Surfers Computer Club

Reg, Charity No. 1106827

What sort of members do we have?

East Preston has a large retired population and this computer club addresses the needs of people over the age of 55. Our members are male and female; with a very wide range of ability.  Beginners are very welcome. Our aim is to help them acquire the basic skills in Information Technology. What ties us all together is a common enthusiasm.

Preference is given to residents of East Preston although we accept members from nearby areas if room allows.

We are a registered charity and so each member is asked to make an annual donation of £10  and £1.75 for each meeting attended. As a charity we are able to reclaim tax on donations and so we are grateful to the many members who sign a Gift Aid Form allowing us to make this claim.

 

What do we actually do?

Our meetings usually start with a short session where members' technical queries are resolved (usually), followed by a tutorial. The second part of the meeting is where members put into practice, on the number of computers owned by the club, the information given in the tutorial.
We occasionally hold sessions in the annexe at the side on the main room which run concurrently with the main talk. Here we try to cover the need for small groups, who may be:-  new members with some ability, absolute beginners or existing members who have requested talks on specific topics that may not be of interest to the general membership.    When the side room is not being used for this purpose it is used informally and members can pursue their own interests on the club's computers or bring their own laptops to use. We have a tea break half way though the meeting session.

 

Where and when do we meet?

We have meetings every Thursday from 2pm until 4pm in the Conservative Hall, East Preston.

 

What sort of computer equipment does the club own?

We have about 20 PCs that can be used during club sessions. These are kept as up to date as possible (Club finances permitting) with the latest Windows applications.  Many are now have Windows 2007 or/and XP as Operating Systems and applications such as Microsoft Office 2007.

There is a minority interest in other operating systems. We also have two data projectors, which makes it possible for all of the audience to see what tutors are describing on large screens. We have internet access during meetings and the networking equipment to allow most computers to share it.

 

What sort of tutorials do we have?

Although we cater for beginners we also try to widen members' knowledge and experience. We have had tutorials on the following topics during the last couple of years. 

• General computer knowledge for beginners
• Use of the Internet and emailing..
• Windows applications such as Word, Excel and Powerpoint.
• Digital photograph enhancement programs such at Paintshop Pro V8
• Making slide shows with added music.
• Hardware appreciation and how to upgrade the computer.

The club meetings calendar can be found by clicking on the links panel  above.

Please  'Contact Us'   to see if there is a  Waiting List