As I am 4 months away from my 50th birthday I was surprised to hear that I will then be deemed to be a 'Silver Surfer'.
The BBC announces today that this is Silver Surfers Week, as organised by Age Concern and British Telecom. Part of there findings indicate that half the over 50's group do not have access to a computer. This being said most of those people are, like my self, those introduced to computing through work in the 1980's.

Considering that the Government is putting more information and forms on-line these days most working people are finding it a necessity to be able to log-on, but what incentive is there for the elderly? I traveled in to work today with a work colleague who is close to retirement and all we talked about was his latest computer upgrade and his on-line family tree. My mother in-law, in her 70's plays one line games nearly every day and is bright as a button.

One aspect the BBC put forward that could be of benefit to us oldies is being able to order shopping on line from supermarkets. I say that it can offer a whole lot more.
One aspect of blogging that has yet come to a head is to use it as a record base of recollections of days gone by. Everybody has a tale to tell that could be of historic importance in the future.
I recently had to attend the funeral of one such gent who's stories could and should have been documented as historical evidence of a period in the East end of London that saw many changes over the war years.

To promote computing to the elderly they have set up a number of events this week the aims being, the BBC quote, "To help spread the message that the internet can be fun, a special bus, equipped with computers and trainers, will be touring the country, to provide hands-on experience". More information on the Silver Surfer website