Hadfields Opticians

About this location

A few stories people tell about this place

1. Late one autumn afternoon, as a delivery driver pulled up outside Hadfield’s Opticians, he noticed something peculiar. The air was filled with an unfamiliar scent—a sweet, almost nostalgic whiff that seemed to come from within the shop itself. Curious, he peered through the window and saw only empty shelves and dusty displays. Then, out of nowhere, an elderly gentleman emerged, adjusting his glasses with a smile. ‘Ah,’ he said, ‘you must be here for your new spectacles? They should arrive any day now.’ The delivery driver blinked several times before realizing the old man was talking to him. Turning around, he found himself alone in the deserted street—except for a faint smell of freshly baked cookies drifting gently away.

2. Early one foggy morning, an elderly gentleman walked into Hadfield's Opticians. He stumbled slightly on the threshold and muttered something about not being able to see his own feet. The kindly optician adjusted his spectacles and offered a chair. After a moment’s rest, the old man exclaimed, ‘I can finally see my reflection in that shop window!’ The whole street burst out laughing, including the delivery driver who’d been honking impatiently outside. A neighbour passing by said, “That’s why you always look so grumpy!” And everyone had a good laugh.

3. In the early hours of a Sunday morning, a delivery driver pulled up outside Hadfield’s Opticians. Spotting something unusual in the dim light—a mysterious pair of glasses resting on the pavement—curiosity got the better of him. He bent down to pick them up and noticed an old-fashioned case with the shop’s logo. Smiling to himself, he thought, ‘What harm can it do?’ He popped into the shop, where the owner was just opening for the day. ‘Found these,’ he said sheepishly. The owner looked at the specs and laughed heartily. ‘Ah, those belong to our oldest customer, Mr. Jenkins—he always forgets them here!’

4. While stocking shelves one day, a young employee noticed something peculiar in Hadfield’s Opticians’ storeroom—a pair of glasses with no prescription attached. Curious, she picked them up and found they seemed to fit her perfectly, though she had never worn corrective lenses before. She tried on another pair—this time, it was as if she could see through walls! Startled, she ran out to show her colleague, who shook his head and said, ‘That’s just our old display specs—they’ve been there since last century.’ The whole office laughed, but from that day on, whenever anyone needed new frames, they’d ask for ‘the magic specs.’