These pages might help people in the Nottingham area get on with their lives when things don't seem to be going so good. Theres always something out there if you don't give up and are willing to try something new, its not as hard as most people think.                                   

I'm trying to give people an idea as to how easy it is to learn when you are past schooling and would like to get on but are not sure how.

The W.E.A. (Workers Education Association) is a very friendly and informal way to learn and can be found in all sorts of places. They use community centers and the such like to have small groups in locations available to all. There are groups for people of all ages and of different levels of education where everyone can fit in. You can be a complete beginer or have any standard of learning and still find something to suit your aims or needs.

Firstly however I would like to tell you a little bit about myself and how I came to even think of doing something like this, so you can see just how easy it is to get started with something no matter how old you are.

I WAS A SEAMAN ALL OF MY ADULT LIFE.

After 30 years as a Merchant Seaman who had spent 15 years living in the rain forest of Costa Rica when ashore, where we hardly had electricity never mind computers. I returned to this country in September 1992, disabled with my left arm almost useless and a dodgy right hand to try and start a new life ashore. After 30 years around ships and fishing boats I knew this wasnt going to be easy. Even having been a yacht and fishing boat skipper in the Pacific was more practical than academic, but what can you do.

I went to "Portland College for the Disabled" in Manfield in 1993 and studied Horology. I passed with Credit in 1994 and worked part time as a clock maker for "Nottingham Watch and Clock" for a couple of years. Athritus in my right hand forced me to give this up as some days it was impossible to work for very long before it became too hard to hold the small tools required to do the job. So it was back to the scrap heap for me and I became a full time cripple.

About 5 years ago digital TV came to St. Anns where I live in Nottingham and about a year or so later along came TV internet. I gave it a try and became interested, it was fun, as although I was unable to get around the world at least I could talk to people from all over the place in real time. I became a member of a few groups where some of us people who were on TV internet would use the board as a messenger as at that time there was no messenger service for TV.

Then one by one other members began to get computers and start sending photos and things and I was getting left in the dark ages. I was the old man of the group and most of the younger ones did have some sort of knowledge of computing where as I didnt know a bloody thing. I knew I had to at least try to keep up with the rest although at the time I didnt know quite what to do. However, Lady Luck stepped in and one day I saw a big banner outside of one of the local community centers offering free computer lessons so in I went.

They had the comps but no internet access and the lessons where geared towards making office workers not computer literate people who just wanted to use the technology as a friendly useful tool. I had no intention of ever working in an office in fact the thought of it chills my bones now, but I thought at least I could learn how to turn a computer on and off and possibly even use it a little bit. I signed on with them and spent a couple of hours every day or two just pottering around and getting to know how the computer worked. The internet side wasnt any problem for me as I already had that on my tele and did know my way around. The computer did seem a bit strange at first as there is a little bit more than just a typwriter, not a lot if you dont try to bite off more than you can chew. You must get used to doing one thing before before moving on and its very important to practise what you have learned, if you rush on you will forget faster than you can learn.

Not wanting to sit on a bosses lap and take dictation I left them classes as soon as I thought I was able to get by on my own. The next part of my plan was the hardest as it involved money, mainly the price of a comp. At that time money was in short supply and people were not keen to give computers away no matter what their condition.  I finaly found one for sale at a price I could afford it didnt have a modem or even a USB slot to take a broadband connection but it was a working computer and it was mine to play with and get used to. All I had to do now was get a few books and teach myself where to go from there and find a few nerds in a pub and start asking questions.

Boats have machines and electrical parts all of which have to be maintained on a very strict routine as salt water isnt very good for them, so electricity holds no fear for me, and I felt I could manage to put my comp on line without too much trouble. I decided to go straight on broadband and found out that I needed an ethernet card in my machine to do that, whatever an ethernet card was. I did know it cost about £12 so off I went to an ethernet card shop and bought one and brought it home and found a slot to stick it in, halfway there already, the other half involved more money.

I got NTL to come to the house and run the cable from the livingroom to the bedroom for £25 which  was a good deal as it would have cost me 3 times as much to do it myself. NTL was true to form and when they say they will hook everything up for you dont believe them. The cable fitter even drilled through a wooden door frame with a hammer drill althugh I offered to lend him my drill with a wood bit. He nearly shook the flat apart and my door chime fell off the wall and broke but he got a hole through in the end. He ran the cable to where I had the comp put a fitting on the end, gave me a modem in a box and headed for the door. When I asked him to put the comp online for me he said he didnt know anything about computers. That didnt surprise me he didnt know very much about drilling holes either.

So here I was with a computer and a cable modem and not a clue as to where to go from there. When in doubt go to the pub and sure enough I found a mate who knew someone who was nuts about computers and he introduced me to the guy and in half an hour I had him round my house putting my comp online. I needed an installation disk for Win95 to put the machine online and I didnt have one neither did he so he upgraded my dear little Fujitsu with Win98 for which he had the disk and put it online that way.

Once online I began to feel a bit better and was soon chatting with my online friends and making plans for future projects. Now all I needed was a scanner and printer and I would be up there with the best of them. That wasnt so hard, Littlewoods catalogue came to the rescue there and a few weeks later I had both and a few weeks of debt. Perhaps my early attempts at sending photos where not so good but I was having to use default settings instead of experence, but I was getting there.

The more I got involved with computers the more dissatisfied I became as I was muddling along and I knew there had to be a different way. I read books and used websites to try and learn but I didnt understand the language half the time and knew I was at a loss if I couldnt find a better way. Then I met a fella in a pub (where else is there), who knew where to send me and down I went to Marple Square and enrolled to get on some courses. It took me a year of waiting before I could start but I havnt stopped since and I might not be the best in the business yet but Im a long way from where I started. I still have a lot to learn but at least with the help from the very able tutors what I do is done the right way and Im not struggling any more.

Right now Im still studying, Im trying to get a C.L.A.I.T. certificate and Iv taken one Data Base exam my other three elements are Website Design, Powerpoint Presentation and Computer Art. There is also the Base Element but if you can take any exam you can get that as its basicly just being able to use a computer. I already have Nicas certificates for Internet Browsing and Word Processing (beginners), also Nicas levels one and two for Desk Top Publishing.

Im taking a W.E.A. course as a Volunteer Teaching Adviser, and Im working as one, helping tutors in different classes. Its interesting and you dont have to be clever to do it , its more about interacting with people than it is about what you know although it helps if you know a bit about what the classes are doing. I find I learn quite a bit myself while helping out as its all practice and it keeps the brain from turning to mush. It all comes down to what I said before, the more you practice different things the more you are able to retain them in the nut. As most people tend to use the computer for the same thing over and over they dont develope, its the easiest thing in the world to forget how to do the most simple things if you dont use what you have learned.

Well I hope this gos to explain to you a little bit about how I went from a complete computer illiterate at the age of 56 to a more or less competent user at the age of 60. If I can do it I dont see why anyone else cant. There are older people than me learning and most are doing fine at it. The thing I particularly like about the W.E.A. is the informality and friendliness. The classes are a mixture of young and old and everyone gets on fine and help one and other. The tutors speak to you in laymans terms not in all this nerd speak which some people seem to take a pride in just because it makes them seem different. They are different, totaly nuts most of them and beyond their funny talk they are not much good at anything except playing games and boring intelligent folks.