About Silversurfers

At Silversurfers, we believe that every stage of our lives should be embraced with positivity, enjoyment and enthusiasm. Our focus is celebrating the things that uplift us, inspire us and helping make the most of every day.

Our goal for every member and visitor is to leave Silversurfers more positive than when you arrived. A Boost of Positivity!

Silversurfers approach is: “Life Positive” and we’ll be sharing frequent tips for well-being, stories of joy and inspiration, and advice on living a balanced, healthy, and happy life.

Whether it’s finding new passions, making new friends and engaging in our wide range of entertainment, debates and hobbies; our Life Positive theme is empowering you to enjoy an even fuller life, and approach every moment with optimism.

Stay tuned on Silversurfers for articles, features, and updates to help you embrace Life Positive with open arms!

Let’s make life brighter, together.

We warmly welcome you and hope you enjoy Silversurfers.

MEET THE TEAM

• Martin Lock – Founder & CEO

  

   

  My journey on the internet started over 20 years ago in 1998 heading up e-commerce for British Airways in the UK during the early days of the Internet.

  For me, the Web offers profound benefits to everyone ranging from the ability to keep in touch with friends and family, meet new people, enjoy their views and add to the debate plus providing a wealth of information.

   

  It enables us to buy goods and services online as simply as possible and at the best prices. Ultimately it is a tool to make all our lives more rewarding. Keeping these themes in mind Silversurfers offers all our members and visitors an enjoyable, trustworthy and friendly community with highly engaged social networks where members can learn, laugh and share together. Silversurfers also has top independent brand partners offering special discounts to our members.

   

  During my years, I have traveled extensively enjoying skiing, climbing and mountain biking and have written articles on Silversurfers about some of the stunning places I have been lucky enough to visit, many of them in this wonderful country of ours; Great Britain.

   

  We hope you enjoy Silversurfers and we welcome everyone as our friends.

• Preston Rabl – Chairman

  

  Preston qualified as a chartered accountant and then became a stockbroker. He moved from being a partner in Henderson Crosthwaite to become the joint founder of WPP plc from which he resigned in 1987. Since then he has been a director of, an investor in, or advisor to various public and private companies. He is an investor in Silversurfers and is also our Chairman.

• Sally Lock – Co-Founder & Creative Director

  

  My career took off in British Airways, working in Procurement, Operations, Logistics, and the Marketing departments during my early working life. Selected for Top Flight Management Academy, I was one of the youngest Managers to be promoted in BA.

   

  Proud mother of three grown up daughters, and always able to adapt, I had my own Event Management business during the early years of motherhood. Since then I have been writing blogs and features for some years, specialising in recipes and was a recipe adviser for Woman’s Journal. I also previously wrote blogs for an environmentally friendly garden website.

   

  The ultimate multi-tasker, I am also the Creative Director and Website Editor for Silversurfers and manage all the social media too. We have already grown our friends on Silversurfers Facebook site to over 1 million with over 10 million friends interacting some months. To me, this is amazing and shows how many of us are enjoying social interaction online meeting new friends and keeping in touch with our current ones.

   

  Away from my computer, I have a reputation as an extreme thrill seeker, having bungee jumped several times, plus a tandem parachute jump, all in the name of fundraising for various children’s charities. I recently ticked off the top item on my ‘Bucket List’ and climbed Kilimanjaro, to mark reaching my 50th year. Next on my list is Wing Walking!

   

  You are never too old to enjoy life! I look forward to seeing you enjoying Silversurfers.

• Peter Hannant – Business Development Director

  

  As a business to business sales and marketing specialist I have amassed over 25 years of experience in a variety of finance, technology and motoring organizations including RBS, Lex, Sage and IRIS Group.

   

  Over the years I have built sales and marketing teams that deliver substantial growth. In 2004 I was a lead member of the MBO team that bought IRIS Software. In the following years I led the IRIS sales and marketing teams through a period of strong organic growth, major restructuring and multiple acquisitions that resulted in the successful sale of the IRIS Group.

   

  Since then I have advised a number of start ups in a variety of sectors.

   

  At Silversurfers I am responsible for developing the valuable relationships with businesses that need help in reaching the over 50’s community. Silversurfers and our social media forums provide a unique opportunity for our business partners to engage with this vibrant and expanding, web savvy, group that hold the bulk of the UK’s wealth.

   

  I hold a Business degree and more recently studied for a degree in Photography, which is one of my many passions.

   

  Outside of work I am extremely active with a passion for outdoor sports. I am a keen cyclist, road and MTB, single figure handicap golfer, regular skier and an enthusiastic, but limited, surfer on North Devon’s golden surfing beaches. I have run the London Marathon (slowly) and have trekked in the Himalayas, Alps, Dolomites and Andes.

   

  I share the positive outlook of the Silversurfers community and look forward to my second century exploring the parts of the world that I have not yet experienced.

• Denise Pritchard – Communications Director

  

  I am Silversurfers communications director and am delighted to be a member of the team developing and growing this exciting new online community.

  I have over 25 years marketing experience including strategic marketing, analysis and planning, implementation of tactical activities and managing integrated marketing communication campaigns for clients in the UK and internationally. At Silversurfers, my focus is to implement marketing solutions which enhance our brand perception.  To that end, I believe in creating flexible and integrated communications solutions to support and meet our business objectives. I have rolled out this approach successfully with a diverse range of companies including ABN AMRO, Ricoh, AMD, Lombard Technology Services, Forensic Risk Alliance, ITV, BT, Neilson Active Holidays and Forrester Research.

   

  I have a Law degree from UCL (London) and am a trustee of the educational charity Reach to Teach (www.reach-to-teach.org).

   

  In my spare time I love to travel and have just returned from touring Europe in an American Motorhome for 15 months. This gave me the opportunity to sample regional food and wine (another passion) and to get a real insight into the diversity of European culture. I am also an animal lover and my husband and I rescued a few dogs on our travels and found them loving homes in the UK. On the sports front I am a keen rider, walker and (poor) tennis player.

   

  I am actively involved in working to bring the Silversurfers brand to our customers.

   

• Simon Coxshaw – Silversurfers Webmaster

  

  I am a perfectionist.

   

  I am also what is commonly known as a Geek. It is my job to ensure that Silversurfers remains ever present on the Internet.

   

  With over 19 years experience designing and building industry standard websites, I am delighted to be part of the Silversurfers revolution and am already obsessed with the aesthetics and functionality of our fast-growing online community.

   

  After Graduating, with honours from Middlesex University, I began my transition from the dark arts of print to the fast-moving world of online marcomms. After many years in full time employment I decided it was time to go my own way and started my own web development company called Pixxels.

   

  If I manage to tear myself away from my desk you will find me either, trying to turn back the years on a football pitch or throwing myself down a hill on my bike.  My other passions include photography, bridges and skiing and I try to combine all three wherever possible!

   

• Nigel Colne CBE – Non-Executive Director

  

  I am a retailer.

   

  For all my working life I have been interested in and concerned for what the customer wants – quality, value, and service.

   

  I started as a Junior Trainee with Marks and Spencer – worked for them for nearly 38 years, the last 16 as an Executive Director – many of my life long business philosophies were formed during my early years at M&S -a respect and concern for customers, staff, and suppliers,and a passion to do things better – I have sought to apply these principles to everything I have done since.

   

  I was a Non-Executive Director of the Halifax Building Society during the 1990′s – this period included the merger with the Leeds and subsequent conversion to a plc.

   

  I was Non-Executive Chairman of Pizza Express and Town Centre Restaurants, and for over 20 years was a Non-Executive Director of Woolworths’ the premier retailer in South Africa retiring in 2010. During this time I chaired Audit, Risk and Remuneration Committee’s.

   

  In 1985 I attended the Advanced Management Programme of the Harvard Business School.

   

  For 6 years I was a Non-Executive Director of the Management Board of the DHSS and I was awarded a CBE for this work in 1993. This bought together business, the civil service and government and was a fascinating time for me.

   

  My personal interests center on wildlife and conservation both in the UK and more widely in Africa and Asia. I am Trustee of the David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation and am involved in other conservation work. I was also UK Vice President of Special Olympics an international charity providing sport for those with intellectual disabilities.

   

  In any remaining spare time I am a sports fanatic; a life long Spurs supporter,and a pretty good tennis player in my past! Ballet, Symphony and Opera round off a fairly full life.

   

  I am married to Vicki and live in East Sussex.

   

  As a Director of Silversurfers I apply a lifetime of experience to the social media opportunities for what is now very much my generation.

• Adrian Barr-Smith – Non-Executive Director

  

  A solicitor specialising in company/commercial law, I was a partner in London City law firm Dentons for over 20 years, advising clients such as Sky Television, Premier League, CNN, England & Wales Cricket Board, especially as regards their digital presences. I continue as a consultant and audit committee chair at the firm, which now has 2,600 lawyers worldwide.

   

  I am non-exec chair of Verita, which is a small management consultancy, conducting investigations and offering independent complaints handling, predominantly in the public sector. I also serve as trustee and finance and audit committee chair of Education for Health, which is a charity principally training health professionals in the care of long term conditions, such as asthma or diabetes. I am an accredited commercial mediator and also undertake mediations in the community under the auspices of Mediation North Surrey.

   

  How do I relax? Well I am a ‘cricket tragic’ and indeed part owner of cricket bat manufacturers John Newbery. During London 2012 I was privileged to volunteer as a doping control station manager at both Olympics and Paralympics. As a result, I can now now count myself as one of the UK’s leading authorities on the sport of handball.

   

• General Sir Graeme Lamb KBE, CMG, DSO – Non-Executive Director

  

  I grew up in a great family, enjoyed a rugged education at Rannoch in the Highlands of Scotland and managed to convince the Army Board that I might just make the cut as an Infantry Officer and that by the age of 17 was Chapter one. Chapter two was 38 years of service to crown in the finest of company often in the most difficult of circumstances, and if I could do it all again I wouldn’t change a thing.

   

  I find myself today in Chapter three of this life and amongst a number of other demands, A trustee with Walking With the Wounded, an Honorary Colonel, Adviser, Chairman, consultant and now a Director of Silversurfers.

   

  And you might well ask why I got involved; my rules in this life learnt as a career soldier on operations is people matter, they are simply one’s anchor point in life while purpose provides the course on that journey. Silversurfers provides for both, the team, are by my reckoning good people who are simply committed to making this a success underscored by a driven sense of purpose.

   

  And you might ask what you can expect; I expect in this life to get what is written on the tin, so should you. If I doubted the integrity, underlying honesty and commitment to provide anything other than a safe virtual place for good people to gather I would not be part of this, it is, so I am quite simply your safety net. Trust is the strongest link in life’s great endeavours so it will be here.

   

  So I will continue to snowboard, remain a committed supporter of P90X an increasingly slower runner and trusted friend on the Board.

• Lyndsay Menzies – Non-Executive Director

  

  I am a passionate digital marketeer having been involved in running and growing digital agencies since the year Google was born. I was a member of the founding team, and latterly the CEO, of Bigmouthmedia which became Europe’s leading search engine marketing agency, running global digital marketing campaigns for the likes of British Airways, Marriott, Skype, Barclays and Hilton Hotels Corporation.

   

  Following the acquisition of Bigmouthmedia in 2009, I became CMO of LBi International, a Dutch listed technology and marketing company. In 2012 this business was acquired by Publicis at which point I decided it was time for a bit of R&R and took a sabbatical moving to Mallorca to live in the olive groves with my husband complete with my 2 Bengal cats! The sabbatical turned into maternity leave and I ended up having to improve my Spanish rapidly before having our little boy in Palma in November 2012! After 18 months in Mallorca, the desire to get back to normality (and a working internet connection) saw us head back to the UK where I set up a new digital marketing agency 8 Million Stories (8ms.com) with a selection of some of the most talented colleagues I had worked with over the years. 8MS specialises in monetising brands by connecting content and digital marketing.

   

  Martin the CEO of Silversurfers and I have enjoyed worked together many times over the years and when he told me about Silversurfers, I was really excited. What a great challenge to build something so unique with a fantastic team. I had to get involved!

• Chris Oliver – Director

  

  I have worked in the in the commercial real estate industry for over 25 years and in 1989 I co-founded Salmon Developments Plc a leading London commercial development company. The last two decades I have been creating and managing other development companies focusing on the commercial market.

   

  Internet businesses interest me because the web has shaped all of our lives in so many ways in such a short space of time and continues to do so. Along with millions of other families in the UK we have changed our shopping habits and now get our weekly shopping online. Finding information is easy using search engines and purchasing most day to day products is simplicity itself especially on sites such as Amazon. Booking travel, especially flights is also simple as well as all the different components such as car hire, parking and hotels.

   

  I have been involved in Silversurfers from the beginning and have been amazed at the membership growth and interaction of our visitors on the Facebook site which provides a forum for hundreds of thousands of our members to enjoy posting and reading comments about a huge range of subjects.

   

  I really enjoy Silversurfers with our exciting growth and journey forward!

• Mr Isaac Nyamekye MBChB, FRCS, MD – Medical Editor

  

  I am a Consultant Vascular and Endovascular Surgeon and am privileged to a part of the Silversurfers revolution. I have held a substantive NHS appointment as Consultant Vascular Surgeon at the Worcestershire Royal Hospital for the last 14 years and I undertake my consultant private practice in Spire and BMI hospitals in Worcestershire.

   

  I graduated in Medicine from Bristol University Medical School and trained in general and vascular surgery at London, Sheffield, and Bristol include the attainment of a higher degree Medicine and am a fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of England.

   

  As a consultant vascular surgeon I have specialist interest in areas that include laser, radiofrequency and foam treatments for Varicose veins, treatment for disabling sweating (hyperhidrosis) and a comprehensive range of arterial vascular operations that most often affect the Silversurfers generation. My long track record in vascular research, and invitations to lecture to colleagues at national and international meetings, have led to my keen interest in internet based research resources. This interest has been enhanced by the development of my business website www.the-vein-clinic.co.uk., one of the very first of the now ubiquitous web based sites for vascular information.

   

  My national profile includes membership of the council of the Venous Forum of the Royal Society of Medicine by election (I am the current honorary treasurer of this learned society) and I have recently completed a three year term on the council of the Vascular Surgical Society of Great Britain and Ireland. I am also a long standing member of the European Society of Vascular Surgery and of the Association of Surgeons of Great Britain and Ireland.

   

  Increasingly, the internet has become the first point of reference for medical information for prospective patients (and the worried well) even before they seek contact with their general practitioner. Whilst the internet is, superficially, an easily accessible method for obtaining instant medical knowledge the delivered content is unregulated and information so obtained can be as misleading as it can be informative. Expert medical reviews on Silversurfers will offer evidence-based medical articles that clarify fact from fiction for a number of topical medical conditions and will guide readers towards aspects of selected disease with which they can begin a dialogue with their GP or specialist.

• Adele Mitchell – Fashion & Beauty Editor

  

  As an award-winning freelance beauty editor, blogger and fashion copywriter with over twenty years’ experience, I’ve worked for glossy magazines (Marie Claire, Top Sante), a national newspaper (The Independent) and international brands (House of Fraser, M&S, 20th Century Fox).

   

  I founded and continue to edit a successful blog, Foundbeautiful.com as well as contributing to Silversurfers. I am completely convinced that social media is the way forward, which justifies the amount of time I spend on Twitter – @adelemitchell – each day!

   

  My career started as a fashion model working with world-renown designers, photographers, hair and makeup artists which was a unique education in the power of image. As a journalist I love sharing the latest trends and innovations and aim to empower my readers.

   

  The Silversurfers community is made up of women who know their own style, love looking good, and it’s always a pleasure to write for them and read their feedback. Apart from reviewing spa treatments, attending swanky press launches and swooning over shoes, I also really enjoy mountain biking and am very lucky to live in the middle of one of the best areas for the sport in the UK.

• Paul Mitchell – Photographer

  

  I’ve been a photographer for twenty-five years and my camera continues to take me on an amazing journey.

   

  As an advertising and magazine photographer I’ve worked with pop stars, celebrities, the world’s top models, actors and royalty. I’ve travelled around the world on assignments, working everywhere from New York and Paris to a fishing boat in a Norwegian Fjord. I’ve shot on the Great Wall of China, Miami Beach and spent countless hours in East London warehouse photographic studios.

   

  However what I love most about photography is the moment, as I’m shooting, when I know that I have captured the image. It continues to be the most satisfying part of any assignment, and its what makes me pick up my camera every day.

   

  When I put the camera down I pick up a mountain bike! I’ve been a mountain biker for twenty years and love the adrenalin rush it gives to me. I try to ride three times a week and it keeps me pretty fit: age isn’t slowing me down yet!!

   

• Peter Mills – Gardening Editor

  

  I have spent my life gardening, working in garden centres and advising in all aspects of gardening, wildlife and bio-diversity in horticulture.

   

  My interest in gardening started in the 1970s at the Rural Studies Centre, then at two local nurseries to gain practical experience. In 1980 for further studies I went onto Hadlow Agricultural & Horticultural College. Whilst there I started up a market stall at Heathfield selling plants and vegetables, as well as supplying pubs in the local area.

   

  Following college I began to create an enviable gardening portfolio managing garden centers, being asked to join Clandon Park Garden Centre in Surrey as Manager at the age of 23. Whilst at Clandon Park I was a gardening radio presenter with the BBC. This continued for 15 years, building up valuable contacts with the RHS Wisley, live broadcasts from Chelsea & Hampton Court Flower shows, South of England & Surrey County shows.

   

  Now I am self-employed, working on a wide variety of gardens from private to large estates and also concentrating on consultancy and advisory work to fellow gardeners. I can often be found across the Southern Counties talking in public and recently have been recommended by the RHS Wisley to advise on horticultural problems in member’s gardens, including Pest & Disease problems, Lawncare advice and Pruning.

   

  With over 30 years of horticultural experience I enjoy providing regular gardening articles and advice on Silversurfers to all fellow gardeners.

• Keith Paterson – Founder

  

  I have spent over 30 years developing the use of personal computers and for the last 12 years have been committed to the spread of computing among the older generation with my website silverhairs.co.uk (which was the original inspiration for Silversurfers).

   

  Author of Silverhairs.co.uk since 1999. Book : “Hints and Tips for Silver Surfers” 2000.

   

  One of the advantages of running my site is that many companies ask me to add links to theirs. I ask them for donations to a charity which helps underprivileged children in a South African Township, which I have visited. As a result of this and donations from my hundreds of contacts the charity has received over £8,000.