On the fly

London Mayor Boris Johnson loves the camera but might be feeling a little jilted today. The lenses that follow him everywhere managed to catch Hizzoner dangling undignified from a fly wire that got stuck in mid-hoist.

Ground staff had to rescue the Mayor from his perch in his blue hard hat feebly waving a  Union Jack in each hand.

Johnson had been the first to try the zip wire to get to Victoria Park in Hackney to watch the rowing.

The mayor, reknown for his erudition, was heard shouting, "Get me a rope, get me a ladder," the Evening Standard reported.

He might have had a hand, though, in the statement released by his office:

 "The Mayor has survived his first zip-wire experience relatively unscathed. Clearly the judges will rightly be marking him down for artistic impression and it is unlikely he’ll be taking any gold medals home today. But he remains unbowed."