Navigating around language in England has its challenges and as my youngest daughts pointed out,
“Can make me feel really stupid!”
The culprit this time was over the counter reading glasses. The ones we can pick up at the dollar store at home in America without any trouble.
ALong our High Street in Beckenham we had no idea where to start looking so we browsed the more obvious shops and couldn’t see anything on display so entered an optician’s thinking at least they may know where we can find them even though they wouldn’t carry any.
Trying to describe what we were after was next to impossible,
Reading glasses without a prescription? Reading glasses off the rack? Cheap reading glasses on a display like sunglasses?
The assistant looked blankly at us and finally said,
“We only sell prescription reading glasses.”
We went into W.H Smith’s, a book shop and stationers, and a long shot for glasses but I’d exhausted the other avenues. The assistant said,
“You mean ready readers?” Aha, she knew what we were after!
“Ah, yes! That’s what we mean!” She looked at us as if we were simple.
“Try Boots the Chemist she said.” and we did.
Now that we had the English name we were away, feeling slightly stupider, at least we were now armed with the correct phrase.
In Boots (the chemist) they had no choice in shape, plenty in color. Beggars can’t be choosers! We thought we’d buy a pack of two because they may be cheaper…perhaps. They weren’t so we settled with one pair. On-line they were as expensive, I checked when I returned home.
Now daughts can read! Just a simple +1.25 and she is actually getting through a book, looking clever and enjoying her daily train rides!
Hubs has since found quite a selection at the .99p store in Bromley. We may have to make a trip there now that Ready Reader trips off the tongue.
Well hello there! My name is Vivienne McNeny.
I am an empty nester exploring life as a Boomer…you could say I'm happily Boomering along!
As a homeschooling Mum I have finally quit the job of role model and mentor to my four children. I do what I want to do, eat when I feel like it, enjoy life with my blue eyed cowboy and clean my house once a month or so whether it needs it or not!
In true English form I write about the emergence of my true identity now that I can no longer hide behind my children as their Mum.
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