MEETING PEOPLE AND LEISURE ACTIVITIES

Coffee mornings and get-togethers – here are some places where things happen. Explore your local library and the community centres!

Coffee and chat in your local library: Several public libraries run coffee mornings for people who like to chat over coffee or tea and make new friends. Find out from your nearest library; ask for the monthly ‘What’s on’ booklet telling you about activities in all Haringey libraries. For example Muswell Hill Library has Senior Citizens’ Coffee mornings Fridays 10.30am to 12.00 noon, (Queens Avenue, London, N10 3PE. Tel. 0208 489 4560)

Hornsey Vale Community Centre, 60 Mayfield Road, N8 9LP: Has various lunches and coffee mornings for seniors. To find out what and when, phone 0208 348 4612

Chestnuts Community Centre, St Ann’s Road: Best to phone or visit to find out about their many meetups, wellbeing and craft activities. Phone 0208 4427659. E-mail admin@bridgerenewaltrust.org.uk. Website bridgerenewaltrust.org.uk/

Broadwater Farm Senior Citizens Club: “Seniors” sessions are designed especially for the over 50s and over 60s to help older people achieve a healthier lifestyle in a relaxed and social environment. Broadwater Farm Community Centre; 157 Gloucester Rd, N17 6JW. Tel. 0208 801 4115

Haringey Thinking Space: A social space for people who live in Tottenham to talk about local issues. Aimed at reducing social isolation and improving well being. Check what and when at Holy Trinity Church Hall, Philip Lane, N15 4GZ

Bruce Castle Museum – Reminiscence Café: Monthly reminiscence sessions for older people. Leaflets available at the museum. Check time and details first by phone to 0208 808 8772 (as dates sometimes change). Just come along, enjoy a cup of tea and share your memories.

Knitting and sewing: Several public libraries in Haringey have groups for people who like to chat over knitting, sewing and crochet. Find out from your nearest library which can supply the monthly ‘What’s on’ booklet telling you about activities in all Haringey libraries.

Book clubs: Most public libraries have book clubs where people discuss and read novels together. Find out from your nearest library, which can supply the monthly ‘What’s on’ booklet telling you about activities in all Haringey libraries. Book clubs are also run by U3A – see further on.

Film clubs: Haringey Over 50s Forum has a monthly cinema club at the Finsbury Park Picture House. You need to be on the contact list run by James Cowling to get news a few days in advance giving details of time, date and film to be shown. We only now when the cinema itself announces their programme. E-mail info@ho50s.org.uk to join the list, or leave a message (text best to avoid mistakes in names and numbers!) on our Forum phone number, 07915 477009.

The Lordship Hub: Lordship Recreation Ground (off Higham Road, Tottenham, N17 6NU; vehicle entrance off Adams Road, N17 6HE, or walk from Lordship Lane). Water colour painting classes are offered on a drop in basis every Monday at 11.30am (till 1.30) at the Community Centre in the Lordship Rec. Cost £8 per session includes paints and brushes. Find out more on 0208 885 5684 or e-mail info@tottenhamartclasses.co.uk . Lots of exercise activities (yoga, walks, etc.) at this centre too, and a weekly coffee morning for seniors on Thursdays from 11 am. Go there for a nice coffee and find out what else is on!

Caxton Road Hub: Caxton Road, N22. Various art and craft groups and lunches for older people. Tel. 0208 889 6938. E-mail office@tchub.org.uk

Winkfield Resource Centre: Winkfield Road, N22. A full range of activities and classes including Art, Craft, Painting & Drawing, Pottery, Mosaic and much more! Comfortable waiting and dining areas with internet access. Tel. 0208 489 8200. E-mail wrc@haringey.gov.uk. Website www.haringey.gov.uk/social-care-and-health/physical-disabilities-and-sensory-impairment/winkfield-resource-centre-services

SINGING

Tottenham Choir: meets at the Chestnuts Community Centre, St Ann’s Road. You don’t have to be an accomplished singer to join. Find out more on www.tottenhamcommunitychoir.org/contact.html or e-mail chair@tottenhamcommunitychoir.org

Songworks Choir: meets at the Union Church in Crouch End. You can choose a morning or an evening session. No previous singing experience is needed. Cost £10 per session. E-mail inquiries preferred to songworksn8@gmail.com. Or phone 07957 646465.

DANCING

Free salsa lessons for people 55+: The Sandbunker Community Centre, 87 The Sandlings, N22 6XS. Tel. 0208 826 0317. Also try Tottenham Green Leisure Centre at the junction of Philip Lane and Tottenham Hight Road (currently closed for building repairs April 2023). Or there are dance classes sometimes at the Hornsey Vale Community Centre, Mayfield Road, N8 – for contact details see above.

LEARNING ABOUT COMPUTERS (and MOBILES and TABLETS)

Coffee and Computers: free, informal help and digital support in 10 venues around Haringey. A volunteer led IT skills project for people who want to improve their confidence in computers, laptops or tablets, learn about Facebook, surfing the web or internet banking. One to one help for an hour or so over a coffee. Sessions are in various libraries and the Winkfield Resource Centre. You need to contact them directly to find out times and dates, and to book. See https://coffeecomputers.org/

CROUCH END UNIVERSITY of the THIRD AGE (U3A for short)

Haringey U3A aims to advance the education of the public and in particular the self-help education of retired and semi-retired people, people not in full time gainful employment, to improve well-being and social welfare. It provides facilities for leisure time recreational activities such as reading, writing, computers, travelling, walking, gardening, arts, music and socialising. There is an annual subscription of £35 per year.
University of the Third Age Crouch End group:- General meetings at the Union Church in Weston Park, usually 2nd Thursday morning of any month at 10.45. U3A Crouch End offers local groups for many different interests, including book clubs, history, art and gallery trips, jazz, walking, philosophy, gardening, learning languages etc. Subscription £35 per year – or £5 for anyone on pension credit, housing benefit, universal credit etc. Membership is open to anyone who isn’t working full time and there is actually no minimum age limit. Website cedu3a.org.uk/membership-2/. Membership Secretary, Ed Allen, 67 Palace Gates Road, N22 7BW

Lifelong learning: Directory of classes – Floodlight is the annual directory of all the classes for adults in Greater London. You can get it from a newsagent, consult it in a library or look at it on the Internet. For information about daytime and evening classes leading to qualifications, as well as courses for creative and leisure interests, please contact your local library (which keeps a comprehensive set of prospectuses).

KEEPING FIT – EXERCISE AND SPORT

Activities for Older People in Leisure Centres: Haringey’s leisure centres offer a variety of activities that are suitable for older people, both those who are already active and those who are just starting to do regular exercise.
Haringey residents over 65 can use the gym (and other limited facilities) at Park Road, Tottenham Green and Broadwater Farm centres for free on weekdays between 9am-5pm. These centres are managed by Fusion (more information on https://www.haringey.gov.uk/libraries-sport-and-leisure/sport-and-leisurehttps://www.haringey.gov.uk/libraries-sport-and-leisure/sport-and-leisure ) :-
– Broadwater Farm Community Centre (N17)
– Park Road Pools and Fitness Centre (N8)
– Tottenham Green Pools and Fitness Centre (N15)
– New River Sport and Fitness (N22)

EXERCISE CLASSES

Community Hub, Caxton Road, N22 6TB (formerly the ‘Asian Centre’); various exercise classes on offer suitiable for older people. Tel. 0208 889 6938. E-mail office@tchub.org.uk

Hornsey Vale Community Centre, 60 Mayfield Road, N8 9LP Seniors’ exercise sessions with specialist trainer. No experience necessary. Phone contact: Lesley 07967 089078

WALK YOUR WAY TO HEALTH – HEALTH WALKS PROGRAMME

A volunteer-led group walking programme supported by Haringey Council for all Haringey residents. All volunteers have been trained as Walk Leaders and hold appropriate insurance cover. The programme aims to encourage people, particularly those who are the least active, to do regular short walks (30 to 45 minutes) within their local community. The walks are sociable and fun. They are FREE and all abilities are catered for. Just turn up at the venue. Walks start on different days of the week from various meetup points including the areas of Alexandra Palace, Tottenham Marshes, Crouch End/Priory Park, Lordship Recreation Ground, Downhills Park and Tottenham High Road. For more information, contact the ‘Active for Life’ Team on 0208 885 7307 or see www.walkingforhealth.org.uk or walkfinder/haringey-walk-way

Lordship Recreation Ground and Lordship Hub/Community Centre: Lots of exercise sessions including pilates, Nordic walking and yoga. Go along and see what suits you. Or see their web page; https://lordshiphub.org.uk/whats-on/

Keep fit and yoga in libraries: Wood Green and Hornsey (Crouch End) libraries have various exercise and yoga classes. Ask in your library or consult the ‘What’s on in Haringey libraries’ brochure which you can get there or on the internet at www.haringey.gov.uk/libraries-sport-and-leisure/libraries/library-events

Chair yoga at Caxton Road: suitable for people with mobility issues. Community Hub, Caxton Road, N22 6TB (formerly known as the Asian Centre). Tel. 0208 880 6938

Chair exercise at The Hub, Lordship Recreation Ground: Tel. 07749 720273 for details about times and booking.

St Ann’s Library: 50+ Exercise Classes Get fit to music in a friendly group. Mondays or Tuesdays: 10 to 11am Chair based exercise; Thursdays: 11.15am to 12.15pm Cost £2.50 per session. For details phone 0208 489 2543.

HAVING A VOICE IN YOUR COMMUNITY

Haringey Over 50s Forum covers the whole borough. We hold a monthly speaker/discussion meeting and a monthly cinema club. There are occasional social, picnics and outings too. Membership is £8 per calendar year – see ‘membership’ page on this web site. Tel. 07915 477009 – requests for call back are best by text so that names and numbers are quite clear.. E-mail info@ho50s.org.uk

Hornsey Pensioners’ Action Group: The Hornsey Pensioners Action Group was started over twenty five years ago as the Highgate and Muswell Hill Pensioners Action Group. It is a non-party political organisation affiliated to the National Pensioners Convention and the Greater London Pensioners Association. It holds monthly social meetings and talks, usually at Hornsey Parish Church Hall, bottom of Cranley Gardens N10, from 1.30 to 3pm on the third Wednesday in every month. Tel. 0208 883 9571.E-mail janet.rmshapiro@gmail.com Website www.hornseypensionersactiongroup.org.uk/

Haringey Pensioners Action Group, Tottenham and Wood Green Branch: Represents older people in Haringey and surrounding Boroughs. Holds monthly meetings with a variety of speakers. There are 350 members, who can go on four day trips a year plus two four day holidays and 3 tea parties a year. There is also a Big Bingo session twice a year, and an annual Christmas dinner. Membership is £8 per year. Contact Cllr Sheila Peacock, sheila.peacock@haringey.gov.uk Tel. 0208 885 6193. Or just turn up at Broadwater Farm Community Centre the second Tuesday afternoon of the month.

Older People’s Reference Group: This is a small group set up to liaise with the Council and the NHS about older people’s services. It is often looking for new members. Contact via Public Voice, 0203 196 1900

VOLUNTEERING

Helping others is a good way to make friends and feel a purpose in life. Retired people are the mainstay of a huge number of community groups and services. In this section you can find contacts for some of the main entry points into volunteer work for organisations that do lots of different things.

Bridge Renewal Trust: Many volunteering opportunities can be arranged through the Bridge Renewal Trust, 256 St Ann’s Rd, West Green, London N15 5AZ. They run volunteering fairs from time to time where you can find out about different organisations. Tel. 0208 442 7640. E-mail admin@bridgerenewaltrust.org.uk.

Community gardening: The Meadow Orchard Project, next to the health centre in Priory Road, N8, has volunteers caring for a beautiful site with fruit trees, flowers, wild life areas and various interesting events. See www.meadoworchard.org/volunteering/ They are open most Saturdays from 12 to 4.

Living Under One Sun has a community vegetable and fruit growing area on the allotment site at the end of Millmead Road, N17. They also run training courses in gardening and beekeeping. See www.livingunderonesun.co.uk/get-involved/volunteer-with-us/ . Volunteer sessions are usually Thursdays 10.30 to 3.30 with a shared lunch. Tel. 07483 301123; E-mail allotment@livingunderonesun.co.uk

Wolves Lane Centre, the former council plant nursery in Wolves Lane, N22 5JD, is now run by a group of voluntary organisations for food growing mainly under glass. You can volunteer to help with food growing, or in the historic Palm House with its exotic hothouse plants, or care for flowers and shrubs in the outdoor parts of the site. Or help cook lunches for volunteers or serve teas to the public on Sundays. Or do little DIY tasks maintaining the buildings, making plant containers and repairing bikes. Come along at the public opening time, 12 to 4 on Sundays, or to one of the volunteer days, 11 to 4 on Tuesdays. The organic vegetable box scheme would like help packing veg on Wednesdays. More information on www.wolveslane.org or e-mail volunteer@wolveslane.org.