Happy thread

[Trainfish]

I'm just shocked to see you in this thread, Alan
Are you lost?

I actually thought exactly the same Mick @Newportnobby, welcome aboard Alan @class37025 

I can confirm that 1 of those packages has definitely arrived at its destination this morning. Now, will you please stop selling stuff! 

[guest311]

nice to know who your 'friends' are  :'(

[guest311]

and the second one delivered 12 : 19 

[Jon898]

For some reason I forget, both my US and UK passports expire in the same year.  The first to go was the US one and I dutifully submitted the renewal application in May.  13 weeks later I get an email saying that it was approved and sent for printing, and sometime next week I should get it in the mail.  The only fly in the ointment was the (presumably standard) part of the email saying it took 6 to 8 weeks...hello, you cashed the cheque 13 weeks ago!

Next will be renewing the UK one which, unlike the US one, appears to be an all-digital application with do-it-yourself digital photo.  Wonder if it'll be a blue one instead of euro-mulberry?

Now if there were just somewhere I could travel to that won't have a 14-day quarantine...

With time on my hands due to a retinal detachment being repaired (slow acting gas being used for the tamponade, so I'm at week 5 and still have a bubble visible), I decided to do the UK passport renewal.  This was all online, including uploading the obligatory miserable-looking photo.  The only non-electronic step was to send the old passport and a copy of every page of the current US passport to Durham.

So, why is this in the Happy Thread?  Well, the snail mail package was sent (registered, tracked) on December 14th, and after meandering about the US (Pittsboro, NC; Charlotte, NC; Dulles, VA; Jamaica, NY; Newark, NJ), it finally left this country on the evening of December 21st, presumably after a week trying to find a transatlantic flight. Arriving in Thiefrow, sorry, Heathrow the morning of December 22nd it was delivered to Durham the morning of December 23rd.  So kudos to the Royal Mail for having their act together better than the USPS.

Now I get to see if the Passport Office is operational or if I will suffer from "tears for tiers."

Jon

[railsquid]

For some reason I forget, both my US and UK passports expire in the same year.  The first to go was the US one and I dutifully submitted the renewal application in May.  13 weeks later I get an email saying that it was approved and sent for printing, and sometime next week I should get it in the mail.  The only fly in the ointment was the (presumably standard) part of the email saying it took 6 to 8 weeks...hello, you cashed the cheque 13 weeks ago!

Next will be renewing the UK one which, unlike the US one, appears to be an all-digital application with do-it-yourself digital photo.  Wonder if it'll be a blue one instead of euro-mulberry?

Now if there were just somewhere I could travel to that won't have a 14-day quarantine...

With time on my hands due to a retinal detachment being repaired (slow acting gas being used for the tamponade, so I'm at week 5 and still have a bubble visible), I decided to do the UK passport renewal.  This was all online, including uploading the obligatory miserable-looking photo.  The only non-electronic step was to send the old passport and a copy of every page of the current US passport to Durham.

So, why is this in the Happy Thread?  Well, the snail mail package was sent (registered, tracked) on December 14th, and after meandering about the US (Pittsboro, NC; Charlotte, NC; Dulles, VA; Jamaica, NY; Newark, NJ), it finally left this country on the evening of December 21st, presumably after a week trying to find a transatlantic flight. Arriving in Thiefrow, sorry, Heathrow the morning of December 22nd it was delivered to Durham the morning of December 23rd.  So kudos to the Royal Mail for having their act together better than the USPS.

Now I get to see if the Passport Office is operational or if I will suffer from "tears for tiers."

Jon

That reminds me, mine is up for renewal next year, I wonder what arcane process is in place this time round (current one was issued in Hong Kong, the previous one in Düsseldorf and they would only accept cheques for that, except cheques were not really a thing in German, which was fun, also it was fun persuading various officials what "D" as place of issue meant...). Durham sounds promising, I always kind of half-worry they'll want an application co-signed by a Nobel Prize winner courier-delivered to the processing office on Rockall or something.

[steve836]

This all makes the fun and games we have getting an Indian visa sound simple!

[railsquid]

This all makes the fun and games we have getting an Indian visa sound simple!

Did that once too. In Japan. Three days of my life I'll never get back.

[Newportnobby]

I had a Visa chicken curry once.

Sorry - I meant Vesta

[Paul J]

I have had three passports and every time it was an easy process.

I have had three Indian Visas and every time it has been painful, even though all three times were recent enough not to have to queue all day out side the Indian High Commission.

The best bit is listing every Indian City you have ever visited. Given the text box size limit, I will need to use abbrieviations next time. Thiruvanapathuram was on my itinery for the last holiday for starters...

[Trainfish]

Try getting a Syrian resident visa, took me about 3 weeks of queuing in about 6 different places, in 3 different cities 

[Skyline2uk]

Happy Boxing Day

And another happy milestone in my N gauge modelling.

29th March 2018 saw me pick up so partially started TPM tippler wagon kits.

Having completed the rake in lockdown today saw me run the train with the long intended motive power for the first time:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/sopbliqx3kognfe/Video%2026-12-2020%2C%2010%2049%2018.mov?dl=0

It's moments like this that make the hobby for me.

Skyline2uk

[guest311]

still have, somewhere, my long expired first passport, which listed my occupation as 'government service' very James Bond 

no problems getting it, station admin did it for me 

mind you, never did get a single stamp on it, but probably because I always flew RAFair 

[Trainfish]

.......posted in the happy thread again

Steady on Alan, that's twice in a week I believe 

[guest311]

I claim a senior moment in my defence 

[guest311]

I'm sorry, I seem to have lost my way, can someone please give me directions