The town’s unofficial crier, Ben Buss did his duty last week, much to the delight of onlookers at Charles Hoey Park.
“On Thursday, June 2, 2022, at Noon in Charles Hoey Park, I presented a Platinum Jubilee Proclamation celebrating Queen Elizabeth’s 70 years as Queen of England and the Commonwealth,” Buss confirmed. “During this 24-hour period the same proclamation was made by thousands of Town Criers throughout the world. Similarly in the evening of June 2, beacons were lit in all Commonwealth Capitals and in many towns and villages, a practice which hearkens back to important national communications prior to 19th century telegraph.”
Buss went on to say, “the Commonwealth without question is the most successful collaborative group of nations ever in world history, all originally linked by forms of parliamentary democracy and a monarchy.”
Buss took the time to meet tourists in the park after his unofficial, official duties were complete.
“After the cry I chatted with a few bystanders visiting from Ontario and a couple of charming Indigenous ladies who identified themselves as Cree and Assiniboine, and requested photographs with this colourful character. With such a momentous occasion we should perhaps be appreciative of the country we live in for as the last line in the Proclamation states ‘we are one Nation and one Commonwealth’. God save the Queen……God bless Canada!”