LONDON, England - Boris Johnson cycles frequently and when you’re in his city, he wants you to do the same.  As the Mayor of London he’s introduced a hopeful plan aimed at making the streets of London more bike-friendly: Expanding biking lanes, creating a cycle hire program and raising awareness of cycle safety.

We equipped Greg Hall's bicycle with a flip-cam.

But when I ventured out to get reaction from pedestrians, couriers, bus and taxi drivers I discovered one major problem – they all battle each other vigorously on the narrow London roads.

Cyclists share lanes with double-decker buses, but say they’re frequently side-swiped. Black Cab taxi drivers say pedestrians don’t look where they’re going when crossing streets. And when I interviewed courier Greg Hill he described one harrowing road accident in which he was sent to the hospital with a back injury.

To get an up close view of what really happens on the road we equipped Greg’s bicycle with a flip-cam. It took him only ten minutes to ride out and come back with first-person footage of this road madness. This did nothing to improve my confidence to shoot a piece to camera while riding a bike – my helmet strapped on tightly.

Safety concerns are paramount with Boris Johnson’s transportation advisor, who we interviewed. Especially after he and the Mayor witnessed a truck smash into a car next to them – while they were on a cycling tour of possible biking routes!

What does it say about a city when the Mayor and his officials cannot safely take a bike tour? And what does it say about a city when a courier believes he is safer without his helmet because drivers are less aggressive with him?

It says London cannot be a true "Cycle City" until the bikers, drivers, and pedestrians get along, move along and do so without knocking each other out.

Watch my report on cycling in London

LONDON, England – This should have been it. The night Michael Jackson returned triumphantly to the stage in London for the opening night of an epic farewell residency and his first concerts in a decade.

Michael Jackson fans write messages to the star on a whiteboard erected outside the O2 Arena.

The tragic pop star may not have made it back to the O2 Arena, the scene of his final public appearance to announce the “This Is It” dates back in February, but plenty of his fans turned up all the same to mark the moment, celebrate their hero and seek solace and comfort in the company of their fellow devotees.

During his life, Jackson's fans were notorious for - and took a certain pride in - their cultish loyalty to the performer. Perhaps it is no surprise therefore that to some Jackson has now become a kind of quasi-religious figure: martyred, misunderstood and mercilessly hounded to his sudden, shocking death.

“To me, because this was where he did the press conference, it was almost like his final performance was here,” said Morganna Bramah. “His final public speech was in this area, so it's a very spiritual place for us to come and pay our respects to the man.”

The 29-year-old Bramah had just returned to London from Los Angeles where she had hoped to attend last week's official memorial to Jackson at the Staples Center. Tearfully, she said the past two weeks had been a “spiritual pilgrimage.”

“I felt like I needed to do it because he has given to us so much and it's the least we can do to show the world how much he was loved, how much he was respected and how much we are going to miss him.”

Gemma White and Terry Shaw, from Kent in southern England, admitted they were both “still in denial” about Jackson's death.

“You can't explain the feeling of seeing Michael Jackson in person, even if it was for one brief second of him walking out of a building,” said Shaw, also just back from Los Angeles. “We came down here for Michael. It was the last thing we could do for him. It had to be done.”

Among the crowds leaving flowers, memorabilia and messages at a makeshift shrine outside the venue were many fans who, with tickets, flights and hotels already booked, had decided to come to London anyway.

“It's like coming to a family reunion where you meet your long lost relatives,” said Jessica Prater, 28, of Harlem, New York. “I'm really feeling the love and I know Michael is here in spirit. I can feel it.”

Italian pair Martin Russo and Enrico Ardifo said they had decided to come at the last minute when they heard about plans for a London tribute via Facebook. “He had a special bond with his fans. Michael cared truly for his fans,” Ardifo said.

Holding a handmade banner saying, “You will never be forgotten,” Sophie Bradley, 25, said she came to say thank you to Jackson. “I've flown in from the Middle East but I had to be here,” she said.

A Jackson fan since she was eight, Bradley said she collapsed when she heard the news of the performer's death.

“He was a father figure and a role model,” she said. “To some fans, it's just about the songs - but to the real fans he was about so much more than the music.”

For the past two years, I have been involved in CNN’s coverage of Autism Month.

My own 14-year-old adopted son appeared in last year’s coverage as he and I talked about his struggles with autism and the strain on our family and on his ability to get a good education.

This year, I stepped back a bit to watch the story of an extraordinary young man and his relationship with a ‘Befriender’ programme.

Eleven-year-old Joel D’Angelo has Asperger's Syndrome, which is a higher functioning part of Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD).

His buddy in this story is Swedish-born flight attendant Andre Hellstrom. Andre joined the National Autistic Society’s befriender program in order to better the life of a child in London, England, for a few hours every month.

The goal is little more than getting Joel out of the house and that seems to have worked out great since they both share a passion for roller blading, airplanes and going to the movies.

Andre has now vowed to be part of Joel’s life until he moves into his own flat. That is a long-term commitment indeed.

The woman who introduced Joel and Andre, Rosie John-Baptiste, told me: “Autism affects people in a way that reduces their capacity to make friends, to experience socialization in a way that many people who don't have autism take for granted."

Rosie also has an autistic child and I could not agree with her more.

It’s an extremely difficult time when an autistic child goes through adolescence. They have to cope with becoming a teenager who sees the world differently from their peers. Interaction with large groups can therefore be very difficult.

And frankly, for many autistic teenagers, it’s easier and less stressful to sit in front of the computer all day than to confront the world outside the front door.

But I can see from my son's experience that he really thrives when he has one-to-once contact with an adult.

Sadly, however, when we met Joel in March, there were 300 children on the NAS waiting list in London.

John-Baptiste said, “We don't actively advertise the service because we are beyond capacity at the moment.”

That means at least 300 children who won’t have an Andre calling them on the phone to arrange fun plans.

LONDON, England - Torrential weather in London did not stop an outpouring of love from Michael Jackson fans attending memorials and visiting makeshift shrines across the capital Tuesday.

Fans gather at London's O2 arena to watch a live broadcast of Jackson's memorial.

Overlooked by the imposing dome at London's O2 Arena - the very spot where Jackson was to give his final 50 concerts this fall - several hundred fans watched a live broadcast of the star-studded memorial taking place in Los Angeles.

Twenty-one year-old "die-hard" fans Jenny Kemp and Miina Markkannen - who became good friends after meeting on a Jackson fan Web site - were obviously shaken as they spoke of their biggest idol. "I am still in denial. It really is like losing family," said Kemp, as rain splashed down on her Michael Jackson umbrella.

Both agreed that what they admired most in the pop star was his "gentle soul. He genuinely cared about other people."

Others at the event went as far as crediting Jackson with causing the thunder and lightning.

"Michael may have caused this weather because he is angry and wants to come back," said 22-year-old Jackson impersonator and life-long fan, Chris Doody.

Doody had bought three tickets to watch Jackson perform at the O2 Arena and said he would hold on to one "to remember this."

"His only weakness was his kindness," he added.

Standing beside Doody, fan Celeste Dixon said: "Michael IS the King of pop, not WAS. He is bigger than life and nothing will ever compare to him."

In central London crowds gathered outside the Lyric Theater, where flowers and notes written in numerous languages adorned the venues' outside wall. Lyric has has been showing "Thriller Live," a Jackson musical, since February 2009, and the audience for Tuesday's show had big hopes.

Jason and Claudia Li from Hong Kong had booked tickets for the show before the singer's passing and were very excited about the show: "It's very special to be here," said Claudia "and we hope the show's producers plan to make it even more special tonight."

A few meters down the road, more walls were filled with Jackson praise and love at another London theater hotspot, the Trocadero.

And in the usually frantic rush hour of London streets, cars with open windows calmly drove along to Jackson tunes like "Heal the World" and "You Are Not Alone."

HONG KONG, China - When Michael Jackson first announced he would be doing 10 shows in July – his “This Is It” concerts – in London starting on July 8, I thought the opportunity to see him live was too good to pass up.

In this photo provided by AEG/Concerts West, Jackson rehearses for the “This Is It” tour on May 6 in California.

OK, so he was 50 years old and maybe not at his prime - and suppose he cancels?

But I’d like to think I would have tried to see Elvis if he were giving what was billed as his “last concert” back in the 1970s. That wouldn’t have been possible for me, since I was three when the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll died.

So this was my chance to see the King of Pop.

I registered for the Michael Jackson presale in March, and when the sale window arrived a week later I tried to get four – then three – then two – then, OK, one, just one ticket – please!  I played a Michael Jackson CD hoping it could help my purchase sail through, given that my previous attempts had crashed because of the system overload.

As if trying to alleviate the frustration for many Michael Jackson fans, an email arrived from AEG with the subject line: “Michael Jackson Presale – Keep Trying!” And try I did until I got through with a single ticket for Sunday July 12, the third concert.

I was going!

My seat was Section BK 417, Row Q, Seat 850 at The O2.

I even bought a ticket to the “This is It! Michael Jackson: The Aftershow” party.

(Total cost, with service charges: 88 British pounds or US $145.)

By the next day, 40 shows had been added through next year, with special hospitality packages offered to include champagne and red carpet VIP check-in on arrival, DJ and entertainment, goody bag and souvenir tour laminate, parking and Thames Clipper tickets and pre-show and after-show parties.

In May, two months after purchasing the concert ticket and one week after buying my plane ticket from Hong Kong to London, I got a “Dear Customer” letter from Ticketmaster/AEG Live that the opening four shows, including July 12, were rescheduled. The first concert on July 8 would be bumped to July 13, while the others, including mine, were bumped to the end of his concert engagement – next March.

The reason given, along with apologies, was to “meet the challenges presented by such a large and technically complex concert.” The rescheduling coincided with rumors that week that Jackson was being treated for skin cancer.

Last Monday, I got another email from AEG Live, with the subject line, “Michael Jackson – Urgent Reminder,” that the July 12 concert has been rescheduled to March 3.

No email from AEG Live came on the day of his death three days later, however. That would not come until Saturday, with subject line, “Michael Jackson – The O2 – Cancellation Information (Please Do Not Reply).” It offered AEG’s condolences to Jackson’s family and friends and noted that full ticket refund information would be given soon.

My plane is still taking off this Friday. And I’m still going to be on it.

I haven’t gotten official information from AEG, but if it’s a choice between a refund or a commemorative ticket, I’ll take something tangible to remember Jackson by. I had wanted to see his last concert.

SEOUL, South Korea – “Never eat a hippopotamus,” said Boris Johnson the distinctive blond-haired Mayor of London at his opening gambit at a press conference in Seoul on Monday. In town for the C40 Cities Summit on Climate, he’d recently heard the Korean saying, believing it means never bite off more than you can chew, and thought it apt for London, faced with the Olympic Games in three years and cleaning up the city in the process.

Mayor of London Boris Johnson attends the C40 Cities Summit on Climate in Seoul, South Korea.

As a politician, Johnson is known for his charm, scruffy hair and occasional gaffs, qualities that divide many Londoners on his suitability for mayor, but make him one of the most recognized public faces in the UK.

He served up a few trademark “golly gosh” Boris-isms during press questions on London’s Olympic preparations and environmental plans: “Shall I shut up now?” he asked to the mostly local press as he realized his answers had to be translated; “Gosh, did I really say all that,” when it was; as well as asking what “bosquey glades” was in Korean.

Bashing on with his earlier metaphor to say that London is in the process of “eating the hippo” in its staging of the Olympics (“we’ve probably consumed about one leg of it”) he also stated his plans to make London the “cleanest, greenest city in the world.”

Bold aims, but as mayor of London his duties are municipal at home, but as much about good PR and promoting the city for investment and tourism when abroad.

As for his green policies, in the past he’s been criticized for not having a coherent environmental vision for London: his former Mayoral rival Susan Kramer called his policies “window box environmentalism” and Johnson has previously been something of an environmental skeptic.

But the practicalities of office have changed that and it was in building retrofitting that he said his big green hopes lie for the capital and the plan to reduce London’s CO2 emissions by 60 percent by 2025. So much so that he mentioned retrofitting six times during the short press conference.

Yet it was still hard for the eloquent politician and former journalist to add his usual enthusiasm to his big ticket green policy. “God, it is boring talking about retrofitting, people’s eyes glaze over” he admitted later to CNN, but recovered with a ready line: “No more lagging in lagging, we must be leaders in lagging.”

Electric vehicles were another big area for the Mayor’s greening plans and the Olympics was a means to drive that, turning the city’s municipal vehicles electric and creating more low-carbon public transport. 

He touched on a number of other green ideas, that were maybe just that rather than fixed policies – training and creating building retrofitting jobs, manufacturing electric batteries, building a network of cycle lanes, planting 15,000 trees in the capital, unearthing covered rivers in London as they have in Seoul.

He admitted that poor air quality in the capital was caused by vehicle emissions, but dismissed the role of the London Congestion Charge in cleaning up the London air, calling it “infinitesimally trivial” in comparison with introducing low carbon vehicles. Last year Johnson scrapped plans to extend the area of London where congestion charging was in place.

How would he tell if his term in office had been a success in terms of making London greener?

“I would he happy if the bike hire scheme has been a success, if the cycle highways have gone well, we’ve been able to plant our 15,000 trees; I’ll be happy if we’ve defeated plans for a third runway at Heathrow, which I think we will and winning on the big ticket items which is retrofitting, changing the way we think about buildings.”

He was able to call on some statistics (so popular with the Korean press, who asked where London ranked in terms of air quality among other things) to back up his plans as well as others for entertainment: “London’s a wonderful city where it doesn’t rain 94 percent of the time.”

By turns looking serious, attentive and slightly distracted during translated answers, he looked aghast at one claim that public transport was too expensive. He replied that transport in London is good value before continuing to do his bit for the London tourist board saying how London is now ten percent cheaper for South Koreans thanks to recent devaluation.

The Games open in the summer of 2012, when Johnson’s first term as mayor would be over. Was he planning on attending as mayor? “If things are going well, I’d be crazy not to run again. At the moment I’m very happy the way some things are going. I’m doing a job that is very demanding and gluts the appetite for power” he said downplaying the continuing speculation that he has designs on the conservative party leadership and one day Prime Minister.

As for the C40 Cities conference that was set up by Johnson’s predecessor in 2005, Johnson was looking for “more than warm words and hot air” as “the problems of the planet are urban problems.”

Press duties over on his whirlwind tour of the city, there was time for a quick chat with one of his policy advisors on his speech at a business lunch. Apparently he’d slightly fluffed the Hippopotamus saying, so that was going to be off the menu.

I kept hearing from public figures that they had plans in place for a flu pandemic, but I wanted to see for myself.

I contacted Westminster City Council, which has legal responsibility for emergency planning in central London, and asked what they could show me.

They invited me into their Emergency Control Center which is housed in a rather non-descript public building – the exact location of which I cannot reveal.

I was directed to the back entrance via the trash cans. I was taken up in a lift, past a bank of security cameras and into windowless room that looked a bit like a computer training center.

I waited there until I was asked what I would like to do. Then I realised this WAS the Emergency Control Center. OK.

My guide was the John Barradell, the council's deputy chief executive who is also a former senior police officer and one of the country's most experienced people when it comes to emergency planning.

He explained that planning for a crisis is not nearly as exciting as we are led to believe.

It was also made clear to me that everything you needed to run London in a crisis was in this room, and you could do it all from just one of these computer terminals.

I was shown a list of folders on a monitor which gives you access to every system used to run the capital.

You could tap into the hospital network, the police, social services – health and safety.

If you made a decision in this room you could make it happen on the ground at the click of a mouse.

The control room was located next to the office for Street Services, and that is no accident.

The systems that control parking for example would be crucial in a pandemic.

The parking team have people on the ground throughout the capital in the form of traffic wardens.

They also have one of the world’s most extensive networks of street cameras at their disposal.

If there was a flu pandemic, Street Services becomes the eyes and the ears for emergency co-ordinators in one of the busiest and biggest cities in Europe.

It was a fascinating insight into the preparedness of London for a possible pandemic. The systems are all in place, but not quite in the form you would expect to see in a Hollywood movie.

LONDON, England - It started out as a regular day in the office.

One of the raiders can be seen clutching stolen watches as the gang makes its getaway.

Isn't that how all good tales start?

After an early start I was all ready to shoot that final piece.

Location: Oxford Street, about 10 in the morning.

But we were thwarted, first by my inability to get my words out right, then by builders drilling, then by bikes revving a la speedway track.

And as I glanced over my shoulder in frustration, the noisemakers were clearly visible: two people on bikes making as much noise as possible with a crowd of spectators gathered around. Dressed all in black with helmets and balaclavas, they looked - to the denizens of Oxford Street - as if they were on a film shoot. To complete that illusion, we gave the bikers the compliment of keeping our camera rolling. In fact, the scene was rather more entertaining than my piece.

In the space of a few minutes, the two loud bikers acquired two similarly dressed passengers, waving what quite clearly seemed to be a handful of shiny watches. A few more revs for effect, V signs and then they left noisily.

The result: Ah, a smashed jeweler's window, a very large sledge hammer that lay abandoned and a lot of spectators rather the wiser. Oh, and plenty of pictures gathered on mobile phones to entertain friends and family later.

This was not a film. It was real, and it was just another day on Oxford Street.

Watch how my story about a new book release turned into something more.

I have to say, I thought it would be a lot harder to find a modern-day practicing witch in London.

But all it took was a google search, a phone call and a 5 minute walk from the office to find Christina Oakley Harrington. She is a practicing Wiccan – a believer in pagan rituals and modern witchcraft.

Her bookstore, Treadwell's, is a warm and homey place tucked into a small street in London's Covent Carden. There are little vials and packets of herbs, multi-colored candles and the odd 19th century mixing bowl and engraved Celtic sword. And lots and lots of books. Spellbooks, Grimoires, tomes on Jewish Mysticism, the Occult, Alchemy, you name it.

My cameraman thumbs through a book of voodoo and finds a step-by-step guide to silencing that annoying guy on the bus who thinks the whole world wants to hear his phone conversation. Pins in a wax doll's ears will do it, apparently.

It turns out Christina is a really nice witch. She happily agrees to an interview and tolerates my faltering questions about what a Wiccan does exactly.

Answer: Folkloric nature worship and the occasional mixing of herbs and casting of spells – for good causes only, of course. And she doesn't seem the least bit offended when I ask if she can twitch her nose like Samantha on Bewitched.

Since she's also an academic expert in medieval witchcraft, we talk about a new petition submitted to the British Ministry of Justice demanding a pardon for the hundreds killed for practicing witchcraft between the 16th and 18th centuries. An estimated 40,000 witches were executed across Europe.

What makes the petition puzzling is that it's being submitted by Angel's Fancy Dress Shop in downtown London. Angel's claims to be the largest costumer in the world and has an Oscar statuette for extra credit. It sells about 9,000 witch costumes a year.

But this Halloween, Angel,s has decided to rehabilitate the image of the witch at www.pardonthewitches.com.

They are urging customers to sign the petition and demand a royal pardon for accused witches.

Outside the Angel's Fancy Dress shop there are about 100 people queuing to get inside and buy costumes. Which I find astonishing in itself. But nobody seems to have an idea about medieval witches. Nobody cares, either. They just want to get a funny, frightening, sexy outfit to go out and party with this Friday Halloween night.

Fair enough.

We called the Ministry of Justice. But they didn't seem impressed. "We don't comment on individual cases," was the stiff reply from the press office.

"Frankly, I don't think a petition brought to the government by a fancy dress shop on Halloween stands any chance of being accepted," says Harrington.

Hmm. Publicity stunt, maybe? Not even a little magical spell casting is likely to get this petition approved.

The up side is I have now made the acquaintance of a really lovely witch and learned a little about pagan religions. And I've got a handy Voodoo guide for dealing with the next editor who assigns me a story like this on Halloween.

LONDON, England – I upset Paris Hilton last night. I didn't mean to. I just wanted to take things a little further.

Let me explain.

Can we go to the next question?

Paris was in London promoting her latest fragrance Can Can. After thrilling a crowd of screaming fans during an appearance at Selfridges department store, she spent time talking to journalists. CNN was her last appointment for the day.

It started well. We talked scents. Why she likes them. Why she likes putting her name to them. Can Can is her fifth.

"All my fragrances definitely reflect my personality," she said.

We talked about her growing business empire (shoes, clothing, hair extensions etc.) and the power of the Paris Hilton brand. Why is it so successful?

"Everything in my line just completely represents who I am."

And we talked about fame.

"I don't really think about it because this is just my life. So it's something that I'm used to."

All pretty fluffy stuff. Interesting to some. But not the stuff of a CNN news story.

I tried to take things a little further.

Late last year Paris' grandfather Barron, the man who built the Hilton Hotel chain, announced he would be donating most of his $2.3 billion dollar fortune to charity. The reporting at the time focused on what that would mean to Paris Hilton's inheritance.

From her earliest days as a celebrity she was described as the "Hilton Hotel heiress." And she has continued that branding. Her autobiography is titled "Confessions of an Heiress." One of her fragrances is called Heiress. Her own music label is Heiress Records.

Paris Hilton has not commented publicly on her grandfather's philanthropy.

So I said: "As an heiress, it looks as if you stand to perhaps inherit a little less than the rest of the world expected you to. Did your grandfather's decision take you by surprise there with that announcement that he made?"

As I spoke, her expression remained unchanged. But her eyes said so much more. She didn't like where I was going. When I ended my question she hesitated for a moment. Then suddenly her trademark baby voice was replaced by a much harsher tone. "Can we go to the next question?"

I moved on. But the interview never recovered. I asked about life one year after doing time for driving offenses.

"Well I've definitely grown up a lot. And I'm just focusing on my business and my relationship. And I've never been happier. My life is amazing."

I pressed her to be more specific on how it had changed her. Clearly irritated, Paris Hilton took off her microphone and said she'd be right back.

While she was out of the room her manager and I had a robust conversation. Team Hilton was not happy with me.

It's really just one example of a common journalistic conflict. Celebrities and their advisers have their own reasons for seeking publicity, like selling perfume. But journalists are paid to dig deeper.

We knew she was promoting a product. They knew we wanted to talk about other things as well. The only agreed terms were no questions about videos or love life. No problem. We weren't interested in either. But that understanding was not enough to prevent the dispute.

Paris eventually returned and the interview resumed on the condition it wrapped up quickly with no more serious questions. She was composed as she dealt with two soft ones. And polite as we shook hands and said goodbye.

Among the questions I'd hoped to ask her was this: "In world of horrific wars and natural disasters, do you believe Paris Hilton's life is taken too seriously?"

Watch the interview here