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| What could have been..... |
For weeks and weeks we have been looking forward to our next holiday as a family. We aren't the type of people to go on holiday all the time, usually only once a year. To be quite honest with you, I'm not really a holiday person. I have ridiculously fair skin which burns very easily (I was once badly sunburned in February whilst having a stroll in Wales!), I am scared of beaches as I once nearly got swept out to sea in a rubber dinghy, I don't like swimming pools as I wear contact lenses so dislike getting splashed and "foreigners" always take an instant dislike to me, I have no idea why.
Anyway, back to the point. We are supposed to be going on holiday tomorrow, except we aren't, as my husband's passport has NOT come back in time. I nearly wrote ON time, but to be fair, it does say allow 4 weeks, and we only allowed 10 days. I still had a faint hope everything would be ok, but it was only a random chance checking that resulted in me realising it had expired at all. I must have said, "we need to be more organised" at least 8 million times, but as my husband has rightly pointed out, that won't make the passport come any quicker.
So we have changed our plans and now we are going to Dorset first (thanks for the loan of the holiday home Auntie Jean!) and because of the
damn lovely bank holiday, things have been slowed down even more. So basically we have to ring an office in Durham at 8am on Wednesday and hope and pray they will let us drive the 7 hours from Dorset to "upgrade" and collect the passport in person. We will then go to France, hopefully, or maybe not.
Does anyone have any tales of hope for me? What should we have done?
Aww. No advice, other than I live in Dorset, it's nice here, so I hope you enjoy your stay, even if it's raining right now..l will keep fingers crossed for a result for you Wednesday!
ReplyDeleteThanks! We are going to Christchurch so hoping for a few nice days so we can go to Mudeford beach, love it there so much. If it does rain we can go to Bournemouth or something....any ideas?!
DeleteThere is a big indoor play area in Christchurch called serendipity sams, and nice swimming pools in both Christchurch and Bmth. In usual fashion tho a wet day in half term could mean those places are rammed! Theres a quirky little museum of electricity in Christchurch, was free entry last time I went! Fingers crossed for nice weather tho or mine will drive me potty! X
DeleteExcellent! Thanks for that, will defo try out the swimming pool and never heard of the electricity place though we've been there several times! xx
DeleteSorry, no advice about the passport. I'm paranoid about ours expiring and I check them every few weeks whether we are going anywhere or not. I should just write down the dates in my address book I suppose as it would save a lot of time.
ReplyDeleteApart from that, I also hate the beach except for walking along to watch the sunset at the end of the day. Even then, after thorough showers etc., you find sand in places you didn't even know you had places, for days afterwards. Ugh!
I hope you get to france and have a great time. Or a great time in Dorset. Whichever, a holiday is a holiday.
That is true, it will just be nice to get away, but I was so looking forward to the lovely food in France not to mention the fact it has been paid for! We have learnt a lesson with the passports, must be more organised!x
DeleteHubby should have gotten in car or on train and gone to passport office in Liverpool, where they would have sorted passport out for him while he was there - he may have been there all day, but you would be now going on your planned holiday....lol
ReplyDeleteHaving said that - I am now living in the US and have had to send off my passport to get the name changed, having got married...They say it takes 4 weeks from here, and it has to be sent to Washington, who verify the paperwork, then send it by DHL to Liverpool who issue th enew passport and send it via DHL to me....I have allowed lots of time because I sent it at the end of April and I don't need to fly until the 9th July, but even so - we get a letter saying we have to go for an interview about my residency here in the US and one of the things I ahve to take with me is my passport, showing my entry documents for the US...The interview is a week on MOnday and even if my passport comes back, it will be a new one with no US entry documents in it.....bloody typical!
Have a wonderful time in Dorset or where ever you end up - and rest assured, when it comes to passports - it is never simple!
It's raining here in the UK, everywhere. We are seriously contemplating giving up on the holiday and just having a staycation. Good luck with your passport and residency, you are right, nothing is ever simple! Last time I had to renew my passport I was living in Madrid, it was actually cheaper and quicker to renew it there than it is living here...ridiculous eh?!
DeleteI never let anything expire or run out LOL, renewed mine in January and got it back pronto, probably because it was January! Mr J. is completely the other way, he leaves everything till the last moment!
ReplyDeleteWherever you end up its a holiday (I would love one right now), time away from work and the stresses & who knows you may even get to France after all, but Dorset is lovely too, had a few lovely childhood holidays there.
Dorset is lovely, but not in the rain! I sorted mine and the boys' passports out ages ago, but I refuse to sort things out for Hubby as he relies on me too heavily as it is to do everything for him! I just happened to check his passport myself two weeks ago and noticed, he would never have thought to check! I should have realised when we first met and there were piles and piles of unopened post in his house, this is not someone who is good at sorting stuff out!
DeleteI must be the only person in the country who doesn't mind the rain :))
DeleteActually, I prefer the rain to getting sunburnt, we are just so used to it.
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