World Treasures - Master's Puzzles (1000 pieces)

Coming to the end of the box of 8 world treasure puzzles and have enjoyed them for the most part, but this was one of the ones where the poor cut of the pieces made sections more difficult than they needed to be. As with previous puzzles I put the skyline in first and then completed the sky. Once this was in place I tackled the various shades of sand and dirt which made up the central image. Not very inspiring, but not bad either.

Time taken: afternoon and evening

The Battle of Britain - Unknown (1000 pieces)

This was a super puzzle and even more enjoyable as it was completed at the latest meeting of the BCD. Group work is always good fun, although invariable a little bit of negotiating is needed to make sure you aren't all doing the same section. Once the two flags were in place and the title at the top, teams formed to put together the planes, writing and central image. A lot of fun had be all involved.

Time taken: 2 hours

World Treasures - Master's Puzzles (1000 pieces)

The reflection in the water added an extra level of detail which was most pleasing. I completed the skyline first followed by the sky, which was bright and bold with nice changes in shade. The trees proved trickier than I had anticipated but once in the rest of the puzzle formed quickly.

Time taken: afternoon and evening

World Treasures - Master's Puzzle (1000 pieces)

Not as difficult as I thought it was going to be. I stared by putting in the skyline and this split the puzzle neatly in sections. The sky wasn't too difficult to complete and then I started on the central paved section. Once this was in place the rest seemed to follow quite quickly. The person was a fun little aside and the overall effect was pleasing.

Time taken: day

The Sweet Shop - The World's Most Difficult Jigsaw Puzzle (529 pieces)

I have to be honest that my heart sank somewhat as I started this. I had been given this by someone accompanied by those immortal words - 'I chose this because it looked really hard and I thought you would like the challenge'. Don't get me wrong, I do like a challenge, but most jigsaws are that without looking for baked beans, smarties or sprouts (yes, they are out there). The problem with these puzzles (double sided, rotated 90 degrees) is that you don't really do them as a jigsaw, they become an endurance test. I ended up laying all the pieces out in little rows and systematically going down each one until I found a piece that fit....and so on....and so on.... I don't wish to sound ungrateful, just realistic.

Time taken: you don't want to know

Pointe des Poulains - Collection Plisson (1000 pieces)

This had been handed to me as one of those 'tricky' ones that no one else wanted to attempt. At first glance I thought they would probably be right, especially as I only seemed to see variations on grey, black and white. However, once I got going it soon became apparent that these shades were very distinct, there were large areas which could be completed with ease and the land mass across the top third provided a good starting division. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Time taken: afternoon and evening

Art Collection Puzzle: Roma Il Colosseo - Cartilia (1000 pieces)

A tricky little number with many, many similar colours, shades and aspects of light. According to the box there should have been a thin area of grass at the bottom of the picture, but it was so dark that I couldn't make it out. The cut wasn't brilliant with several edge pieces matching others. In the end I do something I don't often do and added the final bottom edge after all the other pieces were in place.

Time taken: day