Pancake - Word Challenge

On Tuesday, pancake day, I set Journal readers a challenge. I asked them to make as many words as they could, minimum three letters, from the word PANCAKE. Only words in the Oxford Dictionary are valid. Any readers who have not yet had a go, please join in, list your words and e-mail them to me at garlant@btinternet.com It is not a competition to find a winner, but to see collectively how many words we can make. So, list as many or as few words as you can think of and send them in. Even if only one word from your list is a new word it will help to boost our total. Go on, you know you want to!

Poem - Blankney Woodyard

Today's poem is entitled Blankney Woodyard. The Woodyard, as it's name implies, is where timber from the Estate is taken to be sawn. It also houses the maintenance workshops for maintaining the buildings on the Estate, both farm buildings and the many private houses.

Blankney Woodyard

The tractor chimney belches smoke
The trailer hauls it's heavy load
Another trunk of light grey ash
Is dragged along the Woodyard road
For centuries past this great Estate
Has yielded wood for fence and gate
The saw shed, like a torture chamber
Where fearful jagged teeth of saw
Rip to pieces once proud trees
To make a window frame or door
Whilst the wood that's less discerning
Is used to keep the log fires burning
Nearby, the busy joiners shop
Where glue and sawdust smells prevail
And craftsmen ply their ancient trade
On wood secured by screw and nail
And gates by wintry weather tainted
Stand there waiting to be painted
Over by the paddock hedge
Heaps of sand and gravel wait
To be transformed into cement
By the builder and his mate
May their skill with stone and slate
Long preserve this great Estate

Rodney Garlant

Looking Back -Cassius Clay World Champion

Name Muhammad Ali

Birth Name Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr

Nickname The Greatest, The Champ, The Louisville Lip

Height 1.91 m (6ft 3in)

Reach 2 m

Weight division Heavyweight

Birth Date January 17, 1942

Birth Place Louisville, Kentucky, U.S.

On this day in 1964 a young black boxer by the name of Cassius Clay was crowned heavyweight champion of the world. His defeat of Sonny Liston caused the biggest upset in boxing history. Liston, who had two first round knock-outs against Floyd Patterson, looked invincible. Clay, from Kentucky, was announced the winner after the hot favourite retired at the end of the sixth round, when the bell rang for the seventh round Liston said he did not wish to continue. Such was the shock of Liston's defeat, Florida state attorney Richard Gerstein launched an inquiry into the fight. Such was the hype surrounding the contest that Clay had been fined £900 for disgraceful conduct as he ranted at 32 year old Liston at the weigh-in, chanting "I wanna rumble...I wanna rumble!" before saying "You're a tramp, I am going to eat you up. Somebody's going to die at the ringside tonight. Are you scared?" He then went on to make a predication that was to be proven right over the next few years "I was born to be great. I am great and I will be greater - the greatest Cassius Clay." On the night of the fight only half the seats had been sold in the Convention Hall in Miami. It was generally felt that Clay would be no match for Liston and the odds on Clay winning were a massive 7-1. Liston started the fight well and pinned Clay to the ropes in round two, but in round three he was forced to retreat with blood pouring from his left eye. By the end of round six Liston had been completely demoralised by his young upstart opponent. The fight was over and Clay was crowned world champion. Clay went on to become the only man to win the world heavyweight title three times, and few who saw him fight would doubt him to be the greatest boxer of all time. In a move that surprised everyone, Cassius Clay announced, in 1964, that he had joined the Nation of Islam and had changed his name to Muhammad Ali, subsequently converting to Sunni Islam in 1975, and then Sufism. Ali became famous for his unique fighting style, displaying amazing footwork, for a man of his stature, and incredibly fast with his fists. He would taunt his opponents with rhymes, predicting in which round he would win the fight. His most famous saying was "Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee." In addition to having the ability to hurt his opponents with razor sharp punches, he was fit and strong enough to take punches, especially to the chin, and would often show off to the spectators by allowing his opponents to take free shots at him. His boxing career lasted 20 years, during which time he won 56 frights and scored 37 knock-outs. Ali retired from the ring in December 1981 and was later diagnosed as having Parkinson's disease.

Who Am I? - Tuesday's Answer

Did you manage to identify the celebrity who was the subject of yesterday's Who Am I. It was of course Sid Owen (pictured on the right) better known as Ricky Butcher in Eastenders.

Well done to those of you who got the correct answer!

(Click to enlarge image)

Today's Smile

WELL, WHERE DO YOU FIT INTO THIS CYCLE?

(Thanks to reader Roy Andrews for sending this in)