Shropshire's elderly get tips on using new technology

One of those to call in to the first session held this week was John Evans. He was born on the Square in Shrewsbury above a jeweller’s shop and he’s seen some changes in his 86 years.

A carpenter by trade, John is a practical, soft-spoken man who could turn his hand to anything practical until the internet came along.

Locked out of his own computer because he couldn’t remember the password and with a phone he was struggling to use, John heard about the new Age UK Shropshire, Telford & Wrekin initiative helping older people with gadgets and technology for the home.

He went along to a tech taster session at Riverside Shopping Centre earlier this week because he realised modern life was leaving him behind.

“I wanted to get in on all these new things,” he says. “People my age don’t know anything about computers. I remember going on a course years ago for the over 60s and we picked up the basics.

“I was doing fairly well keeping up, but then my wife became ill and after she passed away when I tried to remember what I’d learnt, I found I couldn’t.”

Knowledge

Things have changed since his early foray into computers - now you can switch on your lights before you even get home and see who is on your doorstep via a video doorbell.

“I wanted to understand more about all this technology. Now you can do so many amazing things and I realised I was missing out," added John.

"I’ve got a Dot and a tablet, and I hadn’t even got them out of the packaging.”

John reckons once he’s online he will be able to look up anything.

He likes opera and jazz and was excited to hear about Spotify.

“You have your books and your music at home, and I’ve got a fair old collection," he said.

"But technology is great because there’s always something new coming. I want to be able to access all that knowledge.”

The sessions run each Wednesday between 10am and 2pm in the Age UK unit in Riverside Shopping Centre between 10am and 2pm every Wednesday.