For those of you unfamiliar with the London office it is located next door to the National Passport Office, conveniently placed opposite our fourth meeting room – a.k.a The George Tavern.
Last night, myself and some colleagues were in the above mentioned meeting room discussing the finer points of the England teams’ tactics when we were joined by a good looking young man.
He was wasting some time whilst waiting for his new passport to be issued. Aged 23, ‘Dave’ is from the East End of London, supports West Ham and is a Financial Advisor. He was naturally very excited because the reason he was getting his passport renewed was because he is off to Germany to see the World Cup!
Unfortunately he had to pay a premium for his passport because it came with something that most passports don’t have – a hooligan chip! Yes, our new best friend ‘Dave’ is a convicted England hooligan.
So, if when you’re watching the football on television, you spot a respectable looking, well groomed young man with a pint of lager in his hand – give him a wave – it could be Dave.
Steph Black, Nicky Williams and Jody Louie, Initiative London
I don't think that is really a "hooligan chip"...I think it is just a new addition to the passport. A friend of mine has it in her passport...she is a 5ft nurse and I am pretty sure she has never been convicted of hooliganism!! "Dave" was pulling your leg.
Posted by: JG | 30 June 2006 at 01:50 PM
That's true guys, you've been had ...that's just the new Biometric passport, it not actually related to hooligan activities. You can read about it here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biometric_passport
Posted by: JP | 03 July 2006 at 10:23 AM
Hmm... well perhaps he just paid a premium for being a pathological liar! Still, it was an entertaining evening :)
Posted by: Jody Louie | 03 July 2006 at 05:08 PM