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London Mayor Boris Johnson says he is looking at setting up an annual beach by the Thames as he promoted a temporary public outdoor pool on the South Bank.

Swimmer Rebecca Adlington and Mayor of London Boris Johnson join school children to help to launch the ‘Pools 4 Schools’ initiative at a temporary swimming pool on the South Bank

Boris Johnson and Rebecca Adlington at the swimming initiative

‘Pools 4 Schools’ was launched by Mr Johnson and Olympic double gold medallist Rebecca Adlington.

It is part of an initiative to get 10,000 children swimming in 12 months.

Although Mr Johnson cycled to the event, he is a strong supporter of swimming:

He said: “Swimming is the most wonderful form of exercise. You don’t need any particular strength or skill – even I can do it!

“It’s an ideal thing for a rainy August day because you get wet anyway!”

Mr Johnson said that he would be interested in a Thames-side beach each year, similar to those in Paris, Berlin and New York.

“I’m envious of them. It’s certainly something we’re looking at, but it’s expensive.”

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David Cameron’s years as an Oxford undergraduate will be the subject of a More 4 docudrama, the first dramatised depiction of the Tory leader.

The programme, which has the working title of When Boris Met Dave, will look at the student experiences of Cameron and his contemporary Boris Johnson, now the mayor of London, in the late 1980s.

Jonny Sweet, a comic actor featured in E4′s The Inbetweeners, will play Cameron, while Johnson will be portrayed by Christian Brassington, who has played a young Tony Blair.

The drama will bring to life the Oxford of the day, including the activities of the notorious Bullingon Club, a dining society to which Cameron and Johnson belonged.

While Cameron studied politics, philosophy and economics at Brasenose College, Johnson read classics at Balliol College.

Between them the two Old Etonians embody the revival of the Tory party, with Cameron seeking to build on Johnson’s electoral success in London last year with a general election victory in 2010.

However, there have been reports that they are rivals as much as colleagues, with a piece in last week’s New Statesman claiming relations between them had “reached breaking point” – although Johnson later dismissed this as “piffle”.

The new drama will go back two decades to examine the roots of this partnership. “We have talked to those who knew them at the time to document the roots of the two men at the forefront of the current recovery of the Tory party,” said director John Dower.

“Everyone has seen the famous Bullingdon Club picture, but this film goes behind the scenes to find out what Oxford was really like for David Cameron and Boris Johnson.”

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Although this is an old story by this date, we wanted to add it to our collection of stories about the London Mayor.

In June 2009, London Mayor Boris Johnson was wading through the shallows of the river while visiting an environmental project when he lost his footing and plunged into the water.

Volunteers, who he was helping remove litter from the River Pool in Lewisham, south east London, rushed to his aid and helped him to the bank.

The unexpected dip left only the bedraggled mayor’s pride slightly hurt.

However, moments later he laughed off the mishap with the quip: “The water was very refreshing and I thoroughly recommend it.”

Mr Johnson, 44, had donned waders and rubber gloves to join members of the Quaggy Waterways Action Group to clear litter and an invasive plant species from the river.

But shortly after posing for cameras, he stumbled into a deep hole in the river and collapsed into the water with a splash.

Clinging on to a bin liner filled with rubbish and struggling to get to his feet with the help of a pole, three community volunteers eventually hauled him to safety.

The picture opportunity was not wasted on the crowd of photographers, who burst into laughter as he slipped in.

Prior to the fall, Mr Johnson said: “Volunteering is good for individuals and great for London in tough economic times.

“By giving your time, whether a one-off few hours or a regular commitment, we can both help to make the capital a more civilised, pleasant place and reap the rewards of putting something back into the communities in which we live.”

You can watch the video here.

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Boris Johnson, the Mayor of London, will become the first politician to appear on EastEnders in the programme’s 24-year history.

Viewers will see the Mayor getting a scolding from the pub landlady Peggy Mitchell, played by Barbara Windsor, who spends a morning trying to track him down when he visits Walford, the fictional London borough.

However when Mr Johnson unexpectedly walks into the Queen Vic, his charm quickly wins her round.

Diederick Santer, the soap’s executive producer, said: “EastEnders does its best to reflect contemporary London, and we hope that meeting the Mayor will help us stay ahead with the latest London stories, policies and developments.”

Mr Johnson said: “EastEnders is a true London icon and I was delighted to highlight to its huge audience the part the mayoralty plays in the city’s rich tapestry. It was, of course, a tremendous honour to step inside that most venerable of London landmarks, the Queen Vic, and share a scene with another of the capital’s icons, the fabulous Barbara Windsor.”

The last person to star as themselves in a cameo role was Peter Purvis, the former Blue Peter presenter, who appeared in 1987 as a documentary maker.

Celebrities including David Walliams, the actor, and Gary Kemp, the singer from Spandau Ballet have also played characters in the award winning soap.

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Boris Johnson and his transport adviser were involved in a near miss while cycling in east London yesterday after a truck nearly dragged a car into the path of their bikes.

The mayor of London, a keen cycling enthusiast, was on one of his regular scouting expeditions around London looking for flagship cycle routes with his team when a lorry’s backdoor swung open and hooked into a parked car, according to Johnson’s spokesman.

Just minutes earlier, transport minister Lord Andrew Adonis was among those cycling with the mayor as they toured to see where best to place cycle Super Highways”, which are designated to make it easier and safer for cyclists to get around the capital.

The car was dragged along the street and was “catapulted” right in the middle of the cycling party, just behind Johnson.

Kulveer Ranger, Johnson’s director of transport, was left shaken after narrowly escaping being hit.

Peter Hendy, the commissioner for Transport for London, was also in the group. No one was hurt.

Johnson, who next week will launch London’s summer of cycling to promote two wheels as a “stylish and desirable way to travel”, said:

“I am relieved that no one was hurt, but this incident reinforces the need for us to make London’s roads safer for cyclists, which I am determined to do and to make London the best city for cyclists in Europe.”

The mayor said Super Highways would provide a “central role” by providing clearly demarcated routes for cyclists that “lorry drivers and others will be aware of”.

Johnson is investing most of the £111m earmarked for cycling this year into the new routes, coupled with funding his Velib-style bike hire scheme which is due to be put into place next year.

Boris Johnson is also an advocate for the London Black Taxi trade.

If cycling around London’s busy city streets doesn’t appeal to you, give us a call and book a nice, safe taxi instead.

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The Mayor launched the campaign on The London Eye, one of the capital’s most popular attractions, on the first day of British Tourism Week. The campaign is expected to deliver an additional £60 million worth of benefits to the whole London economy by the end of the year.

Funded by the London Development Agency, the global campaign will be called “Only in London” and focus on the unique and exceptional experiences, sights and attractions that make this city such a popular destination for visitors from all over the world. It will also encourage Londoners to enjoy the distinctive and rich diversity of their own city.

Mayor Boris Johnson said: “Only in London can you visit the historic Houses of Parliament in the morning, ride the London Eye in the afternoon, and see a wonderful West End Show before deciding which of the world’s cuisines to sample in its many restaurants.

“As well as the massive choice of things to do and see, our overseas visitors will find London even greater value for money today. They’ll see that their travel budget buys so much more in London and the only limit to their enjoyment will be not having enough hours in the day to fit it all in.”

Visit London’s Interim Chief Executive, Sally Chatterjee, said: “It’s a great way of reminding the world and ourselves of the sheer range and depth of attractions, events and history that make our wonderful city unique.”

To celebrate the campaign announcement, Visit London has also launched “Only in London 100” – one hundred examples of what makes the capital a unique place in the world to visit.

These include:
- Ride the world’s largest observation wheel, the London Eye.
- See the Rosetta Stone at the British Museum.
- Enjoy strawberries and cream at Wimbledon Centre Court.
- Drink at Europe’s longest champagne bar at St Pancras International
- Discover where Hugh Grant met Julia Roberts in the movie Notting Hill.
- Shop at the Queen’s grocer, Fortnum & Mason’s.
- Watch the 2009 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships at the 02 Arena.

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