On a Friday afternoon in the City of Hamilton, a group of Bermuda?s seniors sit in a room on Church Street, enjoying each other?s company and oblivious to the hustle and bustle of a faster paced Bermuda outside.

The members of the Special People?s Club meet every Friday afternoon at the Cathedral Hall to share a common bond and to reflect on a changing Bermuda.

Of the 40 seniors in attendance, many are in their 70s and 80s but are too young at heart to sit at home and waste their golden years. In a fast changing society, only one of the seniors had a computer and just five had cell phones, things which were not around in their younger days and things they still insist they can live without.

They used to find creative ways to entertain themselves and even now at their regular gathering ? there are a number of seniors clubs on the Island ? they still do simple things... like play board games, arts and crafts, sing or just enjoy each other?s company.

After all it takes a senior to understand another senior.

On the topic of cell phones, Mrytle Seaman, the 85-year-old president of the club, replied: ?I don?t use them at all, I think it is disgusting that parents allow the children to have them in school. That was the cause of the disturbance at Berkeley last year. In the city all you see is children with cell phones stuck up to their ear.

?We had our own kind of entertainment, we used to have dances and fairs which they called bazaars in those days. We got involved in sports, I used to play cricket, tennis, bowling... I still try to bowl.

?I was treasurer of the Bermuda Bowling Club for 20 years and all that work I did by hand. We just celebrated our 40th anniversary.

?I think the children get so tied up on computers and shows on TV that they don?t get out to see natural things. We used to like to go around the seashore and things like that, but I don?t think they bother with that too much now.

?They do have the Jason Project for the children but we did those things on our own.?

Nobody would deny that Bermuda ? in fact the world ? has changed dramatically ? even from 15 or 20 years ago. Electronic gadgets have made life more convenient ... and faster. The Internet is still a no-go area for a lot of seniors.

Leslene Daniels, the club?s secretary for the last five years, still prefers to write and keep her notes in a book, even though she appreciates the convenience of a computer.

?That?s progress in life and you just have to go along with it,? she accepts. ?As old people we don?t want to adjust to the new way but it is all upon us and we have to go along with it. It?s not like we understand it (computer), but some are really into it.

?I got a cellular for Christmas but I don?t even know how it works. They call me and it is not even on. I think it?s in my purse, I?m not sure. I?ve used it a few times.?

She added: ?As for computers, it would help me, I know. But my mind tells me I?m not ready to go there. It?s a whole new opening and is too much for my brain.?

In her 78th year, Ruth Hayward is the club?s vice president. She still plays the piano for two seniors clubs and at rest homes and is proud to say she embraces change as much as possible even if she still hasn?t been able to figure out the computer.

?My son has one at home but I don?t understand it,? admitted Ms. Hayward.

?I wish I could use the computer, I keep saying I?m going to learn one of these days. I have 16 grandchildren and keep telling them to get their education.

?They (young people) don?t seem to be interested today and yet they have so many opportunities. When I came along I wish I had an education, I didn?t get the chance to go to high school.?

Widow Relda Jones was working on a baby?s blanket she started crocheting two days earlier. It is something she wishes young girls would take an interest in.

?We were just talking about it, it is becoming a dying craft,? said Mrs. Jones who learned that, knitting, embroidery and sewing from her mother.

?When the seniors are gone the younger ones won?t be interested. Sometimes I would even make up a pattern of my own.

?It?s very good therapy for your hands, and your brain because you are thinking. I had stopped crocheting when my husband died, I just couldn?t remember how to do it. And now it is just starting to come back.?

Mrs. Jones attends the meetings every week and enjoys being around the other seniors. ?I enjoy them, always did,? she said.

Burnetta Ingham of Spring Hill, Warwick, who has a reputation for baking delicious cakes, is another member of the club.

?I used to make plenty of cakes for Bermudians, but I just do a few now, not as much as I used to,? she said. ?I make cakes and bread pudding for here.?

Phyllis Minks and Ruth Talbot may both in their 80s but still like to keep busy. ?I would say there is not enough for us to do,? said Ms. Minks who read a poem to the members. ?Some will sing and some won?t, I?m supposed to be the head of the entertainment.?

Ms Minks was involved in the North Village Marching Band?s women?s auxiliary for many years as president. She shared her views of how Bermuda has changed over the years.

?I would say there has been progress but not progressing the way it should be,? said Ms Minks.

?There are a lot of things young people don?t know how to do. They are into computers now, we are in the computer age, but sometimes they get into things they shouldn?t get into. I don?t do computers but my daughters do.?

Mrs. Talbot is a former school teacher until she retired in 1988, who recently celebrated her 81st birthday.

?Our parents would help us with our reading and spelling and arithmetic and grandmothers were a big help, but these children don?t visit their grandmothers much now,? said Mrs. Talbot who taught typing and shorthand.

?Now parents have three jobs and don?t have time to teach the children. I like the idea of small classrooms now.?

Towards the end of the meeting the group began singingas Ms Hayward played the piano.

?It is one of our anthems,? Mrs. Talbot revealed.

It summed up the spirit of the group.