When the London Evening Standard‘s Homes & Property editors called on locals to respond with their tips for great places in Fitzrovia to enjoy, a number of attractive suggestions were made.
But the one suggestion made on Twitter which stood out head and shoulders above the rest was the recommendation put forward by the Fitzrovia Business Improvement District — The Fitzrovia Partnership.Â
These geographically-challenged clowns had many local people laughing out loud with their single suggestion:
“Central St Giles Courtyard’s a great place to eat a picnic & catch some afternoon sun. One of our favourite Fitzrovia spots!” they chirped.
Central St Giles is in a business improvement district, but it is not in Fitzrovia. It’s in, well… St Giles, and actually part of the equally maligned and despised neighbouring business improvement district — InMidtown.
Of course it’s easy to mock the Fitzrovia BID and their hopeless attempts at local knowledge. For the brains (we use it loosely) behind the Fitzrovia BID is a resident of Grantham in Lincolnshire called Gary Reeves. From Margaret Thatcher’s home town a long way from London he runs his BID consultancy and as well as being company secretary of the Fitzrovia BID he has also worked for nearby InMidtown BID. Easy to get the two mixed up, I suppose.
Luckily the Homes & Property print editor didn’t think St Giles was in Fitzrovia and so left it out, unlike their website editor who was happy to include it online.
https://twitter.com/EnjoyFitzrovia/status/410512299443892226
But the Fitzrovia Partnership has many fans. Giles Coren, columnist and restaurant critic, admired the Fitzrovia BID’s festive lighting on Tottenham Court Road and its “dripping spunk effect”.
https://twitter.com/gilescoren/status/410803878246879234