September 2021
Hello everyone, I hope you’ve all had some nice times over summer – we had mixed weather but at least we had the freedom to choose to meet people more, while of course remaining safe.
While we decided against one large BBQ, some of our larger schemes were able to host some barbecues. Margaret Hill House had an event and Palm Tree Court hosted a similar BBQ for both its own tenants and those of Sheba Court. You’ll be able to read more about these events inside. And it’s great that our other schemes and street properties are also planning events in the next month or two.
Plus we’re re-opening our café at Abyssinia Court, where anyone can come along and
Getting back together again
Tenants at the Margaret Hill House BBQ
enjoy company, a bite to eat and numerous fun and stimulating activities.
Hopefully this winter things will stay safe so we can have our Christmas get-together, but failing that we’ll look at perhaps having some smaller scheme events. The key factor will as always be focussed on doing our best to help keep you all safe.
Elsewhere, we’ve had a couple of personnel changes here as two of our colleagues,
Housing Officer Simon Bryant and Universal Credit and Benefit Specialist Trevor Small, have now moved on. Simon has been replaced by our latest recruit, Jonathan West. I’d like to welcome Jonathan to HHT and I know he’s looking forward to meeting our tenants.
Lastly – but obviously by no means least – I’m very sad to report that two of our long- term tenants at Abyssinia Court, Bridget Davies and Margaret Augustin, passed away recently – you can read more about them inside. Our sincerest condolences to their families and friends.
Best wishes, Newsletter for the tenants of
Hornsey Housing Trust
Margaret Hill House BBQ
In August tenants gathered in the garden at Margaret Hill House to eat BBQ food, salad and ice cream and enjoy good company.
They were entertained by musician Ruth Smith who played various well-known numbers on the saxophone. Ruth said “It was a really
lovely event”.
There was also a raffle conducted as ever by HHT’s Barbara Moore.
Later in the day rain made us have to come inside but it was a great opportunity for everyone to mix and many tenants enjoyed their
afternoon, including raffle winner Mrs Dada, who said “The party was very lovely…the party was really nice…happy I won raffle
prize, it was a very nice gift, never won raffle prize before…”
Other tenants said: “It was lovely, I had a chat with new people. Lovely idea. We were lucky with the weather!”
“You all did so well, it was amazing. I had a really nice time.”
“It was great. Thanks a million!”
by Maria Reyes
Support Service Officer, Margaret Hill House
Saxophonist Ruth Smith entertained everyone with a variety of tunes
‘The Three Phils’ – (left-to-right) Philip Northmore, HHT’s Phil Johnson and Phil Dart
A tenant has a henna tattoo Mrs Dada receives her raffle prize from
HHT’s Barbara Moore
BBQ at Palm Tree Court
By Toyin Balogun,
Support Service Officer, Palm Tree Court, Sheba Court and Outreach
Barbara Moore conducting the raffle
Mrs Mills-Barnor made us some lovely cakes
In August, tenants at Palm Tree Court were joined by tenants from Sheba Court to sit in the garden and catch up over a bite to eat.
The weather was nice and warm – a nice day for a BBQ!
We had 12 tenants present along with four carers and families from Palm Tree Court and two tenants from Sheba Court.
Ms Mills‐Barnor of Palm Tree Court baked us some lovely and tasty cakes and Mrs Hughes from Sheba Court cooked us some tasty fish.
We also had a raffle.
Raffle winner Mrs Webbe Raffle winner Mr Newell Mrs Peprah won the main raffle prize
Russel Markham
Looking west from the top of the Alexandra Palace at sunset Sunset looking north, a new warmer weather front
comes over Alexandra Palace from north to south Looking NW from priory park at dusk as the last bird leaves the park
North Star at twilight looking north
Evening light
In the last Link we asked you for photos, Priory Road tenant Russell Markham sent us these really atmospheric evening shots from Priory Park and Alexandra Palace.
If you’ve any photos you’d like us to publish, send them to us (a size of
Between 1 and 5MB is a good size) along with your name and where the photo was taken to [email protected] with the subject heading of ‘Photo for Link’.
Due to privacy reasons, we cannot accept photos with any identifiable people or of individual homes.
Please note that sending a photo gives us consent to using your photo in our future publications.
Now that people can get out and about and mix again, I am happy to let you all know that we’re able to reopen our regular café
at Abyssinia Court. The café is open to any HHT tenant, their family or carers who wishes to come, as well as people from the community, to mix in a friendly atmosphere and get us all socialising again! Those living with dementia will continue to be very welcome.
The café re-opened on
Wednesday 22 September. It will be
closed on 29 September but from Wednesday 6 October it will be open every week.
From 1pm to 2pm we will have a lunch of sandwiches, fruit and cake.
This will be followed by activities from 2pm to 3pm, such as board games, word
search, quizzes, guessing games, singing, drawing, painting and
other activities. On 29th September there won’t
be a café, after that it will be regularly on a
Wednesday.
We know how much so many people loved our café before the pandemic so we’re really looking to welcoming as many of you as possible to come and have something to eat, talk to neighbours and meet new people, plus stretch your mind and body a bit!
I look forward to seeing you there on 22 September, or any week from 6 October.
Our café re-opens!
by Indje Shahin
Support Service Officer for Abyssinia Court and Olive Tree House
Further scheme lunches for tenants of Abyssinia Court and Olive Tree House
Following on from the events at Margaret Hill House and Palm Tree/Sheba Court, tenants at Abyssinia Court and Olive Tree House tenants will be having some special events in October. Olive Tree House is having a Turkish Pizza (Lahmacun) lunch on 5 October and Abyssinia Court will be
having a fish and chip lunch on
7 October. Any tenants living at either of those schemes can contact me about attending these.
If you want to ask Indje about any of these events please call Indje Shahin on 07483 036 941.
Puzzles
Animals wordsearch
See if you can find all the words in this animal-related wordsearch
AARDVARK BEAR CROCODILE DEER
IGUANA KANGAROO LIONRHINOCEROS
TIGER WOLF
Animals
E L I D O C O R C R S A S G A P U D R H T H A I Z D D E O I
I O O R A G N A K N G D M E D R X M N O E E C S F V R G O C R E S L J P A N I E R R O J G Q E R L R E W U O J R B O K O S A N A U G I A P S AARDVARK
BEAR CROCODILE DEER IGUANA
KANGAROO LION
RHINOCEROS TIGER
Word Ladder
WOLFMove from the word at the top of the ladder to the word at the bottom of the ladder by changing one letter on each step of the ladder. Do not rearrange the order of the letters. There may be more than one way of doing this.
Wordwheel
Find as many words as you can of three-or- more letters in the wheel. Every word must contain the centre letter. Can you find the word that uses all nine letters?
ROAD
TEST
D E D I A D T
E C
1 Plan of action; plot (6) 7 Height (8)
8 Unhappy (3) 9 Buyer and seller (6) 10 Metal fastener (4) 11 Medium of
exchange (5) 13 In addition to (7) 15 Guest (7) 17 Once more (5) 21 Facial blemish (4) 22 As compared to (6) 23 How (anag) (3) 24 Plot outline for
a play (8)
1 Solar ___ : the sun and everything that orbits it (6)
2 Concealed from view (6) 3 Ahead of time (5) 4 Beginner (7) 5 Rank or status (8) 6 Tips and instruction (6) 12 Living (8)
14 Change the form of something (7) 16 Effect; force (6) 18 Reply (6) 19 No one (6)
20 Factual evidence (5)
1 2 3 4 5 6
7 8
9 10
11 12 13
14
15 16 17 18 19
20
21 22
23 24
25
Across
1 - Plan of action; plot (6) 7 - Height (8) 8 - Unhappy (3) 9 - Buyer and seller (6) 10 - Metal fastener (4) 11 - Medium of exchange (5) 13 - In addition to (7) 15 - Guest (7) 17 - Once more (5) 21 - Facial blemish (4) 22 - As compared to (6) 23 - How (anag) (3) 24 - Plot outline for a play (8) 25 - Justly (6)
Down1 - Solar ___ : the sun and everything that orbits it (6) 2 - Concealed from view (6)
3 - Ahead of time (5) 4 - Beginner (7) 5 - Rank or status (8) 6 - Tips and instruction (6) 12 - Living (8)
14 - Change the form of something (7) 16 - Effect; force (6)
18 - Reply (6) 19 - No one (6) 20 - Factual evidence (5)
Crossword
Across Down
Sudoku
8 3 7 1 2
2 9 7 4
6 9
2 9 3
3 5 2 8
6 7 2
1 6
4 2 7 1
5 3 2 6 8
Portrait of
Margaret Augustin with flowers
S C H E M E S S A Y I A L T I T U D E
S A D R A A V
T D E A L E R N A I L
E E Y T D C
M O N E Y B E S I D E S
X C R N
V I S I T O R A G A I N
M S N P N O
S P O T V E R S U S B
A I E O W H O
S C E N A R I O E D T G T F A I R L Y
ROAD READ BEAD BEAT BEST TEST
E L I D O C O R C R S A S G A P U D R H T H A I Z D D E O I
I O O R A G N A K N G D M E D R X M N O E E C S F V R G O C R E S L J P A N I E R R O J G Q E R L R E W U O J R B O K O S A N A U G I A P S
9 8 4 3 5 7 1 6 2 2 3 5 1 6 9 8 7 4 6 1 7 4 2 8 3 5 9 7 4 2 8 9 3 6 1 5 3 6 1 5 4 2 7 9 8 8 5 9 6 7 1 2 4 3 1 7 8 9 3 4 5 2 6 4 2 6 7 8 5 9 3 1 5 9 3 2 1 6 4 8 7
Words that can be made from the wheel include: ace, acid, act, acted, addict, addicted, cad, caddie, caddied, cadet, cat, cede, ceded, cite, cited, dace, decade, deceit, decide, decided, dedicate, dedicated, dice, diced, edict, ice, iced, tic
Target: 15 Good: 21 Excellent: 25 Solutions to the puzzles on page 8
After reporting in the last Link on saying goodbye to Mrs Lewis and Mr Petrou from Margaret Hill House, we were sorry to say farewell to two tenants from Abyssinia Court during August.
Margaret Augustin was one of our long- standing tenants at Abyssinia Court and will be greatly missed by many. She had a love for art and had a great collection of clocks.
Margaret also enjoyed doing Charity work.
Barbara Moore, Housing Support Coodinator, reflects on the passing away of two Abyssinia Court tenants
Farewell to two valued friends
We also said farewell to Bridget Davies, another long-standing tenant at Abyssinia Court. She will be also greatly missed.
Bridget joined us in most of the activities we organised, including the dementia café, exercise sessions and she loved to sing.
She was a very resilient person and often brightened things up with her colourful hairstyles.
We will remember them both very fondly.
Bridget Davies at the Dementia Café Christmas Party singalong in 2016
Some of Margaret’s clock and art collection Some of Margaret’s clock and art collection
Be aware of scams
– they can happen to anyone
Tips
l Don’t be rushed to share personal information or make an online payment. Scammers use rushed calls, text messages or emails to ask for immediate action, to get you nervous and get your bank details. A genuine organisation is unlikely to suddenly ask you to verify details and request banking details or tell you to transfer money. They’ll never ask you for your PIN or personal information.
l If you think you are being or have been targeted by a scam text or email message, don't share any personal information, banking details or PIN or even reply to the message
l If in doubt, contact the organisation with a number you have found independently of the message/phone call. Also check your phone line for a dialling tone before you call,as some scammers stay on the line once they’ve phoned you and pretend to be the number you have called.
l Don't follow links from text messages if you don’t know the sender – this could send you to an imposter website set up to steal your money, personal information or infect your device with malware that can take over your phone.
l Always look up an organisation's contact details independently and get in touch to verify the message.
l If you get a call from a phone number you don’t know, search for that number on the internet to check whether others have reported it as a scam number.
Scams can be very convincing. They include doorstop knocking, postal, phone calls, online internet, identify theft and Investment and pension scams. There’s been an upsurge in unexpected contacts asking for personal details, pretending to be companies you might use like Amazon, DVLA, TV License, BT or your bank, or calls which claim to relate to fines or prosecution.
What you can do if you’ve been scammed
Note the number or email address, content of the message and any information you’ve shared e.g.
passwords, PINs, bank details and why you’re suspicious. You can then report it, then delete from your phone or computer.
Contact Action Fraud, the UK’s National Fraud reporting centre.
0300 123 2040, Mon-Fri, 8am-8pm or https://www.actionfraud.police.uk/
If the scammer is in your area or you’ve recently transferred money to them, call the police on 101. If you feel threatened or unsafe then call 999 immediately.
Don’t feel embarrassed, it’s not your fault if you have been scammed.
Talk about it – If you are a victim of a scam and feel upset, anxious, guilty or scared talk to a close friend or relative and if you’re feeling low, talk to your GP.
A day in the life of…
Liz Hanley
Executive Assistant, Hornsey Housing Trust
I started working at Hornsey Housing Trust in November 2020. Some days it seems like yesterday and others a lifetime ago, as it was all rather strange starting a new job during the Covid-19 Pandemic! The team have been great from day one and made me feel really welcome, even if it was talking remotely. I can’t believe that it took nearly six months to meet all of the staff though, but now that life is resuming and we are returning to the office it is beginning to feel like a normal environment.
I have been an Executive Assistant for most of my career but never before in the housing sector. Before, I worked with media or advertising agencies working with the EMEA (Europe, Middle East & Africa) or Global Chief Executives, who were responsible for different offices in different time zones and with over 3000 employees, which kept me busy! Hornsey Housing Trust is the polar opposite with only 15 staff members but it is really nice to work in a smaller organisation and takes me back to the small 20-person agency where I began working.
My role of Executive Assistant is to assist the Chief Executive and be involved in all aspects of the Trust by providing proactive
and effective co-ordination, administration and secretarial support. Taking overall responsibility for the smooth running of the office, making recommendations to improve systems and implementing changes as appropriate. One of the projects I have been working on is a long overdue redesign of the HHT website to make it more tenant- friendly. This includes it being made more informative and simpler to navigate. We are hopeful the new site will be up and ready by the end of the year.
I also assist with servicing of the Board, including updating and maintaining a schedule of Board meetings and ensuring Board papers are written and sent to relevant persons in a timely manner. And I help the Board and Chair with arrangements for meetings, conferences or seminars.
I’m really enjoying working at HHT and it was great to be at the barbecues at Margaret Hill House and Palm Tree Court.
I really look forward to meeting more of you as time goes on.
It is really nice to work in a smaller organisation and takes me back to the small 20-person agency where I
began working.
Telephone: 020 8340 6374 (Office 9am–5pm weekdays) Fax: 020 8341 1134
E-mail: [email protected] Hornsey Housing Trust Whatsapp:
07803 022 699
Web: www.hornseyht.co.uk Alwyn Lewis
Chief Executive Mark Dibblin Asset Manager Liz Hanley
Executive Assistant Phil Johnson Head of Housing Jonathan West Housing Officer Barbara Moore
Housing Support Coordinator Tennicia Cameron
Housing Support Officer Veronica Lindsay Head of Finance and IT Mussa Djalo
Finance Assistant Vishwanne Jagdeo Management Accountant Vacant
Universal Credit & Benefits Specialist
Support Services Officers
Maria Reyes
Margaret Hill House;
Waverley Road; Hillfield Avenue Indje Shahin
Abyssinia Court/Olive Tree House Oluwatoyin Balogun
Palm Tree Court, Sheba Court and Outreach
Repairs service
(urgent/emergency only)
Freephone Number: 0808 196 2200 [email protected]
Other useful numbers:
Haringey Housing and Council Tax benefits 020 8489 2800
Gas leaks (National Grid) 0800 111 999 (24hours) Noise nuisance
(Haringey Council)
020 8489 1000 (9:00am – 17:00pm) 020 8348 3148
(17.01pm until 08.59am) Crime stoppers 0800 555 111 Rubbish and recycling (Veolia) 020 8885 7700
Thames Water – 0800 714 614 Electricity (Power cut)
National Grid 0800 31 63 105
The Link: articles by the staff of Hornsey Housing Trust. Editing/further writing by Tim Wilson; design by bobcree.com.
Photographs: ©Tim Wilson, also p4-5 ©HHT, p6 ©Russell Markham, p10 ©shutterstock. Icons: flaticon.com. Puzzles supplied by Clarity Media. Printed by City Printing, Hornsey.
