the bearer

I've been aware for some time that my passport is about to run out. I'm not planning any trips abroad, but I like to have a current passport just in case, and in the absence of a plastic drivers' licence, it's my only form of photo ID.

I remember the days when you had to fill in a lengthy form, take a physical photo and find a friendly professional to countersign your application. Thankfully the process is a lot more simpler now - a quick selfie uploaded with a few details, and Apple Pay £82.50. All done in the space of less than 15 minutes. I did have to walk down to the postbox to send my old passport back, but I was going out with Jess anyway.

This photo is from my very first passport. I suppose I would have been on my parents' one before that, but in 1974 I was going abroad without them, on a music cruise on the SS Uganda. It must have been quite a lot of money for my parents to part with at that time, to send me away for two weeks, but it was a formative experience and I remain grateful to them to this day.

I'm sad that my new passport won't be an EU one. Maybe in 10 years' time, things may have changed for the better.