New Passport!

When you live "overseas", your Passport is an important document........I carry mine most of the time......as, in Spain, you can frequently be asked to produce "your ID"
In 'the good old days' we renewed our Passport at the local British Consulate, in Alicante, about fifty kilometres away.
....then the system was 'improved' and we sent our Passport several hundred kilometres away to Madrid, for renewal.......
Fast forward to today...... and for an International renewal, we have to send our Passport, more than a thousand kilometres away, to Belfast in Northern Ireland.
I sent mine, by recorded delivery, on 5 December 2015...... my new Passport arrived today, 20 January 2016.
I have to say I'm not in favour of centralisation.....and dealing with a remote, central office.....when you phone, the Welcome Message is 'Press 1 for.....Press 2 for...etc.'
I much prefer dealing with a local, smaller, more personal office.....as we did in 'the good old days'
Phew!....Progress!?