Hanging up the retinoscope: Thank you and farewell from Mr Jelley

Dear Everyone,

Thank you all so much for the privilege of being part of the communities of Bromyard and Tenbury Wells.

It’s over 40 years since I arrived as a fresh faced young optician with my wife Louise and together we worked hard to establish a practice to serve East Herefordshire and West

Worcestershire.

Andy and Louise outside Bromyard practice, 1983

The 1980s was a time of enormous change and with the advent of advertising in various professions there were suddenly new players on the block and it made it all the more important to create a service based on care and quality.

It was put to me at an early stage that if you put the interests of the patient first you couldn’t go far wrong.

It is with that in mind I am absolutely delighted that my successors Alex and Rebecca Lane share that ethos, I keep saying to patients that I have handed over to people who I would like to see myself.

Rebecca, Alex and Andrew

Alex has been with me nearly 17 years and he, Rebecca and I started the hand over 10 years ago.  I can assure you that I have left things in the very best hands.

I have been served by some wonderful colleagues, special mention should go to Teresa Davies who has been with me over 40 years and also Jane Peacock, Duncan Edwards, Ceri Ingram, Wendy Cramp, David Webley and Lucy Wicks all of whom have helped make Andrew Jelley Opticians such a success. To that I should add relative newcomers Ruth Arbon, Isobel Farkas and Emma Bracken who are continuing with those same values.

My retirement has come about rather unexpectedly as a property became available close to my family in North Wales and a move there is proceeding a bit quicker than envisaged.

 I and my colleagues have not had much time to plan an exit but that it is probably a good thing however I have been deeply touched by the kind messages that I have already received.

So in parting let me say again what pleasure and an honour to have been supported by so many of you, some of whom I first saw all those years ago in the early 1980s.

Au revoir

Andrew Jelley