They had threatened to do it for weeks. My glasses finally fell apart during a dance lesson. Thank goodness for the back-up glasses that Damjan brought from home in Australia. For two weeks, I carried my broken glasses around in my bag, looking for an opportunity to duck into an optician for help.

On Sunday, Damjan and I made it to a Vision Express store.

The lady at the counter examined my glasses, then took them to a white-coated lab technician. After less than ten minutes with a tiny screw, the lab tech handed my glasses back to the lady, who presented them to me.

‘There you go,’ she said.

‘Thank you! How much do I owe you?’

‘Nothing.’ She shook her head and smiled.

‘Thank you very much!’

As we left the store, Damjan commented, ‘It’s nice to know there are still some things for free in the world.’