The Frumplingtons

Secondhand jigsaw puzzles never come with guarantees of being complete. Even so, of the twenty-odd puzzles that we have bought this year, only a couple have had missing pieces. The ‘Historical Map of England and Wales’ puzzle, which we finished this weekend, had, out of 500 pieces, only about one quarter of a missing piece, although it was in a strange place — Tintagel, which just happens to be the reputed birthplace of the legendary King Arthur.

Could the missing piece, I wonder, indicate the presence of some kind of quasi-metaphysical vortex, perhaps a portal to another world, in the Tintagel area? And might this mean that the Knights of the Round Table are preparing to arise from their long sleep, in readiness for the battle to save Britain from imminent peril — i.e., the collapse of the housing market and the widely predicted twenty years of economic recession? Or have I been reading too much fantasy fiction?