As we all know, it’s not about left and right these days, but nevertheless, here, thanks to BBC scheduling, is one simple question to sort the pinkos from the Francos.

At 9pm tonight, are you more likely to watch BBC One (To Kill a Burglar: The Tony Martin Story*) or BBC Two (The Plot Against Harold Wilson)?

*not Scotland

Now that I have helped to highlight to curious correlation between Labour donors and people receiving honours by purchasing a virtual peerage, I need to decide what title to take upon my virtual elevation.

Suggestions so far include:

• Baron Greenback
• Baron Knights
• Baron Landscape (geddit?)
• Baron Howells (of course)
• Baron Howells of Course
• Baron Howells of Gallifrey (not suggested by me)
• Baron Will (à la Geraint Howells) of the Weald
• Baron Will o’ the Wisp
• Baron Howells of teh Internets

Further suggestions in the comments, please. I also need ideas for a motto. My current favourite is ad orbis ephemeris publico, which I suspect is a grammatical monstrosity.

And don’t forget to buy your own vPeerage.

Fancy a bit of ermine to go with your jeans and T-shirt? Tempted by a title? Then why not buy a peerage?

The Elect the Lords campaign is offering virtual peerages. It doesn’t come with any land or a vote in the second chamber, but:

Your money will be spent on campaigning for a democratic second chamber. The government have promised a free vote on the composition of the upper house in this Parliament – it could be just months away! We urgently need funds to ensure we can put pressure on MPs to respect the opinions of the vast majority of UK citizens who want the second chamber to be at least predominently elected.

With a sale now on, virtual peerages start at just £7.50.

Via Mr Guerrier comes this lovely factoid.

You may have noticed that Dan Brown has been in court this week defending some novel or other from the allegation that it is ripped off from a non-fiction (in the loose sense) work called The Holy Blood and The Holy Grail. His publisher is being sued by that book’s authors, Michael Baigent and Richard Leigh.

Apparently due to illness, the third co-author of The Holy Blood and The Holy Grail is not a party to the law suit (but perhaps will benefit from increased sales from the publicity without the risk of court costs if his co-authors lose the case). His name is Henry Soskin, but his nom de plume is Henry Lincoln.

Back in the swinging sixties, he wrote, with Mervyn Haisman, such Doctor Who stories as The Abominable Snowmen, The Web of Fear and The Dominators.

I will not, of course, suggest that Yetis on the Underground are a more convincing prospect than JC marrying Mary Magdalene and the church concealing their ongoing bloodline. That would be cheap.