The Trip To The Passport Office
During August, Top Ender is going off on a Guides Trip to Disneyland Paris.
We have all been really excited about it because it's her first international Guides trip and being a Guide has been brilliant for Top Ender, her confidence, her mental health, her general well being and well for me too. I know that her Guides leader is a brilliant woman, who really cares for the Guides in her patrol and I know she wants the best for Top Ender too.
Anyway.
We left everything almost to the last minute and when we finally checked her passport so we could pass her details to her Guides group we realised that her passport had expired...
Whoops! Parenting Fail!
I booked an appointment for a 1-week delivery service passport and then quickly ran around getting pictures of Top Ender, finding someone who could sign Top Ender's pictures as a true likeness and who knew me and on top of this was of either good standing or of a recognised profession and was able to sign that evening.
I'm so glad I know a plethora of individuals who could help us out here and major thanks to the lovely lady who did sign the photos and documents for us, Top Ender and I love you SOOOOOOOO much!
We spent the day wandering around London until it was time for our appointment.
I had been worried about the appointment, as I couldn't find anything online about what the process was and I was petrified that they were going to want to interview Top Ender or ask a question that I was unable to answer...
However I have to say from the moment we walked into the building and went through security to the moment we left, we had a brilliant experience. All members of staff were helpful, polite and full of good humour and just nice!
We walked up the stairs rather than take the lift, as Top Ender and I aren't fans of lifts and found ourselves in a waiting room that looked quite like an airport waiting room. It was just minutes before my number was called and I found myself standing at a desk talking to a young man who works for the Passport Office.
The chap who processed Top Ender's passport renewal application was lovely, he read through Top Ender's application, he looked over her photographs and her old passport, he asked a couple of questions about where Top Ender was going and about her Guides group and what we had been up to on our day trip to London.
He cracked me up at one point though, as he spent a few minutes wiping spots on one of the pictures of Top Ender as he thought it had smudges of ink on it from where the other photograph had been signed. Finally, he stopped and looked at me, does your daughter have freckles on her face and gestured to his temple and cheek.
The relief when I told him that she did was hilarious.
And then just fifteen minutes after we entered the building we were exiting the building, with assurances that Top Ender's passport would be delivered by courier on the following Friday.
It wasn't so bad after all.
We have all been really excited about it because it's her first international Guides trip and being a Guide has been brilliant for Top Ender, her confidence, her mental health, her general well being and well for me too. I know that her Guides leader is a brilliant woman, who really cares for the Guides in her patrol and I know she wants the best for Top Ender too.
Anyway.
We left everything almost to the last minute and when we finally checked her passport so we could pass her details to her Guides group we realised that her passport had expired...
Whoops! Parenting Fail!
I booked an appointment for a 1-week delivery service passport and then quickly ran around getting pictures of Top Ender, finding someone who could sign Top Ender's pictures as a true likeness and who knew me and on top of this was of either good standing or of a recognised profession and was able to sign that evening.
I'm so glad I know a plethora of individuals who could help us out here and major thanks to the lovely lady who did sign the photos and documents for us, Top Ender and I love you SOOOOOOOO much!
We spent the day wandering around London until it was time for our appointment.
I had been worried about the appointment, as I couldn't find anything online about what the process was and I was petrified that they were going to want to interview Top Ender or ask a question that I was unable to answer...
However I have to say from the moment we walked into the building and went through security to the moment we left, we had a brilliant experience. All members of staff were helpful, polite and full of good humour and just nice!
We walked up the stairs rather than take the lift, as Top Ender and I aren't fans of lifts and found ourselves in a waiting room that looked quite like an airport waiting room. It was just minutes before my number was called and I found myself standing at a desk talking to a young man who works for the Passport Office.
The chap who processed Top Ender's passport renewal application was lovely, he read through Top Ender's application, he looked over her photographs and her old passport, he asked a couple of questions about where Top Ender was going and about her Guides group and what we had been up to on our day trip to London.
He cracked me up at one point though, as he spent a few minutes wiping spots on one of the pictures of Top Ender as he thought it had smudges of ink on it from where the other photograph had been signed. Finally, he stopped and looked at me, does your daughter have freckles on her face and gestured to his temple and cheek.
The relief when I told him that she did was hilarious.
And then just fifteen minutes after we entered the building we were exiting the building, with assurances that Top Ender's passport would be delivered by courier on the following Friday.
It wasn't so bad after all.