Getting online at 99 is a breeze for Sheffield woman

A 99-year-old Sheffield woman has proved you're never too old to develop new IT skills - by learning how to hold internet video calls with her relatives.
By The Newsroom
Published 21st Nov 2016, 09:57 BST
Updated 22nd Nov 2016, 10:20 BST
Kathleen Mysberg with Age UK Sheffield digital inclusion volunteer Paul Leman and her tablet device which she has learned to use to video call relativesKathleen Mysberg with Age UK Sheffield digital inclusion volunteer Paul Leman and her tablet device which she has learned to use to video call relatives
Kathleen Mysberg with Age UK Sheffield digital inclusion volunteer Paul Leman and her tablet device which she has learned to use to video call relatives

Kathleen Mysberg was able to get online and chat with her family in Oxfordshire via Skype through internet workshops run by Age UK Sheffield.

The keen painter, who lives near Norfolk Park, said: “The sessions have helped me keep in touch with my relatives that are living down south and it gives them peace of mind, too, to hear from me.”

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Kathleen also keeps active by attending the gym at Ponds Forge, taking advantage of a discount deal.

Born on Merseyside, she originally moved to Sheffield in 1946 to be nearer friends after being widowed in the Second World War.

She worked as a hospital catering manager at the then Wharncliffe and Middlewood hospitals until the early 1950s before moving south to work as a district health manager. Kathleen returned to Sheffield in the early 1980s.

Living so far from her niece Suzanne and other relatives made it hard to stay connected, but the Skype lessons brought them closer.

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Andy Callard, Age UK Sheffield’s business development manager, said: “When Kathleen first used Skype and saw her niece on screen on her tablet device she simply said: ‘Oh my goodness’!

“It was a wonderful reaction and it made my day.”

Andy added: “While we know social isolation can be a big issue for the older community, digital exclusion is increasingly becoming the big issue to tackle because so much of our modern life and communication takes place online.”

The IT and technology sessions, which are free to members of the Friends of Age UK Sheffield scheme, are held at the Crucible Theatre café bar between 1pm and 3pm on every third Thursday of the month.

n To find out more about the Friends group or the computer drop-in sessions, log on to Sheffield Age UK or call 0114 250 2850.

Related topics:SheffieldAge UKOxfordshire