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East Lothian Courier
Doctor wrote 'Grannie’s Guide to the internet'
Book ReviewEast Lothian Courier, 8th September 2000
A Tranent doctor has written a self-help booklet entitled 'Grandma’s Guide To The Internet' after her mother took up computing at the ripe old age of 82. Mother of three Dr Linda Ingham, who practises psychiatry at Herdmanflat and Edenhall Hospitals, decided to write the book after she tutored her mother, Joan, on the basics of computing.
The book, described as a 'light-hearted but informative introduction for the complete novice,' also has a range of cartoons drawn by the author’s brother, natural history illustrator Richard Bell.
Inside, computer novices will find a whole host of essential and useful information designed to get them on to the internet with the least amount of pain and hassle.
'We had a spare computer at home and asked my mother if she would have any use for it. At first she said she could never use a computer and didn’t want it,' said Dr Ingham.
'But she then came back to us and said she would like to try it out. My husband set it up for her and he also tried to tell her how to use it.
'Unfortunately he used a little too much computer jargon and my mother was as lost as she had been at the outset.
Dr Ingham is the first to admit she knows very little about computers herself and her limit is sending e-mail and using a word processor.
'I decided to explain in my own terms, which are very simple, how to do the basics and she understood. Now we communicate on a regular basis by e-mail,' she said.
Having had some success with her mother, Dr Ingham and her brother discussed putting together a self-help book on the very basics of the internet and so the book was born.
Now Dr Ingham says she has just ordered her first batch of groceries over the internet and is beginning to see the endless possibilities it offers.
'I took my first delivery of groceries today and then realised what an excellent tool for the elderly the internet could be.
'I think we have to discern between the enthusiast who can troubleshoot and the ordinary person on the street, and the book is aimed at them,' she said.
The book, which is published by Willow Island Editions and costs £2.95, went on sale last Monday and has gone to a major distributer, so should be available across the country. So far there have been orders from the Bristol and Blackpool branches of Waterstone's and locally Kesley’s bookshops in Haddington and Musselburgh are stocking it.
The book can also be ordered on the internet from Dr Ingham’s brother on richard@willowisland.co.uk
Willow Island Editions
ISBN 1-902467-07-8
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