London is only a two-hour train ride from Paris and shares a common history that begins with the Norman Invasion of 1066. From this spawned the English language that is German at its core but predominantly Romantic in vocabulary. This diversity in language is convenient for chefs who want to charge ridiculous prices for canard or filet and is hopelessly taken advantaged of by English students studying French.

But the two countries have diverged. It was this English Channel that proved unassailable to Rome, to Napoleon and later to Hitler. This narrow channel, under which my train makes a brief pass divides the superpowers of Europe responsible for keeping the balance of power for centuries. Before Paris became the gastronomical centre of the world, London held the title. The powers were in conflict in the 100 and 7 Years Wars, the latter ending in Canada on the Plains of Abraham, and indeed defines the two-state system we know well in Canada.

Britain is the greatest empire that has ever come into existence. It is the father of the Anglosphere, which unites billions of people around the world in the largest network of goodwill, trade and peace. This Anglosphere is responsible or most of the victories in World War I and II, including all five beaches of Normandy: two by Americans, two by Brits and one by Canadians.

Unfortunately, Britain is losing its way, with London resuscitating the rest of the country and itself on the verge of losing its financial centre status in Europe. It has resorted to the same money printing of the US and fiscal profligacy as the Europeans. It has the largest primary deficit of the continent and youth unemployment of 20%. It is a crumbling empire (since the Germans and US came to the foreground) and is at the end of its glorious thousand-year history.

However, it has many redemptive qualities that may secure its place in the future. It is the only truly international city of Europe. It has a convenient timezone and a fluency in the most important language. London is particularly welcoming to foreigners. In Paris, everyone has a French accent; in London, most people have an exotic (non-British) accent: Chinese, Indian, Eastern European. It is briskly modern. Crossing the Channel felt like crossing into the 21st century. It took me 15 minutes (and 10£) at King’s Cross to set up a perfectly functioning phone that worked better than my French one. Paris is perennially stuck in the past (see Midnight in Paris); London is unapologetically modern. Despite its being only 2 hours away from Paris, London forever reminds me of Toronto. And that is the indisputable power of the Anglosphere.