A licence to print money

Did you know that your UK driving licence, which is valid until you are 70, must be renewed every ten years? Apparently it’s because the ravages of time have to be faithfully recorded on this little bit of plastic which you don’t even need to carry when you are driving.

So every decade you have to spend £4 on some more photos and send one in with £20 in the supplied envelope (which isn’t even pre-paid) to avoid a Dorian Gray-type mismatch between your actual face and the one on your licence in the drawer at home.

And beware of sending off the renewal application sooner than you need because the new licence expires ten years from the date of issue, not ten years from the expiry of the old one.