I'm working on renewing the children's passports. Rosie needs her American one renewed and Toby needs to have his British one renewed. The American process is very strict. Jason and I have to go to the embassy together with Rosie, all of our passports, Rosie's birth certificate and a two page form. No mailing it in and I can't do it on my own unless I have a notarised letter from Jason stating that Rosie can have an American passport.

The British process is a little more laid back in some respects. I can do it by post and it's a pretty simple form. Since it's a renewal all they need is Toby's old passport. One thing the British passport does require is a counter-signatory for anyone under 12 years old. This person has to hold a British or Irish passport and to have known us for at least two years. They also must be someone who 'works in a recognisd profession or has good standing in the community'. I find that quite sweet. I mean, how do you determine if someone has good standing in the community? Very helpfully, they provide a list:

Accountant
Airline Pilots
Articled clerk of a limited company
Assurance agent of recognised company
Bank/building society official
Barrister
British Computer Society (BCS) - Professional grades which are Associate (AMBCS), Member (MBCS), Fellow (FBCS) (PN 25/2003)
Broker
Chairman/director of limited company
Chemist
Chiropodist
Christian Science practitioner
Commissioner of oaths
Councillor: local or county
Civil servant (permanent)
Dentist
Designated Premises Supervisors
Director/Manager of a VAT registered Charity
Director/Manager/Personnel Officer of a VAT registered Company
Engineer (with professional qualifications)
Fire service official
Funeral director
Insurance agent (full time) of a recognised company
Journalist
Justice of the Peace
Legal secretary (members and fellows of the Institute of legal secretaries)
Local government officer
Manager/Personnel officer (of limited company)
Member of Parliament
Merchant Navy officer
Minister of a recognised religion
Nurse (SRN and SEN)
Officer of the armed services (active or retired)
Optician
Person with honours (e.g. OBE MBE etc.)
Personal Licensee Holders
Photographer (professional)
Police officer
Post Office official
President/Secretary of a recognised organisation
Salvation Army officer
Social worker
Solicitor
Surveyor
Teacher, lecturer
Trade union officer
Travel agency (qualified)
Valuers and auctioneers (fellow and associate members of the incorporated society)
Warrant officers and Chief Petty Officers

These must be considered the most respectable and trustworthy professions in Britain. Some like police officer and Justice of the Peace I can understand. Others such as chiropodist, Christian Sciences practitioner and valuers and auctioneers seem odd choices. I'm surprised they don't just make it the child's doctor or teacher but then I guess they would end up spending too much time signing passport application forms rather than teaching and diagnosing.