Bishop's Stortford Jigsaw Exchange

Just a reminder that the final Exchange in 13 Regency Close is tomorrow afternoon 1:30-4pm, after which it will move to an exciting new location in Stortford Fields. So bring puzzles!! take puzzles!! give the yellow Isabel Hospice bucket some love not to mention some folding money!! and hopefully we will push the total raised for Isabel to over £8,000 some time tomorrow afternoon...

Here is a link to our JustGiving page for anyone who would like to do e-donations:

Bishop's Stortford Jigsaw Exchange Help Catherine Phillipson raise money to support Isabel Hospice

Hello Exchangers! A quick heads-up about a Jigsaw Festival on February 18th. This is being done jointly between Isabel Hospice and the Methodist Church team in South Street - it's been done before in the dim and distant days pre-Covid, so I may need to remind you how it works.
The Jigsaw Festival features fully completed jigsaws which are laid out on tables and then available to purchase. This means (I think you can see this coming...) that they need lots and lots of completed jigsaws.
To do this, you complete the jigsaw as normal and then carefully separate it into four quarters. Each quarter is slid onto a piece of A4-sized paper and then layered into the box. You can bring the completed jigsaws to the Exchange on the 4th Feb or we will arrange some more drop-off points nearer the time. 500 and large-puzzle-piece puzzles are welcome as well as standard 1000s (or even bigger...)
Why not take this as a challenge? Try a style that you don't usually do - if you like funny pictures, try a landscape, if you like cute cats then try a historic picture of canals and trains. Take home that picture of a saxophonist that I've never been able to persuade anyone to do and send it off to a happy new home. If you've never done a 1000-piece puzzle or a circular puzzle or HOP-style funny-shaped-piece puzzle, now could be the time to give it a go. And if you are the person who has currently got the all-black one then you can bring it back triumphantly completed and show it off. Anything EXCEPT Wasgijs (as that rather spoils the fun of them).
And remember, if you end up doing all your puzzles before the next Exchange... you can always come over and get some more. My husband wants (some of)his shelves back!
This is going to be a busy few weeks...
See you tomorrow, 1:30 (not 1) to 4:00, usual place.

Hello Exchangers! The nights are drawing in, Christmas is fast approaching, and the Santa puzzles have all been got down from the attic. So it's time to get your anglepoise lamp set up at just the right angle not to gleam off the pieces, get out your puzzle table/roll/board and swap all your old puzzles for new ones.

There is an Exchange THIS SATURDAY the 8th from 1-4pm at 13 Regency Close CM23 2NP. I know this is rather short notice so if you would like to come over on another day please PM me - the puzzles all live on shelves in the garage so it's easy to do this. The November Exchange will be on November 19th and then December will be on SUNDAY December 11th - hopefully this will give you more notice and make it easier to fit in round Christmas shopping.

So as always, please bring your good quality jigsaws over, in a large bag/trolley/car boot so that you can take plenty away. And of course remember our little yellow friend the Isabel Hospice donations bucket - it loves you from the depths of its little plasticky heart. And bag bag bag, the bag is your friend, putting pieces in a bag inside the box prevents that sinking feeling when I find a lonesome piece on my garage floor and it also means you don't need to tape the box down.

PS We have raised over £6,200 for the Hospice from the Exchange so far, thank you so much for all your puzzles and donations.

Hello Exchangers! A reminder that the first Exchange of the autumn is tomorrow, Sept 17th, from 1-4pm at the usual place which is 13 Regency Close CM23 2NP. Come along and refresh your jigsaw collection as the evenings start to draw in.

As always, the Bag Is Your Friend, please make sure all the pieces are in a bag so they don't get lost. Any old bag will do, it doesn't need to be the original one or a nice zip-lock sandwich bag, even a carrier bag with a knot in the top prevents that sinking feeling when a puzzle is nearly done and you realise that there really is a piece is missing.

And remember our Complete Puzzle Guarantee - if you got a puzzle from the Exchange that you thought was complete, and it wasn't, just tell me and take a replacement puzzle for free. Don't bring the old one back unless you have marked the missing piece very clearly on the box lid!

Hello Exchangers! The Standon May Day Fair was a massive success, we raised over £300 for the hospice and have cleared some space on the shelves for new donations. So the jigsaw piles will have a fresh new look when you come round on Sunday, yes that is this SUNDAY May 8th, from 1:30-4:00.
We also had to put prices on the jigsaws, so if you have friends who would like to simply buy jigsaws rather than exchange them, the prices range from £3.50 for an almost-new Ravensberger down to £2 for a 500 piece Cornerpiece. Puzzles with missing pieces :( or with old/damaged boxes are just £1. Or just give the donation of your choice, it all goes to the Hospice and we have a shiny new yellow plastic bucket waiting to accept your offerings.
Remember as always, the bag is your friend, please put the pieces inside a bag inside the box and then there is no need for you to tape the box down... and no need for me to try to rehouse a lonesome piece at the end of the Exchange. I have a collection of about 8 lonesome pieces now, and each one means that somewhere there is an unhappy puzzle solver.
The Exchange will be back in its usual place, 13 Regency Close, CM23 2NP, which is the first house on the right as you enter the close. The one with the large garage full of jigsaws.
PS There is a new debate raging on whether or not to separate out the edge pieces into a separate bag. It's completely up to you, but whatever you do, please please do break the puzzle up completely. It is strangely dispiriting to have to finish breaking up a puzzle before you start solving it.

Hello Exchangers! Just a reminder that the Amazing Travelling Jigsaw Exchange will be at the Standon May Fair tomorrow Monday from 1-4:30. Please don't bring any jigsaws along because space is very limited, but I'd love to see you there buying some! I'm taking a large pile of carrier bags to encourage bulk purchasing...
Then after that the date of the next Exchange has CHANGED - I have just been given a hospital appointment on Saturday so I will do the Exchange on SUNDAY May 8th. Usual time of 1:30-4:00, usual place of 13 Regency Close CM23 2NP.

Hello Exchangers! Just to confirm the dates and times for the next two Exchanges which have changed slightly: the next one is on the 12th March (that is on the SECOND Saturday in March) and then the 2nd April. Both from 1:30-4:00 now that the days are warmer and longer. Hope to see you there! We have LOTS of jigsaws and so would welcome you whether or not you have any to bring along.

Hello Exchangers! After some juggling with the diary I can confirm that there will be an Exchange on the first Saturday of Feb (5th), March (5th) and April (2nd). As usual, it will be from 1:00-4:00 or a little bit earlier if it gets dark and cold. As I said in the previous post, I had a bit of a tidy-up over Christmas so we now have about 120 good-quality jigsaws, all 500-1000 pieces, with a couple of larger/smaller ones suitable for dementia sufferers (please keep bringing those, they are valued). We still have the all-black one, we have quite a few great quality art puzzles, some funny ones, some cartoons, a range of traditional puzzles and of course the puzzles that YOU are going to bring when you visit.

Looking forward to seeing you on the 5th at the usual address, 13 Regency Close CM23 2NP, and if you can't make that date/time then PM me and we can organise a private visit to the shelves.

PS I am trying out a "Donate" button below to make cashless donations easier. It says I've raised £0... but in fact you have donated an amazing £4,800 so far. The Hospice Bucket loves you from the bottom of its little yellow buckety heart.

Hello Exchangers! Have you done all your jigsaws over Christmas? Were you given some by well-meaning relatives that you are really never going to do?? I'm holding an Exchange this Saturday, that is, tomorrow January 8th, in my garage as usual. 1:00-3:30 at 13 Regency Close CM23 2NP. All jigsaws welcome EXCEPT those ones of a million dalmatians/plateful of baked beans/smarties/other variations on the World's Hardest Jigsaw Puzzle, because oddly nobody ever wants to take those away.

Oh, but if you DO really want a challenge I have a Ravensburger one that is 750 pieces and completely black. Every piece is a different shape, and instead of a picture on the box they have included a diagram of the assembled puzzle so you can see all the shapes. I am not sure who this will appeal to, but the person who brought it told me that they HAD solved it (although they did resort to using the diagram).

Apart from that I have the usual mix of 500 and 1000 piece puzzles, all in good condition and hopefully all marked if they have a piece missing. Please remember when you bring puzzles, to put the pieces inside a bag inside the box, the bag is your friend and saves that sad moment when I am tidying up after an Exchange and find a lonesome piece.

The nights are getting longer, autumn is in the air, and my garage shelves are full of good-quality jigsaw puzzles so it’s time to restart the famous Bishop’s Stortford Jigsaw Exchange.

The next exchanges will be from 1:30-4:00 at 13 Regency Close, CM23 2NP on Saturday afternoons:
25th September
23rd October
6th November

We have something for everyone, with quintessentially British puzzles for those who enjoyed their staycations, to maps and landscapes from around the globe for those who miss their travel. We’ve got puzzles with steam trains, canal boats and tractors. We’ve got cute little kittens and dogs if you like that sort of thing and fantasy pictures if you want an escape from everyday life. Most of the puzzles are 500-1000 pieces (we don’t do children’s puzzles) but we also have some that are up to 3,000 pieces for people who have a large table and fancy a challenge.

And finally we have a Guarantee Of Completeness – we can’t check every jigsaw puzzle but if you get one from the exchange which is missing a piece you can get another puzzle FREE. Whoo-hoo!

Look forward to seeing you next Saturday.

It's a cold wet day in July and your Other Half is watching football on the telly. Time to get the jigsaws out!
We are having the FINAL jigsaw exchange this weekend before taking a break for the summer. It will be on Saturday 3rd of July, from 1-4pm at 13 Regency Close CM23 2NP. The weather forecast looks ok-ish so we should be able to put the tables out on the drive, if it starts to rain we can move them inside the garage.

We will be starting this weekend's Exchange with a stock of over 150 jigsaws. To make it easier for you to find the jigsaws that you like, they will be put out on separate tables – one table for 1000-piece jigsaws, one table for 500-piece jigsaws, and one table for all the specialist jigsaws, including funny ones, Wasgijs, etc.

Some of our less usual jigsaws include Beers Of The World, a picture of 24 brightly-coloured doughnuts, several montages of the Royal Family (useful if you want to play Spot The Duke Of Edinburgh), murder mystery dinner party puzzles, maps of the London Underground, and a painting by Hieronymus Bosch.

For people with more space and more time, we have larger jigsaws, going up to 3,000 pieces. For people with less space and less time, our smallest jigsaws are 150 piece Wasgijs. We don’t do children’s puzzles, these are all for grown-ups, although many people do them with their children or grandchildren.

We’d like to encourage you to come and buy lots of puzzles, even if you don’t have any to bring. In fact, ESPECIALLY if you don't have any to bring. Because, between you and me, 150 puzzles take up a lot of storage space - and I've got another 80 Christmas-themed puzzles up in the attic waiting for November.

Hope to see you on Saturday. PM me if you'd like to come round before then, all the jigsaws are on shelves in my garage so it's easy to arrange a visit.
And the Isabel Hospice sends you many, many thanks for all the money you've given to them. Over £3,500 so far!!

It's a lovely day for a jigsaw exchange! And I now have over 200 puzzles to get us started. Bring along some large empty bags to take lots of puzzles away. In fact, why not bring your car along and fill your boot?! Many of the puzzles are in great condition and would make splendid presents for your puzzle-loving friends. We also have over 30 puzzles with larger or fewer pieces which are ideal for any of your relatives who are starting to find 500-1000 pieces a bit of a challenge. It's at the usual time, 1-4pm, and in the usual place, 13 Regency Close CM23 2NP.

Bishop's Stortford Jigsaw Exchange updated their phone number.

The second category of puzzles that people don't take are Too Hard. This can be for various reasons: they are designed to be hard, they have too many pieces, they aren't the usual sort of picture... I've tried to get many people to try out the sprout jigsaw, and almost always people say "I don't like sprouts!"
So I'm going to try posting these on some wider for-sale forums and see if I get any takers. If you want one or more of these, please do say so!

Bishop's Stortford Jigsaw Exchange updated their address.

Loading the Mobile Jigsaw Exchange for its visit to Barclay Park, Hoddesdon EN11 8JX, today from 14:00-14:30. Please PM me if you'd like me to get there earlier/stay longer.

We did our first Mobile Exchange this week, to Hoddesdon, Ware and Puckridge. Socially distanced in windswept car parks, we took a bootful of jigsaws and returned with over £100 in the Isabel Bucket and the back seat full of jigsaws too.

When we started the Exchange last May, we had 30 jigsaws and raised £100. We've held the Exchange six times since then and so far we have raised over £2,000 for the Isabel Hospice... and kept a lot of people slightly more sane during the lockdowns.

It's now easier to send Bishop's Stortford Jigsaw Exchange a message.

Bishop's Stortford Jigsaw Exchange updated their website address.

Bishop's Stortford Jigsaw Exchange updated their business hours.