Well I have to agree there too!!
It's not just London that has to deal with this though. All units that deal with light aircraft have to put up with this don't you think?
I have a friend who goes to France a lot and insits on giving an estimate for the IFR boundary??????????????? when giving a position report she usually gets the town name correct.. But north south east west? she has a 1 in 4 chance of getting it correct!
her problem.. she pushes the tit makes the straightforward part of her call...THEN reaches the complex bit and has no idea what to say!!
the solution? make it part off the biennual revalidation process in the PPL.. get the examiner to do a mini exam before they sign the paperwork,