Write a blockbuster
Escape to write a novel and you’re in good company. Ian Fleming and Agatha
Christie found inspiration in foreign hideaways. The Skyros Writers’ Lab is
based on its Greek island namesake, and holds advanced and beginners’ novel
writing courses. You stay in bougainvillea-clad houses with sea views,
ten minutes from beachside contemplation. The centre recruits tutors such as
Sue Townsend, Hanif Kureishi and the Poet Laureate Andrew Motion. Or you can
sample shorter sessions at its sister destination, The Grange, in Shanklin
on the Isle of Wight. Both centres also offer other courses, including yoga,
life coaching and meditation.
Details: Skyros Writers’ Lab (020-7267 4424, www.skyros.co.uk)
starts at £875pp for a 14-night stay, including half-board, writing tuition
(three hours a day) and airport pickup. Transfers from Athens extra. Flights
from London to Athens with British Airways (0870 8509850, www.ba.com)
start at £118 return. Courses at The Grange start at £150, including a two
nights stay, breakfast and writing tuition (four hours a day). Ferry tickets
from Portsmouth to Ryde from £17 return (0870 5820202, www.wightlink.co.uk).
Be a world champion
Even with Tim Henman’s departure, you might be too old for Wimbledon glory.
Learn a sport with less hype, though, and you could notch up a world ranking
just by taking part. One option is The World Championship of Dominoes
– All Stars Weekend, in Montego Bay in Jamaica, Oct 18-21. There’s £75,000
prize money, enough to fund a temporary exit from the rat-race in style.
Games are played among generous helpings of rum, jerk chicken and fiendish
match disputes.
Details: Taking part costs £50 each day, including unlimited food and
drink. More details by e-mailing the organiser Roddy Schaaffe on rschaaffe@aol.com.
A 14-night stay at Holiday Inn Sunspree, where the championship is held,
costs £1,069pp on an all-inclusive basis, with flights from London to
Montego Bay with First Choice (0871 2007799, www.firstchoice.co.uk).
Or you could sweat it out at the National Penny Farthing Championships
in Launceston, Tasmania, on February 23 next year, considered the world
showdown of antique bike racing, with competitors from 23 countries trying
to outpace each other on replicas of the old cycle.
Details: Seven nights in Tasmania, including B&B, car hire, and
return flights, start at £1,560pp with Turquoise Holidays (01494 678400, www.turquoiseholidays.co.uk).
For more information on participating, insurance, bike hire and
specifications, call 00 61 3 6391 8223, or visit www.evandalevillagefair.com.
Fight through anxiety
Resist the urge to have a punch-up with your managing director. Instead, save
your angst for a high-tech shoot-out at fighter pilot school in
Arizona’s Phoenix Valley. Flight missions take off in aircraft equipped with
gun sights and dual controls, but sound effects replace real bullets.
Details: Fighter Combat International (00 1 480 279 1881, www.fighter
combat.com) offers various courses. Advanced Air Combat Mission costs
£542 for a three to four-hour programme, which includes a 60-minute flight
and aerobatics. Introduction to Air Combat Manoeuvring costs £344 for a
programme lasting roughly three hours, with 30 minutes of flight time.
American Airlines (020-7365 0777, www.americanairlines.co.uk)
flies from Heathrow to Phoenix via Chicago from £331 return.
If all that gadgetry baffles you, go for the raw deal at the gladiator
training school in Rome. Cloaked in tunic, sandals, belt, iron,
protective gloves and a wooden training sword, you learn the key moves of
the ancient fighters. Tell colleagues that you’re going. They’ll agree with
anything you say when you come back.
Details: Rome Cavalieri Hilton (00 39 06 3509 2031, www.cavalieri-hilton.it
). Gladiator school is £350 a day for up to eight people. Citalia (0870 909
7554, www.citalia.com) offers three
nights’ B&B at the Cavalieri from £609pp, based on two sharing,
including BA flights from Gatwick.
Around the world
It’s the best excuse for being out of contact by mobile. Head to territory
that’s been off-limits to even the most hardened explorers, and reach the North
Pole. A 15-day expedition leaves by boat from Murmansk, home to a
Russian fleet of icebreaker ships. These vessels power intrepid travellers
through dense Arctic pack ice on a quest to reach 90 degrees north, heading
past polar bears, walrus and ivory gulls. You can take in aerial views with
excursions on the ship’s helicopters. At the final goal, there’s a chance to
hike across the ice, and effectively walk around the globe in less than 60
seconds. Tour operator WildWings is also hoping to set up deep-sea
expeditions to explore shipwrecks such as the Bismarck and Titanic in 2008.
Details: The 15-day North Pole Expedition costs £11,745pp with
WildWings (0117-965 8333, www.wildwings.co.uk),
including return flights from Helsinki to Murmansk, cabin accommodation, two
nights in a Helsinki hotel, transfers to the vessel, all meals onboard ship,
helicopter excursions and landings, complimentary parka, and posttrip CD
with photos and videos.
Tarzan-like fitness
Even exercise-phobes won’t be able to resist. The Wildfitness retreat sets its
workouts to rebuild jaded bodies and minds in Watamu on the north coast of
Kenya. As part of its exercise regime you swap the rowing machine for canoeing
through mangroves, that dusty aerobics DVD for acrobatics on a desert
island and the treadmill for running through eucalyptus forests. The tutors
are a mix of world-class athletes, commandos and yoga teachers, all on hand
to help you to shed excess baggage. Groups are limited to 12 or fewer, and
you’re encouraged to compete against yourself by continually setting new
targets.
Details: Wildfitness (0845 0568343, www.wildfitness.com)
costs from £2,205pp for a nine-day programme, including massages, yoga and
nutrition workshops, three daily training sessions and all food. Flights
from London to Mombasa via Nairobi cost £454 with Kenya Airways (01784
888222, www.kenya-airways.com).
When it’s serious
The COMO Shambhala Estate in Bali specialises in dealing with afflictions that
can’t be cured by a one-off massage, such as divorce, death and burnout.
Packages include one-on-one counselling, yoga, t’ai chi and
activities designed to challenge guests, such as climbing nearby volcanoes,
or biking through the lush jungle.
Details: The COMO Shambhala (00 62 361 978 888, www.cse.como.bz)
offers the Stress Management programme for £1,300pp, including full board
for seven nights, 12 spa treatments and four private yoga sessions. Flights
with Thai Airways from London to Bali start at £701 return (0870 6060911, www.thaiair.com).
Crack up, feel better
The best remedy could be a dose of laughter. Pack your comic props for the Stand-Up
Comedy School, near Girona in Spain. Even if your soul seems drained of
humour, you’ll revive it with this shot of inspiration. On the course,
professional comics teach the art of comedy, including writing and
performing, so you can turn mid-life malaise into raucous wit. By the end
you should be able to perform in front of a live audience. If struck by
stage fright, you’ll learn valuable tips on building confidence and how to
deliver perfect one-liners. Useful for when you hand in your resignation to
the boss.
Details: Comedy School costs £495pp for a five-day break, including ten
hours’ tuition, B&B near Girona, a welcome drink and tapas, and a
wine tour and tasting, with Seven Day Wonder (0871 7341165, www.7day
wonder.com). Flights from London to Girona with Ryanair (0871 2460000, www.ryanair.com)
start at £43 return.
Midlife crisis? Get tattooed. It worked for me.
Asta, Hamburg, Germany