Making a spectacle of myself!

A new pair of glasses arrived for me in the post this morning.

New specs, same old cheesy grin.

They're a replacement for my reading and close up pair, which I have struggled along with for some time now due to the little dent in the middle of the left lens which results in an annoying and ever present fuzzy spot at the periphery of my vision. Most off-putting.

And yes, the new specs are purple! Put it down to my own version of a mid-life crisis if you like, but I can't afford a Harley Davidson so instead I'm experimenting with a little more colour in my eyewear range to distract from the losing battle going on higher up on my head, namely original hair colour vs grey.  I conceded defeat in the receding hairline tussle a long time ago, and unlike Austin Healy have no plans to follow Graham Gooch and Shane Warne into the Advanced Hair Studio.

As they're only my reading glasses, the general public will be protected from this bold new look for now unless anybody starts up organised tours to watch me working at my desk or reading in bed. That's unlikely I would have thought. However, if as a result of this home trial I come to like the new look, then you never know, perhaps I will be equally daring when the time comes to replace my main glasses. Elton John and Dame Edna could have a serious rival on their hands.

I like wearing glasses. I am very short sighted and have been wearing them since I was 11 years old. It's only recently that I've needed a separate pair for reading. Over the years I have become comfortable with the way glasses make me look. In fact I think I look better (and younger) with specs on than without. I did wear contact lenses for a few years, and still do for running, but nowadays I'm quite happy to remain bespectacled. My initial reaction to having to wear glasses as an 11 year old was less positive, however. In fact a year before my short-sightedness was officially spotted, the thought of wearing glasses had caused me such anxiety that I hoodwinked the nurse who carried out the eye test at school. That year we went in pairs to be tested. One would read off the chart while the other held the cardboard thingy over your right eye and then your left. My partner that day was my best friend from just down the road, Mark Edmonds. Here we are at around about that time in our new tracksuits just about to set off for the park.

The Eye Test co-conspirators 

As I squinted at the chart it soon became clear to me that I wasn't going to make it very far down, so I whispered to Mark as quietly as I could that I would appreciate a bit of help with the task. Being a good friend, he duly obliged, obviously not yet old enough or wise enough to realise that helping me pass the test via illegal means was not in my best longer term interests. It was only a temporary reprieve, though, as the following year I had to go it alone, causing the nurse to express alarm that my eyesight could have deteriorated so much in just one year. I kept quiet, and just hung my head to avoid catching her eye.

If I remember correctly the test was of the traditional smaller and smaller letters type, although it was such a long time ago I really can't be completely sure. Assuming it was, then perhaps it might have looked like this: