Viewpoint: Diary of a spectacle designer

A cost-of-living crisis. War in Ukraine. The Covid-19 pandemic. Brexit. I’ve been in the eyewear business for 22 years and the brand celebrates its 20th birthday in October, but in all that time, I’ve never seen so many challenges coming at once.

I remember the financial crisis in 2008, but that was nothing in comparison. That was just one crisis to deal with – this particular run of events is almost comical. As if this wasn’t bad enough, the nation seems to want to stir up more doom for itself. Monkeypox. Strikes. Prince Andrew coming back into the Royal fold. A quick glance at the internet news and it’s feeling all a bit self-destructive. What we need is a bit more positivity in the nation.

If we compare ourselves to other countries, as the media loves to do, we can find fault in any part of our society. But it’s not all bad. It would be very difficult not to have enjoyed the jubilee for example. I certainly didn’t meet anyone who didn’t seem to love the Queen. A good dose of Britishness this month was enough to bond remainers and brexiters together, because I think deep down we all want to be unified. We are the United Kingdom after all. There wasn’t a mask in sight, so Covid seems to have been all but forgotten. Politicians gave up bickering for four days and even the weather held up for most of us. It just shows me that when we want to, we can all be a bit more positive, and all be a lot happier as a result.