Insight

summer 2011

complimentary

insight is the exciting new Arbuthnot Opticians newsletter filled with news and competitions

welcome

at Arbuthnot Opticians, we’ve always strived to offer our customers the very latest technology in a friendly and unintimidating setting

a new vision

Many customers will have grown accustomed to the green Arbuthnot theme of our practice over the years but, as our 75th anniversary approaches, we thought it was time that our interior reflected these advances in optometry and became a little more contemporary.

We have been delighted with the feedback from our many loyal customers and would like to take this opportunity in our new Insight

newsletter to thank them for their business over the years, and to invite new customers to come and experience our high-quality service.

I would also like to add a special thank you to our interior designers, Mewscraft, and also to my team who have worked extremely hard to make this transition as smooth as possible.

If you’re reading this, and you’re not yet a customer, I hope you will give us the opportunity to look after you in the years ahead. We look forward to seeing you.

Ted Arbuthnot

Image this page and front cover image courtesy of Tom Davies

When Norman Alexander started Arbuthnot Opticians seventy-five years ago, he couldn’t have imagined the technological advances in optometry that this business would experience in the many years ahead.

Arbuthnot Opticians has recently undergone a transformation. We talk to Optometrist and Partner James Davies on the changes

a new look Why the refurb?

Quite simply to give our customers a great experience when they visit us. The service we offer and the technology and equipment we use is first-class. The frames and lenses we offer are stylish, unique and bang up-to-date so we wanted our shop to reflect this and to give our customers an enjoyable shopping experience.

What changes have been made?

Arbuthnots stands out from the other opticians on the high-street. Bespoke hand-made units now display our products, so customers can easily browse and try on our frames, with enhanced lighting and lots of room. We want people to feel comfortable trying on frames and for it to be a pleasurable experience.

There are also new consulting rooms for eye examinations and hearing tests on the ground floor. We know some people can find going for an eye test daunting, so we’ve tried to make Arbuthnots a welcoming and enjoyable practice to visit. Our new computer system means all of our customers’ records are stored safely and securely and at a touch of a button we can bring up a customer’s history.

We also have a dedicated room for our optical coherence tomographer, fundus camera and digital photographic slit lamp, which allow us to photograph and take 3D scans of your eyes. Anyone on our EyeCare Plan gets this as part of their eye test. The only thing we haven’t changed is our team of experts. Customers can expect the same level of professional and reliable service they have benefited from over the last 35 years.

Are you introducing new frames?

We’re constantly sourcing and adding new frames and are committed to offering our customers something different. We stock a large number of designer frames which you won’t see in the high street chains. We’re a boutique shop and the refurbishment now means we can display even more, such as the bespoke Tom Davies range: frames that are truly unique to each individual.

Sunglasses are now more fashionable than ever thanks to Ray-Ban, Oakley, Maui Jim and many other brands. We’ll also be using our new increased modernised display area to offer a wider range of these. Many sunglasses can also be made up to a customer’s prescription. We know it’s important for customers to look and feel good in their sunglasses, no matter what strength glasses they use.

We also stock a range of sunglasses with tints made specifically for certain sports such as golf and cycling.

Sunglasses are now more fashionable than ever thanks to Ray-Ban, Oakley, Maui Jim and many other brands.

Can you tell us about the décor?

We’ve gone for a modern, light and airy feel which we hope is welcoming and different from any other opticians on the high street.

The specially designed display furniture has a high-gloss ebony finish, and is complemented by calming décor which combines soft curves with natural tones and textures. The style reflects our commitment to customers, which is to provide a unique, enjoyable and professional service delivered by a team of optometry experts.

To celebrate our refurbishment we’re offering three months of free contact lenses when customers sign up to our eyecare plan.* The Arbuthnot EyeCarePlan allows our patients and customers to make the most of our value, choice and care.

The key benefits are all eyecare covered (including fundus photography and optical coherence tomography), examinations as often as you like, 33% off all glasses, peace of mind cover with the Arbuthnot Accidental Damage Scheme and reduced contact lens prices.

See instore for more details. *Conditions apply.

Arbuthnot Opticians 6 Broad Street Barry CF62 7XP 01446 735551 info@arbuthnotopticians.co.uk www.arbuthnotopticians.co.uk

PURE MAXIMALISM

Arbuthnot Opticians offer an exclusive range of high fashion, designer and everday spectacle frames and sunglasses.

Cazal, Dior, Lindberg, Oakley, Ana Hickmann, Timberland, Tom Davies, Versace, Rayban, Adidas.

did you know that up to 1 million children in the UK currently have an undetected vision problem?

eye openers Children’s Eye Health Campaign 2011

Eye facts and figures

Poor eyesight can have a significant effect on children’s ability to learn and on their behaviour – yet often goes unrecognised by teachers, parents and by children themselves.

1. 100 people start to lose their sight in the UK every day, half of which could have been prevented through regular sight testing and early treatment.

The AOP, as part of the Optical Confederation, is continuing its efforts to reach parents, teachers and health professionals by highlighting the importance of children’s eye health.

2. Every 15 minutes someone in the UK begins to lose their sight.

‘Back to school’ routine - don’t forget to book a sight test!

4. Over 90% of children visit a dentist regularly, whilst only 53% of children have ever had an eye examination.

Our campaign aims to encourage parents to include a sight test in their ‘back to school’ routine this summer to ensure that their child’s vision is not forgotten about.

Phone 01446 735551 today to book an eye test for your child.

3. Up to 1 million children in the UK currently have an undetected vision problem.

5. In the UK there are currently around 2 million people with sight loss. It is predicted that by 2050 the numbers of people with sight loss in the UK will double to nearly 4 million.

6. Sight loss is expensive - in 2008 an estimated £22 billion was associated with it - in treatment-related costs, indirect costs such as informal care, and ‘quality of life’ costs such as financial hardship and depression.

7. Department of Health figures show that over 4 million older people do not have regular eye tests, so their potential sight problems are not being identified or treated.

Articles courtesy of AOP www.aop.org.uk/childrenseyehealth childrenseyecare@aop.org.uk

does your child have beautiful eyes or are they a budding artist?

competitions

Beautiful Eyes Competition Have you ever been told that your child has beautiful eyes? If so, you might want to enter our competition to find the child with the most beautiful eyes.

All you need to do is send in your entries through the post or email us a picture of your child’s eyes and our panel of judges will choose the winners. There will be three categories - primary, junior and secondary.

Win one of these fabulous prizes!

First prize An Apple iPod. Second prize

Third prize

Quasar (Ultimate party consisting of 3 games, meal and 2 drinks, birthday cake, 1 souvenir photo, duration 2 hrs 30 mins). Please see the page opposite for more information about Quasar.

A WHSmith voucher.

Children’s Art Competition Following the success of last year’s Design A Poster competition, we have decided to once again set a challenge to local school children.

The competition is open to children aged from 9 to 11. The theme of the competition is eyes or eyecare. It could be a pencil drawing or a painting.

Win one of these fabulous prizes!

A goody bag consisting of a science museum optical illusion box set, ruler, cap, sticky bugs, stickers and a Timberland rucksack and a cheque for £100 for your child’s school.

The runner-up will receive a cheque for £50 for their school.

Arbuthnot competition rules All entries must be in by August 31 2011.

Entries cannot be returned, so if you wish to retain a copy please ensure you do so before you send it to us. Judges’ decision is final.

No correspondence will be entered into.

Party time? Quasar hits all the right buttons For those of you who haven’t been to Quasar before, the specially designed arena within the building allows two teams to battle it out using state-of-the-art laser tag equipment.

Quasar can be played as either an individual or team game. The object of the game is to score points by firing accurately at opponents and deactivating their HQ. At the beginning of the game, players need to pass through an energiser in order to activate their packs. This also gives players their lives and lasers and may be used throughout the game.

Barry Island Quasar Wales’ No.1 Quasar Centre 5 Station Approach Road Barry Island CF62 5TH 01446 421611 Phoneline open 9am – 9pm www.barryislandquasar.com Join our Facebook group at Barry Island Quasar Images courtesy of Vale Life

special offers contact lenses 3 months free when you sign up for 12 months’ EyeCarePlan spectacle offer £20 off when you spend over £100 recommend a friend * £20 M&S voucher if you recommend a friend and they spend £100 or more phone 01446 735551 or visit www.arbuthnotopticians.co.uk for more details Offers end 30/09/11

see well be healthy look good

eye care plan What is The EyeCarePlan?

It’s all about caring for your eyes and caring about your eyewear.

We all know how precious our eyesight is to us and how it can sometimes be taken away without warning.

Absolutely. The best way to avoid serious problems and care properly for your eyes is to have regularly scheduled eye examinations. Also to be able to respond immediately to any acute eye problems, like red eye, by being able to book an emergency appointment straight away.

● Privileged

access to a whole range of designer frames, some of which are exclusive to us in the UK, and specialist lenses at absolutely unbeatable prices.

You can also have as many as you like at these incredible prices. Just look around the practice to see the huge savings you will make.

● When

you join The EyeCarePlan you simply pay a monthly fee by DD which entitles you to all the eye care you could need from us, free at the point and time of delivery.

● Membership

These are fundamentals of good care but often they are accompanied by large bills just when you don’t want them, especially if you also want to change your glasses at the same time. Worse still, if you break or damage your new glasses, you are hit with a double bill! All these issues are catered for in The EyeCarePlan.

How much will this cost?

For a small monthly fee paid by Direct Debit all of these eyecare and eyewear needs are covered.

What will this include? ● Sight tests, eye examinations, visual field plots, ocular photography, intraocular pressures, emergency check-ups, contact lens trials, fitting and follow-ups, diabetic, glaucoma and macular degeneration tests and management advice and much more; all these are covered in The EyeCarePlan and are FREE at the point of delivery.

also entitles you to buy as many pairs as you want of top-quality spectacles, design or sports sunglasses, prescription or plane lenses, and contact lenses at internet bashing prices.

● Your

new specs are automatically covered by our accident damage scheme where they will be repaired or even replaced at a fraction of the original cost.

To join The EyeCarePlan, please contact us.

Arbuthnot Opticians 6 Broad Street Barry CF62 7XP 01446 735551 info@arbuthnotopticians.co.uk www.arbuthnotopticians.co.uk *To qualify for the ‘recommend a friend’ offer, please email your and your recommended friend’s contact details to: info@arbuthnotopticians.co.uk

you may know Ted Arbuthnot as a partner in the practice, but do you really know him? let’s delve a little deeper…

hindsight Where do you live?

St Andrews Major.

I’m very good at…

Getting into arguments.

I live in the country and I am only ten minutes from work and, Heaven forfend, should I ever need to go to a city, Cardiff is on the doorstep.

I’m very bad at…

Losing them.

What’s your favourite meal?

Italian, I make a nice pasta with sardines and a wicked tiramisu.

Favourite place in the Vale?

My back garden.

What do you do to relax?

I have some sports and hobbies like golf and drawing, none of which are relaxing, so I suppose it’s sleeping.

Do you have a pet hate?

I try not to do hate but I do get narked when some hospital consultants can’t be civil or respectful to their patients.

Favourite music?

Rock and roll/country/bluesy. I’m listening to Mary Gauthier at the moment.

Favourite holiday destination and why?

Italy, for the food, wine, art and history (but I am looking forward to going to Russia soon with my daughter who will be living there for a year).

Sum yourself up in three words.

Tall, big nose.

In a nutshell, my philosophy is…

You have to work hard to just stay in the same place, progress needs miracles, but I am an optimist about life and the universe.

see if you can find these words: sunglasses, frames, lenses, spectacles, arbuthnot, optical, sight, vision, solution, see, eye, contact

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