12 April 2010
Angus silver surfers celebrate their 10th anniversary
Photo opportunity: 12noon at Airlie Village Hall, Angus on Wednesday, April 14th.
One of country’s longest standing and most active Silver Surfers groups, which started life in the kitchen of an Angus Bed and Breakfast, is marking its 10th anniversary with a party bringing together past and present members and supporters.
The Airlie Cybercafe has encouraged dozens of older people to make use of computers to enrich their lives over the past decade. A celebratory party is taking place at Airlie Village Hall, where the group meets on a weekly basis, on Wednesday, April 14th.
Members of other Silver Surfer groups from Forfar, Rattray and Dundee will also attend, while friends of the Airlie Cybercafe will check in via the internet from far flung places.
Also taking part will be representatives from Angus Council Community Learning and Development Service and the University of Dundee’s School of Computing, who have helped by offering support and guidance over the years.
The group was originally established by Mamie Bruce-Gardyne in the kitchen of the B&B she ran at the time with the only equipment being her own computer. She was passionate about sharing her experience of discovering the new worlds which IT could open to older people and, within six months, the group established itself at Airlie Village Hall, where it continues to meet and offer advice, support and home baking every Wednesday morning.
She explained, 'I had the idea for this because so many of my neighbours seemed to be at a loose end after retiring, or having to quit farming. The Cybercafe has provided lots of encouragement and help about getting into IT, and also is has been a wonderful social group.
'Our latest campaign, which is proving quite successful, is to encourage the growth of telemedicine, a technology which will be a great help for those of us in rural areas. So far we have met with John Swinney and Nicola Sturgeon to urge the government to make this a priority - and they are doing just that.'
Dr Norman Alm, of the School of Computing at Dundee University, who supported the group with advice and training in its early days, said, “Mamie approached me at a meeting about IT awareness in the remoter parts of Angus to say she wanted to set up a ‘cybershack’ in her kitchen, and asked if I could be of help. I jumped at the chance.
'Part of our research here is about older people and computing and this opportunity was too good to miss. For a while my job was to run what I called ‘de-frightener sessions’ for those new to computers, to take away some of the false mystique they have of being incomprehensible.
'Now these sessions are no longer needed - the group has advanced a long way since then. Even though most members now are regular users of computers at home, they still come along on a Wednesday for special projects, for mutual support, and for the socialising.'
For more information, call Dr Alm on 07788 652910.
For media enquiries contact:
Grant Hill
Press Officer
University of Dundee
Nethergate, Dundee, DD1 4HN
TEL: 01382 384768
E-MAIL: g.hill@dundee.ac.uk
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