elderly pensioner with elderly MacBook Air. Should I get an iPad to replace it?

I recommend you visit your local Apple Store and take a look at the different iPads that are available. In my opinion, you would do well with an iPad. The associates at the store can help you figure out which one would be best for you.

Note that the online Apple Store has a Certified Refurbished section where refurbished Macs and iPads usually go for 15% off original list price.

Certified Refurbished Products - Apple

It doesn't always make sense to go for a Refurbished deal on an older model. However, the Certified Refurbished process is a high-quality one – and you get a machine that looks practically new, with a 1-year warranty. I bought two Macs this way, and would not hesitate to buy another Mac or iPad in this fashion IF the configuration I wanted was available AND the price was right.

One consideration might be screen size – having some room to see stuff, especially for reading news, or shopping, or watching movies. There, desktops, or laptops paired with external screens, have an advantage.

Another consideration might be price, and usability when you're not within range of a Wi-Fi hotspot. If you don't need a high-end iPad – one with hardware roughly equivalent to that of a MacBook Air – there is the iPad (10th generation). If you're sure you'll never store much of anything on yours (including photos), the 64 GB one with Wi-Fi only goes for $349. It's easy to run that up to $650 quickly – select (256 GB, Wi-Fi + Cellular) – but that is still less than what you would pay for a MacBook Air.

Two arguments for getting "Wi-Fi + Cellular" on an iPad:

• If you do, and you enroll the iPhone in a cellular data plan, you'll be able to access the Internet from the iPad even when you aren't near a Wi-Fi hotspot.
• Likewise, an iPad with a cellular Internet connection can use that connection, and its GPS receiver, to provide you with turn-by-turn directions while driving – directions that update automatically if you do not choose to follow the iPad's suggestions to the letter. This is something useful that iPhones can also do – but that MacBook Airs can't.