Charles, the second Earl Grey, was a great reforming parliamentarian, a man of good sense and good will. He was prime minister for about three years. One story is that in 1830 he was given the tea recipe by a grateful Mandarin, but no one really knows what the connection is, if indeed there is one.

The idea of him being on acid is as unlikely as supposing that Solomon might be dealing on the margin in Wall Street in 1929. And therein lies the humour of the idea. Give your imagination full reign, there is nothing to build on!