What a year!

2020 came to an end and we all have some thought about this peculiar year. Like every human being, the most impactful event was the outbreak of Coronavirus and the brutal stop of our usual lives: being confined at home with our families, trying to palliate the closing of schools with home schooling mixed with countless Zoom calls, experiencing the “Groundhog Day” symptom with every day looking exactly as the previous one. Do not misunderstand me, I am not complaining, I am grateful.

I am grateful to see that all my family went through those 366 days without being infected, even though not being able to travel and see my relatives has been painful. I am grateful to my company that has been so supportive, doing the right things for employees to be safe, while the business was still growing despite the global slowdown in economy. I am grateful to continue to have a job while so many businesses are collapsing, putting families into critical situations.

I am also hopping that these times of introspection will make people think more about how we live on our planet and change the way we behave so our children can have a future as good as, or even better than the previous generations. We are all witnessing the impact of ruthless growth on Earth and this pandemic reminds us that humans are not above other species to destroy them, but to protect ecosystems and preserve our own future.

From a more personal perspective, 2020 has also been the year when Brexit has finally been achieved. Being a Frenchman living in London, there is no way I can deny it had an impact on me. After 4 years of regularly postponing ultimate deadlines, an agreement has finally been reached a few days before the end of 2020. On one hand, it is a relief; On the other hand it leaves a bitter taste and the feeling that this process has been poorly managed to be forced into an agreement so lately, keeping millions of people in uncertainty for so long. Now it’s done and the UK will be able to manage its destiny more autonomously. UK joined EU on 1st January 1973 and finally left on 31st December 2020, after 48 years.

Anyway, the histories of UK and France are interweaved for a long time through wars and marriages, and this will certainly continue during the next centuries. The Normans led William, Duke of Normandy, invaded England in 1066 and he became King of England, known as William the conqueror after the Battle of Hastings. England and France fought against each over during 116 years with the Hundred Years War ending in 1450 under the reign of Henri VI who was both king of England and France. Then in the 18th century another Anglo-French war, ending in 1815 with the defeat of the Emperor Napoleon by the Duke of Wellington at the Battle of Waterloo. Both France and UK have been traditional destinations for people in exile: Edward VIII after his abdication, or Charles de Gaulle during World War II. We could also mention Victor Hugo in Guernsey that is not completely England or France but indeed a mix of both.

Even the motto of the Monarch of the UK: “Dieu et mon droit” and the motto of the British chivalric order of the Garter: “Honni soit qui mal y pense” are in French!

 So how to properly celebrate the end of an era for two great countries so intimately linked over the English Channel?

I chose a quite expected way for a French in this festive period: with food and wine!

For the aperitif: a bottle of Nyetimber, an “English Champagne”. It might surprise people in France, but it is actually not too bad at all! While not at the level of well established "Maisons" in France, it is produced with lots of craft and care and might compete seriously in the future (maybe with a little help from global warming).

For the main course: Beef Wellington made with Aberdeen Angus, with a bottle of Gevrey Chambertin to get proper balance between France and UK.

For the dessert: a little extravagance, a special Cuvée from Pol Roger, one of the finest Champagne commemorating Winston Churchill’s love for this beverage.

France and UK are so different but do have so much in common. I have always been struggling to choose the ideal place to live and I must admit that Paris and London are the two greatest cities I have seen so far. This opinion is of course biased, as I am far for having seen everything, but the purpose of this text is to share my love of Paris and London with you. Choosing one over the other is an impossible choice and I will conclude with two quotations:

“When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life” Samuel John

“Ne pouvoir se passer de Paris, marque de bêtise ; ne plus l’aimer signe de decadence” Gustave Flaubert

Not being able to do without Paris, a mark of stupidity; not loving it anymore, a sign of decadence.