HAVE you ever heard of a “bumpsy duel”?

In 1960 the late Lord Antony Moynihan challenged US journalist Al Ricketts to such a contest after the writer had reviewed a performance by his belly-dancing wife as only “routine”.

In a best of three, Moynihan twice knocked Ricketts off a silk cushion but, to be clear, the rule of the bumpsy is that you can only use your backside to manoeuvre your opponent. His wife’s honour was defended in the strangest of challenges.

We’d need a whole paper to recount Lord Tony’s eventful life: hedonistic club nights, four wives, a time acting as an informant for US drug police – not to mention, fraud cases and a seat in the Lords.

In Soho he’d been the manager of the Condor club and known for his bongo drumming.