It must have been between three and five years since I had last been to an Opticians. My glasses were loose and apparently couldn't be tightened anymore, so I decided it was probably time for a new eye test and some new glasses! So I went into Boots and asked for an appointment for an eye test. They didn't have one for that day, but I booked one for a convenient day, she took down my details to put on the computer and I returned for the appointment. (I had received a telephone call the day before, to remind me.)

When I arrived at Boots Opticians, I didn't have long to wait, then a woman took me into a small room to fill out a form and do a couple of tests on my eyes. One of these involved a puff of air being squirted into each eye, which felt bizarre, but was painless. All the way through, she was chatty, explained what was happening and put me at ease.

Then it was another short wait before a male optician introduced himself and showed me into his office. He talked with me for a while, finding out my history, asking if I had ever had any issues with my eyesight as well as ascertaining what my lifestyle was like now. He was lovely, really easy to talk to, very welcoming and I felt he gave me a lot of time and attention.

The eye test had changed slightly since I last had one, but as you expect, it includes reading out lines of capital letters on a wall chart some distance away, plus looking at red and green circles to see which appear clearer. As I already wear glasses all the time, he took them away to find out which prescription I was using currently and worked from there.

Once again, he explained everything he was testing and why, so I felt informed and not at all nervous. I completed tests both wearing my glasses and without, then he went through various combinations of lenses to see which were best for my eyes.

He was pleased to inform me that my eyes certainly hadn't got any worse since my last eye test and in fact, he was going to reduce my prescription slightly. He was also changing the balance between my eyes slightly, as one is a bit weaker than the other and he felt altering it this way would cause less strain to be put on my weaker eye.

I would suggest this section took about half an hour in total. I certainly felt he didn't rush anything and took time to answer my questions and explain everything to me. After this, he took me back to the main part of the shop and put my details onto the computer screen, before leaving me with the woman I had previously spoken to.

After a brief conversation with her, I had a look round the glasses they had on display. They were some cheap ones but none I really liked much, so I looked through the more expensive range. There really is something for every budget here, but to be honest, the expensive ones look much nicer than the cheap ones! Glasses are very important and I wanted something a bit stylish, but without spending £300 for them.

Luckily, Boots had quite a few offers on at the time, including a Buy One Get One Free if you spent over £79 on one pair. I found a great pair I really liked - quite small with clear frames at the bottom, but with the top of them the exact same colour I dye my hair - a lovely dark red! I tried them on and thought they suited me. I got a second opinion from my fiancé and he liked them too, so now to choose my free pair.

I felt it would be a good investment to get a pair of prescription sunglasses, as my eyes are very sensitive and they might make hayfever season a bit more bearable. Again, they had all sorts of styles and price ranges available. I chose quite a big round pair in a red-brown colour which again complements my hair.

I went to the counter and explained which I wanted, so she took the details. I also had an anti-glare coating on the regular glasses, which was something the optician had suggested, as I spend a lot of time using computers with my writing. This cost extra, so the total cost for the eye test (£20), prescription sunglasses, normal glasses and the anti-glare coating came to £154. As I have a Boots Advantage Card too, there was an offer on which gave me an extra 1000 points on my card too.

I was told the glasses would be ready in seven to ten days and as I hadn't heard anything on the tenth day, I rang them up to see if they were ready. I was told a postcard had been sent to inform me they were ready, but it hadn't arrived. Anyway, we went into town to collect them and again I had a good experience with the staff. I was sat down and had both pairs of glasses fitted to me, so they were comfortable, not too tight and not too loose. They both came in hard cases with a cloth cleaning wipe too.

Overall, I have been really impressed with Boots Opticians. The staff were all excellent and I was especially impressed with the optician himself and the amount of time and attention he gave me. The range of glasses available was very good, they were well displayed and clearly priced and although some of them were very expensive, it was easy to find something that fitted my style and my price range, considering the offers they had on.

The only disadvantage I found to Boots Opticians was that it did take the full ten days for my glasses to be ready and I was slightly irritated that I had to contact them to ask what was happening, whereas I would have expected a phone call informing me they were ready for collection.

Otherwise, I have been very happy with everything. My glasses are great, both pairs fit beautifully and I can see out of them really well. I haven't had any problems with eye strain or headaches since and they were well worth the money.