Folks,

Dux:

After 70 years, the salutary response from the distillers of both the UK and the US, though large by any reasonable standard, was much less than you deserve. Of that I am quite sure....

Thank you for your kind words regarding my belated story. Coming from the author of the "Olga Sagas" that is high praise indeed. It is almost encouragement enough to continue writing ... fear not frightened readers, read it again, I said 'almost'.

No matter what kudos you may have received from others, that fine and beautifully embellished beer mat from your daughter surely stands out above all the rest; just as it should. The commonest size for round, paper beer mats in the UK is about 90 mm. That is a shade over 3 and one half inches I believe. From your e-mail I gather that your's is a good bit larger than that.

Until now, I was not aware that there is a large contingent of beer mat collectors around the globe. There are several websites dedicated to this very unusual hobby. The collecting of beer mats even has an official name coined for it, but darned if I can recall it now. It starts with a "T".

A cursory examination on the Internet brings up an amazing plethora of both ingenious and commonly practical designs for beer mats from across the un-civilized world. Doubtless at your rather advanced age you have nearly seen them all.

I understand that a clever beer mat design is now in the works that can, by the amount of liquid spilled upon it, reliably let the imbiber know when he or she has had one too many. The mat would change colors along the way from white to rose to a brilliant crimson. At the moment however this much needed item is held from the market by litigation brought by the Benevolent Order of Publicans and The Distillers, Coopers and Brewers unions of England, Scotland and Wales. Naughty, selfish chaps, aren't they?

OK, OK I just made all that up... but who knows, there might be such an item available one day though you personally could never find any use for it.