"The Bar of a Café is the Parliament of the People" (Balzac). An enormous amount of research went into this Great Big Collage. Read on...

[Valentine Mark Herman]

This Great Big Collage is slightly smaller than the others in this series being only 150 x 90 cms, or 60 x 36 ins: usual rules for postage and envelopes apply.  I agree with Monsieur Balzac -- The bar of a café IS the Parliament of the people.

Perhaps you can find me in this detail of the Great Big Coillage:

No? Well try in this one:

You still haven't found me? Well I might be somewhere here in the British Houses of Parliament (replacing some of the cutlery I 'liberated' from there on a visit):

And now to the research aspect of this Collage Masterpiece. It had two elements. First there was the daunting task of collecting all of the beermats. (I can recommend 'le Gouverneur' in the Markt, Maastricht, if you are looking for a good pub that offers 250+ Belgian beers). Second, I even wrote a big book on Parliaments. (Copies of this are probably available on Amazon for a few pennies/cents -- or you can have a mint signed copy by me for only £100/$100, plus postage & package):

Last I'm sometimes asked what do I do with these Great Big Collages? Well this one is presently on display at the Café des Possibles in Sigean:

Come and look at it, meet M. Balzac, and, of course, I'll buy you a drink while we talk about Parliaments (or not)

PS; As the US Congress is not a parliament, but a legislature, what would be the US equivalent of M. Balzac's saying?

[Copright: Lapje en Jarina uit Heerenveen]

[Katerina Nikoltsou (MomKat)]

oops...that Spell Chick was sleeping on the job again :-(

But you understand she meant to write: "Brasserie",

the rrrrrr went missing?

Banned...and band ...from La Rotonde? tsk, tsk...you'll be back!

[Valentine Mark Herman]

I don't think that 'Basserie' is a word in French: thus 'Brasserie'.

Why not La Rotonde? BecauseI have been banned from there (again -- but possibly only temporarily) -- for reasons that  I don't wish to go into here, but use your imagination and think why I might have been banned

[Valentine Mark Herman]

NO, Katerina! That's a different book altogether.

[Katerina Nikoltsou (MomKat)]

...available for only $2.62...and $15 postage :-)

(where are the Parliaments of the Bars?)

[Katerina Nikoltsou (MomKat)]

oh, ok...maybe because is it NOT "Cafe La Rotonde",

but "BASSERIE La Rotonde" ? (what's the dif?)

[Katerina Nikoltsou (MomKat)]

This big collage is at the Café des Possibles in Sigean,

and not at Cafe Rotonde????

[Katerina Nikoltsou (MomKat)]

"The bar in the tavern is the Congress of the People, by the People, for the People" :-)