Viewpoint: Diary of a spectacle designer

Is there anything new to write about Omicron? In the UK, it seems to have boiled down to one message, namely ‘save the NHS’, and, despite a brave attempt by our Prime Minister to distract us from it with 12-month-old Christmas parties, we are all glued to our news outlets deciphering data and interpreting stats once more. Partygate didn’t last long. We are on the home stretch to saving Christmas now.

Omicron, which sounds like an evil artificial intelligence from a 1980s science fiction novel, is hell bent on global domination. This morning I got an email from my Japanese acetate supplier informing me that due to new Omicron restrictions, my acetate would be delayed until February 20. The exact date annoyed me. A Brit would have said ‘end of February’ and left Omicron some wriggle room.