About Us
It all began with a public meeting on May 17th 1999 when an enthusiastic group of seniors decided to form a branch of Computer Pals for Seniors for the Upper Hills district with the aim of introducing seniors to the computer age in a fun, non-threatening manner. Tuition was to be on a one to one basis, no classrooms, no pressure, each to learn at his/her own pace.
On June 21st a committee was formed, office bearers elected, and "Computer Pals for Seniors, Galston and District " was in business. First there had to be somewhere for it to all to happen, and very generously Dural Historical Society offered use of their premises and computer at History Cottage in Galston and the management at Rowland Retirement Village offered use of a comfortable recreation room there. A generous grant from Hornsby council and kind offers of ’pre-loved‘ computers and we were ready to begin. Word went out that volunteer tutors were needed and they came: word spread that computer help was now at hand and suddenly there was a waiting list!
We‘ve managed to catch up with that now. We even have a number of ’graduate‘ former pupils tutoring and some are able to teach in very specialized areas which means there is a constant financial challenge while we try to keep the club computers as up to date as possible. Galston is a small club with small resources and no sponsors. Tutors will often travel to pupils‘ homes to be able to teach them on their own personal familiar machines. There are no blackboards, classroom style sessions or exams, just friendly support and encouragement as students learn at their own speed just what they want from the computer; and master the skills of word processing, surfing the web and playing games, or pursuing a special interest of their choice.
A leading figure in the Soviet government from the 1920s until 1957, Molotov rose to power as a protégé of Joseph Stalin. He became prime minister in 1930 and later served as foreign minister. Though he first negotiated a treaty with Hitler's Germany—the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact—after the 1941 German invasion, he worked to strengthen Soviet ties with the West. Why is the Molotov cocktail, a makeshift bomb made of a breakable container filled with flammable liquid, named for him?