A permanent marker of the 20-year link between Perth and Cognac in France was unveiled this week.
The carving on Tay Street of the French town’s crest is the first of a series of tributes to Perth’s twins created by stonemason Gillian Forbes, and was commissioned to mark the 20th anniversary of the twinning.
Provost John Hulbert led the ceremony, saying, “For some time I have wanted to have a permanent memorial to all of our twin cities. I know that there is a street in Cognac called ‘Rue de Perth’, in Aschaffenburg there is ‘the Perth Inch’ a walk way along the river Maine, and in Pskov in Russia they have carved black marble slabs for each of their twin cities set in a garden by the river.
“Fortunately, there are enough pillars on the flood wall which do not have carvings to allocate one to each of our twin towns. Cognac is the first, and it is entirely appropriate that in 2011 we should unveil the Cognac crest, because this year we celebrate the 20th anniversary of the twinning with Cognac.
“I believe it commemorates the twinning in a very dignified way, and that it is a very worthy addition to Perth’s public art.
“Gillian has done all the carvings on the pillars along Tay Street and she has been commissioned already to carve the crests of our other twin cities.”