Like many businesses we have had an unusual number of staff changes since March 2020, so you may have noticed new faces when you have visited our branches. However, we are proud to have so many loyal staff reaching long service milestones - with too many to list having been with the company for over 20 years.

Reaching her 25th year milestone this year is Debbie Heath who works at Hedge End and Winchester. Sally Hake (who has been manager of our Winchester branch for many years and now moving to our soon-to-open Stockbridge branch) has been with Rawlings for over 30 years. Lis Hughman from our Caterham practice has been with us for 38 years this year - however topping that are Dawn Dilley from Purley branch and Tracey Robinson from Alton who both reach 40 years this year! Congratulations to this years ‘milestoners’ and enjoy your gifts!

Whether you are planning a staycation or jumping on a plane, we have the sunglasses that you need to look great and see clearly!

We have a fantastic range of sunglass frames for all face shapes and sizes, with a wide range of options available for the lenses. Non-prescription, single vision, bifocal, varifocal, fade-tints and mirrors, we have it all covered, starting from just £59.

You can also upgrade your lenses with reflection-free surfaces, Sensity 2® variable tint or Polarised lenses which are highly recommended for that extra reduction from reflected glare on sand, sea or even snow and especially good for driving.

You always have the assurance that all Rawlings sunglasses are UV protective, ensuring you are protecting your eyes from the harmful and aging effects of the sun, just like you do with sun tan lotion for your skin.

Pop into your local branch to get yours.

It’s a great time to think about trying contact lenses. It is clear that wearing of masks is likely to be with us for the long term in some environments, and freedom from glasses as an additional adornment on your face in some situations can be really liberating.

It’s bad enough with mask elastic and spectacle arms behind our ears, but if you also wear an hearing aid, ridding yourself of one of these can be a real boost. Or perhaps now you are out and about, you just fancy a new look or have taken up a new sport or activity where glasses are a bit of a nuisance?

Contact lenses are available for almost all prescriptions these days and age, astigmatism or the need for reading glasses or varifocals are no barrier. Children usually do exceptionally well with the switch from glasses to contact lenses, and there is no need to wait until their prescription stops changing as it is not an issue. The contact lens prescription can easily be changed as the eyes change. In fact with our Myopia Management contact lenses, short-sighted children’s prescriptions should change far less frequently than usual. It used to be common for children to switch to contact lenses when they started secondary school, but actually Myopia Management lenses work best starting at the age of 6 or 7.

Perhaps you’ve tried lenses in the past and they didn’t suit you? New products emerge every year, and we are excited to have been among the first Opticians to have access to new products from Johnson & Johnson, Coopervision and Bausch & Lomb in the past few months.

If you would like to find out more, email us or give us a ring or look on our website. We are always happy to answer any queries or give advice.

When you book an appointment with us, you will be offered an OCT scan. Most of our patients will have had a photograph taken of the back of their eyes at Rawlings before, and many have now added OCT scans into their eye health care.

Quite simply, OCT scanning allows us the most detailed examination of the central part of the back of the eye, in particular the optic nerve and the macula.

Apart from cataract, the two most common eye conditions in the over 40 age group are glaucoma and macular degeneration. OCT scanning allows us to detect these conditions earlier than other tests available – so that treatment if required can be started earlier to prevent or reduce sight loss. OCT scanning can also detect many other eye problems invisible to other methods, due to the high level of magnification and visibility of layers of cells below the surface of the retina.

Diabetics may wonder if they should have OCT as well as their diabetic screening. In fact it is arguably even more important for diabetics, as the national screening program is only for diabetic retinopathy and not for glaucoma (which diabetics are more at risk of developing) as well as macula disease.

Although OCT adds an additional charge to your eye appointment, it is a small price to pay for the additional information it gives us in order to look after your eye health as well as we possibly can. Our optometrists recommend all patients have regular OCT scans at the time of their eye examinations and you can book online here or call us to arrange an appointment.

Rawlings Opticians have worked closely with the Danish spectacle makers, Lindberg for many years with customers returning for repeat orders year after year. The reason for this: their outstanding quality, comfort, and innovation in design.

Lindberg was founded by father and son, an architect and optometrist, in 1986. They linked both design and wearability into their eyewear. Even today they are constantly researching new techniques and construction, making all their frames without any screws or rivets. Every piece is still designed and made in Denmark. They have also been granted 112 internationally recognised design awards for their 14 collections. Lindberg are also proud to use only responsibly sourced materials.

At Rawlings we hold the popular Spirit Titanium, Air Titanium Rim, and the N.O.W frame ranges.

The Spirit Titanium range are perfect if you are looking for minimal, light-weight rimless spectacles, weighing as little as 1.9 grams. The designs come in many shapes and sizes, with something to suit and fit everyone. This range also gives you complete freedom to design your own spectacles, choosing the colour of each element, the side/temple design and lens shape.

As they are made from titanium, all models are ultra-lightweight, hypoallergenic, flexible and durable.

The Air Titanium Rim collection is wired frame eyewear with the iconic spiralled hinge, without any screws and rivets. This hinge was from Lindberg’s first design from the mid-eighties, so it has survived the test of time. They are known for their sleek designs and fit and are customised for each wearer.

If you want something a bit bolder then try the N.O.W Titanium collection. The front of the frame is a premium-grade composite. This creates a plastic frame ‘look’ but much softer and lighter. They are available in an array of colours, transparent, clear or solid, matt or shiny. The design and colours of the titanium temples can also be chosen with screwless hinges. These frames are remarkably lightweight, weighing as little as 2.3 grams, and hypoallergenic too.

Contact or pop into your local branch to find your lightest frame yet or for more information.

If working from home has taught us anything, it’s that working on a computer can be exhausting for our eyes and our neck/back posture.

We can now offer 3 different lens designs from Hoya, to suit your needs and working station.

• The Workstyle 3 lens is suitable for glasses wearers who have the most demands on their vision, spending a lot of time indoors, switching between close and mid-distance lengths, and occasional distance needs. Ideal for multiple screens, open plan office spaces, board meetings and presentations.
• Worksmart Room works really well for people who need more flexibility than they get with their varifocal lenses when using a computer, meaning its effortless to switch between screen and keyboard.
• Supereader lenses offer greater range than reading glasses and wider reading area than varifocals. Ideal for avid readers of books and digital reading devices.

All of these lenses result in improved posture with less head movement, relaxed vision and less digital eye strain for presbyopes (Presbyopia is the term for the change in your eyes that occurs leading you to need reading and computer glasses when you are over 40 – our optometrists in that age group love them due to the requirements of the consulting room!).

Come in store to discuss your needs further with one of our opticians.