I am due to make two trips abroad next month. One is a holiday. The other is business related.
Unfortunately my passport expires on May 31, 2023, and until very recently I had made no attempt to renew it despite being warned, six months ago, that passports have to be renewed several months before their expiry date.
I hadn’t forgotten. I just put it to one side, secure in the knowledge that instead of waiting the estimated ten weeks for a standard application to be processed, I could go the fast track route that delivers, for a fee, a passport within seven days.
And so it was that on March 20 I finally picked up an application form from our local Post Office, with instructions on how to book a fast track appointment at the nearest Passport Office.
Easy-peasy, except for one thing.
I hadn’t anticipated the news, announced the following day, that all Passport Office workers were going on strike for five weeks from Monday April 3.
That meant they would only return to work a few days before I was due to speak at a conference in Italy. Meanwhile, according to reports, ‘One million passport applications could be stuck in a bottleneck’.
Fearing the worst, I immediately booked the first available appointment at the Passport Office in Peterborough - 8.00am on Thursday March 30, two working days before the strike began.
Concerned that my application might still be caught in the system, I sought reassurance. Don’t worry, I was told, you’ll get your passport on time.
And they were right. My shiny new passport has indeed arrived and I couldn’t be happier (even if it did cost me £155).
Thank you, Passport Office staff. I love you all!