Hey Neil
If you don't like learning from tutorials and manuals I fear you might find this whole thing a bit of an uphill struggle....I've been dilligently going through the exercises and have still not found it easy. Ground to a bit of a halt myself in recent weeks and would relish the chance to meet some other hashers face to face.
The sort of help you're looking for would normally involve forking out large wads of cash (but it doesn't exist for a:m)...the forum is a fantastic resource and I've found people very generous with their help, but it helps if you know what you're asking...and if you're asking the most basic questions, the suggestion will probably be to read the manual.
There are some excellent video tutorials out there that you can just follow step by step...apart from what's available here, check out the Anzovin site, that might sort you out
good luck
Trevor