Denman college, Oxfordshire

As promised, my first report from the WI (women's institute) college. I think this might be one of the places I have been looking for all my life!

Halfway through preparing the 'dough' for the seeded g-f bread in the very well-appointed cookery school, I suddenly realised that, for almost twenty years, I have wanted to go to cookery school. The closest I've got was an evening class in Asian street food last year. In the lottery that is life in large families, one of my three sisters did actually go to two cookery schools, mainly because my mother was desperate to find her a place that she wouldn't be expelled from! Fortunately, as the middle two sisters, she and I (eventually) got degrees and escaped the dreaded secretarial school, a fate that befell the eldest and youngest. My mother's and my school's ideas about careers for women were anything but enlightened.

But I digress. Nothing as boring as secretarial studies here, but you can do comedy writing, modular kniiting, indian vegetarian cookery, not to mention murder, sex and mayhem in old churches! If the latter didn't cost £310 I might just be tempted!

Fabulous accommodation, food and company here. Nothing is too much trouble. The women who run this place do understand that, when women go on holiday, they want to be looked after, to be treated as guests, and not to have to look after anyone themselves. That having been said, all the other course participants are friendly and helpful: most of them are returners. I see why.

Good news on the G-f front: no potato/tapioca/rice flour used so far! The emphasis is on whole foods, and using ingredients that have nutritional value in themselves. The course is also dairy-free and there is an effort made to reduce sugar/honey, etc, to a minimum. We have made our dough and left it to do its non-yeast thing overnight. I think I'm gonna like it.

Oh, and I get a whole bedroom to myself. Come to think of it, it's bigger than our bedroom at home...