British consulates abroad are being inundated with bizarre and exasperating requests for trivial travel tips such as where to get a good Christmas lunch and what is Prince Charles' shoe size is.
One cheeky traveller asked staff in Spain to contact his dominatrix, after was rather humiliatingly stranded at the airport.
British authorities in Dubai were confused with dog sitters, when a man asked officials if they could collect his dog from the airport as he would be away.
The Foreign and Commonwealth office (FCO) has released the quirky requests to emphasise that it is not directory enquiries but an organisation to help nationals in serious trouble abroad.
Consular Affairs Minister Jeremy Browne said: "We will always try to help where we can but there are limits to the support that we can provide. It is important that people understand the level of help we can offer."
"Our priority is to help people in real difficulty abroad and we cannot do this if our time is diverted by people trying to use us as a concierge service. We need to be able to focus primarily on helping victims of serious crimes, supporting people who have been detained or assisting people who have lost a loved one abroad."
Take a look through some of the weirder requests below: