I had an appointment this morning to collect two pairs of glasses from the optician. I decided to have two pairs as they had an offer and the only extra I had to pay for was the lens thinning and coating on the second pair.
It seems sensible too as with my double vision I can't manage without prism lenses. The double vision was caused by a muscle in my left eye failing. It happened overnight a couple of years ago and I was suddenly aware of pavements moving across the road, hedges turning sideways and cars seeming to be on the wrong side of the road. It was scary when it first happened. I managed at first with an eye patch until I got my first pair of prisms.
I've worn glasses since I was about seven years old. I remember the headteacher calling my mother into school and teling her that I needed an eye test as I was writing things down wrongly when copying from the chalk board. I had a pair of little pink glasses that Mum paid for. The same head teacher had discovered that my step-sister, who was ten years older than me, was partially deaf. What a treasure she was although she was quite frightening at times too. When I was at the school there were about thirty five of us pupils three teachers, a secretary and two cooks. Also a lady who used to watch over us outside at playtimes. I remember the head teacher was very fond of music and we had to keep a little book in which we wrote about various composers like Handel, Mozart and Beethoven. She played us music each week. We also had a school 'band' with castanets, triangles, bells and tambourines. We also used to sing. She would come around each one of us as we sang, putting her ear quite close to us. A few she tapped on the shoulder and they had to go and sit on a bench. They were what she called the 'grunters.' It all sounds very strict now but it didn't seem like it at the time.
Well I don't know how we got from glasses to music but there we go. Below is a school photo. I'm third in from the right on the second row down between two boys and in front of the girl with blond hair and a very white dress
It must have been before I had the little pink glasses.
