St John's Barlaston Siler Surfers

Find out what is happening at the Silver Surfers

Silver Surfers Report 2011

Silver Surfers have continued to meet weekly mainly on a Monday afternoon and now has four volunteer tutors, Gordon Yates, Steve Hall, Liz Thorlby and myself. I am very grateful to all of them for the time, effort and, above all, enthusiasm which they bring to Silver Surfers each week.

We have had a mixture of some new Surfers this year and some old hands who have returned for refresher sessions or to learn more advanced skills.

We have also recently made a link with Stafford On-line Centre and two young people from there initiated us into the mysteries of Facebook and Twitter and through the centre some Surfers have followed an on-line course leading to a nationally recognised certificate. It was a delight to hear from Dan after his visit to Barlaston that he and his colleague had gone away ‘buzzing’ from the experience of working with some of our group.

No charge is made for the lessons but many Silver Surfers ask to make a donation and in 2011 donations have amounted to £1,045 half of which has gone to church funds and half to charities chosen by the volunteer tutors. These have included Staffordshire Approach, Smile Train UK and Claire Dawson’s Mombasa appeal and Ashley’s charity, The Music in You. The generosity of the Silver Surfers is very touching and shows the value that they attach to their lessons.

Pam Bedford 2011

Facebook & twitter

Ammie and Dan from Stafford On-Line Centre did a presentation for the Silver Surfers on What Facebook & Twitter were about.

Certificateswere presented to Jean Jeffs, Betty Hayward and Myrna Watts who recently completed an online computer course. CONGRATULATIONS!

I am sorry that these pictures are not up to the usual stanard, I will try harder. Steve

St John's Silver Surfers is run by Pam, with help from Gordon ,Steve and Elizabeth

St John’s Silver Surfers

St John's Silver Surfers started in April 2009 as a way of the church offering to the community something which they felt would be useful, especially to those of the older generation in Barlaston who were feeling left behind as computers seemed to be taking over the world.

Since we started 60 people have attended the informal classes which are run by volunteer tutors who provide one-to-one teaching in a friendly, relaxed environment. Not everyone has been silver-haired but ages have ranged from about 55 - 85! Some have started from scratch, while others have come along to update their skills. Many have come along feeling very apprehensive about their ability to learn new things now that they are older, but most people have surprised themselves - and their families! As one of the first Silver Surfers says, 'When I started at Silver Surfers I didn’t know how to switch on a computer. Today I can email, order shopping, and use a printer. There is no end to what I have achieved! I am very grateful for the wonderful tuition, and I enjoyed every minute of it.'

Classes are held at the church on Monday afternoons between 2 - 4 pm and drop-in sessions are available by appointment on Tuesday afternoons 2 - 4pm. There is no charge but any donations received are shared between the church and nominated charities.

Anyone is welcome and it is not necessary to have your own computer although it does help! For more information contact the church office on 01782 373126.