Friday, January 06, 2006

My righteous ire is raised again

So, off I trot to the British Consulate to pick up my new passport. But wait! What's this? They've changed their opening hours since I dropped off my application form 2 weeks ago. They're no longer open 9-12 and 2-3.30, but 8.30-1.30 instead. AAARGHGHGHGH! Couldn't someone have mentioned this to me when I handed over 107 euros and my form and they told me it would be ready for collection after January 4? A simple "By the way, the opening hours will change at the start of the year" would have been really helpful!

While this was frustrating, it probably wasn't as frustating as the experience of the man ahead of me in the queue who was trying to collect a new set of papers. Apparently, he needed to download the forms from the Internet first - the fact that he has no Internet connection and minimal English and that most government sites are a bloody nightmare to navigate even if you are Net savvy and fully fluent is, apparently, of no concern to the British government. Bastards. This poor man, who'd traveled from Arnhem on a bitterly cold day, remained impressively calm in the face of his rejection. Whoever you are, I salute you.

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