Moving to Harland Works will mean being part of a community of small businesses, a strong partnership with the Cafe and two consulting rooms. All very exciting.

Opening 19-4-21, with steady hours and more staff.

In lockdown 1 we were closed - offering only an emergency triage type of service. We got a covid support grant which helped out.

When lockdown 2 was announced we cancelled all appointments and closed, only to be told that we should be open “prioritising” essential appointments. We thought this was a bit odd in the context of a 4 week circuit breaker and did stay closed for most of that lockdown, but it meant we were no longer eligible for any support payments.

Lockdown 3 we are open for essential again, but are told we can fill up any spare capacity with routine work. This seems completely at odds with the “stay at home” message. So, we are not doing routine work, not sending reminders and telling people to only come if they have issues. Not all opticians feel the same way and there has been some (ahem) debate about the messaging of our regulatory bodies and how much influence the biggest players have on them.

Our take on essential is that you are struggling with your vision with your existing eyewear. Either due to the specs themselves or your eyes. So, for example, if you work from home on a screen all day and are getting eyestrain with your specs on, then an eye test is sensible. Or to put it another way, if you have no blur or strain and specs condition is OK, then wait until lockdown is over.

Even with PPE and all hygiene measures (plus front lne vaccines - 1 shot so far) 30mins plus in a closed room is not something you should do without good reason. So, it is quiet and we have reduced to 3 days “open” by appointment per week - there is still no financial support available to us, even though the impact is obvious.

Like everyone we look forward to different times ahead. Stay safe - Karl and the team.

In 2021 we are moving to new premises. 8 mins walk away according to Google Maps. We’ll be in Harland Works on John Street (just down from Ozmen’s/Go Outdoors) and next door to the new John St Kitchen.

We’ll be on the ground floor at the front - it’ll be yellow and the same team will be there.

We really hope that existing customer will be able to move with us. More new in the coming months.