IF you have ever fancied yourself as a performer, then a little help is on offer among a range of courses being staged in Broadway.

Farncombe Estate in Broadway is the 300-acre home of the Cotswold Conference Centre. But at the weekend, it stages courses, talks and events which can be enjoyed by arts lovers, as well as walking, music, yoga, history and food and drink buffs and more.

February's events have been announced and they give an idea of the range of topics on offer.

They begin with a course sure to make you popular with children and adults alike. Once Upon a Time: Storytelling Skills for All will be staged from February 4 to 6. That will run beside another weekend course called Why We Want to Go to the Moon, described as 'a weekend spent reliving one of the greatest achievements of all time - by a British citizen who spent his first decade as an adult helping people get there...'.

There is a Tai Chi day course on February 5 and then visitors staying for the weekend of February 11 to 13 will be able to sample what their grand or great grandparents enjoyed in their leisure time in a Victorian Entertainments Weekend. There will also be a separate evening talk on Earl Mountbatten of Burma.

On February 12, there will be an acting workshop for budding stage stars run by the well-known Mouthpiece Theatre.

And frustrated singing sensations can plunge in a give it a go in Can't Sing: Will Sing!, a weekend course running from February 18 to 20.

Then it's time for an interesting day school called A Brief History of Scientific Ideas in Western Culture, which is being staged on February 19.

All sorts of other courses on different subjects are staged during weekends at the estate, from ebay schools to guitar tuition to 'how to have a better life and achieve more'.

For more information about the courses and to book up, contact Farncombe Estate on 01386 854100 or visit www. FarncombeEstate.co.uk.