Why is a congress? (Q1092026)

The paper contains the author's very personal impressions and memories from the 1986 International Congress of Mathematicians, written in a deliberately cosy and chattering way, illustrated by the author's snapshots, and conveying an impression of the community of mathematicians as a snug by-street in the Global Village where everybody ought to know everybody else. Some of the observations (though hardly those on the weather and the dangerously-looking citizenry) may be of interest for future organizers of mammoth congresses.