We have members all over the world, so virtual meetings enable far-flung members to keep in touch and take an active part in the club. As usual, the weekend began with people posting the puzzles they intended to do on flickr, and sending updates on their progress.
Our Friday talk was from Chris Wirth,co-founder of Liberty Puzzles in the USA. The subject of his talk was innovation, and he showed us examples of some of Liberty’s creative designs. Surprisingly, Chris admitted that he wasn’t a fan of one of Liberty’s most innovative ideas, the ‘Easter egg’ – an alternate solution to a puzzle, often 3-D, only advertised on the website, but eagerly sought after by puzzlers who love an extra challenge. His talk was followed by many questions from participants. 
The theme of the weekend was Patterns and Shapes, which allowed members to show patterned images or puzzles with non-standard shapes. Some of the puzzles were both patterned and shaped, including the two puzzles shown here – the stunning hand-cut Loonatic Fringe, by Andrea Farnham of Thingamajigsaw, and the Springbok puzzle Spectacle Island Rose, a mosaic flower created by Bob Schneeberg. The Show and Tell session elicited a huge variety of unusual puzzles.
As the weekend wound down, we had an informal chat on Zoom, to catch up with each other and look forward to our next meeting. The only downside to virtual meetings is the lack of cake…