Nice People Thread No. 14, all Nice and Proper

Spirit_2

London yesterday, Fortnum's was a disapointment, it sells increasing amounts of tourist and souvenir goods and a smaller range of interesting fresh foods. I only bought piccalilli and thank you cards.

I tried to buy some deli items but the staff who were serving were also making takeaway sand wiches so there was too long a wait.

Still good to see such a range of loose teas and preserves. If you need rose petal jelly it is still the place to go.

Next stop was lunch. OH met me and we went to the food stalls in St James Church grounds. That was worth a NOM. Lebanese food £10.50 for two to take away. Could have had Japanese, Thai, Paella and many other nation's fave dishes.
Taxi to John Lewis to buy a coat. Successful shopping. Bought three.

Today a trip to a nearby small town to opticians to order replacement specs. ludicrously expensive. £520. of which £350 is for the lens. Consoled myself with a pair of ugg ( non sheepskin) ankle boots and a pair of sketchers 'trainers'.

I took a taxi home as this was my first solo trip beyond the village.

I have not gone wild, but threw out almost my entire wardrobe when I lost weight so need winter clothes. As my walk/balance has changed through rehab I have to keep replacing footwear. My husband and DD were delighted that I have managed to choose items by mself and increasing confidence to be out safely alone.

Glasses were interesting and a bit of a light bulb moment. I have rimless specs and when I tried on frames it made me more aware of the slight downturn the left of my face has. The new glasses are titanium again but only rimless on the bottom.

gfplux

Glasses, for reading. I have in the past paid rather a lot of money for these. "Designer frames" don't come cheap.
Here in the Luxembourg the process is as follows.
You visit an Ophthalmologist of your choice to get an eye test and prescription to have some new glasses. My last visit September 2014 cost €50 and the state refunded €44.
You can then choose any optician to have your glasses made up. So as I said I have paid a lot of money but have come to my senses.
I only have reading glasses.
On this occasion the glasses and frames total cost €80 and the State refunded €70.
So these cost a total of €16 (about £12) I am very happy.
If I need a further pair, if I Waite until two years have passed I can repeat the process.

michaels

I really need varifocals but the cost seems to be 300+ (300 gets you something with large areas of 'out of focus' in the transition area, better ones can easily be 500) so I am trying to manage without but it is a pain.

ivyleaf

Yes, my varifocals cost nearly £600 if I remember rightly. Being very (over -10) short-sighted with astigmatism doesn't help the cost.

My optician also has a scheme whereby when you buy new glasses they can be sent away to have clip-on sunglasses made to fit them. They were £40 a pair and I ordered 2 pairs in case one got lost, and so I could keep one pair in the car, so an extra £80 on top :eek:

But worth it, as it can be hard to find clip-ons to fit over my thick lenses (thick at the edges, even though they are "thin" lenses IYSWIM). I've had a couple of pairs where the sunglasses fastened on with tiny magnets, and they were quite good too.

I have an eye test every year now, and was so relieved that I didn't need a new prescription this year.

GDB2222

ivyleaf wrote: »

Yes, my varifocals cost nearly £600 if I remember rightly. Being very (over -10) short-sighted with astigmatism doesn't help the cost.

My optician also has a scheme whereby when you buy new glasses they can be sent away to have clip-on sunglasses made to fit them. They were £40 a pair and I ordered 2 pairs in case one got lost, and so I could keep one pair in the car, so an extra £80 on top :eek:

But worth it, as it can be hard to find clip-ons to fit over my thick lenses (thick at the edges, even though they are "thin" lenses IYSWIM). I've had a couple of pairs where the sunglasses fastened on with tiny magnets, and they were quite good too.

I have an eye test every year now, and was so relieved that I didn't need a new prescription this year.

Wow! 10 dioptres! :eek:

ivyleaf

GDB2222 wrote: »

Wow! 10 dioptres! :eek:

Yes, and a blooming nuisance it is too!

But I can at least see very well with my glasses.

Spirit_2

michaels wrote: »

I really need varifocals but the cost seems to be 300+ (300 gets you something with large areas of 'out of focus' in the transition area, better ones can easily be 500) so I am trying to manage without but it is a pain.

I will have varifocals with maximum focus and made sure I chose aframe that accommodates a deep enough area for varifocals. SSeeing other posts on here has made me feel I am not paying too much for lenses after all.

I do not pay for eyetests just spectacles, and can go where I like to have my test and to have glasses made up.

DD has her eyes tested at work and buys frmes online and has them made up. It works for her and she has done this several years running.

My SiL always takes her prescription to Cyprus when she makes her annual visit to friends. She claims the cost of lenses and frames is considerably less than in the UK .

Spirit_2

ivyleaf wrote: »

:

My optician also has a scheme whereby when you buy new glasses they can be sent away to have clip-on sunglasses made to fit them. They were £40 a pair and I ordered 2 pairs in case one got lost, and so I could keep one pair in the car, so an extra £80 on top :eek:

.

I replaced the lenses in my sunnies last month £155 . Just distance, not varifocal.

silvercar

Lots of my friends seem to be getting bigger and bigger phones and setting the print to an ever larger setting. My eye sight hasn't changed in 20 years, though I expect it to alter sometime soon. OH was toying with the idea of laser eye surgery (his sight is about -6.5), but was told to wait a few years as his sight may change.

My sight is an annoying -1.25, not quite bad enough to justify spending £££ on glasses but bad enough to need glasses in certain situations.

ivyleaf

I'd be thrilled to bits if mine was -1.25! Glasses would be sooo much cheaper.