Ireland day 0934. Friday 19 Month 2024- London Family Day 2 *

Ireland day 0934. Friday 19 April 2024- London Family Day 2

Today’s summary	Went to the passport office in Docklands to get a new passport under the express scheme. A relatively painless process then walked back across London in sunshine and rain. Everywhere looking quite springlike and pretty. Went out with the UK family in the evening to a play “Operation Mincemeat”.
Today’s weather	Dull overcast and wet with occasional sun. Moderate north westerly wind. Appx 13c

Today’s overview location (The grey mark shows the location of my route)		Close-up location (The orange line shows where I walked) (Click button below to download GPX of today’s walk as recorded, or see interactive map at bottom with elevations corrected): Walk back from Passport Office

Commentary

(Summary blog only. Last full blog was Day 0368).

My passport was getting close to its expiry date. And although technically it didn’t run out until next year, it had had six months added onto the ten year anniversary of the issue date, which meant that it soon wouldn’t be valid for travel in the EU. So I thought that rather than having a last minute panic, I would take advantage of a pre-planned visit to the UK to slot in a quick trip to the Passport Office to get a new one.

I went for the “1 day premium service” which theoretically means you can go to a passport office just a day after your application is accepted. But in practice you can’t get an appointment until two days after you apply – at the soonest – so in reality it is a two to three day service. Anyway, I applied on 12 April, the application was approved on 18 April, and I collected my passport on 19 April. I even managed to take a suitable “selfie” photograph which was accepted for my application and saved having to go to the expense of a professional photographer.

I had to go to the passport office in London Docklands – it has moved from its old location near Victoria Station – but it’s very close to the Custom House tube station and a swift journey on the brand-new Elizabeth Line got me there in just 20 minutes from Tottenham Court Road.

The process at the Passport Office was reasonably straightforward and I had my new passport on my hand about 30 minutes after arriving at the office.

Rather than rejoining Elizabeth for the journey back into town, I decided to walk. It was an enjoyable excursion, despite the on-and-off rain which accompanied me most of the way. I found a nice coffee shop (called “Frequency”) in the Locke Hotel near the Wobbly Bridge where I had lunch surrounded by students who appeared to be diligently working away on their laptops.

By the time I’d had lunch, the sun was shining so I was able to dry out a bit as I finished the last part of my walk into central London.

This evening we’re going to a play (“Operation Mincemeat”) at the Fortune Theatre with the UK-based branch of the Dawson family, and I’m very much looking forward to it. Will report back tomorrow!

Today’s photos (click to enlarge)


The brand-new Elizabeth Line station at Tottenham Court Road. I was impressed	The Passport Office is in the unprepossessing building on the left, just behind the Excel centre. But it is perfectly efficient inside and only 5 minutes from Custom House Elizabeth Line station. Which itself is just 20 mins from Tottenham Court Road

The Thames Cable Car. I’m sure it fails every cost-benefit analysis that you could throw at it, but it’s a bit of fun and everyone needs that from time to time	Tower of London in a brief sunny interlude

Iconic Tower Bridge	Brilliant Wisteria in Lincoln’s Inn. Always reminds me of final exams at University!

Here it is. A lot of blood sweat and tears have gone into enabling me to have a black passport. I hope the people who voted for it think it was worthwhile