Bill Harvey: You will rise

Spectacles can have a major impact upon how people are perceived. But I would never have thought they might be used as a means of subjugating one whole section of society.

The power of spectacles was vividly brought home to me some years ago when I first started as an examiner. This was in the days of the viva exam, and during my probationary period I was teamed up with the excellent Bob Farrar. Bob could terrify a candidate with one look over the top of his half-eyes – to such an extent that the College rover issued the famous command, ‘Lose the half-eyes, Bob.’ Without them, he seemed a complete pussycat.