NO PIECE OF MIND...

My favourite story from around the world this week was about a man from Germany, 52-year-old Peter Schubert.

Peter needed a focus, a project to keep him going. This is the case for most people I think, you’ve got to have something, a routine that keeps you sane. Working, allotment, a project or a hobby. Family. Grandchildren.

I know for the rest of my life I’ll need something that brings a bit of meaning.

If I don’t have that, I know my wife will assassinate me. I spent a whole afternoon during the thick of lockdown 2020 sorting different nuts, bolts and screws into jam jars. I’m on the high-risk register for people who need projects. Back to Peter.

Knowing that he needs a focus and being a man of ambition he buys The King of Puzzles. This is a 54,000-piece, 190sq ft jigsaw puzzle. It’s a world record attempt and in the puzzling world it’s referred to as The King.

Peter decides to commit every hour of every day to this project. Rather than chip away and enjoy it, he turns it into a mission. I bet he’s fun to live with. Reports say some days he could put in a 15-hour shift.

He’s making great progress and nearing the end of this mammoth task and then… there’s a piece missing. What would you do then? Yep. He checks the vacuum. Nothing. It’s a 53,999-piece puzzle.

It’s a brilliant story. Utterly hilarious and a lovely example of ‘it’s not the destination, it’s the journey.’ However, don’t say that to Peter, he’s not quite in the right ‘headspace’ to hear that yet.