A bold pagan till his very death (allegedly at in battle at the age of 80!!) in a time when christianity was taking over, a slayer of five Kings (in battle) and numerous other royalty,and the conquerer of almost all of the anglo-saxon held lands, to me King Penda of Mercia is the most exiting and interesting of all the anglo-saxon kings. Were Penda not a pagan (or were those who wrote of him -bede for example- not christian monks) Penda might just have gone down in history as one of the greatest conquerers.
In any case, Penda deserves a toast in his name, and mention anywhere that the anglo-saxon kings are discussed.