Are you serious?

The picture from the Greenwich Mercury shows London mayoral candidate Boris Johnson contemplating traffic queueing for the Blackwall Tunnel which is one of the few routes to connect North and South London below Tower Bridge (there are three others: can anyone name them?) I sometimes stay near this road and the traffic goes on all night. Since the tidal flow system was stopped for health and safety reasons, the queues have got worse.

However, my real theme is not traffic problems in my birthplace Greenwich (which has been targeted for its own congestion zone). Now that a general election is out of the way until 2009/10 next year's London mayoral election becomes more significant. The Mercury describes Bozza as a 'maverick' and an 'eccentric', but harsher words have been used.

In a recent incident in the Commons, Bozza thought he was speaking about a proposed law but referred to the wrong section. Eltham MP and Millwall supporter Clive Efford had earlier given it large to Bozza. It all became too much for the former cab driver who had confronted nothing so ridiculous when asking 'Where to, guv?' and left the chamber in a fit of giggles.

Can one conceive a world city like London having Boris as its mayor? The Conservative selected him because at least he does have a profile unlike some Conservative (and New Labour) candidates who seem to have been turned out by a factory somewhere in Cheshire complete with a smart suit. Colleagues who go to schools a lot tell me that Bozza is popular with the young because he is not another identikit politician. The Liberals, by the way, will be fielding one of the highest ranking (now retired) gay policemen in the Met.

Red Ken is none too popular these days. Watch this space.

BTW, apologies to any one who has tried to post comments recently. I got that aspect in a bit of a tangle, but it should be ok now.