Wordgame enthusiast wins competition

Josephine Zammit, 78, from Msida, has been playing The Times wordgame competition from the very start. "I hardly ever missed one since it started," she said.

Now that she has finally won a place on Mondial's Easter tour to Budapest, she will have to send someone else because she is unable to travel.

"Now that I won, I cannot go. That's life, I suppose," Ms Zammit said.

In Budapest, Ms Zammit's lucky stand-in will spend four days at a hotel in one of the gems of Europe.

Leaving Malta on April 9 and returning on April 14, the tour will also visit Austria on an optional full day excursion, passing by important buildings such as the Belvedere Castle, the UNO City, parliament, the Opera House, Hundertwasserhouse and the imposing St Stephen Cathedral in the city centre. There will be a short stop at the Prater Luna Park to see the symbol of the city, the Giant Ferris Wheel.

The tour will visit the Danube Bend in an optional excursion. Driving through wonderful scenery, the coach will go to the Visegrad, where the former Royal Palace is an attraction. The tour then continues to Esthergom, the centre of Hungary's Catholic Church. The basilica has gold religious items dating back 1,000 years. The last stop will be in Szentendre. The town centre is lively with buildings and shops preserved in vivid colours.

There will also be an optional excursion to Lake Balaton, also called the sea of the Hungarians, driving past picturesque countryside. At the centre of this popular summer resort, the national park and the abbey founded in 1051 will be visited.

There will be an optional half day city tour of Budapest. Passing by the parliament the tour will cross the Danube via Margaret Bridge driving to the Royal Castle on the Buda side, where the fishermen's bastion and the Mathias church will be visited. After a stop at the citadel, the tour will cross Elisabeth bridge and drive through the city park towards Hero's square.

The prize comes complete with a Lm50 MIA shopping voucher to spend at the tax free centre and a year's membership in the Scrabble Club (tel. 2141 7506).

The winner of the series which started on March 20 will be going on a Mondial tour of Slovakia, visiting Poland and Austria from August 9 to 16.