WHERE ARE THEY NOW?

Graham Fagg and Philippe Cozette were the most famous men in Europe for one day in December 1990. They were the two tunnellers who met and shook hands at the breakthrough of the Channel Tunnel on the day that Britain and France were connected by land for the first time since the Ice Age.

Earlier that year Fagg had been chosen by drawing names out of a hat, he was called to the Transmanche Link office and told he was to make history. For the no-nonsense tunneller the news was not that great. 'I was going to have that weekend off to decorate the house,' he said, 'I was miffed that it was disrupting my plans.'

Fagg and Cozette were put to work on the big day shifting the muck between the two nations, working in a confined space and hampered by television crews. Then, in the glare of the lights, they broke through and the two men shook hands. Cozette had a present for Fagg - a piece of chalk on a ribbon. Fagg had suggested to his bosses they should also have a gift ready but was told a gift would not be required and he would only have to shake hands. 'Thinking on my feet I handed over my tunnel ID tag,' he said, avoiding embarrassment.

The gifts were the start of a friendship between the Fagg and Cozette families which has now blossomed. Graham Fagg is now tunnelling for Sir Robert McAlpine on the Jubilee Line Extension. Philippe Cozette drives a high speed train through the Channel tunnel.

The two families meet whenever they can, and recently the Fagg family attended a ceremony in France in which all the French tunnellers on the project were given a medal - Fagg was also given the honour.

And this summer the Faggs are off to France to stay with the Cozettes for a holiday. While there they will drink a bottle of champagne saved from the breakthrough, cementing a fitting friendship.



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