Here’s an Easter teaser to see if your brain matches that of the clever code breakers at GCHQ (Government Communications Headquarters) who protect this country from our enemies.
Earlier this month, bosses at Britain’s Intelligence, Security and Cyber Agency commissioned a visual puzzle as part of a campaign to attract recruits who can think outside the box and are therefore suited to working for the extremely secret organization from Cheltenham.
Hidden within an illustration of a cityscape were several clues that, when found, could be used to spell out the message ‘Journey to GCHQ’.
Scroll down to reveal the answer!
Just for fun, we asked the same illustrator, Justin Eagleton, to create a drawing specifically for today’s Easter edition of The Mail on Sunday to test your lateral thinking skills.
He has put together the image of an imaginary seaside village and hidden within it are eleven clues (11 because that is the number of Jesus’ apostles who remained faithful after Judas’ betrayal), each representing a letter of the alphabet that can then be unraveled to create a spell message. .
Manchester-based Eagleton, a printmaker and portrait painter whose recent subjects have included footballer Marcus Rashford and singer Rick Astley, said: ‘It’s not difficult, once you have a few letters.’
Do you need help getting started?
Six of the letters are based on the phonetic alphabet, which is beloved by both the military and spies.
One involves half of Shakespeare’s star-crossed young lovers.
Good luck!