I'm a cynical old hack but I recently had the pleasure of joining the Garmin Transitions pro cycling team at their training camp in Calpe, Spain.
I think it is going to be hard to avoid pro cycling this summer but already firms such as Shamir are looking to engage practitioners in the programme.
The latest move by Tesco is sure to draw some fire from its competitors but have we been living on borrowed time?
When the universal free eye exam was removed many expected the optical sector to swallow the cost and simply pile the loss onto the price of contact lenses and spectacles. The profession, since then, has been trying to achieve the exact opposite and get the value of the professionals' time valued as a stand alone element of an optometric visit.
Neither side has won in this bizarre tug of war over professional fee vs commercial come on but the move by Tesco has the potential to derail the progress made by those keen to see the professional paid for their time.
ASDA is likely to be the first to respond, the rest of the profession will have to hope that Boots and Specsavers hold their nerve.
Tesco has its own reasons for doing what it has done but given the size of its network it isn't setting a new benchmark just yet. Unless your practice is close by of course.
Barbie has started wearing specs its seems ( see Optician Feb 26) and those style gurus at Mattel have even consulted women's engineering agencies in the US to make sure she is authentic.
A vote ( not sure among who) decided to make modern Barbie a computer engineer. Apparently she has all the 'stuff' blue tooth earpiece etc to make her look like the real article.
I can so the likeness between B and our own IT guys --not.
The Optician Awards really gets into swing about this time of the year. Shortlisting the entries this year has been really tough due to the number of entries and volume of quality words.
Practices and individuals have really got the knack of entry statements making selection harder than ever.
Judging day is on February 12 so when you get the call telling you that you have made it to a shortlist don't delay in getting your entry in.
The really hard work starts now --choosing the entertainment.
I had the pleasure of attending opti-Munich at the weekend and very nice it was too. Among the great and good of the boutique frame business ( get your pictures in if you are reading) I came across Whiteout & Glare. It is great to see something that really gets you excited as so much of the product is the same. Just proves that great looking frames don't have to to be whacky.
After struggling to work today on my son's mountain bike across the snows of Surrey to be greeted with newspapers proclaiming the return of the Blitz spirit it's as well to remember just how easy we have it.
By coincidence the following letter
Arrived in the office. This letter is from the final months of WWII and highlights just how tough things were.
Little did they know it but this generation would also have to live through the winter of 1947 three years later.
It's that time of the year when the manufacturers preview their Spring/Summer collections so it was off to Holborn for Safilo's turn today. Along with an riot of colour and decals were a raft of vintage shapes -- and not just from the 60s, 70s and 80s.
The Georgio Armani collection had some fantastic frames conjuring up the era of 1930s black and white Hollywood glamour. A real breath of fresh air for someone who grew up in the 60s, 70s and 80s and is quite happy to consign its styling to history.
Having said that there were some really nice frames on show with cateyes and big eye sizes continuing to dominate.
The women's magazine glitteratti were all making a bee-line for the Juicy collection. This Pink and perky brand has taken the States by storm and looks like doing the same over herre too.
The combative nature of supermarkets seldom makes it into the rarefied world of optometry but it looks like all of that is about to change with the latest moves from ASDA.
It's a well-trodden path to publicity to knock the market leader and the bigger specsavers gets the more obvious a target it becomes. The latest to have taken this road is ASDA in its transparent pricing push.
Having travelled to an ASDA optical outlet last week to talk to its optical strategists I can see why they want to make such a fuss about the offer and the mass of new products that have made it into it collection.
The way ASDA has gone about things was always bound to be a poke in the ribs for Specsavers and the new Boots/D&A giant. In years gone by few would have given the opticals a chance in a bust up with Wal Mart's ASDA. These days, given the size of the super opticals, who knows.
Any schadenfreude currently being enjoyed by the independents may also be shortlived. It may be nice to see the big boys slugging it out but there is also a caring spin off.
From a customers' point of view the transparent pricing promotion is a good offer. For some people with high prescriptions it could be a very good offer indeed. I was struck by the story of one high myope lady who had heard about the offer ( in the Daily Mail's piece) and wanted to check it was as open as presented. When she was told there would be no extra charges despite her -18 prescription she was delighted.
The first step for the patient was an eye test.After so many uyears of being told how much a new pair of specs would be she simply hadn't had her eyes tested and her prescription was over six years old.
September again and despite not being at school there is still that feeling of things starting again after a long summer break.
For once my own kids were really keen to get back to school, this is scary in itself, but I found a similar attitude emerging at work.
Rather than a ' ho hum the holidays are over', I sense a 'let's get things moving again' vibe.
Chilly mornings and a sense of new beginnings make September but one of the things I like are those regular features like the Optician Awards. Taking something as successful and doing it all again. We are going to have to work hard to top this year's event. I think I'll ask Marylin along again.
The summer is traditionally a quiet time in optics. Optician spends its time avoiding silly season stories and coping with quiet afternoons, chasing elusive contacts.
This year there seems to a be a move toward a little more activity as the market, indeed the whole economy itches to come out of recession. The GOC consultation is typical of the mood. There is an air of making ready going on. I hope that feeling is realised.
