In concrete terms, there is now a second sheet of paper, supplied by the Sydney office of the federal department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, referred to as an apostille, attached to the old certificate by means of a green ribbon. And, on both sides of this second sheet of paper, there's a red seal. The following image shows how they've punched a hole in one corner of the old certificate, and run the folded green ribbon through this hole:
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwP6r5sy8b-QdsJp85uTWkHQuvSGrlnOfXNtK3CaXNAULL9KIX2tY4SEGY48ELwE2kf24BDSrsWWr4b_XzGlV5W4TU__7tbT-Z49-swSv0mR7drlB_zEMpPyWeolItGH7gseJgBbuR5ec/s400/apostille_1.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpbk9l3WQeOywBbQGmGz6hB_kc9E8S75wdyqeA9a_zYKHTWXb5QWnd9sO_rwvyQSTG8tACtvTcchTh5vRpOcN7JI2nHDaS9j9K-qpPhKMh-AX-O2YgiNd-bqHM2MoiMfEkj2in3O6LSjo/s400/apostille_2.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiiuQLR3wc-zNpKl-g4qG8aNp2pus1tj3SFnSXB06ViJcVEOWXtXXjjEzQVHzfdJpLwHf30F1V1s4uM_KCnTVwUWDBeKMaOBbbGZ0740AyujWjzbHZYbWrK8cCrIRVPh4HlDPIO3aoKAc/s400/apostille_3.jpg)
In fact, it took me no more than a minute to imagine an elementary technique for the delicate removal of the original certificate, and the subsequent attachment of the apostille to a fake birth certificate concerning another individual, maybe even a fictitious personage. No, I don't intend to explain my discovery here and now, because one never knows if it might be useful, one day, to have the details of such a secret technique tucked away in a corner of one's mind. Let me put it another way. For the moment, while my modest financial resources enable me to lead a simple but pleasant existence, I don't intend to try to make a fortune by getting involved in the international forgery business.
Seriously, with today's computers and instant communication possibilities, wouldn't you think that the authorities of advanced nations such as France and Australia would have moved beyond the stage of depending upon quaint old-fashioned stuff such as pretty green ribbons and red seals [for which I've been obliged to pay a non-negligible sum of money, along with a certain waste of time and effort] to confirm that a poor inoffensive bastard named William Skyvington was indeed born in Australia 67 years ago?
Let me conclude on a positive note. As I explained yesterday in Children's itinerary [display], I had to drive along treacherous mountainous roads in order to post off my green ribbon and red seals to the naturalization authorities, who happen to be located in the Atlantic city of Nantes. Well, there's a fabulous French system called Chronopost [which isn't exactly cheap] that enables you to use the Internet to follow the transport of your package as it crosses France... or indeed the planet. Here's what I learned today:
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDkkKR3Qct-6EcN4EbhuAqIOPw9StyB3V5y0u6FheyyCOs39fpuaI-9VVvzoqFPRNzdYmCcIpCaiGOALsujhuhWEn_Sgsze26z1HxyTV3o9F9SRmq4jzhBqkiGI8nJ3srYQD8dPkJ3v0k/s400/Chronopost.jpg)