Pastimes

Perplexity

Triples all round:

Three of the week's headline makers are hidden in the following sentence:

Crib end is torrid; no crow joins scratch call.

To find the answers, all you need do is group the words into batches of three, then rearrange the letters within each group. A copy of the new Larousse Desk Reference Encyclopedia will be awarded to the first correct answer opened on 22 February. Entries to: Saturday Pastimes, the Independent, 1 Canada Square, Canary Wharf, London E14 5DL.

27 January competition:

GRAMMAR - SCHOOL = HARMAN has the solution 1653356-897002=756354 (or similr with 2 & 4 transposed). In either case GRAMMAR = 1653356. Winner: Alison Barnes (Leeds).