Comic Cuts — 30 April 2021

I'm writing this through gritted teeth. Today (I'm writing this on Thursday) was meant to be the day I picked up my new glasses. It didn't happen.

I was phoned up by Specsavers on Wednesday and told that the two pairs of glasses that I was meant to be picking up both had flaws in the lenses and were being replaced. One pair might be available today, but only after the time my appointment was booked for; if (and there was no guarantee) they arrived on time and were, this time, OK, I would still have to book an appointment for some time next week to pick up the second pair, which everyone who read last week's column will know I didn't really want — it was a "buy one, get one free" offer while I would rather have a "buy one for half the price" offer.

This is the second time Specsavers have failed to deliver my glasses on time. Will I be going back to them in the future? No. Will I be trying to find a company that will allow me to reuse the frames of the three identical pairs of glasses I will shortly own? Yes. Especially when the cheapest frames on offer that I like currently cost £90 and will almost certainly leap in price again by the time I need the latest pair of glasses replaced.

It means another week avoiding too much time in front of the computer. It's frustrating, but unavoidable, so I'll again be concentrating on putting up some books and magazines on eBay, which, ironically, is how I have been raising cash to pay for the glasses.

I've put up a lot of hardbacks over the past few weeks in the hope that I can clear some shelf space, but the most popular items were some stray comics that I had left over from the last time I was eBaying stuff. The money is handy, don't get me wrong, but selling them doesn't save me much space. Offloading books is a tough game these days, with postage prices killing the market. The local second-hand book shop has taken a few, but only for credit as the owner has been shut for over a year and relies quite a lot on passing trade and students from the nearby University of Essex. It looks like I'm going to be doing some boot fairs this summer if (a) I can persuade someone with a car to do them with me; and (b) we get a summer (its overcast and cold here, not far off the edge of the North Sea).

Once I get my glasses (some time next week, I'm told, but they wouldn't commit to a day or a time for an appointment) I should be able to get back to writing within a day or two — I'll give it that long to acclimatize to the new lenses — at which point the eBaying may have to take a back seat again for a while. I really need to get on with some of the various projects that are stacking up. Hopefully it will be better news next time.