So I asked my hosts at University of Edinburgh to allow me to visit the private collection and papers of W. M. Watt, whose writings on Islam have been part of my education over the years even when I disagreed with them (I wrote very unfavorably about one of his last hostile works "Islamic Fundamentalism and Modernity"). So my host wrote me back that he would be able to get me a guest pass but then wrote me this (I asked his permission to quote in full and he agreed and was amused):
"So we've got word back from the library and you may have to deal with more of that famous British bureaucracy. They're asking that you have a passport/driving license, a passport sized photo (which I suppose we could get from a shop or stall in the city if you like) and 'proof of address', such as a bank statement, utility bill, or letter of invitation from a University department. That last one is probably something you don't have on you, so I'll see if I can get my department to write you up one today. Could you send on your (permanent) address so we could put it on the top of the letter? Apologies for all this, just seems to be the way they go about things.
"So we've got word back from the library and you may have to deal with more of that famous British bureaucracy. They're asking that you have a passport/driving license, a passport sized photo (which I suppose we could get from a shop or stall in the city if you like) and 'proof of address', such as a bank statement, utility bill, or letter of invitation from a University department. That last one is probably something you don't have on you, so I'll see if I can get my department to write you up one today. Could you send on your (permanent) address so we could put it on the top of the letter? Apologies for all this, just seems to be the way they go about things.
Hope to hear from you,"
