Harehills ❤️ Love

Welcome to Day 25—the final bonus door of the 2025 Harehills Good News Advent Calendar.

Whether you are celebrating Christmas today, enjoying a quiet day off, or just waiting for the shops to open again, I want to wish you all the very best.

Every year, I start this calendar with a simple aim: to balance the scales. We all know that bad news travels fast, but for the last 24 days, we have proved that good news runs deeper. Looking back at the stories we’ve shared this month, a few powerful themes have emerged that define where Harehills is right now.

Creativity and Culture We have seen how creativity is being used to heal and connect us—from the Thackray Museum inviting us to design a garden for 2026, to Doodle Chat fighting loneliness with nothing more than a pen and paper. We’ve seen culture shared generously, culminating in the beautiful Roma Nativity play at the Compton Centre just last week.

Health and Resilience We have celebrated groups overcoming challenges to support our wellbeing. We’ve shone a light on the HEROES project bringing holistic care to those facing trauma, and the Harehills Park Bowling Club, which continues to be a champion for physical and mental health in our green spaces.

Standing Together Above all, 2025 has been a year of unity. While the events of previous years might have tested us, this year Harehills stood on its own two feet. We refused to be defined by negativity. Instead, we built hubs like Fusion 8, we welcomed neighbours at the Chatty Cafe, the CATCH Catchup Café, and we looked after our environment at Our Planet Our Neighbourhood.

A Notable Mention I also want to give a nod to a story that appeared in the Yorkshire Post earlier this year about Hair and Glitz on Compton Road. While it didn’t make it into our main calendar, it was fantastic to see a major regional newspaper visiting Harehills and writing something positive about the style and energy of our local businesses. Long may that continue.

Thank You This blog wouldn’t reach anyone without the community behind it. I have to say a massive, heartfelt thank you to Karen Parnaby Harris and Donna Morris. Your tireless sharing, commenting, and promoting of these stories ensures that the good news actually reaches the people who need to hear it. You are absolute stars.

And thank you to every single one of you who has read, liked, or shared a post this month.

Looking to 2026 As we head into the New Year, there is a lot to look forward to. For me, 2026 is going to be about showing up. I plan to get out to more events, meet more of you in person, and witness the amazing things you do firsthand.

It is also going to be a big year for HarehillsLove. I am looking at ways to grow and develop this platform to make sure it is as inclusive as possible. My goal is simple: to amplify the voice of this amazing community so that everyone feels heard.

Harehills is resilient. Harehills is creative. And, most importantly, Harehills is home.

Merry Christmas and happy holidays, to everyone. See you in 2026!