Q. I adore doing jigsaws and these days there’s an added bonus — by posting my progress on Instagram I can share the happy glow it gives me knowing that I’m reducing toxic screen-time habits. Recently I begged to borrow a magnificent 1,000-piece puzzle from a friend — a vast winter scene by Pieter Bruegel. Setting to, I succumbed to the meditative calm and satisfaction of puzzling. After two weeks of hard graft neglecting pretty much all domestic duties, the puzzle was finished, but with a piece missing! This maddening lost piece is an obscure blob of twiggy branch that nobody could love, but its absence mocks all
my efforts. I cannot be sure it was I who lost it. Replacing the whole puzzle is going to cost more than £100 and I feel fairly confident I could return the puzzle to its owner knowing they’ll never attempt it again being such a monster commitment.
Mary Killen
Dear Mary: Should I return my pod coffee maker on moral grounds?
issue 29 February 2020
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