An Irish pensioner travelled almost 12 hours to a Dundee shop to have a pair of his treasured 60-year-old glasses repaired.
Patrick Farrell, 75, came all the way from Dublin on a ferry and three buses in a bid to have his spectacles fixed.
The pensioner, who does not have the internet at home, used a computer at a public library to discover that Dundee’s Spex Pistols store was the only place he could get his 60-year-old glasses fixed.
He spent three days in the City of Discovery while his glasses were remade his second visit to the town.
Spex Pistols owner Richard Cook said: “He is such an interesting guy.
“He doesn’t use much TV or radio in Dublin and he doesn’t used the internet. But he managed to find us online using a computer in a public library.
“He wanted a pair of glasses he had had for 60 years fixed and we were the only place that could do it.”
Mr Cook corresponded by letter and telephone with Mr Farrell for some time before the 75-year-old made the journey to Dundee.
“He took a ferry and three buses. I think he had to leave at about three in the morning and he didn’t get here until about 2pm,” Mr Cook explained.
“We can do things like that via post and delivery but he was keen to come over. He said part of the experience of getting something done by artisans is being in the place where it happens.
“He ended up staying for three days. He knew so much about Dundee. Even though he’d only been here once before, he was telling me things I didn’t know about the area.”
Mr Farrell has now made the return journey to Ireland with his repaired glasses and a couple of other pairs in hand.
Mr Cook added: “We often have people coming from far afield to the store. I think we’ve had people from every continent except Antarctica.
“He’s was such a great guy though, it was fantastic he could come over.”