Meeting Boris

UXBRIDGE, ENGLAND – MAY 08: Boris Johnson, Conservative candidate for Uxbridge celebrates on stage his win as he attends the count at Brunel University London on May 8, 2015 in Uxbridge, England. The United Kingdom has gone to the polls to vote for a new government in one of the most closely fought General Elections […]

Meeting Boris

As a new man in London, I thought what better way to make my arrival known than meeting the mayor.

Meeting Boris

UXBRIDGE, ENGLAND – MAY 08: Boris Johnson, Conservative candidate for Uxbridge celebrates on stage his win as he attends the count at Brunel University London on May 8, 2015 in Uxbridge, England. The United Kingdom has gone to the polls to vote for a new government in one of the most closely fought General Elections […]

Yes, I met none other than Boris Johnson himself. How on earth did you manage that, I hear you collectively yowl. My friend Carol had organised a photo op with Mr Johnson for a newspaper article on her candidacy as a potential Tory MP in Northern Ireland and kindly invited me along. She even went so far as to introduce me as her press officer at the Conservative HQ. The truth was I was just there to take the picture seeing as nobody else was currently in demand of my journalism skills.

The build-up

Famous for being a popular politician, his bicycles and untidy blond hair, I got quite excited about the prospect of meeting Boris. As a comic, I considered all my options including ruffling his hair, going for a high five, fist bump or, even better, a chest bump, perhaps banter about him being Boris the bullet dodger and I even looked up the lyrics to Boris the Spider by The Who – just in case it came up and there was some kind of an impromptu Boris quiz. Carol chuckled nervously when I revealed my plans, aptly named Plan B, and examined my face to see if I was having a laugh or if some kind of safe word needed to be negotiated.

The moment arrives

Boris arrived, hair pretty well maintained by Boris standards, although his tie was trying to escape the confines of his collar to make sure we all knew it was really him. If the Star Wars reboot has taught me anything it’s that politicians often have decoys or are Sith lords in disguise. But it really was Boris himself. He held out his hand and introduced himself and a bizarre thing happened, for the first time in my life I inexplicably responded by identifying myself in my very best British English as “Timothy”. I almost threw in “of House Hancox, first of his name” and maybe I should have!

Don’t believe me? Here’s proof:

Boris

Top Photo by Matt Cardy/Getty Images