It's not often references to the cautionary tale of "Agamemnon's child" and Big Brother are bandied about at the same fringe meeting, but the unlikely pairing of the reality TV star Derek Laud and the Tory toff Oliver Letwin at a Countryside Alliance meeting last night saw the two worlds meet head on.
Mr Laud - a black, gay, pro-hunting Conservative - is supporting David Cameron.
"I don't think any of the candidates would get on to the Big Brother house because they wouldn't get through the audition," he said. "But a big number of women vote, and good looks are very important – and David Cameron is very attractive!"
Mr Letwin, who after David Cameron's barnstorming speech yesterday is now the second most famous Old Etonian Tory, showed the common touch by using an analogy from Greek literature to praise the efforts of the Countryside Alliance in getting him re-elected in Dorset West.
"You may remember Agamemnon's child," he began as delegates' eyes shifted nervously to the carpet at the Claremont hotel. "Agamemnon ruled Greece during the Peloponnesian wars … Er, I mean the Trojan war … and he was ruled by his wife, who was in turn pregnant and ruled by her child. And so Agamemnon was ruled by his child."
Continuing this painful analogy, there was something of a pregnant pause as everyone reached for the vol-au-vents.
