You got favoured treatment because you are an ancestor of His Britannic Majesty, @George1 . 
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I sent a cheque for around 600 quid for crediting to Lloyds bank Isle of Man, from Corsica. The tracking stopped after a week or so when it said it was in the territory of destination (not sure if that meant IoM or UK)… then nothing! That was four or five months ago. I eventually got a replacement cheque and did it properly this time via photo/lloyds app on the phone!!
After all my angst regarding renewing my expired UK passport I made the application today and will post it tomorrow.
I found a professional photgrapher in Nontron, T Photographie, and he immediately said he could do the required photos and took the pics straight away. The card of 4 photos that he handed me said plainly ‘Approved for a digital UK passport’ and the code was accepted online. Cost me €12,50.
I suppose that that is that and it means the photos are accepted even though I detected a slight shadow on one side of my face.
Just a matter of waiting now. 
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New passport arrived to day, very good but by DHL which meant they came yesterday and sent me a message on finding me not there to say it would be today between 0900 and 1800.
Sod that, I am not waiting in for up to 9 hours just to scribble with my finger on a little screen, so I continued with my life. Just got back in at midday when a yellow van pulled up, what a coincidence. 
Anyway all done and dusted, all advice ticked including my proper signature in it and check that I have to do no more for 10 years. I wonder what I’ll look like at 93 
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Good news. The Passport Office does seem to be one of the bits of UK bureaucracy that works properly, probably because we are paying for their services directly.
My UK passport was getting close to expiring so I renewed it when visiting family for Xmas and the New Year. Did it on line and had it delivered to a UK address. Quick and easy.
So happy to hear that as I applied today and will send off as soon as I can (need to colour photocopy my years out of date Aussie passport, in colour, every page first 
). Was getting a bit twitchy as sisters wedding end of May but looks like not too long a wait!
26 days between my 2 posts above, from sending it off to getting it back. 
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