Xenia 001

Photo shoot: May 2, 2016
Location: Alimos, Athens, Greece

INTRODUCTION

The eccentric Lord Lentilux and his beloved Lady Nel were on their way to a harbour town called Nafplio in Greece. They had an overnight stay in a seaside quarter called Alimos, in the outskirts of Athens. The next morning they decided to take a walk along the seaside. It soon turned out that Lady Nel was in a better condition for walking. Wearing a rucksack, Lord Lentilux was unable to keep pace with her so he sat down on a bench and Lady Nel walked further.

The seaside was quiet and the weather was fine so His Lordship enjoyed the scenery. After a couple of minutes, his attention was drawn by a beautiful young lady who came walking his way. She was an athletic, tall blonde with very long hair. He noticed that she stopped several times, squinting hard as if there was a bit of a problem with her eyesight. She waved at him - hesitantly, it seemed - and he politely waved back although he had never seen her before. As she got nearer, she made a gesture as if she was excusing herself for some reason.

"Oh, I'm sorry Sir, I mistook you for somebody else. It happens all the time"

"No problem. Lovely morning, isn't it?"

"It is". She looked at him and he could see that she was still squinting, even at a short distance.

"Does the bright sunlight bother you?"

"Ah no Sir, it's not the sunlight. It's my eyesight that is getting worse and worse"

"Perhaps it's time for a visit to an optician?"

"I know. But for some reason I keep postponing it. Vanity and all the rest of it. I'm worried that glasses will make me look older. Really a bit silly, isn't it? But it's a big step to go to an optician for an eye test. They may say that I should have come a long time ago"

"Sounds familiar. My dentist says the same thing. I suppose your problem has to do with long distance vision?"

"Not just that. I can't read the street names but the small print on my mac is also giving me trouble"

"Sounds as if you have a bit of astigmatism"

"A stigma.... what?"

"Oh, I'm sorry for using a technical term from the world of optics"

"Are you an optician, by any chance?"

"Not professionally, but I know a lot about eyesight and glasses"

"Sounds interesting. May I ask, what is your profession?"

"My name is Lord Lentilux and I'm an inventor of sorts"

"Wow, a Lord.... Pleased to meet you. My name is Xenia. Can I sit down for a moment?"

"Of course you can. Be my guest. Lovely name, by the way. I never met anyone called Xenia before. Is your name related to the Greek word for stranger? I read Homer at school and the ancient Greek name for stranger is Xenos"

"Nothing wrong with your memory, My Lord. But can you tell me a bit about your work? I don't come across an inventor every day"

"Ah, it's not really work. I have a collection of magic glasses"

"Go away. What a coincidence. Can you cure my eyesight?"

"No, but I can do an eye test for you and show you some of the glasses"

"Here on the beach? That would be fun. But where is your equipment?"

"Some of it is in this rucksack. I can show it to you if you have a couple of minutes"

"Yes, please. Sounds as if I landed at the right spot"

Lord Lentilux opened his rucksack and out came a pizza box. He opened it and much to the young lady's surprise, it contained some beautiful glasses, dozens of lenses and even something that looked like a trial frame.

"Wow, My Lord, that's amazing. Now, what's next? Can I try some of your glasses or do you want me to put up this horrible frame?"

"The horrible frame first, if you don't mind". He handed it to the young lady.

"There are no lenses in this thing. Or is that your magic invention?"

"No, this is just an empty trial frame. But I will put lenses in it. Just a bit of trial and error. It won't take long"

"An eye test on the beach. I will have a story to tell my husband when he gets home"

"This is how it was done in the days before the days of the opticians shops. Eye tests were done outdoor, at market places"

Lord Lentilux produced some lenses and put them into the trial frame. The young lady held the frame in her hands at some distance of her face and she looked at the lenses in the frame.