Düsseldorf is now a “Regional Processing Centre” and will still process the passport applications for British nationals living in Germany, but because the passport itself will be produced in the UK it will now take up to 4 weeks for the new passport to arrive.

For more information, please read the leaflet “Changes to Overseas Passport Services” (click here to download it).

Now imagine someone has nipped over your garden wall, prised open the kitchen window and stolen three items from your house. Sometimes these kinds of break-ins are so skillful that you may not notice them at first. What´s missing?

Remembering what you have can be even harder in the event that a fire destroys everything. Your contents insurer will ask for a list and this can prove difficult to put together. One tip is to walk  round your home, pull open cupboard doors and cabinets and take photos of the contents from different angles.

The pictures can be an extremely helpful reminder of what you owned before the fire. Just seeing how many dresses, coats and suits are in the closet, and how many CDs have melted on that plastic rack are useful when assessing the extent of the damage.

Of course this will only work if you keep the photos at another location – your office or a friend´s house – so that they do not go up in flames with the rest.

I also recommend keeping receipts of your more expensive items, even after the guarantees have expired. This helps to determine the value of a stolen bicycle or a burned out kichen.

If you have recently moved to Germany the shipping list of contents which you brought with you can prove invaluable, too.

This article was contributed by Graham Waters, of Allianz. E-Mail: Graham.waters@allianz.de. For further contact details please see the advertising section. While every effort is taken to ensure that the contents of the articles are correct at the time of publishing no responsibility can be taken for errors and omissions.  Changes in the law may mean that some articles no longer reflect the current situation. It is thus advisable to check with an insurance specialist before taking action on the recommendations in the articles.

This is one area where having lots of points does not mean that you are winning – it could ultimately lead to you losing your license if you collect too many. 18 is the number to avoid here. But from 8-13 points you already get a warning and from 14-17 you have to take part in a special training course.

A good way to collect points or endorsements is, for example, to drive at high speed in fog (3 points) failing to give way and thus endangering someone (3 points) or drunk driving (4 points, large fine AND loss of license).

At the moment 9 million people are registered in the Flensburg database – and 78% of them are men. The total number of points awarded is 47 million. This number is larger than the population of Spain (46.661.950). Expressed in square kilometres the number would be equivalent to the surface area of Asia. I am still trying to work out the significance of this comparison. It is certainly an interesting use of statistics.

Anyway, it seems that both sexes drive like maniacs – speeding being the most favourite offence. While women regularly fail to give way, men get caught more often drunk driving. The best driver statistically is a 45 year-old woman.

The worst is a male beginner driver. One glint of hope on the horizon as far as young drivers are concerned is the accompanied driving system. This means that young people can qualify for a driving license before they are 18 and gather driving experience in the accompaniment of an adult (who has not got any points in Flensburg!)

This system has since it was introduced led to a significant drop of almost one fifth in the number of traffic offences caused by young drivers. If you have teenagers in the house who are keen to drive, talk to your car insurance company about how they support this scheme.

This article was contributed by Graham Waters, of Allianz. E-Mail: Graham.waters@allianz.de. For further contact details please see the advertising section. While every effort is taken to ensure that the contents of the articles are correct at the time of publishing no responsibility can be taken for errors and omissions.

The outbreak of E.coli in Northern Germany has claimed 21 lives to-date and 600 people are still seriously ill; many are awaiting blood transfusions and dialysis treatment as this particular strain of E.coli attacks the kidneys. The German government now believes that home-grown bean sprouts may be a “likely cause” of the E.coli outbreak and this would explain the high number of females affected as they would be more likely to consume low-calorie raw foods. Symptoms of the diseases caused by E.coli include abdominal cramps and diarrhoea. Fever and vomiting may also occur. The incubation period can range from three to eight days. It has also been recommended to avoid all raw foods, eg. undercooked meat, unpasteurized yoghurt, cheese and milk. Basic good food hygiene and washing of hands before and after preparing meals is of the utmost importance. The government still recommends avoiding pre-packaged salads and fruit. Discard any fruit or vegetables where the skin or peel is damaged. Peel it or cook it, but avoid anything raw. E.coli can be destroyed by thorough cooking of foods until all parts reach a temperature of 70 centigrade or higher, so this would be the preferred method of cooking all vegetables until further notice.

The 11th annual Newcomers Festival will be held this year on Sunday 25 September from 1 to 6 pm. This is a free event for the international community and will be held directly in the historic halls of the Frankfurt Town Hall (Frankfurt Römer). As many as 5,000 visitors and 85 exhibitors will attend the event. There will also be entertainment and regional food & drink.

The Newcomers Festival consists of an extensive exhibition of services, clubs and organizations in the area. For a full listing of the exhibitors and more information about the event, please consult the website at www.newcomers-festival.de

All visitors will receive a free copy of the new 2012 edition of Newcomers Guide — a 120 page English-language book about living and working in Frankfurt-Rhein-Main

If you have any questions regarding the Newcomers Festival, please contact:

Newcomers Festival Organizing Office
c/o Communication Solution GmbH
Niedenau 45
60325 Frankfurt

Tel: 069-7191 6581
Fax: 069-7191 6582

Email: mail@newcomers-festival.de
Internet: www.newcomers-festival.de