Wednesday, 4 February 2009

Who Am I?

Continuing our 'Who Am I?' series, all you have to do is identify the well known personality by studying the clues below.

01 I am 67 years old.
02 I live in Los Angeles.
03 I was born in Ottawa.
04 In my teens I formed a group call the Bobbysoxers.
05 The first song I wrote was called 'I Confess'.
06 In the late 60's I wrote 'My Way' for frank Sinatra.
07 I featured in an episode of the Simpsons in the 90's.
08 I have five daughters from my first marriage.
09 I have a son with my second wife Anna.
10 On the 8th February I am playing the London Palladium.

Answer will appear in the Journal tomorrow.

Dingbats

From the following Dingbats can you work out the well known phrases they suggest.


01 ................. tooLATE LATE


02 ..................... MARK

..................... STEP


03 .................... NOCOLDSE


04 .....................INSIGH

Check your answers in tomorrows Journal.

Poem - Blankney Hall

One summers day in 1995 I was standing on the site that was once Blankney Hall. I tried to imagine what life in the Hall had been like. On my return home I wrote the following poem.

Blankney Hall

Stop and consider this barren earth
Where once stood Blankney Hall
Now nothing is left
No roof, no stair, no wall
Once the family home of Lords
Visited by Kings
Who came to shoot the pheasants
As for the final time they spread their wings
Stop and consider the derelict grounds
The twisting gravel path
Where ladies in their refinery
Would walk and talk and laugh
Imagine the house when guests came to stay
Greeted by butler and maid
Sedately dancing the night away
As the band on the balcony played
Stop and consider the fountain
And beyond, the bamboo lake
The overgrown sunken gardens
Once lovingly tended by hoe and by rake
See how the stables are now in decay
Where carriages once shining bright
Drove through the archway, under the clock
And magnificent horses found shelter by night
A once proud mansion to admire
Commandeered in war, destroyed by fire
Gone its secrets, gone its mystery
Lost in time, but not in history

Rodney Garlant

Tuesday, 3 February 2009

Don't Phone A Friend

I never cease to be amazed by statistics, this one was no exception. New research (the report does not say by whom) reveals that the total cost for raising a child is just under £194,000 from birth to the age of 21. Presumably, if they were not given mobile phones this would drop to just below £20,000.................................... I'm only jealous because I never had one when I was a kid!

Today' Smile

Note sent to school by one harassed mother:

Please excuse little Jimmy for not being in school yesterday. His father is gone and I could not get him ready because I was in bed with the doctor.