Tuesday 19 July 2011

Blurry in Moorfields

With the arrival of some unusual floaters in my right eye on Sunday afternoon, I headed to Moorfields Eye Hospital yesterday morning, which happens to be about ten bus stops down the road from where we live. It was an eye-opening experience in more ways than one: I sat in a succession of waiting rooms (never for too long, and sometimes only for a few minutes) as I worked my way through the system, and was eventually told that my eye is only acting in the way that it may when it's been around for half a century, and that things should settle down over the next month or so. I'm heading back for scan results in about 10 days' time.

With some goop put in my eyes to numb them and to dilate the pupils, I couldn't devote my waiting time to reading the small print of the Guardian I'd naively brought with me, but drawing was surprisingly enjoyable, and the haziness of the results I can put down — in part, anyway — to my blurred vision.

This morning I awoke to a wonderful soft focus effect through my right eye, lending a romantic tinge to gritty Stoke Newington, and giving the effect you'd expect if viewing gorgeous, love-struck couples running through wheatfields hand-in-hand to soaring orchestral music. Film noir continues unabated through the left eye.

3 comments:

Caroline said...

My optician said mine might go away, but that I might just have to get used to it, which I have.
Cocaine was certainly used to numb the eye at one time- is this why you really enjoyed drawing? :-)
Nicely loose and lively, anyway, and hope the eye improves!

James Hobbs said...

Hi Caroline. Edvard Munch had a bird-shaped floater in his later years, apparently, which would pop up in his paintings and drawings. Like you say, best to get used to it.
Not sure what numbed my eye, but I wasn't arguing.

Olha Pryymak said...

Get well soon.