To some Whickham Third Agers, web means something more than something connected with spiders.
An oral history project brought together a group of Whickham U3A members interested in the history of the old Whickham Urban District Council from 1900 to 2000, in parallel with acquiring a variety of computer skills. Members vary in their ambitions, some aiming to find their way around the Internet, others to master word processing (and even desk top publishing) and a few designing web sites!
At our first meeting the group took the decision to call ourselves the Whickham U3A Web Wanderers. Our aim was to collect and then communicate facts in an interesting, informative, educative and entertaining way by creating a web site, CD, booklets and ultimately a book, making the results of our research accessible to as many as possible.
The group was initially supported by the Kellett Fund (set up in 1995 with the purpose of enabling the education of senior citizens in Tyne and Wear) and a grant from Millennium Awards For All. The money provided enabled the purchase of the required equipment and some tuition from Gateshead College. Members went on to gain more computer skills at various classes.
The Web Wanderers are: Barbara Crozier, Pat Heils, Mary Horner, Ann Keen, Pete Keen, Alan Lawes, Ruth McRae, Irene Mills, Margaret Minns, Brenda Nunn, Win Robson, Joan Telford, and Florence Wood and Elise Wylie.
Web wanderers web site, CD-Rom and audio CDs