45-year-old friendship celebrated and strengthened with re-signing of Twinning Charter

A 45-year-old friendship between Truro and Morlaix has been celebrated and strengthened this weekend with the formal re-signing of the Charter which originally established a twinning programme between the two cities.

The twinning was established by Truro City Council and the town of Morlaix in 1979, with the French side enlarged in 2005 to include three adjacent towns. This friendship has seen groups from the two cities visiting each other every year. This year’s visit included a special ceremony to mark the 45^th anniversary of the Twinning Charter.

After being welcomed to the city by Town Crier Lionel Knight and his wife Carole on Saturday morning, the Mayor of Morlaix Monsieur Jean-Paul Vermot and two of the city’s Deputy Mayors; the Mayor of Plourin-lès-Morlaix M Guy Pennec, and Mme Sandrine Autret, Deputy Mayor of St Martin- des- Champs joined Truro Mayor Carol Swain, Mayoress Sarah-Douglas Martin, Deputy Mayor Sam Rabey and Consort Graham Ford and members of the Truro – Morlaix Twinning Association in the Mayor’s Parlour to re-sign the Charter.

Also taking part were Madame Catherine Paul, President for 9 years of the Association de jumelage from Morlaix, and member since the 1990s, and Canon Doug Robins, a member of the working party who welcomed the first visitors from Morlaix in 1974 and the subsequently attended the signing of the Charter in 1979.

“This is a very important day for Truro “ said Mayor Carol Swain.  “The city is twinned with both Morlaix and the German town of Boppard.  These strong cultural links have enabled us to continue to maintain bonds of friendship and understanding with two of our European neighbours. By re-signing the Charter we are reaffirming that this friendship, which has already lasted 45 years, will continue into the future. “

The Mayor of Morlaix, Monsieur Jean-Paul Vermot also emphasised the importance of maintaining long established friendships at a time of global tensions.

“I am really happy to have the opportunity to be here. You have a really beautiful city” he said. “The English people were our best allies during the last century when we fought together during two world wars and I want to say thank you.  We know that war is back in Europe and I hope that, with the exchanges of people and all the works we do together, we will continue to be best friends for the coming centuries”.

This year’s exchange was led by Rachel Killick, Chair of the Truro Morlaix Twinning Association and Anne Inizan, President of the Pays de Morlaix Truro Association de Jumelage.

“It is very important at a time like this ,when there’s a lot of disagreement and strife in the world, to have an association which on a small scale is building relationships which last for a long time over many years” said Annie. 

“Our twinning with Morlaix was founded in 1979 and has now been going for 45 years. This has led to the creation of some long-standing friendships, with people building up real relationships, which is really important in our modern world, said Rachel. 

“We would like our association to continue to grow but to achieve this we need to ensure we have enough new members to take it forward.  We usually have four exchange visits with Morlaix in the year, as well as social events and would love to hear from anyone who is interested in joining us.  Details of what we do and how to contact us are available on our website –https://truromorlaixtwinning.weebly.com

Following the formal re-signing ceremony, and an exchange of gifts between the two groups, guests enjoyed a lunch with traditional Cornish food, including scones with jam and cream (jam first!).

As well as the civic dignitaries, 17 other Morlaix guests are taking part in this year’s programme. Activities have included visits to Trevaskis farm, Trelissick and Lanhydrock.