Author Graham Hurley was guest of honour at the 30th Anniversary of twinning celebrations in Caen.
On the 8th June 2017, an event was held at Caen City Hall in 'La réfectoire aux moines' to mark the 30th Anniversary of the signing of the twinning charter between Caen and Portsmouth on the 6th and 7th June 1987.
Graham Hurley, an author who for many years was based in Portsmouth and wrote some books set in Portsmouth, the most well known of which were detective thrillers featuring the characters DI Joe Faraday and DC Paul Winter.
In the UK, he is perhaps most well known for his books 'Rules of Engagement' which were turned into an ITV 6 part drama series.
In France, it is some of the detective stories from the Joe Faraday and Paul Winter series of books, which are most famously turned into a France 2 Television 8 part Series called "Deux Flics sur les Docks". The Portsmouth setting was transferred to Le Havre (Southampton's Twin Town!) Joe Faraday becomes Capitaine Richard Faraday and Paul Winter becomes Paul Winckler...
Graham gave a presentation about his life and works in French with only a little support from our chair Andrew Starr. He had the audience laughing, no mean feat when you are speaking in a foreign tongue. I am sure many will recall his 'frigo' problem for years to come.
The local book store sold many copies of the Graham Hurley books they had brought along, which Graham happily autographed for those who came along.
After the event, many people gathered at a Chinese Buffet Restaurant "Le Dragon de Beaulieu"
Graham Hurley, his wife and many twinning people all socialised around a meal at a Chinese Restaurant in the Beaulieu suburb of Caen.
A good, fun evening was enjoyed by all. May there be many more years of twinning between Caen and Portsmouth!
The following images were taken by Christian and Joëlle Melun from the Comité du jumelage Caen-Portsmouth in Caen.
