No-one was complaining about the noise when Petersfield made its bow in the National Town Criers’ Championship last Saturday.

Faye Thompson raised her voice – and our town’s profile – by urging fellow criers to visit the “beautiful and fun-loving Petersfield”.

Her baa-rilliant proclamation focused on Petersfield’s history and links with the lamb and wool trade with The Black Sheep, Gyles Brandreth’s jumpers and, ahem, the kebab van in The Square all getting namechecked.

Alas, Petersfield’s inaugural town crier did not take the trophy home as the UK competition was won, somewhat oddly, by Kurt de Smet of Oudenaarde in Belgium. For crying out loud.