Well, just make sure you don't step into that big puddle that is in the way between your house and mine. You know, the one they call the Atlantic. I would be glad to help, but you are in the UK and I am in LA. (Lower Alabama) Enterprise, AL to be exact. Only town in the world with a public monument to an insect, the boll weevil.
However, with Linux, it is possible to try it, before you buy it. There are many different distros of Linux that will allow you to create a bootable DVD or flash drive. You can use them to start your computer or laptop, try out Linux, and then decide whether to install it or not. Two of the most popular are Mint and Ubuntu desktop. I have used both, but right now I am using the latest Ubuntu. Under the hood, Linux is quite different from windows but what you see from a users standpoint, they a pretty similar.
Ubuntu is so easy to use, that all I had to do for my wife (she's Korean) was show her where the volume and screen brightness were, and she manages just as well as she did with Vista and WIndows 7. She is heavy into Dramafever for Korean TV and movies and using Skype for phone calls to all of her relatives and friends all over the US and Korea.