Jaume Girons Armengou is more than a regular reader and subscriber of La Vanguardia. At 100 years old, every day for at least 15 years, he has done the two crossword puzzles in the paper newspaper: the Catalan one by Màrius Serra and the Spanish one by Jordi Fortuny.
His nephew, Jaume Bea Girons, also a reader and subscriber, has shared these images in La Vanguardia readers' photos, where his centenarian uncle can be seen completing a crossword puzzle.
For Jaume, the most important thing of the day is doing these crossword puzzles. Currently, due to his age and his limited social life, one of his daily motivations is to have La Vanguardia in his hands to do this activity. It does this every day of the year, 365 days, holidays included. His caregiver is in charge of fetching his diary every day.
"The last thing I would want to give up in this life is to stop doing these crossword puzzles," explains his nephew Jaume. "Right now it's their only connection to the world," he adds. "Sometimes he has been sick and gone to the doctor, but when he has come home he has finished his crossword puzzles," he says.
Jaume has been unable to speak for more than 10 years after an operation, but that has not stopped him from wanting to do crossword puzzles. In fact, he solves them without any help. Neither encyclopedias, nor Google, much less with a mobile phone. He doesn't let himself be helped, he doesn't want his family to collaborate.
"He doesn't want anyone's collaboration, it's like his job, like some homework that he has to do and that no one can bother him, he takes this very seriously," explains the nephew.
His love for these crossword puzzles goes beyond what one can imagine. Some may think that due to his high age he should have difficulty finishing them, but the truth is that "in one morning he does both." "Put it from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., that's how long it normally takes and he doesn't get up early right now," says Jaume Bea.
Jaume Girons has spent almost his entire life being a reader of La Vanguardia, a newspaper with 142 years of history. But, in addition, in general he has been a great lover of reading, which has also made it easier for him to complete these crossword puzzles. Before starting them, the reader does an exhaustive review of the entire diary, "page by page", to stay up to date.
"To communicate with us he had to write, but he was always too lazy, but to do crossword puzzles, he's not lazy at all," explains the reader's nephew.
Its connection with La Vanguardia is sacred, the reader accumulates all the newspapers of recent years at home. "If I need a copy of the old La Vanguardia, I look around and they have them all saved," he adds. "His link, his umbilical cord with the world, is The Vanguard".
Jaume will turn 101 years old in January, and although today he has lost some faculties, he still has a good head to continue doing the La Vanguardia crossword puzzles.
