Happy New Year and welcome to our first newsletter for 2026.
The weather may be cold but you will always find a warm welcome at Hornsey Vale.
In this newsletter we round up 2025, share important updates from our AGM and look ahead to what’s happening in the first part of 2026.
Goodbye 2025
2025 ended with some wonderful events including a delicious Christmas lunch for nearly 80 people which was cooked by Clare, our wonderful professional chef. We hold our very popular lunch club once a month, we’d love to see you there. For details and how to book, please visit Lunch Club – Hornsey Vale Community Centre.
Our first Christmas Crafting Day event on 30th December was a great success. The centre welcomed scores of local children and grown ups for a fun Sunday afternoon making Christmas cards and decorations from donated and recycled materials, and with help from our talented volunteers.
Out heartfelt thanks to all the volunteers and attendees who made it a truly magical day.
We are also happy to announce that the final stage of our project to improve the acoustics in both the Main and Small halls is now complete. The improved sound means events like the lunch club and craft fair are more inclusive, especially to those hard of hearing. Thank you to all who donated to our fundraiser.
Coming up in Spring 2026
Our PreLoved Clothes Sale will be on 28th February. Come and sell your good-quality used adult and children’s clothes, hats, shoes and bags!
Nothing to sell? – Join us on the day to grab a bargain, learn a new skill and have a glass of bubbly. We are partnering with Traid, who will be there with skilled needleworkers to show you how to make, upcycle and mend clothes. Local hair stylist Fiona will be on hand to help you try a new look, and we will have a café serving homemade cakes, hot drinks and prosecco.
To book a table for the Preloved Clothes Sale or to get involved with the event, please contact Laura on 0208 348 4612 or info@hornseyvale.org.
Starting in March, Ageing Well with Hornsey Vale will be having drop-in tai chi and acupuncture sessions with Sam Ma which you can read about on this page. Don’t miss the Ageing Well gong sound bath which will relax and revitalise you with deep vibrations and sounds. This will be on the third Wednesday of each month, starting from 21st January. These activities are open for all local over 50s and are by donation.
You can find out more about the gong sound bath on this page.
You can find out more about the Lunch Club, Parkinson’s Move and Mix, Soup Café, Nordic Walking, chair yoga, Candy’s Dancing Stars and other regular activities on the Ageing Well with Hornsey Vale page.
The Youth Club will continue on Saturday evenings. The club has been attracting young people between 11 and 19 with its mix of sports, board games, crafting, cooking and other activities. For more information, please look at the Youth Club page or contact Debra Mendes (debra.mendes@hornseyvale.org) or Chalene Scott (chalenescott@hotmail.com).
You can browse our full timetable here: What’s on at Hornsey Vale Community Centre
Centre News
At the end of May 2025 we said goodbye to Centre Manager Emma Watson who, due to personal circumstances, has returned to Australia after more than five happy years at Hornsey Vale.
Our new Centre Manager is Laura McCarthy-South, who’s been promoted from Centre Assistant. Laura now works five days a week. You can learn more about Laura here.
We also welcomed our new part-time Centre Assistant, Sara Marinoni (pictured) in August 2025.
Sara will be working with Laura in the office 3 days a week. When not working at the centre, Sara is studying a part time degree in Design and innovation with the Open University. Her experience with marketing and social media will be a valuable addition to the Hornsey Vale team. Great to have you aboard Sara!
HVCA held its AGM towards in November, with trustees, staff, hirers and members of the community in attendance. A report can be found here.
In November 2025 Lynne Brackley and Diarmid O’Sullivan joined the Board as Trustees. Tilly Williams and Duncan Kerr stepped down. The Board would like to extend its gratitude to both Duncan and Tilly for their many years of dedicated service to Hornsey Vale and its community. We look forward to welcoming them back to the Centre as users or volunteers.
In 2026 the Trustees will continue to focus on providing free, low-cost and charitable services at Hornsey Vale. In particular, they will be looking to better establish the Youth Club and explore intergenerational projects and family-focussed activities.
Hornsey Vale has space on the management committee for new Trustees, or if you are interested in joining one of our sub-committees (volunteer, maintenance, fundraising and events), please contact Laura at info@hornseyvale.org for more details.
We are also looking for more volunteers with a hobby or expertise which they could draw on to run events and activities, for example sewing, singing or languages. We offer Tempo time credits for volunteering. For details, please see the Volunteering page.
Browse our newsletter archive
We have uploaded (much of!) our newsletter archive to our website: click through to browse.
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Booking our spaces
We partner with booking platform Sharesy to make the room booking process simple and smooth. Visit the Sharesy site to find out more about our spaces, prices and availability.
© 2026 Hornsey Vale Community Association. All rights reserved.
Hornsey Vale Community Association is a registered charity (1011127) and is a company limited by guarantee (02629468).
Our address is 60 Mayfield Rd, London N8 9LP. Tel: 020 8348 4612
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