here is a snippet considering the beginnings of these beginnings.
In the beginning I was told that I was a disgrace. A gentile looking retired woman leaned in to me and, as I was shouting, edged her face centimetres close to my ear and venomously imparted that I was ‘…a disgrace. You’re lowering the tone of the whole town.” How did I get from there to here, to the warm hellos when I’m passing? How did I get from ‘lowering the tone’ to being entered into an, admittedly cheesy but nonetheless nationwide, competition intended to help sell Falmouth to the rest of England? To the point where townspeople voted for me, cheered me on and would talk to, and about me with pride.
What was I supposed to do, as she leaned in close and with palpable distaste spat those words at me, and then walked away? A spray of verbal bullets fired like a hit and run. What was I to do but carry on shouting and smile a little harder? If the aim of the game was to display radical love for this place, then accepting the negative and continuing anyway was the only logical move.
I don’t deal with confrontation well, I am a people pleaser and this woman’s clear disapproval was a gut punch. But, being an artist in the community puts you in a contentious place. This practice was intended to consciously focus on the positive aspects of this town and it’s people. It is not at all naïve to the negative but there is enough despondent rhetoric surrounding the “town centre” generally, and Falmouth Town centre specifically. My actions as an artist are in direct opposition to this.
In her artful provocation towards a gentler form of activism, Hope in the Dark, Rebecca Solnit motions that it is not the accomplishment of utopia (which is, to her mind, unobtainable) that is important. Rather it is the effort, creativity and energy expended in the efforts made by hopeful people to get closer to a “utopia” that counts.
My exaggerated cheerfulness, my willingness to declare loudly what is brilliant about the town, marked me out in the space. To begin with it left me open to criticism. I was asked often “where are you from then?” Consistently I responded with this statement, and a wide grin.
”I have only been here for nine years but I love this town and I am willing to get up and shout about it.”
That woman had chosen those pointed words and aimed them at me in defence of her territory. I remind myself that they had actually come from a place of love. Many of the people that live in Falmouth have a deep and passionate connection to the place, even as they have different ideas of what it is and how it should be. And this is important.
I reminded everyone, at the top of my lungs, at the end of every shout, red faced and rosy cheeked with effort, that the most important thing is to “# Love Falmouth!” Yes, it was shamefully pushing the hash-tag that the Town Team has developed to market the town. Yes, it made anyone under the age of 17 giggle, but the sentiment was valid. It was a call to arms.
It was an appeal to everyone. Local, born and bred, “immigrant” resident and tourist alike. Because we are right here, right now, and if we don’t cherish this space then who will? It is the responsibility of those that these spaces belong to to ensure that they thrive in the face of adversity and that they fulfil the needs of their communities. The best way to do this is to support our town centres through consistent and committed use.
And when I talk about ownership it does not boil down to deeds on paper. It boils down to sense of belonging in a place that makes that place mean something to you. That makes you wish to spend time, and effort and love on and in it. It boils down to deeds in practice. And like both my town crier, and the woman at the start of my journey with this practice, we must be vocal in our defence of these spaces, although I would always encourage people to do so with kindness.