Laurence talked about the impact of technology in a number of areas and reflected on his own attitude to technological change.

Mr Settle indicated that central heating wasn't around a number of years ago and so the introduction of this made it so much more comfortable for him and indeed the rest of the country. Cooking wasn't as easy as it could have been although the gas oven played a significant part in the preparation of meals in its prime. He feels that the modern day oven is good for simple things, but can be complex at times. He pointed out that technology sometimes 'plays up' with the elderly although, to quote Mr. Settle, "that's our attitude to technology".

His general attitude towards technology was negative simply because he has never really had the chance to experience it, but he would jump at the chance to learn how modern day technology and their systems work. He is interested in physics so is aware of a great change in the technology, in a way in which perhaps the typical person wouldn't know.

In terms of his accountancy history, because of the mental thought associated with this profession, there wasn't really much change within this realm. However, over time, the increased use of spreadsheets has made life somewhat easier for accountancy firms, because it is easier to make a note of data, and render accounts without doing much work.

Since the introduction of the metric system in '71, Mr. Settle noted that the construction of railway lines and tracks changed in that the measurements were much more universal throughout mainland Europe and so trade became much easier. However, there was still a significant element of manual work to be carried out and this has largely been replaced with automated robots for constructing the chassis and the rail track.

Mr Settle is particularly interested in the modernisation of telecommunications, for example, e-mails, facsimiles etc. and once more, he expressed his desire for an opportunity to be taught the basics within this realm. It was also worth noting that he felt that the majority of his age group share this view.

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