Click and connect

TEN years ago, Dorothy Harrington, wanted to give her husband a “very special surprise’’ for his 70th birthday.

They had just been given a computer, so she turned it on, and with a bit of practice, booked them a once-in-a-lifetime holiday to Canada.

“Paddy had been born in Toronto and hadn’t been back since he was a five- year- old, so I wanted to do something amazing for him,’’ she recalls. “This was when I really got into using the computer, I booked everything for that holiday online.’’

Then in 2007, the Harringtons decided to downsize from their large house in Co Kilkenny to a smaller one in Sandymount, Dublin. The estate agents came round, took the photos and details and put the house on the market. Three years later, it still had not sold, and Dorothy was not impressed.

“In my younger days, I had worked in an estate agency and I thought I was not getting the interest so in 2010 I decided we should have a go at selling it ourselves and I put the details on two websites. I immediately got a great response,’’ she says.

“In the very first week, we had three offers on the house and were able to get our asking price, which was great. I then found the house we are living in now on the web too. It was the best move we ever made.’’

Paddy was so impressed and proud of his wife’s achievements he nick-named her “mistress of the computer’’ and nominated her for Age Action’s Google Silver Surfer in 2011.

“I won,’’ she recalls. “I was so thrilled to win and proud. I think these awards show that older people are quite capable of using a computer. So many of my friends don’t use the internet and they are missing out on so much.’’

Now Dorothy, 78, uses the internet to email her daughter in England every day to keep up with “her news’’. Her daughter is a professional harpist and has to have a different wardrobe for every tour.

“It’s amazing, she will come on Skype and show me her outfits to see what I think. It makes me laugh, when she was getting married 23 years ago she went to a shop in England to buy her wedding dress. I wasn’t able to go over so the shop rang me to describe her dress to me.’’

Dorothy cannot imagine her life without her computer. The first one was a present from their son, who felt his parents should embrace new technology. He now regularly upgrades it for them.

“It was a bit trial and error at first,’’ she says. “I persevered and got into it. Unfortunately at the time we didn’t live in Dublin so could not go to any of Age Action’s computer classes.’’

Dorothy also loves tracking down difficult items to buy on the internet. Her recent purchases include customised curtains which were €300 cheaper than in her local shop and a pair of navy shoes on eBay.

“I was so delighted, the shoes were brand new and came within a couple of days,’’ she says.

“I also buy lots of films on it and love Googling movies to see who the stars are. I have great fun on the computer.’’

Not surprisingly, Dorothy urges other older people to go to their local computer classes and learn how to get the most out of the internet.

“I think a lot of old people are frightened by computers, they think they are going to break it or make some mistake. You can accidentally delete things, but that is the worst that can happen,’’ she says.

And what is Dorothy’s next project?

“To find something special for my husband’s 80th birthday this year,’’ she says, laughing.

To nominate for this year’s Silver Surfer Awards see www.ageaction.ie or phone Anne-Marie on 01-475 6989. Nominations close on Sunday Sept 15, 2013.