Jim Tuckwell, 78 - Andover, Hants
Testway Housing in Partnership with Andover Family Learning
Jim Tuckwell My name is Jim Tuckwell and to my amazement, to be quite honest with you, I did win the Silver Surfer of the Year 2006 and I still haven't got over it. I'm still amazed that I did it to be quite honest with you. To get an award like that, it was a big feather in my cap and a feather in the cap of the people who helped me.
After 13 years retirement along came somebody and said "How would you like to learn about computing?" I turned my nose up. I said "Oh no, it's not worth it." They said "It's free." I said "Oops. Thank you very much!" I said, and I've never looked back.
Besides learning how to do computing it was a good social event. Really marvellous.
As a result of me winning this award I have met many, many people in industry and in local government who absolutely treated me like a king. I don't know what I've done to deserve this, but I was invited to a big conference with big industrialists, including BT. All the big noises from the County Council were there - the area planning and all the rest of it, and I was introduced, I got a round of applause. Made me most embarrassed to be quite frank with you, to see all those "kings of industry" as they call them in the Hampshires there with me.
I won the Silver Surfer of the Year 2006 basically because of a scheme we did with our local school and the local society the Testway Housing. There was a lot of bullying going on which is an absolutely appalling thing in a junior school, I think anyway and I think a lot of people would agree with me, and we devised a scheme called "Daphne the Duck" and in that we produced a book, produced a CD using PowerPoint and all the rest of it. The first time I'd ever used PowerPoint. I taught myself how to do that. And we produced this book, which the schools have got, which they read, telling all about how bullying is bad and all the rest of it.
I designed their programme for the year. I make posters for them. I help them in any way I can. They just come up to me and say "Can you do something for us?" and I do it for them. I don't charge them. I do it for good. I do it to help people. I want to put something back in to what I got out, because I think I got a lot out of being taught and I think it's high time I put something back in.
And I'm pleased to say it, because I'm still involved in the school for reading, that bullying is non-existent over there.