Thinking about those jigsaws

When my sister and I were young we were lucky enough to have neighbours of a similar age, so we would spend most days out in the garden, or playing out on the road with other children – there were very few cars in those days. (gosh that makes me feel ancient!) There were, of course, plenty of times when we played inside the house and then we got out our games. We had snakes and ladders, Ludo and Monopoly, did jigsaws over and over again, and we had a box of random Meccano which must have been given us by someone. We also drew, coloured and painted, and read our books and the comics Dad bought us each week. I often think about those jigsaws. My sister was especially good at them, and when she got bored – because we didn’t have very many, she would turn the pieces over and do them face down. She had such a good eye for the shapes she could complete them with no picture at all! I was never as skilled, but I enjoyed doing the puzzles the right way up!

When husband and I went to Tasmania nearly nine years ago, we went for seven weeks, but of course could only take a certain amount of luggage. As usual, I did all the packing, because, without boasting (well, only a little) I am very good at packing. We were taking gifts for friends we would be meeting, and all the things we might need for our stay, including walking boots for various trips we had booked. I was quite proud of my packing prowess, and when we eventually arrived at our hotel in Hobart and unpacked, thanks to my magnificent packing (boasting again) nothing was too badly creased.

We has a wonderful time in Tasmania, an unforgettable time, and we bought many souvenirs of our adventures, plus several bottles of Tasmanian wine, and a bottle of Tasmanian whisky.  We flew from Hobart to Brisbane, with one stopover, and while in that fabulous city, staying with friends, we were given gifts by our generous hosts. So, returning home our luggage contained even more, and yet I fitted it all into our cases. When we arrived home, nothing had broken, nothing was too crumpled or spoiled, and all was well. I am pretty sure my packing skill is due to the number of times I did jigsaws and puzzles and could match by eye shapes and their sizes into spaces available.

Different friends of mine are very fond of doing jigsaws, big, complicated ones with thousands of pieces. I admire their skill, but I never feel tempted to buy a jigsaw for myself and tackle it. I guess with some of my stories they are like jigsaws which have to be fitted together – but with them I can change the “shape” if they don’t fit!