Schengen Matters

When I’m at home I am not in Schengen but Schengen can be in me – a riesling from Luxembourg, where the treaty was signed in 1985.

It’s a good rule of thumb to check a passport has at least six months to run before expiry. In fact to enter the Schengen area it also needs to be valid for three months after exit from the zone, so there you go.

Sometimes in a shop I realise the assistant thinks I’m bonkers. Things got off to a bad start in Snappy Snaps in Hammersmith yesterday. I was getting a digital photograph for renewal of my UK passport. When I gave my email address I remarked only people over sixty have hotmail addresses. She (max thirty) tartly said her address is hotmail. When I mentioned my passport doesn’t expire until January 2023 but for Schengen countries it runs out in May 2022 she simply didn’t believe me. Very few people are aware that a passport must have been issued within the previous ten years to enter Schengen countries. In my case my passport was issued in May 2012 so becomes invalid in May 2022, eight months before in expires in January 2023. A friend told me recently a family holiday had been wrecked by not knowing this.

It’s a top tip to pay £15 at Snappy Snaps for a digital photo. Robert knows how to use a camera but his efforts at home were constantly rejected. The passport office is much more particular now than ten years ago. This saga started on 10th March and is more tiresome than changing broker.

Who’s Willy? He’s William Chase of Tyrells Court, Herefordshire; a serial entrepreneur: Tyrells crisps, Chase vodka and gin and now Willy’s apple cider vinegar. Will Willy’s cider vinegar help me lose weight, lower my cholesterol, improve my digestion, support my immune system, lower my blood sugar levels, boost my nutrient levels and keep my heart healthy? I have no idea but I’m giving it a try. Strictly speaking I should abandon an existing fad if I’m starting a new one but I will keep taking a vitamin supplement and milk thistle which, as everyone knows, is most beneficial.

Milk Thistle Protects Your Liver.
It May Help Prevent Age-Related Decline in Brain Function.
Milk Thistle Could Protect Your Bones.
It May Improve Cancer Treatment.
It Can Boost Breast Milk Production.
It Could Help Treat Acne.

The first is the only one stated with any certainty and is what I’m looking for. But one never knows when some of the other putative benefits may come in handy. I would be foolish to forsake milk thistle for a perhaps passing infatuation with cider vinegar and will use both.