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World Otter Day
The River in Summer First Swim- Otters on the River Dart Beautiful, lithe,swift these creatures can be elusive and many people will never see them in the wild. A voraicious fish eater, but also a great one for play and fun. These delightful creatures can be found in Rivers and the Sea. Many rivers are now being colonised as water returns to being cleaner in many areas. We at Grovely make several Otter puzzles, two of which are shown here. A 500 piece round puzzle and a 1000 p
Julie Wilkins
May 27


Thursday in Mental Health Week
Harbour View, Polperro Polperro Harbour This week is Mental Health Awareness week and much is made these days about our mental health. During the Covid lockdown many people turned to puzzles as a way of filling time, keeping minds and hands occupied. Much was made of puzzles for good mental health but for many a puzzle is an absolute nightmare! They are a bit "love them, or hate them" "Do them or Don't". We here at Grovely Puzzles hope, of course, that you love them! 500 or
Julie Wilkins
May 14


International Donkey Day
Donkey- Alberto Lago Gonzalez Four Curious Donkeys - Sue Podbery Today is International Donkey Day. These wonderful hardworking creatures have been around for centuaries. They have been serving man as a beast of burden and transport all over the world and still in some places are much better than mechanised transport over rough, untamed terrain. Often much mistreated, there are now many sanctauries where they can find safety and peace from their labours. Grovely is pleased to
Julie Wilkins
May 8


May Day or Mayday
Almond blossom Today is May day. Or Labour Day ie International Workers Day. Or just the first of May. I did not have a picture of May Blossom so I had to make do with one that we make of Almond trees from the Mallorcan Collection. Celebrated as a bank holiday in many countries we here at Grovely Puzzles work on May day as do most UK businesses but we will have a day of for the Early May Bank Holiday on Monday 4th. A day of leisure and traffic jams! Mayday however is a comple
Julie Wilkins
May 1


Just another Day
Some days are just another day. Nothing special about them. Ordinary days when many of us do the usual things. Go to work, walk the dog, do a bit of shopping, maybe do a bit of a puzzle! After all not everyday can be special. However today is a little bit special for us here at Grovely Wooden Puzzles because we have come up with a new idea (well new to us) for boxes for our wooden puzzles. With the help of a very nice designer we have designed a simple wooden box with a push
Julie Wilkins
Apr 24


St. George's Day
Today 23rd April is St. George's Day. The Patron Saint of England, St. George was an early Christian Martyr from the 3rd century A.D. The myth about fighting a dragon was added much later and may represent the fight between Good and Evil. Grovely is an English company based deep in the heart of the english countryside, in a converted cow barn in Dorset. From just down the road we have 60 mile panoramic views across the south coast. On a good day we can see from Portsmouth on
Julie Wilkins
Apr 23


Busy and Special Days
It has been a busy week this week for Special Days. Tuesday was the last day of the month aka Pay Day for many (We have spoken about that before!) Wednesday was the First of April- April Fools Day. I hope that you did not get caught out by too many pranks! Today is Maundy Thursday the start of Easter for Christians and commerorates the last Supper and the washing of the feet of the disciples by Jesus. Also every year the reigning monarch distributes silver coins at a special
Julie Wilkins
Apr 2


Time of Day
This weekend the clocks will go forward by one hour to British Summer Time. It gets lighter in the mornings and stays light longer in the evenings. So as a dedicated puzzler does this give you more time to puzzle or less? Maybe more as many people prefer to do their puzzles in natural light rather than under artificial lights as you can sometimes get glare, making the colours and design on each piece difficult to see. Maybe less as other jobs and hobbies call on our time- gar
Julie Wilkins
Mar 27


Happiness Day
Apparently today is Happiness Day. It seems that every day now celebrates something. It is also the spring equinox when the daylight and night time hours and nearly identical. Lighter days are coming. Well one thing that makes me happy is a good jigsaw puzzle with an interesting and engaging picture, 1000 pieces or 500, and the time to do it! At Grovely puzzles we make lots of different styles and types of puzzles, Photographs, Artist Puzzles even a bit of AI and some cartoon
Julie Wilkins
Mar 20


St. Patrick's Day
Patron Saint of Ireland and all things Irish, St Patrick was Born in Roman Britain and was a Christian Missionary and Bishop. He is also known as "The Apostle of Ireland. Irish Marauder Niall of the Nine Hostages took the boy from his family estate and sold him as a slave to the druid landowner Meliuc in County Antrim. A few Random Facts or Myths. The first St. Patrick’s Day celebration was in Boston in 1737 when Irish immigrants began recognising the sacred day. This was fo
Julie Wilkins
Mar 17


Mother's Day
Mother, Mummy, Mum, Mama or maybe something different, Sunday is the day we celebrate our mothers. We all had one but maybe we do not now. My Mum passed away over 30 years ago, but I still think of her most days and especially on Mothers Day. Mum was a good cook, loved her garden and her husband and two daughters. A skilled lady with figures she could add up columns and get the correct total all in the days of £.s.d and well before computers with spreadsheets and calculators.
Julie Wilkins
Mar 13


St David's Day
I know you are going to say to me that this is a little bit late! St David's Day, traditionally celebrated on the First of March, celebrates the life and work of St. David. Born around the year 500 he was a renowned preacher and founder of monastic sites, possibly founding the Abbey at Glastonbury. He is reputed to have made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem and brought back a stone which sits in St. David's Cathedral in Pembrokeshire. We don't make a puzzle of St David but we do ma
Julie Wilkins
Mar 5


Pay Day. The day that you get Paid
Well its the last working day of the month. For many people this is payday. Its also a Friday and for those who may be paid weekly it too is Payday. I started my working life in a Bank. Wednesday and/orThursday was the day that the bigger companys and firms rang in with their order for the wages, which were paid in cash. We would have to put together the required amount, in the specified breakdown, so that the companies could make up the wage packets for handing out to their
Julie Wilkins
Feb 27


Thinking Day
I was born in the 1950's and was a child in the 1960's when it was almost compulsory to joining the Brownies for girls and the Cub Scouts for boys. Consequently we always celebrated the birthday of Robert Baden-Powell on 22nd February, the day being known as Thinking Day. As Brownies and Cubs we were encouraged to think of others and help others not just on this day but throughout the year. This year was the 100th Anniversary of Thinking Day and it was commemorated across the
Julie Wilkins
Feb 24


Fish For Friday
When I was little it was always fish for dinner on Fridays. Part of our tradition my Mum would tell my sister and me. When we were small it was those yummy "Fish Fingers", covered in breadcrumbs and served with chips and tinned processed peas. Funny name for them though, when you consider that fish do not have fingers at all. As we grew older it was school dinners and again fish for dinner on friday. This was battered and served with mashed potatoes and baked beans I seem to
Julie Wilkins
Feb 20


It's Pancake Day!
Otherwise known as Shrove Tuesday, the day before Ash Wednesday, and 47 days before Easter. This was the day for feasting before the start of Lent in the Christian Church calendar. Most of us love a pancake or two and topping's vary, from the traditional lemon and sugar, through syrup, bananas, blueberries, nuts and chocolate spread to the American version with bacon. The combinations are seemingly endless. We here at Grovely Puzzles do not make a puzzle with pancakes on it b
grovelyjigsawpuzzl
Feb 17


Unlucky Day?
Well today is Friday the 13th! Considered to be an unlucky day by many cultures around the world for all sorts of reasons, both historical, mythological and religious. Many of us are superstitious, black cats, walking under ladders, not tempting fate, crossing our fingers, not sitting 13 people down to a dinner table etc. But, and there is always a but, tomorrow will be Valentines Day. A lucky day for many when maybe your true love will pop the question "Will you Marry Me?"
Julie Wilkins
Feb 13




A Sad Day
Losing someone from you life is always difficult even if you have never met the person, have only spoken on the telephone and corresponded by email. We here at Grovely Puzzles first made puzzles for Tina Bone, a renowned Botanical and Wildlife artist in 2015. Originally just for her own sales, then we came to an agreement to offer them to our own customers. Sadly last year Tina was diagnosed with an uncurable cancer and lost her life earlier this year. Her images are delightf
Julie Wilkins
Feb 3


The Missing Piece!
Beautiful Puzzle, taken hours to complete and then Stop. There's a piece missing. How can this have happened? The Puzzle was brand new, the bag was unopened. I have been very careful. I search the floor, check my clothing in case it has become attached to me. I look everywhere but no I cannot find it. A real disappointment. What do you do about it? Well if you buy from us here at Grovely Puzzles, a UK based manufacturer, we will send you a new bag of puzzle pieces for your pu
Julie Wilkins
Jan 30
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