Boris Johnson's blond ambition key to London 2012

If London wanted to come over as informal, funny and self-deprecating, then Boris Johnson in an unbuttoned suit looking like a dishevelled sixth-former from The Dandy was the perfect contrast to the stiff-backed starchiness of his Chinese hosts.

The mayor followed up his flag-waving duties with an address that made Gordon Brown look as light on his feet as the 35-stone judoka from Guam. Chairman Mao gave wittier speeches than our Prime Minister.

When it came to presenting a friendly face of London, Bo-Jo had won the gold medal, but he returns from China to the dull grind of organising and administering the London Games. It is a four-year marathon for which we cannot yet know if he is fully equipped.

source: timesonline.co.uk