A 101-YEAR-OLD woman has proved it is never too late to learn by starting to use e-mail to keep in more regular contact with her 70-year-old son in the US.

Taking advantage of free Internet access provided by Gateshead Council's People's Network, Cassie MacDonald has been giving her son, Bill, updates on life back home.

Mrs MacDonald, who used a computer for the first time with the help of librarian Susan Williamson, said: "When I was a girl, we learned to write with a blackboard and chalk or a fountain pen and ink; we never thought about this sort of thing."

Mrs MacDonald was born in Davison Street, Felling, Gateshead, on September 22, 1901. The eldest of 13 children and the only one surviving, she puts her longevity down to a life of hard work which has kept her fit and healthy.

Her husband, William, died more than 40 years ago, but she still has family at home, as her 74-year-old daughter, Joyce, lives near Peterlee.

Her son has lived in Oregon for more than 40 years and is married to Evelyn