It took him two weeks, but Boris Johnson finally turned up in Woolwich this morning to press the flesh and see how the town centre is battling back after the riot. Unfortunately, he was gone by half-past ten, so I missed him. Shame, because I was hoping to find out what he plans to do to help reinvigorate SE18.

Extending the Royal Docks enterprise zone south of the river would be a start; moving Woolwich Arsenal station into zone 3 would also help. It’d also have been nice to see what he thought of the wall, but… ah well, it’s gone. The wall’s last contribution, added last night, survived the rain and is pictured above.

Still, those who saw Boris seem happy…

http://twitter.com/#!/LiLi_Smiles/status/105929425807351809

http://twitter.com/#!/drewlyddon/status/105926113557090304

See, VIP visits and their “media circuses” do cheer people up, despite what some might think. As for Greenwich Council leader Chris Roberts criticising people for “focusing on burnt-out buildings“, I wonder if he might get his own house in order and remove this burnt-out banner?

Incidentally, a few seconds after I took that photo a couple walked past The Great Harry, and saw the wall had been covered over. The woman turned to her partner, pointed at the freshly-painted wall, and yelled “why?”

PS. Boris wasn’t the first mayoral hopeful for next year’s election to visit Woolwich…

Thamesmead-based Femi Solola is hoping to stand in next May’s poll. I bumped into him on Sunday, before the wall was painted over, and grabbed a very quick chat with him. He’s certainly keen on the job…