Optician Online - The Big Optometry Blog

With the short Oakley Transitions Ironman Team sojourn in Monaco over its is back to the usual trials and tribulations of the Optician office. CET has been vexing everyone of late as the strange transition from old style to new takes place. It.........

It's been a busy day in the Optician office. Not only is it press day but Optician is also hosting a frame Vox Pop among women aged 25 to 40. AS you can see there was a keen interest in the frames on show.

Here's a little thread that has an optical angle and will also be of interest to blog watchers of the ironman blog. Like most people in the UK down here is Surrey we woke up to a good covering of snow. realising that the roads and rail would be a nightmare I decided that an off road cycle to work would be the best way to get in.
On these dull mornings I have been wearing some Oakley Activated by Transitions with Persimmon to black Iridium lenses. these are great for flat light but also protect you eye while on the bike.
As it was still snowing I decided that it would be best to leave the specs at home as they would just get covered. What a mistake, I was half blinded all the way by icy rain and snow in the eyes plus all the slush being thrown up from the ground. I'll try and post a picture later.

It wasn't just on the ride into work through the snow that I missed wearing my specs. The journey home also proved a bit of a problem. As promised here are some pics of suitable eyewear use in the snow.

After the 'blizzard' I decided to jump on the mountain bike and take the cross-country route home. I have much to learn about off-road eyewear etiquette.

How not to do it

How you should do it

It's a tough life being the Editor of Optician. Not only do you have to produce a magazine every week but you get roped into doing Ironman Triathlons and are ( here's the sarcasm) bombarded with frames and contact lenses to try out.

Me in Vision by Conran

For the last couple of years optical life has been dominated by CET and, as we are now all European, we could say: plus ca change.
Optician's journal assistant Kay has always been in the front line when it comes to CET calls to the office but in recent days the phone has been ringing off the hook so we have all been takiong calls.

Since the arrival of the Vision by Conran specs and the rapid glazing by Anglo Italian ( see previous post) it was just a matter of time before I put the OrthoK on hold to try out the new specs.
For those of you who don't know ( there can't be many) I am taking part in an Ironman triathlon later this year so I am in training for which the Ortho K comes in really handy. Anyway I took the plunge on Thursday night planning that I would be fine on Friday, slip in some -1.0 Daysoft UV lens I have over the weekend and be ready for specs by the new week.
After a hard training session I awoke on Saturday as sick as a dog. Fever, sweats, lack of balance the full monty.

By Tuesday evening I had just about lost at last the final dioptre of the OrthoK but didn’t wear specs or contact lenses for Henry’s walk. I usually go across a rough piece of ground so Henry can pretend to sniff out foxes. I also took a daft little torch I bought for one of the kids last Christmas but under a cloudy sky it was dark. I mean really dark.

After last night's foray in the dark I wore my specs out on Henry's night time walk.
Aren't specs good.
After six months of Ortho K I have forgotten what crisp night time vision is like. After last night's feeble torch I took along my famous super bright LED bike light as well as for cycling I use this to search for the badgers and foxes that live in the woods.
The combination of the bright bluish light and the specs made it almost surreal. This was lost on Henry who stuck as close by as ever.

Why is the grass always greener on the other side of the fence? All last summer and autumn I used my ortho K and longed for the opportunity to wear glasses.
So what happens? I stop using my Ortho K and the heavens open. It rains and it still keeps on raining......