Tech Talk and Toast at The Old Fire Station

We were delighted to recognise Tech Talk & Toast at The Old Fire Station with our Bright Ideas Award. It's a simple idea with a powerful impact: bring digital support into a trusted, welcoming community space, and pair it with conversation, toast and patience.

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A gap that runs deep

Digital exclusion rarely sits on its own, it deepens isolation, poverty and disadvantage. Nationally, up to 13–19 million UK adults lack the access, skills or connectivity to participate fully online, with low-income and disabled communities most affected. In Gipton, where the group is based, that need is especially clear, and citywide provision remains thin, with only around 6.3 digital inclusion hubs per 100,000 residents in Leeds.

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Tech Talk & Toast responds to that gap in a way that feels human rather than technical. Residents arrive for toast and conversation, then stay to learn how to use a phone, access services, message family or navigate online forms. Skills grow in context, alongside trust, confidence and social connection.

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K's story

K joined the group with very limited digital ability, once describing herself as "stuck using the internet for Facebook and Snapchat." Over 12 weeks of supported learning, she built the skills and confidence to use email, online tools and searches independently. That shift gave her the confidence to enrol on a local enterprise programme to develop her own catering business, later reflecting that the sessions were "the driving factor in helping me go for my dream."

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J's story

J initially said she "didn't like technology," despite owning devices. Through weekly sessions, she learned to manage online banking, prescriptions and GP appointments independently, easing stress and reducing her reliance on in-person visits. Just as importantly, she found connection along the way, sharing that "going to the group every Wednesday was so much fun… I got to make friends at the same time."

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B's story

Following a stroke, B had lost confidence with technology and communication. Through group learning, he began emailing family again and started using a diabetes monitoring app to manage his health independently, bringing him greater confidence and giving his family real reassurance too.

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Beyond the sessions

Together, these stories show how Tech Talk & Toast turns digital exclusion into confidence, independence and participation. The group has also become a platform for wider engagement. In March 2026, The Old Fire Station hosted a Money and Wellbeing event bringing together organisations including Virgin Money, Sky Mobile and West Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service, giving residents supported through the group the chance to engage directly with providers, ask questions and strengthen their financial and digital resilience.

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A gentle kind of brilliance

The brilliance of Tech Talk & Toast lies in its gentleness: digital inclusion not as a course to attend, but as something shared across a table. In a community where digital exclusion overlaps with poverty, disability and isolation, Tech Talk & Toast quietly reconnects people to the modern world, and to each other.

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Tech Talk and Toast at The Old Fire Station won the Bright Ideas Award at the inaugural Warm Welcome Awards.

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