An annual report into Brits abroad made amusing reading this week. The report highlighted the kinds of problems Foreign Office staff have been asked to deal with abroad over the last year.
The BBC reported on some of the funnier requests, including someone asking for help to silence a noisy cockerel, a man wanting help translating his request for a tattoo into Italian and people wanting to know the best place to watch football.
Many of the strange calls for help were simple lifestyle questions, such as a woman wanting help getting her husband fit and a man wanting staff to check out a woman he had met online.
The Foreign Office said it dealt with 52,135 requests for help from Britons abroad between 2012 and 2013.
The Foreign Office has even set up a centre in Spain to deal with some of the lifestyle inquiries from across Europe.
Centre head Steve Jones told the BBC: “Some of the inquiries we received from British nationals last year were bizarre to say the least.
“For example, one customer contacted us to ask if we could provide the name of the watch that the Royal Navy sailors wore between the years 1942-1955.”
Consular affairs minister Mark Simmonds added: “We are not in a position to help people make travel arrangements or social plans, but we do help those who face real problems abroad.
“These can include victims of crime, bereaved families who have lost a loved one abroad or Britons who have been arrested or detained.”
It’s a shame they don’t have an answer for the noisy cockerel, I need help with that one myself when I’m camping.
Knowing what us Brits are like when we are abroad, I wonder if they also get lots of inquiries about the weather.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-22540655