PSFK Good Ideas Salon London Speaker Matt Hardisty | PSFK

Matt Hardisty, Founding Partner and Creative Director of AnalogFolk, will be moderating our Snapshot London Panel at the Good Ideas Salon London. In this...more...

Oxygen puts London studio up for sale // News

Budget publisher Oxygen Games is currently seeking a buyer for its London studio as it pulls out of internal games develo.....more...

London Gold Market Report

The stock-market rally faded in Europe, leaving the FTSE100 here in London flat. "Gold is being hurt by the firmer Dollar and gains in oil prices are capped," reckons Shuji Sugata at Mitsubishi Corp. Futures & Securities in Tokyo, .....more...

London Session

The London session saw relatively good price action in what is expected to be another thinly traded market following the New Year holiday. Global stock marts continued to press higher and Europe is up about 2% at last look. .....more...

Baby Born on the London Underground - ParentDish

Sign and clocktower at Hampstead station of the London Underground I don't know about London, but here in San Francisco, people do all sorts of things on the street cars -- read, listen to music, work on their laptops, sleep, .....more...

Wall Street's opening fall pushes London lower | Business ...

But there is growing hope among investors in the retail sector that Christmas has not been the unmitigated disaster that was originally feared...more...

Global Voices Online В» U.K: London Gaza Protest

U.K: London Gaza Protest В· A small portrait of the translator. Sunday, January 4th, 2009 @ 17:21 UTC. by Onnik Krikorian. Regions and Countries, В» Americas, В» Central Asia & Caucasus, В» East Asia, В» Eastern & Central Europe .....more...

Aref-Adib: Sangak in London

'Sang' in Persian means stone or pebble and 'sangak' means little stone. This bread is traditionally baked on river stones (hence the name), and is occasionally topped with sesame seeds. (Mahdi Restaurant, Finchley, London) .....more...

Abandoned London

This entry was posted on Monday, January 5th, 2009 at 7:54 am and is filed under london, photo. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not .....more...

Theophilus London - Grey x Sage (Misty Night) Intro В« 2dopeboyz

Theophilus London - Grey x Sage (Misty Night) Intro. The intro joint to Theophilus London’s upcoming project, This Charming Mixtape, which is dropping soon. Spotted at her crib. Also, hit the jump for some info on the release part… .....more...

BBC News Search: london (20)

London Market Report

London Market Report

Boy charged with stabbing murder

A 17-year-old boy is charged with the murder of a man of 20 who was stabbed in the head and chest in east London.

Police cell condition 'squalid'

A police custody suite for immigration detainees is "unhygienic and unsafe" and should be closed, a report says.

Nanny guilty of assaulting baby

A nanny is convicted of assaulting a ten-week-old baby leaving him with a brain injury and a broken arm.

Johnson discovers royal lineage

Mayor of London Boris Johnson can claim some - distant - links to the British Royal Family, the BBC has discovered.

In Pictures: Swan Lake

The Guangdong Acrobatic Troupe Of China have made their London debut with Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake at the Royal Opera House.

Man denies transgender killing

A man accused of killing a transgender woman he had become intimate with says he did not know she was born a man.

East meets West on island paradise

The BBC's Steve Bradshaw travels to the Kenyan island of Lamu to find out what globalisation means to a devout Muslim.

Man arrested after drug seizure

A 39-year-old man from London is arrested in Jersey after customs officers seize nearly 70lbs of cannabis.

Winehouse's dad to host BBC show

Mitch Winehouse will host a phone-in show on BBC Radio London in September.

London gets new 'food champion'

Mayor Boris Johnson appoints former newspaper editor Rosie Boycott to champion healthy eating for Londoners.

Blackfriars to shut for two years

The busy Blackfriars Tube station is to close for more than two years for upgrading work.

Whitechapel market cuts rubbish

An ambitious new recycling programme at one of London's busiest markets reduces rubbish by 88%.

In numbers - three months as mayor

A look at Boris Johnson's first three months in office as the mayor of London.

Man murdered yards from his home

Police name a man who was stabbed to death in the street, just yards from his home.

Phoenix diary: Mission to Mars

Dr Tom Pike, from Imperial College London, shares his experiences of being part of the Phoenix Mars probe team.

Pair jailed after policeman shot

Two men have been jailed after a police officer was shot in patrol in south London.

Neighbours praised in fire rescue

Neighbours who rescued a baby boy from a suspected arson attack are praised for their "pure heroism".

Boris Johnson's three months as mayor

BBC London looks back as Boris Johnson celebrates three months as mayor.

Cabinet 'may go to West Midlands'

Gordon Brown will hold his first cabinet meeting after the summer break outside London - most likely in the West Midlands.

Ted Baker: Global Exposure, Zero Advertising

The company and brand Ted Baker is now a global phenomenon. Since the late 1980s the brand has expanded, firstly in the UK, then further further a field with internation expansion. And all of this success based on limited to zero paid advertising. All this natural success from a fashion savvy man that doesn’t really exist…

Having 20 years of experience has certainly contributed a great deal to the fact that it is now one of the largest brand names all over the UK today. This is greatly attributed to the fact that ever since the beginning; Ted Baker never lost sight of his focus and attention to quality and detail. Mixed with that sense of humour that is all too characteristic of his products, Ted Baker even made sure to provide a particular service that his customers would surely remember about him. The first stores ever provided a laundry service for each shirt ever purchased. This became the primary reason why his collection has been dubbed No Ordinary Designer Label.

Another very interesting fact about Ted Baker is that the company does not incorporate any advertising campaign, unlike most of the other leading designers in the fashion and lifestyle industry. Ted Baker prefers to advertise via word of mouth. This actually indicates how strong a brand and name Ted Baker has become because his customers do the advertising and the marketing for him. Which is primarily the reason why Ted Baker strives hard to come up with invigorating and refreshing ideas for the designs of his clothing line! With every Ted Baker item purchased, you are sure that his persona is woven right into its core.

At present, Ted Baker’s collection caters to men, women, and children of all ages. This extensive collection includes Men’s Wear, Women’s Wear, Teddy Girl, Teddy Boy, Teddy Baby, Skinwear, Eyewear, Footwear, Fragrance, Watches, and Accessories. Aside from being a huge name all over the UK, Ted Baker is also growing massively in the US, Singapore, Hong Kong, Dubai, Jakarta, and Kuala Lumpur. In fact, Ted Baker has opened three stores in Kuala Lumpur alone, and two stores each in both Jakarta and Dubai. Concessions have also been opened in both Bangkok and Taiwan. With such an expansion, Ted Baker is certainly on his way of becoming one of the largest brand names in the fashion industry.

2008 is sure to be another busy year for Ted Baker as well. It seems like the designer brand is intent on global domination of the men’s fashion industry. Indeed plans of opening new outlets in Cambridge and Belfast are currently in play. Ted Baker is also set out to start another innovative venture in the form of Ted Baker & Friends. This venture has Ted Baker partnering with Cushion The Impact, King of Shaves Pro, Street Shine, and The Carphone Warehouse. Situated right in the centre of London, Ted Baker & Friends will surely be a strong hit with the many loyal "Ted Baker" customers garnered by this multitalented designer.

What Is Important When Choosing A Laser Eye Surgery Clinic?

It is quite confusing for people looking at where to go for their laser eye surgery treatment. Especially so in London, UK where there are many laser eye clinics to choose from.

In other cities you can usually find one or more of the big three chains: Optical Express, Ultralase and Optimax and these centres are probably doing about 80% of all laser eye surgery in the UK, simply because of their wide geographical footprint and so easy access for many people.

Most people really are not sure what to look for in a laser eye surgery provider. They don't understand the difference between different laser systems and they don't have easy access to the true performance or knowledge about individual surgeons.

So most people default to the 'look and feel' of the website and clinic if and when they attend for a consultation. Most of the brochures are pretty interchangeable, all making the same claims about experience, technology etc. You could swap the company name and not really notice the difference in brochures!

I found several brochures particularly unhelpful from a patient's point of view (although all suffer from the same problem) as they simply list procedure after procedure over multiple pages. How on Earth is a patient supposed to be helped by all of that? It only leads to confusion and possibly a decision to defer until things are clearer.

There are FOUR key points to look at when choosing a clinic:

1. The laser technology

2. The surgeon

3. The clinic

4. The price

Let's look at these in more detail:

1. Laser technology

The improvements in success rates and safety of laser eye surgery, including LASIK and PRK, have been mainly down to improvements in sophistication of the laser technology. The lasers are dramatically better than they were even a few years ago.

NOTE: not all lasers are made equal, so you MUST look at the US government FDA trial results to get accurate performance information. These data are available on the results page of the Focus Laser Vision clinics website.

Also note that each clinic makes a claim that they have the best technology, but this of course cannot be true. They can't ALL have the best laser equipment, as they all have different systems. We at FOCUS bought the WaveLight Allegretto system from Germany as it had the best overall FDA clinical results in extensive trials.

2. Surgeon

Equally important for your result and safety is the surgeon who will perform the procedure and assess your suitability for treatment. The most important decision is who NOT to operate on! In the UK you can look for one or more of the following points in your surgeon: 1. NHS Consultant appointment, 2. Fellowship training in refractive surgery and corneal disease, 3. Extensive experience in treating your kind of prescription, 4. Has performed more than 5000 procedures, 5. Works in refractive surgery on a full-time basis or at least two days every week if involved in other areas of ophthalmology (the more time in refractive surgery, the better), 6. Teaching and presenting on refractive surgery skills, vision outcomes and research.

3. Clinic

Look at the support that each clinic will offer to you. Individual independent clinics can usually offer excellent continuity of care so you see the same clinician each time, but may not be as well geographically placed as some of the nationwide chain centres. Ask if you will get your surgeons private phone number after treatment in case of problems or advice being needed. This number is very reassuring for patients.

4. Price.

Last of all, look at the price. You want the above three factors to be the best you can get first of all. If you are completely satisfied you have not compromised there, then you can look for the best price, but ONLY then. High price is not a guarantee of quality, of having the best laser technology, of getting the best surgeon. It may give you these things, but you have to look and make sure for yourself.

In summary, look for yourself and ask the right questions. I have more information of the FOCUS Laser Vision clinics website on this and other related topics.