If a jobs worth doing....................

Marlane has a saying for me, she has many actually but the one that always comes to mind is "If a jobs worth doing, it's worth doing twice"! Obviously, because I do things wrong the first time.
Same with my passport application. You may remember that on the 11 October I posted my passport renewal application photograph. Yes, you've guessed it, it was rejected. They said there was pattern in the background, it wasn't plain enough. Looking at it now I see what they mean. I'd hung a sheet up in the garage and there were folds which cast some shadow.
I did it again, with a white wall behind me, and it was accepted about 2 seconds after I'd sent it in on-line.
The passport came back today, so that's 15 days since my first application, and only 3 days since the acceptance of my new photograph. 
I've heard some pretty awful stories about people not getting passports in time for their travel, holiday or otherwise, but everything on the .gov.uk website tells you to apply in plenty of time, and 'tick the box' if it's urgent.
15 days, I think, is a very reasonable timeframe.
First time I'll use it is 13 November as ID to get onto Horse Guards Parade.