Passport renewal?

[Pale Rider]

I suppose the days of double parking outside the passport office in Petty France and renewing at the public counter are long gone.

 

[Blue Hills]

I suppose the days of double parking outside the passport office in Petty France and renewing at the public counter are long gone.

things do seem a lot more efficient - I remember that there used to be terrible panics, folk almost sleeping outside - I used to work with someone back in the 80s who knew someone who worked there. I seem to recall that he may have been a union activist and found that more stimulating than his job - I rather had the impression that there were a hell of a lot of strikes/go slows.
Of course you used to be able to wander into a post office and get a piece of paper called a British Visitors Passport with a nod from the person behind the glass with which you could then merrily bum around most of Europe.

 

[Pale Rider]

A few years ago the Passport Agency set up a handful of regional offices, including Durham and Liverpool, at which it was possible to renew at a counter.

I went to the opening of the Durham one, and marvelled at all the brand new kit, conference rooms, breakout rooms, rest rooms and so on.

At the time my desk was 1960s vintage, although still serviceable, and my chair wasn't a lot newer.

Strangely, the Durham office had several strikes, walkouts, and general industrial relations aggro.

This in turn led to some very aggrieved punters who had travelled to Durham on the hurry up, often from many miles away, to get their passport renewed for travel in the next day or two, only to find a picket line outside the office.

The office also produced a number of false application cases for Durham Crown Court.

All rather murky, but some of the false applicants appeared to be proper criminals.

There were one or two colourful arrests involving Durham coppers rolling around the passport office's Axminster as the dodgepot tried to avoid being captured.

 

[CanucksTraveller]

It kept telling me 'it looks like your eyes are closed' which is a bit personal really. They may as well have been blunt and called me pig face.

That reminds me of that old Les Dawson (I think) joke about the "speak your weight" machine, where his Mother in Law gets on and it tells her "Sorry, one at a time please".

 

[GuyBoden]

Just been for my passport photo at a booth in Asda.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

Mine is due for renewal this year. Next Dec though strictly October if you go in date of issue.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

Or like the woman in the post office when I applied for my son’s passport

Did she have a face that could sour grapes at 100 paces?

 

[oldwheels]

things do seem a lot more efficient - I remember that there used to be terrible panics, folk almost sleeping outside - I used to work with someone back in the 80s who knew someone who worked there. I seem to recall that he may have been a union activist and found that more stimulating than his job - I rather had the impression that there were a hell of a lot of strikes/go slows.
Of course you used to be able to wander into a post office and get a piece of paper called a British Visitors Passport with a nod from the person behind the glass with which you could then merrily bum around most of Europe.

I seem to remember it only lasted 6 months.