Boris Johnson

You're right, it was men I was thinking of. Shirley Williams! She was on Woman's Hour the other week, still talking sense and very interesting about her childhood and her parents. Best of the Gang of Four.

Sounds a great concert. Enjoy it. I too was in the SDP and still am a Social Democrat - though my party has taken another path. Don't think being a councillor made me arrogant or self-important though certainly some of my colleagues were, but more likely to be the men than the women. I still have a soft spot for Shirley Williams.

It's the late Prom. National youth Jazz Orchestra. Starts at 10.15.
From my dealings with the SDP many years ago I noticed that quite pleasant people who put themselves up for election quickly became arrogant and self-important once the party machinery got behind them. Don't know what the answer is but I wish there was a way of avoiding the political parties. They do us no good.....soap box or wot?!!

Boomer - Is it the Ivor Novello evening at the Proms, or was that last night? If I had a bucket list, I'd put the Proms on it. Few politicians can be described as 'nice'. I've known a few both local and national and would trust very few of any party.

pogs islamaphobia IMO.

That's life Annobel!
Can any politician be described as nice? They all seem a pretty two-faced crowd to me. I'm on strike when it comes to voting and despise the lot of them!
Promise you the earth but actually deliver s** all. Not that I'm cynical or anything, but give them the job for five minutes and they're the world's experts.
The pity of it is that they won't listen to people who do have knowledge.
Nothing daunted....sun's shining and it's a lovely day. I'm going to the Proms this evening!!

I think I know !!

I wonder why the grin emoticon reminds me of Cherie Blair?

AnA: well we all know that don"t we , HA< HA< HA<HA, ,How could we think otherwise , her being so wonderful and all

And anyway, according to Tony Blair it was Cherie who swung it!

If Ken Livingstone was such a brilliant mayor for London, why did he not win the election?

Ken Livingstone can take the credit for being partially instrumental in getting the Olympics for London, though now Boris is getting all the kudos.

nanaej , ken livingstone was a NOT very nice person , they say Boris is self serving , old kenny boy left him standing

JessM what about political manifesto? Currently I think he goes with the flow but have yest to see him assert his own agenda.

People slated Ken L but he worked very hard for London.

i'm with you boomerBabe

Entertainment value = high
Way with words = high
Getting things done value = questionable
PR skills = high (e.g. manages to turn the expensive bike scheme to his advantage)
Ethical standards = no evidence of their existence as yet

Beware the clever fool. Shakespeare knew a thing or two about him!
I suspect that behind the buffoonery lies an extremely clever, calculating and ambitious Boris who has learned from an early age how to charm and joke himself out of trouble. He makes me laugh. He's a breath of political fresh air. Trust him?
Think not!

Nonu.

I don't have an opinion really on him. I certainly don't understand nasty comments as I don't find him a horrid man, could think of worse people in politics for sure. He does make me smile and I think he is genuinely not staging his persona, it is very similar to his dad, what I've seen of him. Have I Got News was so funny it launched him to the public so in a way it was just luck that has followed him. Having said that Londoners did'nt like Ken Livingstone did they so he was the only one in the running.

I just remember the programme because it was so good, like a lot of others such as Carol Verdmann and Barbara Windsor who had very interesting stories too.

POGS you know your stuff , where do you get it from , are u in yea , Boris camp ? or that a presumption ?

Jess M

Ooops I made a boo boo. Not GD but GF? (I was thinking grandad)

It was his grandfather who was Turkish. As I said previously 'Who do you think you are' covered his family tree and it was absolutely fascinating. Watch it if it ever comes on again, like him or not it was one of the best ones.

His grandfather had to leave Turkey as he was both a journalist and member of the government at the time of Ataturk. He was informed of his life being in danger and I beleive he went to France. BJ wanted to trace his grandmothers side of the family, she was known to him as Granny Butter and the show chased the history of a silver tea set which she had made claim to being from royalty. It was, German royalty, after BJ great gradmother had a daughter, I beleive, out of wedlock with a German Prince. The German prince could trace his family back to(I beleive) our royal family. All good stuff and it was very interesting.

Or, I should say, an other word.

Integration, in other words.

I think he's more an advertisement for broadly adopting the culture of your home country instead of resisting it.

He's never struck me as a clown at all but I've never seen him on TV so maybe that's where that happens. If you read what he writes, he only appears articulate and intelligent, even if you don't agree with his views.

Absolutely !!!

Isn't it amusing that a man who has come to be known as a quintessential English eccentric has such an interesting family background? An advertisement for multi-culturalism?