As I wrap up my stint as resident American Graffiti-ist at the Oxford Mail - this is, sadly, my last column - I can't help spend some time reflecting on Anglo-American relations.

I have gained a newfound perspective on this subject from spending a year and a half in your country and particularly from pontificating twice monthly on the idiosyncrasies of our two cultures. Though I have tended, in my columns, to harp on our differences, it is also worth recognizing the age-old ties between America and Britain and all that our two countries share.

Yes, once I was able to get beyond the Brits' sometimes questionable fashion choices, I started to realize there is much we have in common.

A Unicef report on child welfare ranks the US and the UK as the two worst nations for children in the industrialized world. We are both embarrassingly poor at raising our kids. We also share some of the highest obesity ratings in the industrialized world, thanks to America's fast food and Britain's fish and chips.

Then there's that pesky war in Iraq. And on the subject of international affairs, Britain and the US both know something about being empires in decline.

After World War II, England, and Europe in general, gave way to America, and now it is only a matter of time before China and Asia take the baton. Wow, it sounds like Britain and America really need to get together over a pint - the two washed-up hegemons drowning away our collective sorrows and swapping stories of better days!

But not all is doom and gloom for America and Britain in the 21st century. We DO also share some positive traits. For example, your Government is taking the lead internationally on efforts to curb global warming (perhaps not so much out of altruism as the realization that the UK is not particularly well-situated in the event of another Ice Age).

And who are two of your key allies in this battle? None other than Al Gore and Arnold Schwarzennegger, a politician turned celebrity and a celebrity turned politician, as only American can make em.

The US and the UK also share that most functional of languages, English. Despite your wonky spellings and differences in terminology, our verbal communication is basically the same.

And with English being the closest thing to a universal language, we both know, wherever we travel, we can expect to communicate in our mother tongue. This does, however, facilitate linguistic laziness on our part. Perhaps we should enjoy this while it lasts, as we may well all be scrambling to learn Mandarin before long. What this all demonstrates is that our commonalities are stronger than our differences.

While it may be highly amusing to pick on one another's more dubious reputations and eccentricities, the UK and US are bound to each other in many important ways.

We share a common heritage as well as future challenges. Fortunately, it seems our partnership is solid enough that we can laugh at one another, as well as at ourselves.

*Coming soon - Postcard from Oxford, Mississippi.