There is a proposal to change our passports from the present, rather imposing, book-type documents to small plastic cards, a proposal which should be rejected. The cards are seen as having many advantages. For example, they will be easier to fit into people's pockets, something which will become more important as other countries move towards compulsory identity cards. But this supposed advantage of smaller size is actually a disadvantage. It is the very fact that passports cannot be slipped into a holidaymaker's pocket (and from there into the sand on the beach) that makes us take special care of them. It is, after all, a very important document.