Recently in At home with the Editor Category

It's always great to get out into practice and see how the theory of eyecare and dealing with patients is put into practice.

I recently accompanied Mrs Optician Editor to the optician  so she could have an eye exam and buy a new pair of specs, I badgered her into going as it had been over two years.

 She went into the practice alone and I was requested to join her later on to give my verdict on her eyewear choice. Not something I was looking forward to, I could just imagine the conversation: Her: " What do you think of these?" Me: "Yes, they are lovely darling."  Her: " You're just saysing that to hurry things up." 

She spent much longer in the consulting room than I expected and when she came out she was absolutely delighted by the treatment she had recieved. She was surprised that the optometrist had been so interested in her wider health experiences and she was impressed by the thoroughness of the eye examination.

I had a chat with the optom as we know one another ( he didn't know that his patient was my wife) but I saved him the embarrassment of  telling him that she had been so impressed.

The latest move by Tesco is sure to draw some fire from its competitors but have we been living on borrowed time?

 When the universal free eye exam was removed many expected the optical sector to swallow the cost and simply pile the loss onto the price of contact lenses and spectacles. The profession, since then, has been trying to achieve the exact opposite and get the value of the professionals' time valued as a stand alone element of an optometric visit.

Neither side has won in this bizarre tug of war over professional fee vs commercial come on but the move by Tesco has the potential to derail the progress made by those keen to see the professional paid for their time.

ASDA is likely to be the first to respond, the rest of the profession will have to hope that Boots and Specsavers hold their nerve.

Tesco has its own reasons for doing what it has done but given the size of its network it isn't setting a new benchmark just yet. Unless your practice is close by of course.

All right I admit it, it's my fault.

After months of using orthok I decided at the weekend to call it a day. Needless to say the very next day the heavens opened and the wind started to blow.

On Sunday morning, with no hope a of a decent cycle with No2 son becaue of the weather, I was sent out to walk the dog and fetch the newspapers. Fifty yards down the road the rain was running down my lenses and the rain was soaking in pretty much everywhere..

Henry wasn't too pleased either and he doesn't even have to wear glasses.

The triathlon season ended for me on Sunday with a short event down in Crawley. It was  beautiful day, if a little chilly at that time in the morning, and a smallish field of competitors.

Who's That?

I had agreed to meet up with  three Optician Ironman Team members but as I milled around I was approached by three other opticians. A nice lady from Leightons, and a former Optician Awards winner, a young optom from a laser eye clinic in Essex and a chap from Sevenoaks.

This all proved a bit of a surprise given I was walking around in my full lycra kit and a swimming cap . I warned them all to be ready for the Optician Ironman Team's next challenge which is currently being developed. Possibly thre Alpe D'huez traithlon in the French Alps --watch this space.

I have spared you all for some time from Ironman talk but I was struck on Sunday by how good Maui Jim's sunglasses are for running.
Sunday was a blistering hot day and, having been for a cycle I realised my prescription cycling specs would be too heavy.
It's not often I go for the hat as well as sports specs. While that combo blocks out the sun it does make for a hot, sweaty and steamy mix so the eyewear has got to be right.

I'm not using orthok at the moment so --shock horror what eye wear to use. Of all the sporty Rxed specs I have the lightest by far are the Maui Jims. To be honest they are in my son's prescription as time has knocked a bit of minus off of mine so I nicked them back. Excellent vision and as light as a feather to boot.
Anyone who competes in long course events will tell you that makes a lot of difference on a long hot run.One less thing to worry about, clear vision and no messing about.

 I'll get a photo taken and post it up shortly.

What could possibly connect Maui Jim sunglasses and Slow worms? Read on. 

I must admit to keeping my Maui Jims for best. I have a pair of the digitally surfaced rimless ones with the Passport lenses. They are pretty damn good sunwear good but it wasn't until Sunday that I found out how useful they can be.

I admit it I was gardening in my Mauis, not something I would normally do, but I had a few boards to put down in the greenhouse, a spot of planting and some compost to get rid of and , you know how it is. It was a hot sunny afternoon and I already had them on because I had been out for a cycle that morning.

The first job was chucking a load of stuff on the compost heap so I took off the cover and swung the bag of compost over my head. I felt the Mauis being pulled off my face as I swang the bag. I looked down and luckily saw them and popped them back on.

As soon as I put them back on I noticed a face looking up out of the heap and a long sleek iridescent silver/beige body. It had been camouflaged beautifully but with the lenses on I could see it perfectly. I'm not that short sighted and realised  it was the polarisation and the tint that made the slow worm visible not the correction. The effect was really impressive.

Perhaps I need to get out more but I felt it was quite a treat to see such a beautiful creature living close by. I popped his cover back on and will look out for him in my Mauis next time I am down on the allotment.

Isn't the internet a wonderful thing.

The snow has paraysed the trains and the roads and not even a sterling effort by Optician's editor to cycle to work on Monday resulted in a day at the office.

But did I sit at home blogging unfortunately, no. There were snowmen and igloos to build and snowball fights to be won.

Tuesday the mountain bike came out again and I had one of my best ever journeys to work and hour and half of off road mountain biking in the snow.

Needless to say a hardcore of staff made it in by Tuesday to put the mag together and it was just another day at the office. Ho hum.......

Lots of Ironman training to do, take Henry for a walk, learn my Optician Awards night speech and get my broad beans in ( yes I know it's late). Last week the plot was under four inches of snow, next weekend it is the Optician Awards, after that more training etc etc.
So how about combining all four. Who says men can't multi-task. I even had time for tea in the greenhouse listneing to the first Cuckoo of Spring.

My Ironman training was interrupted at the weekend by the crazy weather.
So, like you do, I went off to the local slopes with my sons and Henry (the dog) for a bit of winter fun.
As the wind swept across the hills I struck up a conversation with a nice chap sporting a pair of ski goggles. Slightly over the top I thought until he informed me that 'the cold can damage the eyes you know'.
If I hadn't have been off duty I might have impressed him with my knowledge of snow ophthalmia. And anyway my youngest needed a push.

Those of you watching the One Show on BBC One ( funnily enough) this week will have seen Lynn Hansford in action on a BBC reporter promoting the benefits of seeing an optometrist. Yes, you read correctly, a BBC reporter suggesting to people that it might be a good idea to go to the optician.
Watch the clip here