Sunday, March 16, 2008

Boris Snippets

As I continue my sniffle ridden trawl through the Sunday papers I have reached the Sunday Times magazine to find a rather pathetic profile of Boris by someone who rejoices under the name of John-Paul Flintoff. It's less a profile, more of a sorry litany of sub Louis Theroux attempts to interview Boris, all of which end in failure. He cannot understand why Boris's people don't want to give him several hours of Boris's time. Having read the piece, they clearly made the right decision. These profile writers seem to think they should be allowed access to leading politicians as of right.

As an aside, I made my first visit to the Giant Gonad (otherwise known as City Hall) this morning to do a 5 minute piece on the mayoral campaign for the London part of the Politics Show. It was meant to be a discussion with Michael White of the Guardian. Sadly Michael arrived two minutes after the interview had finished so I had the floor to myself! And yes, I know in my state I should never have gone out of the house, but the show must go on! I managed to get through it without coughing once. Anyway, I am feeling better now, having dosed myself up with Nurofen. A nation rejoices...

6 comments:

OneLondon said...

Actually it is known as the Great Glass Egg. ;-)

Bob said...

gonads are bollocks, not dicks.

giant gonad may be as it is stuffed full of them and led by them, but not as it looks like them!

Anonymous said...

Surely the 'Fencing Mask' ?

Sorry, Iain, but I thought it was quite a good profile, interesting and factual. Not as entertaining as the story of the British surgeon who does a roaring trade removing brain tumours in Eastern Europe using a £30 Bosch drill from B&Q, but there you go.

Surely the point is that if you make it very difficult for the press to interview you, one can only expect them to have to gate crash events where you are not exactly showing yourself in your best light.

I suspect that it didn't really tell you anything you didn't already know, as you know Bozza far better than I do. The stuff about him only surviving a week in the City, and the fact that women think he's adorable despite [because?] he is a family man and philanderer is not exactly 'hold the front page' stuff.

Sure, the guy thinks he is best out of the mayor's office, but that is his opinion, based on Boris being too much fun to contain in the dull confines of an office for four years. And at least it had a piccy of a very foxy Petronella Wyatt in a very saucy belt, so why complain?

Anonymous said...

"Johnson has brio, wit, intelligence, courage, and an engagingly anarchic quality. I truly wish that those qualities were more common among politicians. But the prigs want him to be serious, and if he’s serious then he must conceal the qualities for which he’s loved. So, for his own sake, please don’t Back Boris."

I think, Iain, you have fallen into the 'elephant trap', as Mr Johnson might say. By responding to this article, you have told the journo that the 'cap fits' and that you do recognise some of the description of Mr Johnson, even if you don't entirely like it or agree with it.

I suspect said journo will raise a glass to you, seeing this as one in the back of the net from his long range strike.

Anonymous said...

I want Boris to win over the corrupt, greedy, wheeler-dealer, hard-core communist exploiter of the taxpayer, of course. But I can't stand him.

9:58 - "... the fact that women think he's adorable despite [because?] he is a family man and philanderer is not exactly 'hold the front page' stuff."

They do? Name one.

And women have the vote these days.

"And at least it had a piccy of a very foxy Petronella Wyatt in a very saucy belt, so why complain?"

Perhaps the child they had hosed out might have had a thought to contribute. Had it been allowed to come to term and be born.

True, he'd be preferable to the foul Livingstone, but that is not a great job qualification.

Anonymous said...

Stephen Pollard nails it in today's Times. The choice of Boris Johnson reveals the Conservative Party's contempt for the electorate.