Hackney Silver Surfers

Start here.

We are Hackney Silver Surfers and 52 The Lawns is our main centre. We provide free computer training and free Internet access to everybody over 50 in Hackney. Everything we do is free, informal and very friendly. All you have to do is come along and ring the door bell.

What’s on at The Lawns.

Here is some information about what you can do at Hackney Silver Surfers computer centre.

• Courses.
  Please look at the Courses section of this website.
• Hackney Stream.
  This is a new Internet radio project. For more information, please look at the current Hackney Stream section of this website.
• Agewell Social Network.
  The Agewell Social Network also meets at The Lawns.It is a separately-funded project for Hackney residents aged 50 to 65. Please visit the About Agewell Social Network page for more information.

Courses.

Courses at Hackney Silver Surfers.

The Hackney Learning Trust is funding three more courses during June and July. They are free to Hackney residents aged 50 or better. The tutor is Julie Usher. The venue is our main centre: 52 The Lawns, N16 8QD.

1. Computers and Internet for beginners.

2. Advanced World Wide Web and Email.

3. Staying Safe using the Internet.

How to get yourself on one of the courses.

• Basic eligibility: you must have an address in the borough of Hackney, and you must be at least 50 years old.
• Check the course dates and the times. Will you be available on all the dates, at those times?
• Check the enrolment and assessment dates and times. They are on the same weekday as the courses, and at a similar time . Enrolment and assessment are simple procedures that take about 30 minutes to complete – but must be done in person at The Lawns computer centre. Assessment is a way of checking that you meet the funder’s criteria for the course. Enrolment is what happens after assessment.
• Next, tell us you are coming to enrol. It’s not essential to do this, but it benefits everybody if we can organise our time on enrolment days. You can inform us by phoning 020 7254 2183, or by email to courses@lawns.org.uk

Do you need more information?

• Ask your question in an email to courses@lawns.org.uk

Hackney Stream.

Live from The Lawns – Friday 18 May (2 to 4 pm).

Hackney Stream Internet radio.

We started Hackney Stream by getting the Talking Food group back to kick off our series of live webcasts from our computer centre – the Talking Food reunion. We started with food because the Talking Food group already knew what to do – just talk. While we are talking, the microphone picks up what we are saying and relays it to our listeners – who we hope will join us at The Lawns next time. Next time, we will be talking about family.

Talking Family.

Most of us have family members who live in other countries – so the main topic for 18 May will be about how we keep in touch with our families abroad. Does the Internet help? Some people argue that the Internet brings families together because it is now so easy to share photographs, or talk with video on Skype. Others have said that their grandchildren don’t know how to write letters, and that the Internet is too complicated for older people to learn – so their families seem more distant.

What do you think? What are your experiences? Does the Internet help you or hinder you? What should be done to help older people learn Internet skills? What kind of support do you need?

We would like you to listen – but we would like it even more if you came to where we are, in our makeshift studio – because every Hackney Stream webcast is a social event. Please join us – we need your voice!

Learn new Internet skills.

Talking is easy because we have been doing it all our lives. Other skills have to be learnt, so we reserve time each Friday afternoon for the Hackney Stream participants to practice using the Internet, or learn it for the first time.

By the way.

This live webcast was originally planned for 11 May. We started with what we thought would be a short piece about the ‘Fairer Charge’, but the group didn’t want to stop talking about it – so the ‘Fairer Charge’ discussion lasted the whole hour.

Links.

In this section: Webmail links / Learning links / Other useful links.

Webmail links.

Here are links to some of the webmail services used by Hackney Silver Surfers at The Lawns.

Learning links.

BBC First Click.

BBC tutorials for beginners.

Learning Zone.

• Learning Zone – Digital Unite’s Learning Zone is a good online destination after the BBC for learners who have learnt a little about email. Learning Zone provides access to about 60 useful guides in PDF format. Learners can print them (they are all quite short), then follow the guides in their own way.

More advanced learning.

• ALISON – Free online learning resource for basic and essential workplace skills.
• OpenLearn – Free educational resources from The Open University.
• Virtual Training Suite – A set of free online tutorials designed to help students, lecturers and researchers improve their Internet information literacy and IT skills.

Other useful links.

News and info.

City of London Festival – free tickets.

A message from Catherine Jack, City of London Festival (COLF) …

The Festival is pleased to offer free tickets to the following performances for older adults (50+) from the London Borough of Hackney.

Explore an iconic venue and experience top-class musical performance, sharing the event with young people from schools across the borough.

Some concerts will have a pre-concert talk with a music animateur providing valuable insight into the repertoire and performers.

Transport to and from the venue will be provided for all older adults keen to come to a performance.

Following the performances, all visitors are encouraged to write a review with their thoughts and ideas about the music they have heard. A number of outstanding reviews will receive commendation from the Festival team and may even be published in Festival outlets. More information about how to submit your reviews will follow after your ticket requests.

Ten (10) tickets are available for each of the performances below.

LSO Brass Quintet.

Wednesday 27 June, 7.30 pm.

Goldsmiths’ Hall, Foster Lane, EC2.

• Francisco Coll A Golden Fanfare (World premiere).
• JS Bach (arr Dudley Bright) Suite from Goldberg Variations.
• Ewald Brass Quintet in D flat.
• Jim Parker The Golden Section.
• Golden Oldies medley incl. ‘I got Rhythm’, ‘Love Walked In’, ‘Fascinating Rhythm’, ‘Ain’t Misbehavin’.
• Pre-concert introduction, 6.30 pm.

English National Ballet.

Tuesday 3 July, 8 pm.

St Paul’s Cathedral.

• Programme to include excerpts from the lost treasure of the Ballets Russes, Suite en blanc, and a new special choreographic commission by English National Ballet.

Escher String Quartet

Thursday 5 July, 6 pm.

St Bartholomew-the-Great.

• A Postcard from America’s East Coast.
• Ryan Wigglesworth String Quartet (World premiere).
• Zemlinsky Movement for String Quartet ‘Yankee Doodle’.
• Dvorak String Quartet Op 96 ‘American’.
• Pre-concert introduction, 5 pm.

Jan Garbarek saxophone.
The Hilliard Ensemble.

Thursday 12 July, 8 pm.

St Paul’s Cathedral.

• Officum Novum.
• Jan Garbarek is joined by outstanding British vocal quartet The Hilliard Ensemble for a unique evening of mesmerizing jazz and choral music.
• Pre-concert introduction, 7 pm.

Percussions Claviers de Lyon.

Friday 13 July, 7.00 pm.

Great Hall, Bishopsgate Institute, EC2.

• Debussy (arr Gerard Lecointe) Suite Bergamasque.
• Debussy (arr Gerard Lecointe) Four Preludes.
• Gerard Lecointe After Masks.
• Debussy (arr Gerard Lecointe) Two Nocturnes.
• François Narboni Rigodon (Homage to Claude Debussy).

Tickets will be reserved on a first come, first served basis. For more information and to book your tickets, please contact:

Catherine Jack -
Phone: 020 7583 3585
Email: catherine.jack@colf.org

Financial Assessment for Home Care Services – Fairer Charge.

Hackney resident David Gill has made a simple, but effective website which helps you calculate your correct Fairer Charge.

The website address is egmom.com and this is what it tells us about the website app …

You may be charged for services you receive at home. Your local authority will level this charge after calculating a Fairer Charge for you.

• Your contribution to the cost of your services depends on your Fairer Charge and the services you receive.
• The Fairer Charge is the maximum you can be charged per week however much care you receive, so it is important that this figure is correct.
• Your Fairer Charge depends on your income, it does not depend on the amount of service that you receive
• Your Fairer Charge is calculated by your local authority. This application allows you to calculate your Fairer Charge independently to ensure that any charges that accrue to you are being levied correctly.

If your Fairer Charge is not set your local authority will charge you the full cost of your care.

This application calculates your fairer charge. It is an anonymous facility, it does not record your visit or keep a record of your entry.

CoolTan Arts Community Legacy walks.

A message from Clara Jones (Cooltan Arts) …

Interested in volunteering and gaining new skills?
Love walking?

• Want to explore and re-discover East London?
• We welcome disabled volunteers, all walks are accessible.
• Want to help uncover hidden histories?

Then this project is for you!

Join us to celebrate the legacy of 2012, re-discover the area, uncover green spaces, and share your stories old and new that reflect Olympic and Paralympic values.

Take advantage of free accredited and non-accredited training: Walk Leader Training, First Aid, Mental Health First Aid, Public Speaking and Story-telling. You can also try your hand at research, photography, stewarding and administration.

Join this fun and sociable project, make friends and be part of the 2012 Community Legacy.

Meetings and taster walks are held every Tuesday 12 noon – 3 pm in locations around Hackney.

To get involved or find out more, contact clara@cooltanarts.org.uk, or ring CoolTan Arts on 0207 701 2696.

Inspiring Employment.

A message from Martin Sibley …

It has been a busy few months since I began my online projects for disability issues. My blog is reaching more people than ever, Disability Horizons received a great write up in the Guardian, my Webinar series is gathering momentum and I am working on other exciting projects (such as TV presenting and volunteering abroad).

Despite all of this I have been busy with my most impactful project yet – Inspiring Employment.

I wanted to let you know that this free and innovative e-course is available today. It provides disabled people, their friends, family and professionals with positive and practical information on employment and disability. This 7 week course guides you through video interviews with 13 global contributors, video introductions filmed on location around London, and a range of resources in the form of external websites. All of this is with the aim to inspire, inform and change people’s perceptions of disability in the world of employment.

To register, login and see how great this project is, please visit ecourses.martynsibley.com/ie/ .

Please feedback your thoughts to help me improve future courses. If you are able to share this e-course with your networks (from email, facebook and maybe even a newsletter) that would also be amazing!

Free computer help desk for senior citizens.

This is a free service for older people who need computer help …

“You can telephone the Help Desk at the Zenos Academy in West London any time between 9.30 am and 12.30 pm on Monday to Friday, excluding Bank Holidays, and there will be someone to speak to you who will do their best to help you.

Call us on 08451 770568 or email your question to helpdesk@zenossupport.com whenever you think we can help.”

Videos.

About us.

Who we are.

Hackney Silver Surfers is an AgeUK Hackney project providing free computer training and free Internet access to everybody over 50 in Hackney.

We are a centre of expertise in understanding the impact on older people of rapidly developing new technology, and how older people can learn to use it to their advantage.

Our staff and volunteers are familiar with the whole range of new technology, and are skilled at communicating it to older people to enable them to pick the bits which interest them. That is all we do — continuously since 2003.

What we do.

We offer a range of activities to match the needs of all our service users, whatever their age or circumstances (including the most sceptical). Much of the time we are open for ‘drop-in’, which means you can come along and use our computers for any purpose you have in mind, and also for one-to-one learning with our helpful volunteers. That is how most of our beginners become proficient Internet users.

We have a very strong user base — regular contact with hundreds of older people in Hackney. Since we opened in 2003, more  than 1500 people have used our services. However, our aim is to reach everybody in Hackney who is 50 or over.

Also at The Lawns.

Our centre at The Lawns is also used by other AgeUK Hackney projects which are not part of Hackney Silver Surfers, including the Agewell Social Network for Hackney residents aged 50 to 65.

Contact us.

How to contact Hackney Silver Surfers at The Lawns.

• Address: 52 The Lawns, Matthias Road, London, N16 8QD.
• Location: The Lawns is a shopping precinct halfway along Matthias Road — on your left if you approach from Newington Green, on your right if coming from Dalston. Look for the shop-front with Age Concern Hackney in the window. The 236 bus (Hackney Wick to Finsbury Park) stops almost outside The Lawns, both directions.
• Maps: Google map / Street map / Google Streetview (it’s the shopfront next to ‘Bets R Us’).
• Phone: 020 7254 2183   .
• Email: hss@lawns.org.uk   .

We are where the red dot is.

Street map showing location of 52 The Lawns.