Thank you both so much for your prompt responses, very much appreciated, and apologies for the delay in reaction - I'm having very much One Of Those Mornings!
To clarify:
For the travel history issue, it's not the residence permit that is the problem - I have [scanned in] my original residence permit, in which my indefinite leave to remain was stamped by the Home Office on 2nd April 1992; I applied for the BRP card in November, which was issued on 14th January and it arrived promptly - so that only illustrates that I have the right to stay in the country for an unlimited period. It is proving that I was physically present in this country/"Living in the UK" between Jan/Feb 2016 and now that is the problem, because how do you prove that? I have not been in paid employ, in receipt of benefits or on courses in educational establishments in the qualifying period of the past 3 years - so the best I can provide is a signed list of appointments I have attended at various surgeries and clinics.
To answer the other question: no I am not a non-EEA citizen; so my passport has only been stamped when I've travelled outside the EEA zone, and I do not have the passport in which that happened most recently (which in any case was not within the past 3 years). I have included my periods of absence from the UK in my online application according to the criteria given, and they totalled 58 full days so I have not even met the annual 'allowance'. For EEA citizens in my position (resident for 30+ years, but just a few years off pension age) proving presence in the country during a 3-year period (yes, my husband is a British citizen) is an almost impossible requirement.
In that case, proof of application turns out to be easier - I've already scanned in the passport on which I entered the UK in 1988, the one that followed it (both expired, of course), and my current, valid one. I have added a note to the effect that the completely blank pages can be scanned in if necessary.
[2 hours and several phone calls later]
Having now received a no-reply response from UKVCAS, giving another list of qualifying documents I cannot provide (except for the recommended doctor's letter, confirming when I first registered as a patient) and a telephone number at the UKVI office that is not the right one for my query as I found out after ringing it twice, and after another 2 attempts spoken to someone at the Home Office who could answer the list of 9 questions I accumulated this morning, I can report that
1) the supporting documents checklist UKVCAS gives, which is different from the one generated during my application, they don't know about - it's the one generated during the application I have to go by;
2) for Travel History, I could contact Dover [ferry] port who could provide me with a list of when I left and entered the country cross-Channel (except they told me they don't keep that kind of information - fortunately I've kept the booking confirmations from the travel agents I used, which will serve the same purpose);
3) she didn't know why the UKVCAS checklist mentions only one mandatory document, the rest 'optional' (that's what you get when a government hires a private company to act as middle man!);
4) if I haven't had a big Life Event during my qualifying period, such as getting married or having a child, I can ignore that category (the reason I moved to this country was because I had married a British citizen, in my home country - but my daughter was born in 1993, so not in the past 3 years but I was going to include her birth certificate anyway);
5) it is not necessary to upload all my supporting document files in one session;
6) ... nor in the order given in the checklist;
7) yes, the date of the email I received (even if it was an automatically-generated one) acknowledging receipt of my application is the date I should have been in the country exactly 3 years ago (which I was, thankfully - I made her chuckle when I voiced that out loud - and thank you for that response, Moderator CR001, it's not that I didn't believe you, the questions crossed paths as it were)
;
she didn't know what 'proof of application' meant (there was a baffled silence when I asked her that, so that's apparently also a UKVCAS rather than UKVI/H.O. thing);
9) the biometric enrolment photo is kept on the Home Office database, but is not used for either the citizenship/naturalisation certificate (which amused me, when they included the photo taken on the morning - when I was looking rather windswept - of the Life Skills B1 test, for which we don't need to provide the pass certificate), nor can it be used when applying online for my first British passport.
And a bonus question that occurred to me while I was on the phone:
10) yes, I can upload a covering letter to the Home Office (to clarify any apparent discrepancies or points of confusion/conflict in the supporting documents), all I have to do is address it to The Case Worker, with the Case ID number given in the acknowledgement email, so I don't have to send a single document separately by 'snail' mail.
Hope all of this is of use to anyone else going through the same mill!
And thank you once again for your responses.
