Go ahead, take a short course on that trip abroad

Throughout England and Wales, colleges, field centers, and universities make available -- to the occasional visitor -- short courses in such subjects as: French Painting pre-1850; Egypt Under the middle Kingdom; Machine Embroidery; Power in High Places; Pharaoh to Stalin; and Walking the dorset Coastal Path.

The French painting course is offered the last weekend in February in Higham Hall in the Lake District; Egyptian studies take place the same long weekend at Wansfell College in Essex, east of London.

You can learn about power as wielded by such authorities as the Pharaohs and Stalin the first weekend in March at Missenden Abbey in Buckinghamshire, and the winter walk along the Dorset coast is set for the first full week in March, sponsored by the Dorset Coast Study Center.

Most adult education centers in England and Wales welcome overseas visitors, but can only accommodate those with fluency in English. There is evidence that many olger tourists are seeking out some of these short course, adding what one called "spice" to his touring.

Two booklets list such courses, one published in January, the other in August.

Those interested in knowing the full range of available courses should send a check for $6 (covers airmail postage) to: National Institute of Adult Education, 19B De Montfort Street, Leicester LE1 7GE, england, and ask for the booklet entitled "Residential Short Courses."

But after deciding on which university or center you wish to study at, you must write direct to that institution for further details and to secure a place.