New passport

My last passport was obtained early and the passport office added on the extra months.  This has caused problems for a lot of people due to the expiry dates. Mine supposedly ran out in June, but officially expired in February - confused?  I was!  Anyway - I haven't booked anything for this year as yet, but thought it best to sort out the documentation.  My EHIC ran out in February so I applied for a GHIC card which arrived quite quickly.  I then prepared my passport application online, sent off my old passport and attempted to do a digital photo at home. Due to apparent cropping, shadows etc etc the photos were rejected 3 times so I gave in and had one done at a photo shop in town as all the booths had disappeared recently. I submitted it that evening and the new passport was dispatched the same night!  Much more efficient than I had expected. I was surprised at the number of photos included in the document - obviously lots of hidden security features, but still least this one runs for a straight 10 years!