Marital status

We were a bit surprised to find yesterday that when we went to get new passports yet another bureaucratic hurdle is in place.
Don't get me wrong I think procedures should be tight but wait for this.....
My wife duly took along the only marriage certificate she has ever had to prove that once she was Miss Ingleton, even though now she is Mrs Clark (and has been for 23 years).
"Oh," said the well meaning passport officer, ""you do realise that now you have to have a certificiate from the Registrar...the copy you have is regarded as "the Bride's copy""
While this is in accord with new regulations about to come into force for celebrants(of which I am one) to issue numbered certificates the net reality is that it is another $30!
What concerns me a little is the little old lady who may have been married for 50 years and always known as Mrs Jones...and who goes to get her first passport and is told that her 50 year old marriage certificate is no longer good enough...stupid really.
There were lots of corroborating documents that could have left any passport officer in no doubt as to what the course of events had been...but no we had to pay another $30 I was amazed how calm I was. Sue was not!!