"I have an important announcement to make to you," Prime Minister Tony Blair told the London Press Club. "This is something I have been struggling with for a very long time."
Addressing an awards lunch Monday, the 47-year-old Blair admitted to a laughing audience that he now needs to wear eyeglasses when making public speeches.
He then retrieved a pair of fine-rimmed spectacles from his pocket and put them on. He has occasionally been photographed wearing eyeglasses to consult private papers but never to deliver an address.
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"Matters came to a head a couple of weeks ago in Devon when I was addressing a teachers' conference. And I was supposed to say 'teenagers' and I said 'teachers.' " So, Blair quipped, he decided "it's time to come out."