We Do Adventure

"Her Britannic Majesty's Secretary of State requests and requires in the Name of Her Majesty all those whom it may concern to allow the bearer to pass freely without let or hinderance, and to afford the bearer such assistance and protection as may be necessary." So reads the inside cover of the British Passport. Nestled under the Royal Coat of Arms, and written in some suitably cursive font, it is impressive stuff. It would be great to think these words actually meant what they say; that someone, somewhere, might actually offer assistance should it be required. Not for the first time we've come to realise that the phrase 'afford the bearer such assistance' could more accurately be read 'if the bearer can afford such assistance.' Today my wife phoned some office in Germany with a question about a UK passport renewal. (Yes, that does say Germany.) This was the fourth number she called in one of those 'oh, the person you need to call is...' sc...

It’s probably an island thing but crossing borders always seemed like such a big deal. Before we moved to Mostar you only ever showed your passport when boarding a plane, catching a ferry, or, against your better judgement, taking the tunnel! Now a border crossing is a short drive down the road. Today’s little taxi run to Dubrovnik involved six border controls. Each and every crossing is an interesting experience. Who knows if you’ll get discreetly waved through or will get another precious stamp in your passport. You might almost get a smile, but you could get a grilling. But today we had a particularly funny one. I handed over three UK and one Croatian passport. The border guard asked a question. He probably said, “do you know everyone in the kombi?” but I wasn’t sure. I didn’t want to answer ‘yes’ if the question was actually “are you carrying anything illegal?” I said nothing. He asked for the papers for the kombi. I handed them over. I was then told to park up while he wandered o...

I was forwarded an email today from the British Embassy in Sarajevo. It was about passports. In the interests of efficiency and rationalisation they are grouping certain consular functions together at regional centres. The email assures British residents in Bosnia Herzegovina that “similar mergers have already taken place between Portugal/Spain, and France/Benelux countries and all are working smoothly.” So where are “all passport services” moving to? Perhaps Zagreb, the Croatian capital; or Belgrade, the Serbian capital? No! The logic of proximity and shared borders does not apply here. Then perhaps Ljubljana, the Slovenian capital. It shares no border with Bosnia Herzegovina and is within the EU; perhaps that tips things in its favour? Wrong again! Why be bound by any obvious geographical grouping? Portugal and Spain may be neighbours and France and the Benelux bunch a natural cluster but it’s hard to see it any other way than the British Passport office is making a strategic withdra...

It was strange to read headlines about events in India and on the same day read a blog post from a student at United World College in Mostar saying they had their classes cancelled yesterday because of a bomb scare. ‘Strange’ is, of course, a vague, perhaps euphemistic, term that could cover a range of emotions. Predominately, the juxtaposition of the two events left me thoughtful. I read about Andreas Liveras , who was shot, it seems, for carrying a British passport. Had he been carrying his Cypriot one he might be alive today. I don’t imagine I’ll end up in a scenario like that, for one I don’t frequent expensive hotels, but then I don’t imagine any of the victims in Bombay anticipated the events that unfolded. So life remains a journey of faith; a journey that in this life requires me to carry a British passport.