I can recommend the Hugo course by Dorling Kindersley.
If you have already done Duo Lingo you should really benefit from this and I used to do the exercises for half an hour each day after breakfast before we moved.
I have to admit to an enormous sense on achievement of my very limited French this morning…
I have spent the last few years using Google Translate and more recently Deepl.
The time came to book a table at a restaurant for this coming Saturday by email - in a moment of overwhelming confidence I thought NO - just give it a go… So off I stumbled “flying solo” - and I managed to write a full sentence in French - then clicked send. It later dawned on me that I hadn’t checked my mini-novel via a translate website - so I thought I had better check it to ensure I had actually booked a table for four people this coming Saturday rather than booking my poodle in for a manicure on Friday (don’t have a poodle) - and to my astonishment there was only 1 minor spelling error.
I therefore declare that I am a near fluent French speaker! - well not exactly but I have very nearly managed to write a whole single sentence “flying solo” - so little steps and one day I may even manage a phone call!
I would like to recommend Learn French with Paul Noble on Audible - it does wonders for your confidence and seems to take you from having a bit of disjointed vocab to be able to have useful conversations.
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Every small step is a great achievement… well done… 
Well done mate.
I was feeling fairly chuffed having booked a chimney sweep by text (in French, naturally) while walking around Tesco at home doing the weekly shop - sans dictionnaire. My wife was not so pleased by the amount the task distracted me from the shopping though!
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No I think 4 years it is as financially that’s when it stacks up for us. I’d be a year off being able to draw down my civil service pension early at that point. So I could take my lump sum at 55 and live off what’s left. So a year before we sell the bungalow in UK take the capital from that and plough it into the major restorations at that point. That’s the plan at this point anyway. Some of that may depend on where house prices go with Brexit. So I’m praying for a no Brexit option at the moment and go back to the status quo of being in the EU!
Aren’t we all?
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I am and I’m not.
In terms of our relationship with the EU I would favour cancellation of Brexit in the short term - but that would not heal the split in the country caused by the whole thing nor fix the very real problems that the UK has in terms of housing, education, training, industry etc.
We cannot just return to the status quo ante the 2016 referendum.
Worryingly Raab was just about threatening that the government would ignore parliament and allow a default no deal exit - I’m a bit worried May is so wedded to her “My Deal or No Deal” stance that she would allow that. Probably, if it was clear that was the route there would be a confidence vote that the Tries would loose and we’d have a general election but Corby as leader to deliver Brexit is no better than May - and probably worse (Labour infighting on Brexit has merely not been under the spotlight).
I have not changed my mind on a further referendum - I still don’t think it is likely to provide the answers that the country needs.
I think there is some chance May will get her deal through - though not in next week’s vote. I don’t think it is a good plan and it kicks too much down the road meaning we will be stuck either in indeterminably extended transition or in the backstop, neither of which are terribly good outcomes.
I hope that there will be a groundswell behind EFTA and EEA membership that way - I see this as the best compromise available currently. It delivers on Brexit, on the NI border without the backstop, on the ECJ jurisdiction, probably could be made to deliver on trade and (by applying existing controls rigorously) could be made to deliver partially on immigration.
Unfortunately the groundswell, if anything, is behind another referendum which I feel is a mistake.
James Naughty said this morning that the Tory party is broken.
He is a very astute and well connected commentator and methinks he knows what is going on in the background.
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You need be neither astute or well connected to see the Tories are (possibly irretrievably) split and teetering on being unable to get government business through.
I meant more in the direction of the right wing being forced to hive off if they lose their adamant stance on Brexit.
If we get to the stage of a leadership election, Dominic Grieve has already stated that he would not stay in a Party led by BoJo and probably anyone else associated with him. His own standing in the past few days has grown immensely and I would hope that he would stand.
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Yes, so did I when I said they are irretrievably split. They just haven’t (quite) actually fallen apart into two parties.
Sadly that will mean a labour government - if it weren’t inevitable anyway splitting the right side of the political spectrum will leave no alternative that could get into government.
Unfortunately Corbyn as leader will be as effective as a one-legged man at an arse kicking party.
I’m slightly surprised Paul, that you take no account of the enormous success that has attended the floor-based arse-kicking parties that are playing such an important part in helping to rehabilitate amputees in the war-torn Middle East, where - on convivial social occasions - people stretch out on luxurious carpets and floor-cushions to engage with each other. No need for standing up to kick or to bend over!
This also allows for the huge enjoyment of kicking arse with bare feet, if not bare arses,or so I am reliably informed by enthusiasts.
It may, of course, not be to Jeremy Corbyn’s taste. One may never know, perhaps?
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He’d still not be any use even at those events, clearly aimed at enabling a wider range of activities hitherto thought to be denied to those with less than the normal compliment of lower limbs because, like most politicians, he can’t find his arse - even with the application of both hands.
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Sadly true, Paul,and shrewdly observed as usual.
You may agree that some unfortunate arse-blind members of the poltical classes might be helped towards enhanced sensibilty by participating in some arse-kicking sessions, as recipients. Spanking machines in the House gymnasium?
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Ian Dunt on the statements by Raab and Leadsome regarding Grieve’s amendment - it seems I was not the only one to go “what?” at Raab’s statement on R4 this morning.
I don’t know where to suggest we go from here - I’d like to say the logical step, following the vote next week and assuming the very likely outcome of the government losing, would be for Labour to call no-confidence, and they really need to cite the total failure of parliamentary democracy - the Tories are being very clear at present that they will ignore parliament if it suits them.
However that would inevitably lead to a general election which would not solve much of anything.
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I thought that certain membes passed into the red light districts and paid a fortune for that ‘pleasure’.
I am quite happy to ‘pass the whip’ around all politicians, for free. My goodness don’t they deserve a good whipping …? 
I’ve been reading the gov.uk communications about Brexit, over the last few months, and keeping an eye on the gouv.fr page for my Départment which is 01 Ain. The application form and info which used to be available from Ain has gone, and the first step seems to be to make an appointment. It looks like we have to make separate appointments for the two of us, despite using the same documents to support our applications, and we’ve been printing off and photocopying electricity, local tax, water bills etc. However when we look at the appointment system there is never a slot available!
Has anyone else tried to make a Titre de Sejour application within 01 Ain in the last two or three months? I know others have applied for theirs elsewhere, but no two Dépts seem to be following the same rules or procedures, whatever the French Government may say.
I can’t see any point in making the application before knowing whether there is a deal or not, but if we suddenly need a card at the end of March because the UK leaves on WTO terms, I don’t think our Maire will be in a hurry to kick us out. It may already be too late to organise the dog’s id in the case of UK being an unlisted third country, but we will stay wherever she’s allowed to go. What the heck, if we didn’t like taking risks and stepping into the unknown we would never have sold our UK house and moved over to our French ruin in the first place!
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I said over a week ago, just go to another bordering country, me Spain, for a day, shopping trip, or fuel, keep the receipts. No ones knocked on my door this week looking for documents. And look, most of them dont want to pay high unfair taxes, giletts jaunes. I am in France, but live where I want in Europe. If he can order a chimney swwep in Tesco, whats the occassion?