Jigsaw Ken is king of jungle
A JIGSAW addict has completed a mammoth 34,000-piece puzzle – but it almost cost him his marriage.
Ken Robinson spent up to four hours a day for two years working on the colourful 18ft-long jungle scene.
The retired lorry driver has devoted an entire room of the family home in Marske, North Yorkshire, to his hobby.
Now Ken, 74, is hoping to find somewhere big enough for the jigsaw to be displayed – if only to prevent wife Christine, 72, seeking a divorce.
Ken said: “I nearly got divorced because of the time I spent on it, especially when I would disappear upstairs at 9pm and still be there at 1am.
“The time just goes. I’ve been told off quite a few times by my wife.”
Ken says he has always loved doing jigsaws because they allow him to “completely switch off”. He added: “I retired five or six years ago, so it has given me the opportunity to do this. I could never have done this working 12-hour shifts as an HGV driver.
“It was really difficult to do because of the detail in it, but I’ve thoroughly enjoyed every minute. It was very satisfying to put the last piece in. “I’ve done it 3,000 pieces at a time. It’s in about 12 sections on boards. “I’ve got a whole room covered in jigsaws. If anyone goes in there, I’m thinking of searching them when they come out again in case I lose a piece. “I’ve found the odd piece on the stairs before now.” Asked whether he plans to complete more massive jigsaws, he said: “I’ve also done an 18,000-piece one, but the big ones are so expensive to buy.” And he admitted: “I’m a bit bored now.” While he takes a welldeserved break, Ken wants to find a new home for the enormous puzzle where it can be displayed properly – and would love to raise money for charity. He said: “I’ve got nowhere to put it. It’s on boards so it can be moved around. “It would be great to see it displayed, maybe at a charity or a school for children to see it – or even if the council wants to put it in an empty shop window.”