[News] The National Embarrassment That Is . . . HM Passport Office.

[warmleyseagull]

It's painful. Get to the front of the queue, then only start taking their belt off, getting electricals out of their bags etc. They should be sent to a different queue if they don't have everything ready to go in a box immediately

To be fair, different airports have different rules. You have to strip almost naked to cover all the bases, some need shoes off, some don’t; some need metal removed; some dont; ditto electricals out of bag (with guidance on what is ‘electrical’ differing between security staff at the same airport at times). It seems to depend on the technology they have and National/ local policy.

A great idea for all airports would be signage in the queue preparing travellers for what is needed.

 

[Official Old Man]

Now why on earth would this mad rush to gets passports be of any interest to BHA supporters?


Renewed mine last month.......

 

[WATFORD zero]

Smashing idea.

Don't get me started on the security queues - they really expose slow dimwits with zero common sense. Which appears to be at least half the adult population.

Yes indeed. From my experience, I would even suggest a couple of percentage points higher

Having gone through Airport security 3 times in the last couple of weeks I've had boots off once and on twice (exactly the same boots)

 

[chickens]

Overpaid civil servants?

If you overpaid civil servants, they’d have more disposable income and would spend more in the wider economy.

It seems a really popular trope “overpaid civil servants” but in calling for the beggaring of those working for the U.K.’s largest employer, you are also calling for starving the wider economy of customers and cash flow. It’s economically illiterate.

 

[monty uk]

To be fair, different airports have different rules. You have to strip almost naked to cover all the bases, some need shoes off, some don’t; some need metal removed; some dont; ditto electricals out of bag (with guidance on what is ‘electrical’ differing between security staff at the same airport at times). It seems to depend on the technology they have and National/ local policy.

A great idea for all airports would be signage in the queue preparing travellers for what is needed.

Some airports have them - but some people don't seem to think it applies to them.

I hate those damn snaking temporary barriers that lead you backwards and forwards to the desks - even when there is no queue. We were shouted at by a foreign worker recently for ducking under one - then the bellcheese opened the ones we'd just gone under.

And then there's those 'helpful' attendants telling you which queue to join and waiting until one becomes clear before doing so, rather than anticipating - hence slowing down the whole operation for everyone. Just leave us to work it out ourselves. It's a bit like traffic light failures that improve traffic flow.

 

[Papak]

Not passport related but this thread has become slightly derailed...

I cannot believe after however many years we still need to take liquids in containers less than 100ml and keep them all together - I flew back from AMS last month and hand carried a bottle of water to the security zone. I asked the member of staff where I needed to put it and she said "in your bag"

Related note - I'm going to the RWC in France later this year, only have hand baggage - can I buy some tins of cassoulette and bring them home or would they be classed as liquid?

Hand luggage

www.toulouse.aeroport.fr

 

[GOM]

If you overpaid civil servants, they’d have more disposable income and would spend more in the wider economy.

It seems a really popular trope “overpaid civil servants” but in calling for the beggaring of those working for the U.K.’s largest employer, you are also calling for starving the wider economy of customers and cash flow. It’s economically illiterate.

Isn't it the wider economy of customers that is paying their wages in the first place ? So give them more so they can spend a bit of it.

 

[zefarelly]

To be fair, different airports have different rules. You have to strip almost naked to cover all the bases, some need shoes off, some don’t; some need metal removed; some dont; ditto electricals out of bag (with guidance on what is ‘electrical’ differing between security staff at the same airport at times). It seems to depend on the technology they have and National/ local policy.

A great idea for all airports would be signage in the queue preparing travellers for what is needed.

Multi lingual, and pictograms

 

[Deleted member 37369]

Not passport related but this thread has become slightly derailed...

I cannot believe after however many years we still need to take liquids in containers less than 100ml and keep them all together - I flew back from AMS last month and hand carried a bottle of water to the security zone. I asked the member of staff where I needed to put it and she said "in your bag"

Related note - I'm going to the RWC in France later this year, only have hand baggage - can I buy some tins of cassoulette and bring them home or would they be classed as liquid?

The liquids thing is apparently changing ... and they have been doing trials.

Oddly, I went through Gatwick last October and was told to keep my liquids in my bag ... didn't have to have out separately. But my wife went through less than 2 months later and it was liquids back out again!!

 

[Deleted member 37369]

Not passport related but this thread has become slightly derailed...

I cannot believe after however many years we still need to take liquids in containers less than 100ml and keep them all together - I flew back from AMS last month and hand carried a bottle of water to the security zone. I asked the member of staff where I needed to put it and she said "in your bag"

Related note - I'm going to the RWC in France later this year, only have hand baggage - can I buy some tins of cassoulette and bring them home or would they be classed as liquid?

Hand luggage

www.toulouse.aeroport.fr

Just found this ...

Passengers to benefit from biggest shake-up of airport security rules in decades

Rules about taking liquids and large electrical items through airport security to change.

www.gov.uk

 

[Papak]

The liquids thing is apparently changing ... and they have been doing trials.

Oddly, I went through Gatwick last October and was told to keep my liquids in my bag ... didn't have to have out separately. But my wife went through less than 2 months later and it was liquids back out again!!

Ok, that's all well and good but what about my cassoulette?

 

[chickens]

Isn't it the wider economy of customers that is paying their wages in the first place ? So give them more so they can spend a bit of it.

This is the U.K.’s largest employer by far we’re talking about. The only better way of increasing demand in the U.K. economy than increasing Civil Service pay, would be by making our benefits regime hugely more generous, allowing benefits claimants to participate in the High Street economy a bit further than Aldi and topping up their electricity/gas prepayment cards.

Politically unpalatable, but nevertheless true. Ever lower taxation is a financial cul-de-sac. Public services cost money to run, and it’s far cheaper to keep a service running smoothly than neglect it and then later try to rebuild it.

That’s not a political viewpoint, that’s a pragmatic reality. If you genuinely wish to live in a world without public services, that is the only excuse for thinking otherwise. I personally believe in civilization, and there are plenty of areas where spreading the cost collectively is the most efficient route to providing a service.

 

[wellquickwoody]

If you overpaid civil servants, they’d have more disposable income and would spend more in the wider economy.

It seems a really popular trope “overpaid civil servants” but in calling for the beggaring of those working for the U.K.’s largest employer, you are also calling for starving the wider economy of customers and cash flow. It’s economically illiterate.

In that case, let’s double the wages for all of the public sector, it will benefit everyone apparently.

 

[Cowfold Seagull]

Yes, you can apply after 8 years and I have been here 10. But I will wait until the dual-citizenship laws change, which is hopefully during the summer. I do not want to give up my UK citizenship. I have an imperpetuity live/work visa, plus my passport works in the gates, so there is no immediate rush for me.

As a staunch Remainer back in the dark days of the referendum, l would dearly love to secure a passport from an EU member country.

Not impossible so l'm told, but can be a quite prolongued and very expensive process.

 

[chickens]

In that case, let’s double the wages for all of the public sector, it will benefit everyone apparently.

It genuinely would. The knock-on effects would be to stoke short-term inflation (bad) but be long-term positive for the U.K. economy, with wage increases for the private sector being paid for by a vastly increased potential customer base for businesses serving the low and middle income demographics.

Your average Faberge egg salesperson will not see the benefit, budget retailers would only see a modest benefit, but any business that relies on a middle-class with disposable income (e.g. John Lewis, Apple, restaurants and takeaways, theatres, gig venues, cinemas, football clubs) will see improvements in their bottom line. When you impoverish large sections of the workforce into subsistence living, you deprive all those areas of customer’s reining in their discretionary spending.

You can’t starve your country into growth.

 

[WATFORD zero]

Ok, that's all well and good but what about my cassoulette?

Ingredients​

• 1 pound (454g) dried cannellini beans
• 3 tablespoons (27g) Diamond Crystal kosher salt; for table salt, use half as much by volume or the same weight
• 5 cups (1.2L) homemade or store-bought unsalted chicken stock, divided (see notes)
• 3 packets unflavored gelatin (3/4 ounce; 21g), such as Knox (optional, see notes)
• 2 tablespoons (30ml) duck fat (optional)
• 8 ounces (227g) salt pork, cut into 3/4-inch cubes (about 1 1/4 cups)
• 8 ounces (227g) boneless pork shoulder, cut into 1-inch cubes
• 4 skin-on, bone-in chicken thighs, 4 fresh duck legs, or 4 prepared duck confit legs
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1 pound (454g) garlic sausage (divided into 2-4 segments, if sausage is large)
• 1 large onion (12 ounces; 340g), finely diced (about 1 1/2 cups)
• 1 carrot (4 ounces;113g), unpeeled and cut into 3-inch sections
• 2 ribs celery (6 1/2 ounces; 188g), cut into 3-inch sections
• 1 whole head garlic (2 3/4 ounces; 80g)
• 4 sprigs flat-leaf parsley
• 2 bay leaves
• 6 cloves

Directions

1. In a large bowl, cover beans with 3 quarts (2.8L) water and add salt. Stir to combine, then let stand at room temperature overnight. Drain and rinse beans; set aside.
   
   
   
   
   
2. Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and preheat oven to 325°F (160°C). Place 4 cups (946ml) stock in a large liquid measuring cup and sprinkle gelatin, if using, over top. Set aside. In a large Dutch oven, heat duck fat (if using), salt pork, and pork shoulder and cook over high heat, stirring occasionally, until browned all over, about 9 minutes (if not using duck fat, cook pork with no additional fat). Using a slotted spoon, transfer to a large bowl, leaving rendered fat in Dutch oven, and set aside.
   
   
   
   
   
3. Season chicken thighs or duck confit with pepper (do not add salt) and place skin side down in Dutch oven. Cook without moving until well-browned, 6 to 8 minutes. Transfer to a plate and let cool to room temperature.
   
   
   
   
   
4. Add sausages to Dutch oven and cook, turning occasionally, until well-browned, about 2 minutes per side. Transfer to bowl with salt pork. Drain all but 2 tablespoons fat from pot.
   
   
   
   
   
5. Add onions to Dutch oven and cook, stirring and scraping up browned bits from bottom of pot, until onions are translucent but not browned, about 4 minutes. Add drained beans, carrot, celery, garlic, parsley, bay leaves, cloves, and stock/gelatin mixture. Bring to a simmer over high heat. Reduce to low, cover Dutch oven, and cook until beans are slightly softened but retain a bite, about 20 minutes.
   
   
   
   
   
6. Cover cooled chicken or duck and transfer to refrigerator. Using tongs, remove carrots, celery, parsley, bay leaves, and cloves from pot and discard. Add pork and sausages to pot and stir to incorporate. Beans should be almost completely submerged. Transfer to oven and cook, uncovered, adding remaining 1 cup (237ml) stock halfway through by pouring it carefully down side of pot as necessary to keep beans mostly covered, until a thin crust forms on top, about 1 hour 30 minutes.
   
   
   
   
   
7. Break crust with a spoon and shake pot gently to redistribute. Nestle chicken or duck into the Dutch oven, skin side up. Return to oven and continue cooking, stopping to break and shake crust every 30 minutes, until crust is deep brown and thick, an additional 1 hour 30 minutes. Serve immediately.

No need to thank me

 

[Cowfold Seagull]

To be fair, different airports have different rules. You have to strip almost naked to cover all the bases, some need shoes off, some don’t; some need metal removed; some dont; ditto electricals out of bag (with guidance on what is ‘electrical’ differing between security staff at the same airport at times). It seems to depend on the technology they have and National/ local policy.

A great idea for all airports would be signage in the queue preparing travellers for what is needed.

Rather than some uniformed jobsworth yelling at you if you do something they perceive as "wrong". Yes l agree.

 

[Papak]

Ingredients​

• 1 pound (454g) dried cannellini beans
• 3 tablespoons (27g) Diamond Crystal kosher salt; for table salt, use half as much by volume or the same weight
• 5 cups (1.2L) homemade or store-bought unsalted chicken stock, divided (see notes)
• 3 packets unflavored gelatin (3/4 ounce; 21g), such as Knox (optional, see notes)
• 2 tablespoons (30ml) duck fat (optional)
• 8 ounces (227g) salt pork, cut into 3/4-inch cubes (about 1 1/4 cups)
• 8 ounces (227g) boneless pork shoulder, cut into 1-inch cubes
• 4 skin-on, bone-in chicken thighs, 4 fresh duck legs, or 4 prepared duck confit legs
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1 pound (454g) garlic sausage (divided into 2-4 segments, if sausage is large)
• 1 large onion (12 ounces; 340g), finely diced (about 1 1/2 cups)
• 1 carrot (4 ounces;113g), unpeeled and cut into 3-inch sections
• 2 ribs celery (6 1/2 ounces; 188g), cut into 3-inch sections
• 1 whole head garlic (2 3/4 ounces; 80g)
• 4 sprigs flat-leaf parsley
• 2 bay leaves
• 6 cloves

Directions

1. In a large bowl, cover beans with 3 quarts (2.8L) water and add salt. Stir to combine, then let stand at room temperature overnight. Drain and rinse beans; set aside.
   
   
   
   
   
2. Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and preheat oven to 325°F (160°C). Place 4 cups (946ml) stock in a large liquid measuring cup and sprinkle gelatin, if using, over top. Set aside. In a large Dutch oven, heat duck fat (if using), salt pork, and pork shoulder and cook over high heat, stirring occasionally, until browned all over, about 9 minutes (if not using duck fat, cook pork with no additional fat). Using a slotted spoon, transfer to a large bowl, leaving rendered fat in Dutch oven, and set aside.
   
   
   
   
   
3. Season chicken thighs or duck confit with pepper (do not add salt) and place skin side down in Dutch oven. Cook without moving until well-browned, 6 to 8 minutes. Transfer to a plate and let cool to room temperature.
   
   
   
   
   
4. Add sausages to Dutch oven and cook, turning occasionally, until well-browned, about 2 minutes per side. Transfer to bowl with salt pork. Drain all but 2 tablespoons fat from pot.
   
   
   
   
   
5. Add onions to Dutch oven and cook, stirring and scraping up browned bits from bottom of pot, until onions are translucent but not browned, about 4 minutes. Add drained beans, carrot, celery, garlic, parsley, bay leaves, cloves, and stock/gelatin mixture. Bring to a simmer over high heat. Reduce to low, cover Dutch oven, and cook until beans are slightly softened but retain a bite, about 20 minutes.
   
   
   
   
   
6. Cover cooled chicken or duck and transfer to refrigerator. Using tongs, remove carrots, celery, parsley, bay leaves, and cloves from pot and discard. Add pork and sausages to pot and stir to incorporate. Beans should be almost completely submerged. Transfer to oven and cook, uncovered, adding remaining 1 cup (237ml) stock halfway through by pouring it carefully down side of pot as necessary to keep beans mostly covered, until a thin crust forms on top, about 1 hour 30 minutes.
   
   
   
   
   
7. Break crust with a spoon and shake pot gently to redistribute. Nestle chicken or duck into the Dutch oven, skin side up. Return to oven and continue cooking, stopping to break and shake crust every 30 minutes, until crust is deep brown and thick, an additional 1 hour 30 minutes. Serve immediately.

No need to thank me

I also make my own but the tinned "easy" option is my guilty pleasure...

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

As a staunch Remainer back in the dark days of the referendum, l would dearly love to secure a passport from an EU member country.

Not impossible so l'm told, but can be a quite prolongued and very expensive process.

Which country were/are you looking at?

I guess it depends which country. The process here is a reasonably straight forward box-ticking exercise and a simple cultural exam. Once you have all the documentation together you apply and wait. The issue is the length of time it takes, it’s risen to around 2 years for a number of reasons. I have heard that the new dual-nationality laws will also signal a recruitment drive at the auslandersbehorde due to the expected tidal-wave of applicants; hopefully the wait time will come down.

I'm not too fussed at the wait time at the moment as I have no plans to move and my main issue was airports being a hassle.....this latter point isnt a problem for me anymore.

 

[GOM]

It genuinely would. The knock-on effects would be to stoke short-term inflation (bad) but be long-term positive for the U.K. economy, with wage increases for the private sector being paid for by a vastly increased potential customer base for businesses serving the low and middle income demographics.

Your average Faberge egg salesperson will not see the benefit, budget retailers would only see a modest benefit, but any business that relies on a middle-class with disposable income (e.g. John Lewis, Apple, restaurants and takeaways, theatres, gig venues, cinemas, football clubs) will see improvements in their bottom line. When you impoverish large sections of the workforce into subsistence living, you deprive all those areas of customer’s reining in their discretionary spending.

You can’t starve your country into growth.

So take more in tax from those earning. Then pay that to the middle men (civil servants) so that they can distribute what's left to those not earning.