HOW WOULD you like to spend an evening watching Neighbours, Home and Away, Holly-oaks, Emmerdale, EastEnders, and Coro-nation Street - and that's your homework?

What's Happening in the Soaps? subtitled an Intro-duction to Media Studies, is a new Leisuretime Learning course on offer from Torfaen Adult Education.

It begins on Wednesday, September 17 and runs between 7pm and 9pm every Wednesday for 30 weeks - so real soap addicts need to set the video for Emmerdale and Corrie.

The course will be led by tutor Julia Rice and Diane Jenkins.

Diane, who organises courses for the Leisuretime Learning programme, said it was the latest in some unusual courses on offer.

"They're aim-ed at adults and last year we had between three and four thousand students," she said.

"This year we're doing a nice line in dog psychology, there's furniture rest-oration, gardening, lots and lots of arts and craft courses, there's sign language, and a great deal of computing and vocational courses. Learning how to be a classroom assistant has been hugely popular.

"There's a two-year course in holistic massage which teaches you how to be a masseur. That covers everything from anatomy and medicine to how to run your own business as a masseur."

Most of those signing up for the course are aged between 30 and 50 - and many are looking for a change in career.

But the more unusual courses are proving as big a draw as computer and business studies.

"Dog psychology has proved very popular and the man who's teaching that, Steve Vedmore, is a character," said Diane.

"He's been employed by Disney to train some of their animals for films." The evening courses run at venues from Blaenavon to Cwmbran, and cover subjects ranging from computing to photography to book-keeping. There are language courses in French, German, Greek, Italian, Russian and Welsh, and in more esoteric subjects like wine-tasting, family history, and salsa dancing.

* For more information about the courses call 01495 762266 or 01633 485052.