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 annually, and this year’s visit included a special ceremony to mark the 45th anniversary of the arrangement.

After being welcomed to the city by Town Crier Lionel Knight and his wife Carole on Saturday morning, the mayors and deputy mayors of Morlaix, Plourin-lès-Morlaix and St Martin- des- Champs joined Truro mayor Carol Swain, mayoress Sarah-Douglas Martin, deputy mayor Sam Rabey, 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 Catherine Paul, long-time member of the Association de Jumelage from Morlaix, and Canon Doug Robins, a member of the working party who welcomed the first visitors from Morlaix in 1974 and attended the 1979 charter signing.

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

“This is a very important day for Truro,” said Cllr Swain. “Our strong cultural links with both Morlaix and the German town of Boppard have enabled us 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.”

Mr Vermot described Truro as “a really beautiful city” and emphasised the importance of maintaining long-established friendships at a time of global tensions.

“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,” he said.  

“We know that war is back in Europe and I hope that, with the exchanges of people and all the work 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. As well as the civic dignitaries, 17 guests from Morlaix visited Trevaskis Farm, Trelissick and Lanhydrock.

“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,” said Rachel. “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.”

For further information, visit https://truromorlaixtwinning.weebly.com