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By Pat Tulloch It is the week before lockdown, I self-isolate as I have an underlying health condition that makes me vulnerable to Covid-19. At the Fitzrovia Centre we are in the business of creating social cohesion through bringing people together, it becomes clear we will be unable to maintain safety and forced to close. …
Continue reading "When this is all over we will have learned the real meaning of community"
A friend of mine passed me a copy of Architects Journal this week which has some interesting observations on life, and valuable insights into how schools and offices will operate when they re-open. The Architects Journal: Adaptation + Workplace, 21 May 2020. "Things architects obsess about are everyone's obsession now: public space, green space, learning …
Westminster council has issued a statement to quash rumours that other London boroughs had been housing rough sleepers in the City's empty hotels and expecting it to look after them and pick up the bill. It seems loose talk and incorrect facts were put about at a meeting in April between residents and councillors in …
A giant floral display in the colours and shape of a rainbow is on display outside University College Hospital, Euston Road, to say thanks and reassure the public that the NHS is open to all patients during the COVID-19 pandemic. Cheryl Lobo, UCLH cancer doctor, along with her colleagues Joanna Franks and Sohier Elneil, were …
It is no substitute for social distancing and washing your hands to stop the spread of Covid-19, but wearing a washable, cloth face mask when you go shopping or have to use public transport could help stop you spreading the virus if you don't know you have it. Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has now …
Continue reading "Should you wear a cloth face mask to protect others?"
The Fitzrovia Centre on Foley Street has announced it will help people wanting to set up mutual aid groups to match volunteers with those in need during the Covid-19 pandemic. Centre director, Pat Tulloch, wrote to their newsletter subscribers to say that "in response to the coronavirus pandemic a number of mutual aid groups have …
Continue reading "Community centre offers help to set up mutual aid group"
A soup kitchen feeding the homeless and hungry in central London has issued an urgent appeal for financial help after experiencing its busiest day ever where they struggled to serve a long queue of people while maintaining social distancing to stop the spread of the coronavirus. Alex Brown the director of the long running Soup …
A round of applause will take place tonight (Thursday 26 March) to give thanks to the NHS staff working tirelessly during the coronavirus pandemic. Organisers of "Clap for our Carers" are asking everyone to clap at 8pm from your front door, window, balcony, garden or wherever you are. The event follows similar rounds of applause …
Continue reading "Say thanks to NHS staff during coronavirus pandemic"
By A M Hanson Spring Rays, but for how long? Like many I sought the fresh air and solace in The Regent's Park over the weekend as the first sunny days of spring appear and herald new life. With my ever ready camera it was a chance to capture …
Playgrounds, community buildings and places of worship in Fitzrovia have closed to protect public health because of the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic. The closures came ahead of the government's announcement that all but essential workers must stay at home and follows the closure of schools, pubs, cafes and restaurants to stop people from spreading the virus.The …
The leaders of both local councils serving Fitzrovia have appealed for volunteers and have announced that many services they offer will need to change in response the the coronavirus Covid-19 pandemic. Cllr Rachael Robathan, leader, Westminster City Council, wrote to community organisations to say: "We have contingency plans in place to keep essential services running …
Members of the Communication Workers Union (CWU) will be holding a day of action outside Great Portland Street Crown Post Office on Monday 2 March to try to halt its privatisation. Earlier this month Post Office Ltd announced its plan to close the only remaining Crown Post Office serving Fitzrovia and one of the few …
Continue reading "Day of protest organised to save last crown post office serving Fitzrovia"
A group campaigning for an end to the harassment of pregnant people outside abortion clinics nationwide is gathering evidence in order to create a safe zone around a health centre in Whitfield Street, Fitzrovia. Many residents and workers in Fitzrovia would have noticed the sometimes large numbers of people holding a "vigil" opposite the Central …
Part of Tottenham Court Road was closed this evening after a police car struck a woman who was crossing the road. Camden police issued a statement saying that road closures are in place at the junction of Tottenham Court Road and Chenies Street after a police vehicle "collided with a 19 year old female pedestrian …
Continue reading "Woman hit by police car on Tottenham Court Road"
Camden's Bloomsbury ward councillors have a new venue to hold regular meetings with constituents. On the first Friday evening of every month, Councillors Sabrina Francis, Adam Harrison, or Rishi Madlani will now be available at The 52 Club at 52 Gower Street to meet residents. (They previously used The Fitzrovia Centre.) The 52 Club is …
Continue reading "New venue for Bloomsbury ward councillors’ surgery"
One of the last remaining crown post offices in the West End and the only one serving Fitzrovia is to close this year and be taken over by a private operator. "Great Portland Street Crown Post Office workers were given the bad news at a staff meeting this morning," said the Communication Workers Union. Seventeen …
Continue reading "Great Portland Street crown post office to close and pass into private hands"
A busy health clinic used by tens of thousands of local residents, workers and visitors to the West End every year will have to close unless changes to the way it operates can be made, say NHS managers. The Central London Clinical Commissioning Group are proposing to close the Walk In centre in Soho Square …
Continue reading "Busy Soho walk-in health centre under threat of closure"
A much loved black cat has gone missing and we are asking readers of Fitzrovia News if they have seen him. "He is very much loved and we miss him so very much," says Verity who contacted us. "He has been missing since 30 December from our flat on Cleveland Street, near the corner with …
Continue reading "Much loved cat goes missing on Cleveland Street. Have you seen him?"
The children’s nursery in Whitfield Street has opened again under new management after being closed for more than a year. The Fitzrovia Nursery, which has space for up to 24 full time children, opened with little fanfare in September and hopes to increase the number of children on its roll for the new term in …
Continue reading "Children’s nursery open again under new management"
The London Fire Brigade has issued a warning about the dangers of tumble drying and ignoring alarms after a fire partly gutted a Charlotte Place restaurant. Investigators believe the fire within the basement kitchen of the Lantana restaurant on Charlotte Place in Fitzrovia was started by self-heating within tea towels and aprons that had been …
Continue reading "London Fire Brigade issues warnings after blaze at Fitzrovia restaurant"
