Carry On at Bonkers Hall

Having previously noted that Nevill Holt in Leicestershire may well be the inspiration for Bonkers Hall, the ancestral home of my alter ego, I suppose I am obliged to pass on the following story.

The Mail on Sunday reports the adventures of "Old Etonian eco-warrior Hector Christie, 43" and in particular his attendance at the 40th birthday party of Nevill Holt's owner David Ross:

The champagne-fuelled bash, which Ross hosted at Nevill Holt Hall, his 700-year-old 90-room mansion in Leicestershire, was themed around the Carry On films. Among the 400 guests were footballer Gary Lineker, whose sister-in-law Ali Cockayne once dated Ross.

"I stopped off at David's party on my journey back to Devon," says Hector, who runs his own stately pile, Tapeley Park as a hippie commune. "A lot of people were dressed as doctors and nurses, but I just went in my viking costume as I was already in fancy dress for the protests.

"I'm afraid I got rather drunk - cocktails were dispensed by syringes straight into your mouth, and I spent most of the time talking to four women sitting either side of the bar who were naked apart from a few strategically placed flowers."

How the other half lives, eh?