I noticed it was having a refit, and not before time, I pondered. However i see it's now become a peculiar hybrid of convenience store and optician.
Now, would you go for an eye test at VG? Well would you? Eyes are a delicate thing and must be cherished. If you get it wrong you could be in trouble. I've had endless to-ing and fro-ing to the opticians who got my prescription wrong - twice. Then at my last visit they told me my prescription was way too strong. Trust the professionals, right?
Well, yes, but I'd still rather to to a David Clullow or my current fave the 20/20 Optical Store in Tottenham Court road, than Mace. The 20/20 Opitcal Store is a cavernous hangar full of frames and eye-related products (and strangely, women's clothes). But it does have a cafe. The staff are to a man Australian-Asian, which is curious, though last time I got a woman who introduced herself primly as 'Miss Khan' while calling me by my first name. Her colleagues giggled at her behind her back and she was clearly unpopular among her peers. Or perhaps I'm reading too much into it.
Anyhoo, while we're talking of eyes, here's a song that reminds me of this time of year.
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Mrs M is trying to convince me my eyes are on the turn (they're not - it's just very small print in low light). She used to process her prescriptions at a bargain place in Camden Hight St (in the early 90s) that was legendary for low prices. so much so we would hoof in from Southend to collect her specs.
I do love a combo-shop. There's a newsagents near Fenchurch St that's a sweets and smut shop. One side it's crisps, cards and chocolate bars. In the window and other walls it's nipple clamps, edible undies and other novelty horrors.
There are historical precedents for this. In the Seventies, one of my friends' Dads used to run a sweetshop in Hackney which doubled as an 'adult appliances' emporium. Apparently he was known in the trade as 'Rubber' Johnny.
...and in Hastings we have a Fish & Chip shop / Post Office combo. In a perfect world it would be called something like 'First Class Fish & Chips', but sadly it's just the Harold Road post office.
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