224 IMMIGRATION & GLOBAL HEALTH INSURANCE...

I'm getting increasingly twitchy as time goes on, worried that I have missed something. I knew we needed to fill out an immigration form before boarding the ferry at Bilbao. I also knew that I had to organise one of those 'free A&E cards' for abroad, but wasn't sure what either was or how to do it. A quick online search and we are sorted.

For travel to or from the UK, it’s now compulsory to provide Advance Passenger Information (API).  This information is required by the UK government at least 24 hours before your date of departure.  Each passenger needs to provide the information before checking in. Where can I find the form to fill in? Handily, Brittany Ferries has us covered.

On the 'My Bookings' page, there is a section with passenger details and a section below for entering passport details. 2-minute job to tick the immigration box. It was so easy that I'd managed to do it without even realising! I pinged Carl to ask him to complete the form and, as I booked Richie and Rachel's tickets, to ask them for their details.

How about the NHS abroad card? Another surprisingly easy task to complete. We are eligible for the UK Global Health Insurance Card, the post-Brexit replacement for the European Health Insurance Card I previously had. It entitles UK residents to access state-provided healthcare in EU countries at the same cost as locals, so either free or at a reduced rate. Best of all, it's completely free.

It works across all 27 EU member states, but doesn't cover Switzerland. We need separate travel insurance to get sick in the home of cuckoo clocks and pointy chocolate bars.

I found the page on the NHS website, followed the prompts about my nationality and immigration status. Before you could say 'where can I find my National Insurance number', I was done. It even allowed me to enter Lisa's details at the same time, so both of our applications were completed simultaneously. Result.

I'll look into travel insurance another time, as I'm pretty sure I'm covered through my bank account benefits. Still, I just want to chat with a human to confirm. The same goes for Breakdown Cover. Could be a long phone call, this...