So, I finally got my voucher...

...and I made an appointment for an eye test today. I was meeting a friend for lunch in Kingston-upon-Thames, so I thought I'd do some shopping and visit the optician while I was there. I phoned yesterday and made an appointment at Vision Express for 11am this morning. The map on their website showed they're in the Bentall Centre, next to Mothercare.

I was a bit late, having got stuck behind annoying slow drivers all the way there, got to the Bentall Centre 2 minutes before my appointment time, then couldn't find the place. I found Mothercare, but there was no optician either side of it. I checked the complicated shopping centre map, found Vision Express, then failed to find an escalator that would get me there. Aargh! Finally I managed to get myself there, at 11.05.

I apologised for my lateness and the man behind the counter said not to worry, he'd change my appointment time to 11.20, otherwise it would go on my record that I was late for my appointment. My record?! Is there some kind of permanent optician's record that stays with me for life? Or is it a lateness record that follows me around? I told him that I really wasn't scared of having my lateness recorded, and maybe they should update their website map. "It's not our fault" he said, "Mothercare moved." Anyway, presumably I now have a glowing punctuality record as I was officially 15 minutes early for my 11.20 appointment!

Anyhoo, it all worked out well in the end. It turns out that my prescription is unchanged. The inside of my eyes are healthy. And I have a condition called Blepharitis (or Granulated Eyelids, which is a perfect description of how it feels) - an inflammation of the inner eyelids that is exacerbated by my problem skin and long hours on the computer with insufficient blinking. I have drops and ointments and instructions to do hourly blinking exercises and daily eyelid cleansing. I'm contented to have a condition with a medical-sounding name, rather than just Dry Eye Syndrome.