Silver service

Celebrations often bring an accompanying mood of reflection and the quarter century anniversary of the College of Optometrists was no exception.

The celebratory lunch (see news) held earlier this week hosted a veritable Who's Who of optics, with all the optical body movers and shakers in attendance. Happily these optical associations are currently as one on most of the issues facing the profession and the industry. This has not always been so.

This new-found unity did not go unnoticed by those given the job of addressing the assembled guests. College president David Cartwright pointed to the fact that many of his 17 predecessors were in the audience. optician agrees with his assertion that the College forms a strong force for optics. We also applaud the changed structures within the College that reflect the age and ethnic mix of the profession.

The College recently carried out in-depth research to gauge the public's attitudes towards the profession. This will form the basis of key messages that the profession must get across if it is to take its rightful place in the primary healthcare mix.  The College is ideally placed to communicate those messages and bang the drum for optical practitioners. This is the work that should carry the College forward for the next 25 years.

A delightfully eloquent speech from Spectacle Makers Company master Nigel Wingate gave further reason to take heart. It should be accepted as a move in the right direction that the formation of the College has led to the consolidation of trade associations, optical bodies and examining organisations.

Optics can be proud that in a world dying under the weight of government and bureaucracy it is shedding layers rather than accumulating them.

That move has been enabled by the efforts of those who volunteer their time and effort. This 25-year celebration is for them.