An article in The Guardian this week has focused on the G20 summit currently taking place in Nice this week and among the items on the agenda has been the much publicised Robin Hood Tax. This is in no small part thanks to the presence of actor Bill Nighy ( him of the cool, geeky glasses…….and Love Actually fame) who has got behind the tax reform with the same gusto he normally reserves for the big screen.

Right on, Bill.

In essence, it is asking for a tiny tax to be implemented on the world financial sectors, thus creating hundreds of billions of dollars which could then be used to improve public services world wide and at the same time help reduce poverty and debt throughout the countries of the world. The UK alone would generate £20 billion in extra cash.

Shop The Nighy Look:

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With Nighy being joined by other famous names like Nicholas Sarkozy, Angela Merkel, Bill Gates and even The Archbishop of Canterbury the Robin Hood tax is growing in recognition by the day and currently has web support at 97,398 people. Not bad for an idea that has only been in the public eye for 19 months.

And the reason for Bill Nighy getting behind the cause?……”I blame Richard Curtis…..everyone else does”. Get’s our vote!

As ever, we here at Glasses Direct are always keeping our musical ears to the ground for interesting music and videos and this artiste recently slipped onto our radar, mainly due to his cool video which seems to have been shot in a rather swanky Parisienne opticians.

The guy’s name is Oscar O’Mailey and the song is called ” Ques an Charde”. The video was produced by Manuall Focus (another clever link) and although neither name is, as yet, that well known, we expect big things if this tune is anything to go by.

Check the vid out here and let us know what you think!

As I was laying on my sofa the other evening watching ‘Mr and Mrs Smith’ two things struck me. Firstly, I wish I looked like Brad Pitt and secondly, why do movie stars always wear yellow tinted specs when casually firing off a few rounds of a handy AK47? Thankfully, while I know nothing about the grooming habits of Mr Pitt, I do know a little about tints and lens colours. So here is a brief summary to ponder over the next time you can’t decide how to look the part with a cool M16 gadget…

Tints tend to fall into two categories; cosmetic or functional. The choice of colour can range enormously depending on use, preference or even your hair colour! Regardless of colour though, they have to be 100% UV protective and it is important to note that both very pale and a very dark tints can provide this. Cosmetic tints are normally bright colours and are more of a statement so look out for pinks, blues and reds. Functional tints tend to be brown, grey or yellow (as worn by Pitt).

The key reason why some colours are recommended for particular tasks over others is down to the wave-length of light they block out. For example, a brown tint (as it contains yellow) is much better at blocking out the middle of the visible spectrum, creating a much better contrast between the low end and high end of the spectrum. This is perfect for driving, skiing or sport. A grey tint on the other hand blocks out the spectrum evenly. While this doesn’t provide a better contrast, it helps to reduce intense light and glare from the sun’s rays. Yellow is much better for definition as it highlights objects better, allowing for faster reaction times. This is because yellow is the only colour that falls exactly on the retina and is therefore the colour that the eye is most sensitive to. This is why police cars have yellow stripes.

So next time you’re off on a mission or just off down the pub, choose wisely…you never know what you may need to see.

The question in the news right now is ‘could glasses soon be history?’ It turns out scientists have identified a gene that causes short-sightedness and have predicted they will reduce the number of individuals with short-sightedness within a decade. So what does this mean for the world of spectacles?

I have been a glasses wearer since the meager age of three, where the glasses were so big you could barely see my face behind them. I remember starting school and being looked at strangely and making friends with the only other kid in the class who also wore glasses too. By the time I was leaving school and starting university, specs had all of a sudden become cool. I looked around and everyone was wearing them, even people who didn’t need them. The world had gone crazy for the one thing I had dreaded wearing most of my life!

Specs have become a fashion statement, so what will happen if they are no longer needed as much? Will people continue to wear them anyway but without prescriptions? What will happen when the genes are identified for the other various eye disorders?

It’s an interesting concept. Feel free to post any thoughts you might have, we’d love to hear from you.

With 65% of the British public feeling ‘ripped off’ at their opticians and almost half admitting they’ve actually postponed their eye test because of the costs involved with buying new glasses, we at Glasses Direct felt it was our responsibility to help clarify the rather baffling optical world.

We have created a guide called ‘seeing clearly’ to help you make clear, informed choices when it comes to shopping for your glasses. We teamed up with Plain English Campaign (an independent group fighting for plain English in public communication) and received their Crystal Mark to show that this guide is as clear as it can be.

For clear information on what your prescription means, what you should expect during and after an eye test, how to find the best glasses for you and much more, check out our seeing clearly guide here. You will also find a downloadable pocket guide to take with you in your pocket or handbag at your next visit so that you’re armed with all the knowledge you need!

Have a listen to our latest radio coverage here:

And take a look at some of the other great coverage below in the Times, Metro, Sunday Mirror, the Scotsman and Daily Express.

Check out Glasses Direct as one of the five recommended ways to save money on your eye care in The Daily Telegraph…  Sticking to these tips can save you hundreds of pounds on eye tests and products. The article highlights our Free Unlimited Seven-Day Home Trial which allows customers to try before they buy, as well as our helpful customer team and team of qualified opticians.

Asking for questions on twitter the other day, this one came in:

http://twitter.com/catalogbiz/statuses/2017607429

What does the Axis part on the prescription mean? What is “average”?

I asked another David, one of our team of dispensing opticians:

“The axis is the orientation of the astigmatism. The value is in degrees, and can be anything from 1 to 180. There is no average value, and the number doesn’t have any relevance to the size of the astigmatism ( that is indicated in the CYL box ).

Its probably best described as being like a compass bearing. The bearing you walk on doesn’t relate to how far you walk, its just the direction of travel.”

And an astigmatism? What’s that?

“Instead of being spherical like a football, most eyes are cylinder shaped, a bit like a rugby ball, and need correcting in two meridians; a spherical (SPH) component, and a cylindrical, or astigmatic (CYL) one. The AXIS is the direction along which the cylindrical component (astigmatism) lies.”

So there you go, hope that helps out. How’s the language? Understandable?

The way that I imagine it (from a non-optician’s viewpoint) is like this:
Imagine holding up a tall glass (like this one) up in front of your eye. The ‘Cyl’ value is similar to the thickness of the glass, and the ‘Axis’ value is the angle at which you hold the glass in front of your eye.

Any thing else you want to know, just ask in the comments.