editorialgirl

I went to the optician today.

I’ve never been to an optician before; but then I’ve never had any problems with my eyes before. However, earlier this week, I was helping our Senior Web Developer figure out a rather complicated set of circumstances to code into an e-Ticket (you may yawn; we were being rather clever, actually) when I suddenly noticed a rather disconcerting black spot in front of my left eye. I’ve had floaters in the past, which usually appear kinda stringy and transparent, but this was a definite spot and it was definitely black. In fact, when it first appeared, I thought it was a fly and tried to bat it away. It was accompanied by a headache, so I got an eyecare voucher from HR and booked myself an appointment at the opticians.

The optician asked me a lot of questions. “How long do you look at a computer screen for, during the day?” About eight hours. “But you take regular breaks?” Errrr… sort of… “What about lunch?” I eat a sandwich and surf the internet. “So, you’re looking at a screen for eight hours a day? And that’s what, five days a week?” Oh, wait. Sometimes I come home and go online again for a couple of hours. And then there’s the weekends… He’d stopped writing and was looking at me with a mixture of incredulity and pity. “Do you like your work?” I love it, I said. But I realise now I may have been rather silly where my eyes are concerned. “Rather careless, yes,” he said diplomatically.

He had a good look into my eyes, shining lights right inside them, which gave me the strange sensation of being able to see my own blood vessels. I had to read the bottom line of a chart about twenty times, with and without various lenses. Eventually he told me I’m a little bit long sighted and that I’ve got a slight astigmatism. “But I can’t find anything that might be causing this black spot. Your eyes must just be very tired. You’ll have to just make sure that you take lots of breaks and make sure you look away from your screen, into the distance, more often.” I don’t think it will be all that hard to remember to gaze off into the distance at regular intervals, but at least now I can tell my manager that I’m doing it on doctor’s (well, optician’s) orders.

He also prescribed some glasses, just to use when I’m on the computer (so, all the time then) which he said should help. Because they have been prescribed “for VDU use only”, my employer will help to pay for them, which is good.

And besides, they might look rather fetching.

Every year, Moseley, being Moseley, holds its own festival (the Moseley Festival, occasionally known as Mosfest and not to be confused with the Moseley Folk Festival). This year’s took place at the end of June and – as ever – included street fairs and fetes, a pub quiz, the farmers market, and various theatre, dance and comedy nights at venues around the “village”. Yes, it rained, but by all accounts it was still a success and there was enough going on indoors to keep everyone happy.

One thing the rain just couldn’t help but quash, however, was the Music in the Park. Usually one of the Festival’s biggest draws, there was no way it could have been held in Moseley Park during June’s floods, so it was delayed until 11-12 August.

This weekend, then, saw me lounging around in the glorious sunshine (how did they know it would be the only hot week of the summer??) listening to local bands and sipping on wonderfully cold beers. Don’t ask me who played – I’d lost my programme two months before, but it didn’t really matter. It was just a great way to spend a weekend. (Lord knows I need a day or two away from real life at the moment…)