There were fewer attendees than usual, but of course, that meant more cake for everyone, and a chance of bargains at the sales tables. As host Rosie said, ‘It meant a lot to see familiar faces again and altogether it felt like a celebration of what our society is about.’
The theme for the ‘Show and Tell’ was ‘Favourite puzzles we have revisited during lockdown’. Several of these old favourites had had to have missing pieces replaced, including Pete’s poignant ‘Her cross’, where a young woman receives the medal of a sweetheart who will never return.
A close inspection failed to find any replaced pieces.
Alan has a useful rule of thumb for puzzles bought as job lots – they will each have 3 missing pieces!
Bernard brought a copy of the popular Chad Valley puzzle ‘Totnes’, a copy of which has been in his family since 1936. He and his mother competed against each other to complete their half of the puzzle – their record was 22 minutes.
The record for a favourite repaired puzzle was Rosie’s puzzle, ‘The Bouquet’ by artist C E Brock. It had no fewer than 26 unpainted replacement pieces. Her labour of love during covid lockdowns transformed the puzzle.
