The Final Piece

Words / Tony ‘Lax’ Dunn

The title sounds like a deep and meaningful metaphor, right?

Nope, this is actually an article about the pleasure to be had in the humble jigsaw puzzle! Flashback to 2020, when most of the world suddenly found itself on hold. Having ‘done’ all of the streaming platforms, both myself and my better half decided we’d get a jigsaw puzzle for a laugh. The only jigsaw I’d been familiar with in adult life was for cutting wood, but I thought it’d be a nice, if brief, distraction. Over 30 puzzles later it would be fair to say that, even though we do less now than we did then, we can officially class it as a hobby!

Put simply, it’s a seriously relaxing, therapeutic pastime that’s accessible, cheap and the options are seemingly endless. If you can think of a topic, there’s a jigsaw for that! You can do it alone, in a pair or as a group. When there’s more than one of you it’s a surprisingly social affair and you’ll find yourself laughing and putting the world to rights over those little scraps of cardboard. When it’s just you, it’s an amazing form of escapism and you can lose yourself for hours.

As I mentioned, there’s a huge range out there, from the classic steam trains and landscapes to modern art and everything in between. You can even get your own photos made into a jigsaw! Get yourself a simpler one to start with, say 250–500 pieces, grab a brew and get lost for an hour. You won’t regret it and your head will thank you for it. Then there’s that bitter-sweet moment you reach the last piece – you’ve finished, but you can start all over again... 

Lax x