Happy Easter Monday, everyone, on the day in history when (in 1621) the Mayflower set sail from Plymouth, Massachusetts on a return trip to England – as Eddie Izzard once remarked of the Pilgrims, “They set sail from Plymouth and landed in Plymouth – how lucky is that?”

Just 55 years ago, Winston Churchill quit as Prime Minister, handing over the reins to Anthony Eden. Meanwhile the sports fans among you might like to know that 1904 witnessed the first international rugby league match, played between England and the fantastically named ‘Other Nationalities’ team of Welsh and Scots.

But without further tarrying, let’s come right up to the present day … and as a Bank Holiday bonus, there’s a special musical video to rally the Liberal Democrats at the end.

2 Must-Read Chris Grayling-inspired Blog Posts

What are other Liberal Democrat bloggers saying? Here are two posts that have caught the eye from the Liberal Democrat Blogs aggregator:

• “No blacks, no Irish, no gays?” – Jock Coats, a gay, Lib Dem, Christian, argues in favour of the rights of B&B owners to discriminate: “We can’t end discrimination simply by state fiat, by making it unlawful, and I find it dangerous to try.”
• Inside the mind of Chris Grayling – Alix Mortimer urges readers to stop taking their intellectual cues from Mr Grayling: “I’m all in favour of restoring our civil liberties, and I’m also in favour of easing regulation on small businesses, but my impression is that there are one or two slightly more pertinent places to start those processes? You know, just possibly?”

Spotted any other great posts in the last day from blogs that aren’t on the aggregator? Do post up a comment sharing them with us all.

2 Offbeat LibDem Stories

Financial Times under misapprehension that Lib Dems only fighting 50 seats at general election

In an article focusing on alleged Tory unease at the use of the Mosaic customer-preference database to target their marketing, the FT’s Kiran Stacey and Alex Barker indulge a slightly bizarre claim about the Lib Dems:

… the Lib Dems feel they have little need for vast databases when they are only realistically fighting about 50 constituencies.

Given the party has 63 MPs already, and is in second place in over 200 constituencies – meaning the party is seriously contesting over 40% of the UK’s seats – I’d reason the party does have a need for vast databases. But now is not the time or place to start a discussion about EARS ….

Nick Clegg: the alternative man

Channel 4 asks, Who is Nick Clegg? Their answer – this profile:

A look through the Liberal Democrat leader’s CV reveals an interesting range of influences, across the political spectrum. Born in Buckinghamshire in 1967 to a half-Russian father and Dutch mother, Clegg can speak five languages. His great-great aunt, on his father’s side, was Russian aristrocrat Moura Budberg, a suspected spy. Mistress of science-fiction writer HG Wells, she knew Josef Stalin, whom she once gave an accordion.

Clegg attended Westminster School where he became friends with TV presenter Louis Theroux. The pair later drove across America on a road trip during which Clegg dabbled in transcendental meditation, frequently asking to stop the car so he could “go into a trance.” During his teens, Clegg worked as a ski instructor in Austria and – bizarrely – picked up a conviction for arson when he and a friend set fire to a greenhouse (which contained a rare cactus) in a drunken prank.

And finally… let’s R-O-C-K

Here’s a song written and performed by Peter Cook … no, not that one, but the MD of the Academy of Rock. Peter set out to write a song that just might get people off their sofas watching the X-Factor and actually take an interest in something that affects our lives. “Rather than sleepwalking into the future, make a real choice and vote Lib Dem,” is his message:

(Also available on YouTube here).

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