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

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

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

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

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

That is the question (With apologies to Will Shakespeare) There is much debate in the world of puzzles about whether images and designs produced by AI should be used. Indeed the BCD ( The Benevolent Confraternity of Disectologists) asked a couple of members who handmake and cut puzzles for their opinions. They differ greatly on the pros and cons. Will it put artists out of work, and what about, designers, photograpers, all of whom have their work made in to puzzles in all sor

Did you know that the first puzzles came about around 1760, to lighten the severities of victorian education!! The first puzzles were beutifully engraved and hand coloured and embelished maps mounted on to mahogany and then cut using a fine marquetry saw along the boundaries of the countries and counties,and were then used in the teaching of geography. Heare at Grovely we also make disected maps in wood, But now we call them jigsaw puzzles and we also make them in Cardboard.