London Pride

 I love London. There is always something new to discover, somewhere fresh to visit - alongside the comforting familiarity of well loved favourite places. My friend Lynn posted a picture of a London Jigsaw she'd just completed. It is based on the A-Z map. "I can see the street where my family live!" I said. Lynn is preparing to move house, and decluttering. She kindly sent me the puzzle.

I'm usually a 500piece puzzler

But this was too good to ignore.

The streets were very small, and the printing minuscule on some sections. I got out the Bug Viewer I use with the grandchildren. It magnified the pieces beautifully. I began on Good Friday morning, and worked on the green felt mat. That meant I could easily roll up the puzzle whenever we needed the dining table.

A few slight problems . Firstly,it was a while before I realised the picture on the box was slightly misleading. The A-Z logo in the corner was smaller, so more stuff showed in the Edgware section. And in the top right, there was no badge saying "1000 pieces" And then there was Marylebone. One section of road was missing three letters from the middle of the word. I checked and checked - but could not find the piece.

Over the weekend, I worked on the jigsaw, and Liz and Bob added pieces as they walked past. At 9pm Monday evening [after watching the various quizzes. Well done UCL for getting to the Univ Challenge finals] I returned to the dining table. Things were looking good. "I am not going to bed till this is finished!" I said. Bob had a programme to watch, then he came to help me.

Bob solved the MARY---ONE problem, ... he finally realised the damaged piece (had it fallen in a mug of coffee, or been licked by the cat?) was the one which fitted, but the letters were no longer visible.

We kept going and finished at 11.50pm! I took a photo and we had a final cuppa and went to bed.

So satisfying to have it completed! 

Lynn's intended destination for this puzzle was a charity shop - and I said I'd make sure it got there in the end. Lynn has been a good friend for decades, she has great faith, a generous heart, and a wonderful sense of humour. She is arranging this move while her husband is in hospital [where he has been for over a year] I am praying for her, for resilience and strength, and for her husband, continued healing. 

Is there anyone out there who would like to have a go at this puzzle and then pass it on to a CS?

Please comment on THIS POST by Saturday, including the words LONDON JIGSAW, and I will pull the winner's name out on Sunday. But you must agree do it promptly, and to pass on the jigsaw to a CS after completion. It is not to sit useless in a cupboard.

The Easter weekend marked the 16th birthday of Tracing Rainbows.

Nearly 7000 posts, almost 50,000 comments...and soon it will pass 5 million hits. Can you believe it ? I can't!

But more importantly, dozens of friends I didn't know back in 2008. Thank you everyone who takes the time to read my ramblings. God bless you all.