Wonderful to see town crier
It was truly gratifying to read the front page article in the June 9, edition of the Cowichan Valley Citizen, entitled “Town Crier proclaims Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.” Ben Buss fulfilled his long standing role as town crier in an exemplary way that we should all be proud of. It was especially gratifying to hear that he met with a couple of indigenous ladies who appeared to take great delight in having their picture taken with him. Everyone, it seems, delights in what he does and few, if anyone, find offence in it.
So now, perhaps, we can look at this in a more realist light. Are people offended by Ben Buss’s role as town crier? It certainly doesn’t seem so. What is more, the original, ideologically based decision to remove him as town crier in the interest of people who don’t seem to mind him at all, seems more than a little inappropriate and absurd. When political bodies make decisions based on their self interest and ideological prejudices it seldom goes well. Let’s hope that we get to see Mr. Buss on many more occasions and if it isn’t too much to ask, perhaps he should be restored to his original role. It seems pretty obvious that those who would object to that are in the minority.
Perry Foster
Duncan