Love him or loath him, one cannot deny that Boris Johnson is one recognisable mayor. His mop of blonde hair gives Boris the look of a sixties pop-star or Californian surfer rather than Mayor of London. Asides running London, Boris Johnson is an author of books and writes a regular column for the daily Telegraph, for which he receives of rather tidy sum of £250,000 a year.

Boris Johnson was born in New York in 1964 to fairly well-to-do parents. In fact his whole family tree is filled with well known and well off types, such as Boris’s 8^th cousin, Prime Minister David Cameron and being an alleged descendent of king George 11!

Boris is a writer and speaker who uses extremely flamboyant and colourful prose. Who could forget his Olympic torch acceptance speech in Beijing, when he waffled on about “ping pong” returning home!

The major is a big fan of the bicycle and is often seen on his bike riding to work, undoubtedly being influential in the increasing popularity of cycling in the capital in recent years. In fact, Boris has dedicated a lot time promoting the bicycle as the best form of transport for Londoners and many roads have been made safer for cyclists in London through the mayor’s policies.

One of the funniest moments during the Olympics was when Mayor Johnson rode high above a crowd on a zip wire. Somehow Boris lost all momentum and the hapless mayor was left dangling above the crowd for several minutes with two union jack flags in his hands.

The unfazed mayor turned this misfortune into a bit of showmanship, coolly chatting with the ever increasing crowd down below. David Cameron said that for most MP’s the incident would have been disastrous but for Boris Johnson it turned into a triumph!

When film-maker Franny Armstrong was attacked in Camden by young hoodlum girls (one wielding an iron bar) she was in luck, for the passing cyclist she asked for assistance was none other than Mayor of London, Mr Boris Johnson, who promptly chased away the girls, referring to them as “Oiks!” Mrs Armstrong now calls Boris “Her knight on a shinny bicycle!”

Like all true superheroes Boris played the story down and his office declined to comment. Once again, without trying, Mayor Johnson was splashed in a favourable light all over the front pages.