Hobbies & Interests Older people still missing out on Internet use
27/08/2010
More than nine million UK adults have never used the Internet, according to
figures released today (27 August 2010) by the Office for National Statistics - and two thirds of them are aged 65 and over.
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Non-Conformist Registers
A couple of weeks ago I discussed Parish Registers of the Church of England. It is important to note that this church was established in 1534 when Henry VIII broke away from the Pope and the Roman Catholic Church and declared himself Supreme Head of the English Church.
Monumental Inscriptions
Monumental Inscriptions (MI) have long been a useful source for family historians.
How do we find out where our ancestors were buried? Have a look at where they were last living, for example in the census, then have a look at a map and see where the nearest churches (both Church of England and Non-Conformist) and cemeteries are located.
Wills and Probate Records
Where there's a will there's a way or should it be "Where there's a will there's a relative". It seems that relatives do "Come out of the woodwork" when a will is announced and made known. Anyway if you are researching your family history, wills and probate records are extremely important to consider. You may say there isn't a will in my family, you would be surprised at the number of students who have looked and found something.
Parish Registers
Parish registers are a very important source of information, especially when you get your family history beyond 1837. They started in 1538, Thomas Cromwell, Henry VIII's Vicar General decreed that all parish priests had to keep a register of all baptisms, marriages and burials. There are not many records kept before this date except a few monks recording the events of prominent families. In 1597, Queen Elizabeth I ordered that a yearly copy of these registers be sent to the local Bishop, these copies are known at Bishop's Transcripts.
Census Returns
In England and Wales a census has been taken every decade since 1801. The returns for 1801 to 1831 were not much more than a headcount of the numbers of people who lived in each parish, but from 1841 they become more useful because names were recorded, together with information about them.
Keen on your hobby? Why not turn it into a business?
In 2004, Linda Wright, a Biology teacher from South Wales, bought a digital SLR. She discovered, like so many others, the delights and freedom of photography without film and it was not long before her regular job became secondary to a new passion.
International Garden Photographer of the Year - final call for entries
The deadline for the fourth International Garden Photographer of the Year competition is fast approaching. Don’t miss the chance to be part of this prestigious competition.
Civil Registration; a record going back 172 years
Welcome to our second articles in a series on how to trace your family history. This month we will be looking at Civil Registration.
NHS Choices wins Award for digital inclusion
NHS Choices has been awarded a National eWell-Being Award for its digital inclusion programme with libraries. Working in conjunction with the Society of Chief Librarians, the NHS’s primary public facing website works with library staff to provide internet training. This will help visitors take advantage of the site’s 80,000 pages of health information and tools to improve their wellbeing.
Sheltered housing schemes get residents online
104 sheltered housing schemes from across the country have received a total of £402,000 in funding as part of the first stage of an outreach activity – Get Digital - to help residents in sheltered housing get online.
Amazing microwaves
Why don’t you - when next you put your breakfast cereal jug of milk into your microwave oven for a quick warm-up - give a thought to the amazing abilities of microwaves? Maybe, just maybe, you’re a bit afraid of what’s going on in there? Well, you are not alone because many of the older generation don’t really make full use of their ovens.
Silver surfers log on for a new lease of life
Following media reports of new research that shows a rapid rise in the number of ‘silver surfers’ over the last year, a computer training company in Dorset is releasing the results of a ‘silver surfer survey’ which shows that using a computer can make the older generation feel significantly younger.
Tutors 4 Computers recently conducted a survey of its older customers with results showing how surfing the internet can rejuvenate the elderly, putting a spring in their step and giving them a new lease of life.
What have computers ever done for us?
A lively correspondence has broken out on the pages of Mature Times with many readers bemoaning the intrusion of computers into our lives.
The spectre of lonely people staring blankly at computer screens, missing out on human contact, has been invoked, as well as countless jobs lost and the dehumanisation of any processes. One reader provides an eloquent response – and we’d like to know where YOU stand on the great debate: what have computers ever done for us?
Get trout and about this summer
Rumour has it that we are set for a long and scorching summer this year, which is enough to send us ever hopeful Brits to our garden sheds to dust off the BBQ!
The British Trout Association has created tasty, healthy recipes allowing you to make the most of the long summer evenings, which offer a great alternative to the usual beef burgers and sausages.
