​Today I joined the Coffee and Bingo session that runs every Wednesday, noon to 1pm at the Old Fire Station (cost £1). Those who know me were a bit surprised to see me there. So I explained that Antoinette, our Centre Manager, had asked all our staff and volunteers to sign up to at least one of our activities. That way we can better explain to newcomers what our activities are all about. It can be a bit daunting to visit somewhere new for the first time, and we try hard to make newcomers feel welcome and at ease.
 
I was one of 2 people joining for the first time, and we soon got the hang of how the session runs. Barbara did a great job of calling the numbers – not too fast, not too slow. The group was so friendly, with lots of giggles and banter, and rounds of applause for those who called “House”, or “Bingo” or “That’ll Do” (… you had to be there!). Friendships have formed through attending the group – asking after one of the members who had been visited in hospital and everyone enjoying the chat after the session ended.
 
And great prizes ... I left with a bag of flour and some washing up liquid. Not bad for £1.
 
Lucy, HNG Chief Executive

Yesterday 20 of our volunteers, and tutors, made their way to the Stress Project for the annual Christmas Party. 

The night featured food, drinks and a very warm atmosphere. Neil sung and played traditional songs, while James told a few stories. There was also a little juggling - next year there are rumours that someone will do the Highland fling! 
 
A big thank you goes out to everyone who made it happen – but a bigger thank you goes out to our volunteers who make the charity what it is.
 
You can find out about our volunteering opportunities here and here. ​

This Sunday, 10 of our Old Fire Station elders performed a series of dance routines at a Sadlers Wells Elixir Festival! Amazing, huh, but how did they get there?
 
For the last 8 weeks our elders have been rehearsing with choreographers provided to us by Sadlers Wells. The choreographers, Bret & Fred, are from the dance troupe ‘Old Men Grooving’ – who appeared on Britain’s Got Talent no less – and they worked with our group on dance routines to four songs; ‘Hit the Road Jack’, ‘My Girl’, ‘The Locomotion’ and ‘Feeling Hot, Hot, Hot’
 
Finally, after 8 weeks of hard work, trying to remember steps and sequences, who should be on your right and left remembering when to do your slow Cleopatra or your hand jive - and remembering to smile as though you do this sort of thing every day, our ladies stepped out onto a dimmed stage with Bret and Fred.  The lights came up, the distinctive beat and the first notes of 'Hit the Road Jack' thrummed up across the auditorium and 10 arms and hands pointed at Fred telling him to ‘hit the road’.

The audience started to cheer and from then onwards it was a party on stage with the audience clapping and singing along. By the end of the evening proud sons, daughters and grandchildren who had come to watch
had seen their older relatives in a new light - as dancing divas. We are looking forwards to getting the official video and holding a special screening to celebrate.
 
A huge thank you goes out to Sadlers Wells Theatre who provided the choreographers – and of course to Bret & Fred who worked incredibly well with the group. Hopefully they will be back again!
 
In the meantime you can stay active and dance with our Mixed Gentle Exercise to music every Wednesday morning from 10.30am to 11.30am.
 
Antoinette.  

On Sunday 16th June three HNG staff & volunteers took a group of 16 elders for an afternoon of opera at Tower of London. The show was called ‘The Victorian Vignettes’ and featured well-loved pieces from Gilbert & Sullivan and Marie Lloyd. As you can imagine the setting was wonderful and the weather played it is part.

Following the opera the group were given the opportunity to explore the rest of the tower, including the Crown Jewels! The trip was highly enjoyed and it was wonderful that one of our renters, Eritrean Community UK, added 4 of its elder service users to our group.
 
We’ll have more trips throughout the year, so please pop in and ask what’s coming up.
 
Chelsey 

Men are often an under-represented group in Community Centre services - they are also traditionally less likely than women to have strong support networks, and most importantly are less likely to ask for help. To provide a specific space for men and to create more opportunities to reduce their social isolation in Islington we launched a Men's Social Group in November 2017.

Since its launch, the Group has gone from strength to strength and is growing all the time. The facilitator, Sahir (a qualifed counsellor), does a fantastic job of involving all members in decisions about the Group - including what music gets played on the stereo and deciding locations for trips out.

The Group meets every Wednesday, from 3pm to 5pm. All men, aged 55 or over are very welcome!

It would be great to see you there.
Daniel

Today is Time to Talk Day – a very important day in our calendar, as it’s about having conversations about mental health. Mental health problems affect one in four of us, yet people are still afraid to talk about it. 
 
In recognition of this important topic, Holloway Neighbourhood Group, representing both the Old Fire Station & Stress Project, is today attending the Winter Wellbeing Festival @ Islington Town Hall.
 
At the event we are hosting a participative creative activity, which is a taster of our Art for Wellbeing classes.
 
It will be a creative icebreaker and will involve people choosing from a selection of photos and words and combining them in any way they want on paper. They can then add colour and we will photograph them holding the result (only the hands will be in the photo). We’ll then put a series of these photos together after the event to make a larger piece of work.
 
This will run alongside information for our other wellbeing activities such as exercise classes, counselling & mindfulness.
 
The event is open from 12noon to 3pm and it would be great to see you there.
 
For more information on our wellbeing services please visit;
www.hng.org.uk & www.stressproject.org.uk 
 

Issue 2 of our newsletter is out now.

The issue leads with the Old Fire Station's 30th anniversary celebration.

Click on the picture to read the full issue.

Last Monday I went with a few service users to a talk at Islington Town Hall. The talk was called, “What were black people doing in world war 1?”, which was organised by Every Voice and Black History Walks. 

The talk was very well informed and used interesting and educational slides and videos to deliver the information. The curator was especially engaging and answered many questions posed by the public.
 
The few service users who joined me really enjoyed the talk and after there were conversations about their own families experience in the military and also about their heritage in Africa. It prompted conversations that ‘friends’ had never had before and it was great to see people, who have known each other for quite some time, learn more about their shared history. 

​Chelsey 

On Monday 1st October, 11 services and I braved the suddenly cold weather and took a Canal Barge from City Road Dock to Little Venice – and back again.
 
The round trip look over 5 hours, even though it was cold the sun was shining, and it was fantastic to see part of the city from a completely different perspective. Little Venice itself was lovely and time was made for people to enjoy Rembrandt Gardens on shore.
 
Out of the 11 people, 9 had never been on a trip with HNG before and while on the trip service users who had never met before were organising meeting up outside of us – which was fantastic to see.
 
The trip was fully funded by Islington Community Chest – thank you!
 
Chelsey 

Just a short note to say that Holloway Neighbourhood Group's 'Annual Report 2018' was presented at the recent AGM. We've now posted it on the website. 

Click the picture to the right to be taken to the report. 

On Friday 3rd August, we had a day trip to the seaside - in Margate. At 9am sharp 48 service users and 4 staff & volunteers set off by coach to enjoy a hot sunny day on the beach. 
 
During the day people did some shopping, enjoyed the beach and had a fish and chip lunches. In the afternoon staff and volunteers escorted some service users to the Turner Gallery, which is on the sea front. It was a relief to be in the air conditioned buildings as well as enjoy the art on display!
 
On the journey back into London, the talk was around what everyone had been up to – including tales of paddling in the sea to cool off!
 
Overall, everyone seemed to enjoy this day out, making new friends and shared memories. For HNG staff, it’s always worth the hard work to hear the laughter and see the smiles of volunteers and service users. Most importantly everyone made it home safely
 
Thanks to some Lif funding we were able to offer the trip to over 55’s for £5, opening up the opportunity to attend to all budgets.
 
Chelsey

For the first time in our history we have a newsletter - or at least the first one for a long time! 

This first issue is focused on our volunteers - without whom we'd not be able create the environment and run the activities that we do.

Click here to read the full newsletter. 

On Monday 16th February a group of us ventured out into the cold weather to see the newly opened exhibition at the Museum of London - Votes For Women.
 
The exhibition was really well set out - with lots of interesting pieces from the Suffragettes struggle, including original medals and jewellery. We watched a few films containing footage of protests and even interviews with family members of the Suffragettes. We also had time to enjoy other parts of the museum, including the famous fat burg from London’s sewers!
 
In total 9 service users with 1 member of staff (me!) and 1 volunteer went along. It was a lovely day out and we enjoyed a nice lunch and chat together. Many of the attending service users had not met each other – and found out they had lots in common, which was great to see.  
 
Here’s to more trips out in the future. 

Chelsey

We want to make sure that the services offered by Holloway Neighbourhood Group meet local needs. People who use our services at the Old Fire Station and the Stress Project and people who live close to our Centres should have a greater say in how our services are planned and delivered. If you live in the streets around our centres, please help us by coming along to a friendly and informative session and help us to improve our services and make Holloway Neighbourhood Group more inclusive and engaging. 

A free delicious lunch is included!

Tuesday 13th February, noon - 2.00pm at the Old Fire Station. For more information please call 020 7607 9794 or email lucy@hng.org.uk. ​

Holloway Neighbourhood Group, who run the Old Fire Station, has been shortlisted for a grant of £34,950 for an innovative project that will support local unemployed residents who want to become self-employed  by providing training, mentoring and networking support.
 
The Finsbury Park area, where the service will be focused, has the highest rates of unemployment in Islington. If funded, the scheme will engage 75 local disadvantaged residents to develop the confidence, business and personal skills, and networks needed to launch a sustainable business.
 
The NatWest Skills and Opportunities Fund has shortlisted the project, and it is now in the hands of a public vote, which closes on Friday 10 November.
 
Casting your vote really is very quick and simple, and doesn’t involve registering or sharing your email address. So, please go to http://skillsandopportunitiesfund.natwest.com/vote/ and vote for Holloway Neighbourhood Group.
 
Please, also forward to your contacts to increase our chances of success.
 
Many thanks,
 
Lucy Bingham
HNG Chief Executive

Wednesday 22nd March 2017 6pm - 8pm

This evening is an opportunity to find out more about the activities taking place at our centre's. 

The theme for the Open Evening & Annual General Meeting this year is user involvement. To tie-in with this, local resident – Dr Lynne Friedli – will be speaking about community involvement and the benefits it brings to both individuals and neighbourhoods.
​
We will be offering free complementary therapies, provided by the Stress Project, and home-cooked food and refreshments.

It would be great to see as many people as possible!