KEEP YOUR eyes on the PRIZE
KERRE CAN SEE CLEARLY NOW AFTER MAKING A MUCH-NEEDED APPOINTMENT WITH AN OPTOMETRIST
It was a sign. I’ve been putting it off for a while – in fact, I’ve been delaying the inevitable for about five years – but when I saw the invitation on my desk at work, I decided to bite the bullet and make an appointment.
While I was away in London, Specsavers had launched their range of Kylie Minogue spectacle frames – or eyewear, as it’s known in slightly more hip parlance. As a woman of a certain age, I had been invited along to attend the launch and have my eyes tested. If I needed glasses, I would be gifted a pair of Kylie frames.
Although I’d missed the launch, the offer to have my eyes tested was valid for at least another month. It was time. I’ve been wearing the supermarket variety of glasses for a while and have just progressed up to the 1.5 strength lenses.
I have been in total denial about my sight – when people asked me if I wore glasses, I would say, dismissively, “Oh, just the Two Dollar Shop ones,” as if somehow that meant my eyes were okay. They’re not. If I forget to bring in a pair to work, and my emergency ones have disappeared, it’s panic stations.
My work involves close reading – of news stories, of texts, of emails – and without my glasses, everything’s a blur. I think I’ve only been without them once – and given how careless I am usually with my possessions, it’s an indication of how necessary they are that 99% of the time, I remember to carry them with me.
It’s not that I’m vain or that I want to pretend I’m not getting older. It’s just that, as I may have mentioned in a previous column, when people are kind enough to compliment me, they usually tell me I have lovely eyes. The former West Indian cricket captain, Viv Richards, once told me my eyes were like the seas of Antigua during an interview.
My eyes are my thing. I don’t have another asset that attracts the same attention. Still, at this stage of my life, I don’t need compliments. I need to be able to see. The offer from Specsavers was one I could not refuse.
So off I went last Friday. I had no idea what was involved. I imagined I’d just pop into my nearest store, tell them I needed lenses with a 1.5 magnifying strength, and choose a frame.
As it transpired, there’s a bit more to an eye test than, well, meets the eye.
The lovely lady at the front of house took me through my paces initially, then the optometrist gave me an even more thorough going over. It took nearly an hour, but those of you with specs will know that already.
First he decided on the strength of lens I’d need, and who knew I’d need different lenses for different eyes? Then it was back out into the store to select frames that would suit me. I was paralysed with indecision. I posted the options on Facebook and, although there was no unanimous agreement, most people preferred me in the darker frames. So that’s what I ordered. I go and collect them this week.
And when people ask me whether I wear glasses, I’ll be able to say, “Yes, I do. And aren’t they gorgeous?”
‘My eyes are my thing. I don’t have another asset that attracts the same attention’