This bumper issue had something for everyone. Our February house party was remembered by social secretary Julia and by new member Claire. Geert summarised his talk about the origin of map puzzles. Heather followed up her talk about more than 20 years of puzzle cutting with a step-by-step guide to cutting a puzzle. New committee member Delia introduced herself. Bronwen sent us a ‘Wish you were here’ postcard from Criccieth.
The Show and Tell theme was ‘Favourite puzzles’ so unsurprisingly members unearthed some real treasures. Jackie gave detailed advice on how to choose an image for a hand-cut puzzle. Justin Madden of Par Puzzles in New York patiently answered members’ questions, and gave us a real insight into this 90-year old company. Nicki reviewed the A1 Puzzle Club, and Bibbi did some detective work to find out about the man behind the JLE puzzle company in Sweden. David asked ChatGPT AI which was the oldest puzzle in the world…
Although the focus of this issue was on hand-cut puzzles, other interests weren’t completely ignored. Katherine gave us an overview of her favourite and not-so-favourite cardboard puzzle makes, and Maria showed us the largest cardboard antique world map puzzle in existence, containing 20,000 pieces. Jackie’s talk on Artifact laser-cut puzzles, and Pete’s romp through Horrible Histories in puzzles, were also briefly explained. Phew.