LeisureCourses.net – short courses & residential study breaks in great locations

The Edge of History – Hitittes

Who was the great power of ancient Anatolia during Homer’s ‘Tale of Troy’?  Who was the cultural medium through which Hesiod created his pantheon of gods and goddesses?  Who created annals and the record of heroic deeds of their kings?  Over these sessions we discover the Hittites, their culture, their history and their...

Clothesmaking

The students will be able to construct a wide range of garments of their choice, with style, good fit and professional finishes. The course will cover any adaptations or adjustments to commercial patterns and making toiles to ensure a perfect fit. The tutor will be available for advice on problems with unfinished garments...

Botanical Watercolour Painting

This course is a perfect opportunity for beginners, as well as the more experienced, to paint in the lovely, peaceful and friendly surroundings at Knuston Hall. The summer is a good time to find a wide variety of stunning plants and flowers and the length of this course provides the chance to do...

Shimmering Silk Painting Secrets

Silk has a magical, shimmering quality, which together with the richness and vibrancy of colour can be transformed into something really special and unique. You do not have to be an accomplished artist to produce something quite spectacular. This course will introduce you to the absorbing process of painting on silk, and is...

The Delights of Summer in Beads Part 1

Join Stephanie in recreating some of the delights of summer through bead weaving techniques. During the course we may visit the seaside, a stunning garden or even travel further afield. Having fun with colour and texture to produce some stunning jewellery and accessories to keep or give as presents. A really fun...

Behind the Iron Curtain

The Cold War division of Europe seemed for many years to be a permanent situation,  but in the 1980s, a series of remarkable events took place that left each of the formerly communist Eastern European countries moving towards multiparty democracy.  This course looks at the history of the Warsaw pact countries, often viewed...

Weaving Summer School

Learn to weave on the latest folding rigid heddle looms from Ashford; for absolute beginners or those wishing to develop and explore advanced rigid heddle techniques such as second heddle. Complete at least two projects of choice from simple scarves to double weave hand bound books, throws, or cushions. Topics include: Design-sources of...

Creative Patchwork

Come to Knuston and create your own Patchwork! Whether you already know what to do or whether you need to start from scratch does not matter I can get you going. You will go home with knowledge and enthusiasm to carry on sewing!

Sing A Sound of Music

A fun filled weekend singing the amazing songs from the musical The Sound of Music. No previous singing experience or the ability to read music is needed, just the willingness to join in and enjoy yourself. There will be structured vocal warm-ups and tips to achieve the best from your voice and all of the...

Antiques Repair Workshop

This practical and enjoyable five day course will give you an opportunity to participate and learn from an expert ‘everything you ever wanted to know about furniture but were afraid to ask’. You will spend each day in the tutor’s own workshop in Wellington where specific problems will be overcome and techniques demonstrated. In addition,...

Victorian Artists, Their Models & Muses

From Dante Gabriel Rossetti and Elizabeth Siddal, to Lord Frederick Leighton and Dorothy Dene, the work of many Victorian artists was influenced by their models, many of whom became their muses, mistresses or wives. In this course we will investigate the often complex relationships between Victorian artists and their models and celebrate the spectacular works...

Modern physics for beginners: from Schrödinger’s cat to time travel

Are you intrigued by quantum weirdness or the idea of faster-than-light travel? This day course will introduce you to the ideas that revolutionised physics in the 20th century, and will explore how these ideas can be applied, from understanding volcanoes to navigating with GPS systems.

Jewish humour in the films of Mel Brooks and Woody Allen

You think The Producers is hilarious? Or do you think: "well, talk about bad taste!". Maybe you think that Annie Hall is Woody Allen's greatest film, or Manhattan, or Zelig, or Crimes and Misdemeanors...? Very different in their comedy personae, Woody and Mel both started their professional careers writing for Sid Caesar in the 1950s...

A history of special education in England

Idiot, defective, educationally sub-normal, handicapped – the labels put on children with special needs have changed over the last 150 years, but is it really a story of progress? You can judge for yourself as you explore behind the walls of the forgotten schools to which these forgotten children were consigned.

Women of the Italian Renaissance: who were they?

Have you ever seen a 'desco da parto' (birth tray)? What is it and what was it used for? And why is goddess Flora so often shown in paintings with a bare breast? For what special occasions were these things commissioned? All these objects are linked to the female sphere of Renaissance women. Through this...

Reading Classical Greek: Continuing Beginners (Students who began in September 2014 – Group D)

This weekend course is part of a series designed for those who want to learn Classical Greek. Over a series of weekends, Beginner students are introduced to the basic elements of grammar through reading passages adapted from ancient Greek authors. At Intermediate level, students move onto collections of passages selected from major Greek writers, and...

Shakespeare and the interpretation of history (online)

The interpretation of history mattered to Shakespeare and his contemporaries. Not only did the legitimacy of the Elizabethan regime under which they lived depend on a very particular reading of history, but retelling stories about the political past was a recognized way of talking obliquely about the political present. We will look closely at two...

Paper Marbling

An introduction to paper marbling.

Bead Needle Weaving

The Magic of Silk Painting

Silken Soutache Braid

Discover the sewn craft of Soutache Braid on a weekend residential course in Bristol. Your course starts with Friday dinner at 7 pm and runs through to Sunday afternoon tea, but you can check in from 3 pm and take advantage of the hotel’s facilities before you meet your fellow students. Fees include an en...

Christmas Creations Patchwork and Quilting

Making Art Cloth – Textile Workshop

Mosaics Course with Priscilla Wheater

Mosaics Design and Construction Begins on 27 September 2015 at 7pm with dinner and ends on 01 October 2015 at 2:00 PM after Lunch The twist is you can come along any day or days and Priscilla will give you expert tuition and allow you to do your own thing. So if you want to little dabble...

Antiques and Collectables

Sacred songs to soothe the soul

Playwriting: Tutored Retreat

Screenwriting: bring Characters and Stories Alive

Starting to Write: Alternative Love Relationships

Linocut Printmaking with Ian Phillips