Planning a holiday?

I often get asked for recommendations or tips for English courses in the UK (or Malta). It's not so easy. One thing you should look out for is that the course is approved by the British Council, who will have checked that your teachers have some sort of certification and are most probably not axe-murderers. Courses are often rather expensive and (to tell the truth) I'm not convinced of if they are really worth the money.

So my recommendation? Go on a National Trust working holiday.

The National Trust - as you know - is the simply perfect British organisation which takes care of countless historic properties and acres of countryside in the UK, keeping it in trust, as they say, 'For ever, for everyone'. That's not cheap of course, and the NT is funded by donations, members, charity events - and is based on the work of trillions of volunteers - including, over the last years, my Mum, Laura, Horst & me.

Visit http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/ and click your way through "holidays" (right hand side) to 'working holidays'.

This holiday may be a weekend or up to two weeks - you will be working in a team of (mostly) Brits - young and not so young, men and women, under the supervision of professional NT people and volunteer leaders. You can restore old buildings, clear gorse from Cornish hillsides, rebuild dry stone walls - well, take a look for yourself what's on offer.

And you know what, it's cheap. You stay in a (possibly quite basic) "basecamp", take turns in cooking the meals. There's plenty of free time and always the chance to go to the pub with your new friends. You will never, ever, get a better chance to improve your English and experience real intercultural challenges - starting from about €100.

I don't know what you're all waiting for!