I’ve had my UK passport for about 5 years. About 6 months after I got it the gold crest and all the letters on the front started wearing off (i ask you, what does that say about a country?). Its been completely blank for the last three years, although nobody at passport control (in many countries) has ever questioned it.
I haven’t lived in England for years and started telling people I come from the ‘Republic of Mark’ when they asked me, so the passport kind of matches the identity.
Anybody else have a blank cover on their passport?
Still have my blue and gold one, issued in 1987 and still looking pretty good - except for the handwritten information and photo of me with a great big zit on my cheek.
Can’t use it any more, and the red one has been blank for years. The country’s going to the dogs, I tell you. It’s Tony Blair’s fault.
They’ve taken away NHS cover for ex-pats too. When is Maggie going to come back and fix things?
When did they take away NHS cover for expats? I was in the UK last year and went to see my GP. I wasn’t asked to pay anything, except the prescription charge.
My Canadian passport hasn’t faded at all, and since I ordinarily carry it around with me in my backpack, and it’s been rained on frequently, I guess I’ve been lucky. On the other hand, my passport from — has practically dissoved under the same conditions. I suppose the quality and staying power of the document is an indication of the future of the country it represents.
A few years ago I had a Swiss girlfriend (not in the EU). She used to go to clinic in Battersea for birth control pills. Nobody ever charged her or asked for I.D. . She didn’t have any medical coverage.
Just before I left the UK in 1998 I got a hearing aid. When I told the nurse I was going to live abroad she gave me enough batteries to last about 15 years. Free of course.
I have scribbled out the “European Union” title on my passport in black ink because I don’t agree with the EU and I am not a European, I’m British.
(Very, very petty, I know)
It gets the desired questions from customs occaisionally though. Is that counted as defacing a passport? - apparently its illegal.
Oh well. Never mind.
As for the NHS, my girlfriend got free treatment when she came to the UK for a year. We were honest and told them that she was not a UK citizen, but it wasn’t a problem.
One of the reasons I am here. If Blair buggers off and Labour get voted out I might consider going back. I would risk going to jail if I could plant a good old smacker square in Blairs face.
[quote]Quote:
The country’s going to the dogs, I tell you. It’s Tony Blair’s fault.
One of the reasons I am here. If Blair buggers off and Labour get voted out I might consider going back. I would risk going to jail if I could plant a good old smacker square in Blairs face.[/quote]
And in what way do you find Taiwan better?
I am of the opinion that Blair is doing a good job, but was only able to do that job because of what Thatcher did before him.
You make yourself sound like a political refugee!!
Sorry about the two posts above, I’m finding Forumosa very slow these days, which causes me to hit the submit button too many times
One of the reasons I am here. If Blair buggers off and Labour get voted out I might consider going back. I would risk going to jail if I could plant a good old smacker square in Blairs face.[/quote]
You have got to be joking, man! I’m not british, nor am I a Blair fan, but having lived in the UK for several years (in late Major/early Blair administration times) and now Taiwan since early '97 I am honestly wondering what on earth makes Taiwan so much better when looking at administration/politics/societal issues???
It’s not really the forum to discuss this kind of thing, and perhaps I shouldn’t have mentioned it. :s
However, I would rather spend 10% tax on a government I marginally disagree with than 24% on a government I totally disagree with.
I left the police force because the paperwork was just appalling due to Labour beaurocracy. Every week would see the introduction of two or three new forms to fill in which were surplus to the job in hand.
They lie about crime figures and pretend to put extra police on the streets when they actually dont.
My council tax went up 18% over 2 years and even though I had a 4% payrise over and above inflation, I took home about 1000 pounds less than the previous year.
All my tax is spent on Europe, speed cameras and new fangled silly laws which protect criminals and hurt victims. Asylum and immigration is out of control and until things get cleared up then I’m not going back. I’ve tried and done my bit - I sharn’t be doing it again. :fume:
Mr Reid’s aim is to make the NHS “a British service for people who live in Britain.”
British ? Being British means nothing anymore. Pathetic. Just like Labour to dismantle the “cradle to grave” Health Service they set up. A country running backwards at full tilt.
