A Less Than Puzzling Puzzle?

The sound of a corporate damage limitation machine in full advance could be heard from the very windows of The Threadbone Corporation today following the announcement that the winner of the Corporation’s Annual Christmas Prize Crossword Competition was none other than ex-Spanish Boy Scout Enrique (de Los Chicos Perdidos). Forceful denials seemed the more otiose given that industry experts had predicted the likely victor even as the Competition was announced and the fiendishly difficult grid made available to the general public last Thursday.

Veteran former head of publicity Ges Stetner was brought out of retirement to front the Corporation’s orchestrated response to mounting criticism. “Signor de los Chicos Perdidos won the competition fair and square, his being the name first name drawn out of the hat”, Mr Stetner said. “Whilst it is also true that his was the first entry to be hand delivered to Mrs Threadbone - I can neither confirm nor deny that it arrived on a breakfast tray alongside a pot of China tea and a lightly boiled egg - it went into the novelty tombola drum along with at least one other entry and had no more than a 50:50 chance of being drawn”.

The second entry is believed to have been submitted by the eventual runner up in the competition a Ms Diana Bignos partner of Mrs Threadbone’s chief blog editor and personal portrait photographer Ed Shots. CLICK ON THE IMAGE ABOVE TO ENLARGE

Ms Bignos receives a full colour reproduction photograph of the winner's biscuit tin, together with an invitation to enter next year's free Competition at a discounted rate.