Nadya 187

"Another line of thought, Mr. Photographer. You were telling me about the daughter who said to Lady Lentilux that nobody in town was wearing strong glasses like hers. And you jumped in, telling the daughter that there are many women with a much stronger prescription. Is that really true?"

"Yes, absolutely. I read somewhere that there are far more extremely shortsighted women than men. Science is still trying to explain why. About one or two percent of shortsighted women have a higher prescription than Lady Lentilux. But the vast majority uses contact lenses"

"Imagine the potential if they would suddenly decide to wear their glasses in public. It would add a new dimension to the streets. It might even create a hype if someone finds a way to promote it"

"Well Nadya, I have vivid memories of what the streets looked like when I was a child. There were many girls and women in myodisc glasses and I was fascinated by their looks. This was before the arrival of contact lenses so there were no alternatives if you happened to be extremely shortsighted. But most of them were shy when you looked at them"

"And what style did they wear? Cat eye glasses like this blue pair?"

"Cat eye glasses were highly fashionable in those days but the frames were much smaller. Oversize glasses only arrived when the hippie scene and flower power took over. But at the same time, contact lenses arrived and that was the end of myodisc glasses in the streets"

"I'm trying to imagine streets filled with women in extremely strong cat eye glasses like this blue pair. All you need would be some trendsetters, really. Perhaps a successful solo artist"

"Or an all female rock band, all dressed up in the same style, and sporting myodisc cat eye glasses"

"That's it, Lord Lentilux. Brilliant. That could create a hype. And you could equip them with some of your magic glasses. Didn't you mention earlier on that you had a bit of a career as a musician yourself?"

"I never made the choice to become a professional artist but I was told time and again that the potential was there. I made half a dozen records, first on vinyl and later on CD. None of these made it to the charts but it was great to work with some artists who had been in the charts"

"You should write a song about the beauty of ladies in strong glasses"

"Be prepared for a shock...."