UK Nationals
Apr. 11th, 2025 07:26 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
crystalcazzieThis time last week I was in Leeds, ready for the very first official UK Jigsaw Puzzle Competition:
I travelled up to Leeds on the LNER and splashed out for first class cos it wasn't actually that much more expensive when bought in advance. It was definitely worth it!
Lunch. Including the traditional Train Beer.
I didn't splash out quite so much for the hotel, choosing to stay in a Premier Inn cos they're usually reliable. This one wasn't quite so great, but still acceptable.
View from my hotel room. Not the most exciting!
The next morning I put on my jigsaw dress:
I debated whether or not to wear it, but I thought it would be fun. I got so many compliments on it while I was there too!
It also did its job of helping me meet others cos a couple of people on the train from Leeds to Apperley Bridge saw it and said "I think you're going where we're going!" and we got to talking and then found out that everyone in the carriage was also going to the competition. There was another lady by herself, Ved, and we both said that we'd like to enter the pairs round but we didn't have a partner so we decided to team up together. Love it when things work out like that!
It was a gloriously sunny day, which was lovely, but of course we were headed inside...
Waiting for the contest to begin!
I was a bit nervous, but calmer than I expected to be. When the time started and I opened the bag and turned over the box I did deflate a bit as I saw all the white on the puzzle. Especially since we had a white table! Putting it together involved a lot of pick and place and I had to refer back to the box constantly. Time seemed to fly by and before I knew it people were cheering for the winner. I was nowhere close to completing, of course, but I persevered...
1:26:02!
Not my best time, but not bad. I'm really pleased I was under the hour and a half mark. The time limit for this competition was a more generous two and a half hours, but most are one and a half so that's what I always aim for. I came 75th over all, which puts me in the top half of the leaderboard, and I feel pretty good about that too.
After a quick break and some food they drew the first raffle. I won nothing. Boo.
Then it was time for the pairs round!
This was so much more my kind of puzzle. It was bright and colourful and so fun. I did the border and a lot of the bits close to the edge while Ved did the doughnut and then filled in the sky. Towards the end we were flying through it like a well oiled machine, grabbing pieces and putting them in like clockwork. Our time was 51:26 and we came 36th, which is pretty damn good! Especially considering we met for the first time that morning and neither of us had ever puzzled with a partner before. It was quite gratifying to leave the room with so many pairs still working.
We both tried to take a photo of ourselves together with the completed puzzle but couldn't get the angle to work. It's a shame cos I'd have liked a picture of us.
I got both boxes signed by the artists and there was also a pop up shop to buy new puzzles. I told myself I shouldn't get much cos with moving soon I don't want to be bringing more stuff into the house. But as we all know I have no willpower and ended up buying six.
The day ended with the second raffle (Still no wins for me. Double boo!) and the prize ceremony. After that we headed out into the lovely afternoon sunshine:
Such a fancy school!
Ved had already left earlier to go to Manchester. I got the train back to Leeds with a few other people and did float the idea of going out for a drink together when we got there but no one took me up on it. Maybe that's for the best, I did feel quite worn out by the end of the day.
Because public transport on Sunday can be a bit rubbish I had decided to stay until Monday, so I had a free day to explore the city of Leeds. I booked myself on a walking tour and had a nice morning being shown all around the place and learning about the history. It was another lovely day and I took a lot of photos:
Those last three pictures are the Corn Exchange, a lovely building with funky little shops where I picked up a few souvenirs and had a coffee. I probably wouldn't even have gone in it it hadn't been for the walking tour taking us there!
During the tour we also went past Whitelock's, which is Leeds oldest pub. I was really tempted to go back and get a drink there for the history, but I chickened out. I ended up sitting in a square near a statue of the Black Prince for ages while I read my book.
I also spent a lot of this time trying to psych myself up enough to go to the nearby microbrewery bar. It took a while, but eventually...
Success!
Having a book definitely helps with the anxiety about going to places alone.
I travelled back home on Monday and caught up on the livestream of the event. That was a bit disappointing. They really only focused on a few puzzlers and ignored everyone else. Also they kept talking about puzzling attire and I really thought someone would mention my dress but no one did. I was the only one in that dress and it was pretty noticeable!
All in all I had a great time and I really want to go and do it all again!
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Date: 2025-04-12 03:10 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2025-04-12 04:38 am (UTC)Learn more about LiveJournal Ratings in FAQ (https://www.dreamwidth.org/support/faqbrowse?faqid=303).
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Date: 2025-04-14 07:50 pm (UTC)That's so cool! I haven't been to Leeds for years. Glad you had a good time wandering around and nothing wrong with some alone time in a nice pub with a book and a beer. I don't get the same social anxiety you do (I have one all my own!) but I do like having something with me so I can sit somewhere on my own and immerse myself in something. The competition looks like it was really fun. How many people were there? Sounds like you did really well for your first one. Also cool dress and I like that it found you a partner for the pairs puzzling. I always enjoyed the team events at Magic tournaments (two-headed giant, they call it) and that sounds like it has a lot of the same vibes. The whole thing does really. The next one will probably be even more fun because you'll recognise people you met this time.
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Date: 2025-04-16 04:55 pm (UTC)It was my first time in Leeds and I'm really glad I did the walking tour cos I had no idea half of that stuff even existed! And I'm glad I managed to get up the courage to go for a beer. That was a huge step for me! (The book really helped!)
According to the results list there were 172 participants in the solo round and 161 pairs. Obviously a lot of people would have taken part in both, but that's still a lot! Some jigsaw competitions have team rounds too (with four participants per team) but I'm not sure how well I would do at that one. I think the more people involved the more chance you have of getting in each other's way.
And thanks! I must admit that I'm a bit annoyed that it was on the slower end of my times. I was hoping for closer to the hour mark, but then this was a bit of a tricky puzzle to complete.
There is another jigsaw competition in June at Newmarket which I'm tempted to go to. This one is more relaxed and isn't part of the official World Jigsaw Puzzle Federation, but still sounds fun. The main issue with it is transport though. It's about two miles from the nearest station and there's no bus. I suppose I could walk it if it's a nice day, but that's not a guarantee in England!