Popular optical journalist retires

Popular optical journalist retires

Well-known optical journalist Robina Moss has retired after 26 years in the profession.

Robina set up the company Forward4Business in 2017, providing value for money journalism services and photography to 20 optical businesses including The Body Doctor, Myers La Roche, Stepper UK and Positive Impact. She also wrote and edited ABDO College’s Re:View magazine for seven years from 2019.

Robina said: “I’ve had an amazing career in optics, covering every event and show for over 25 years, including major shows in Paris, Milan and Germany, but my favourite was always the British shows, such as Optrafair and 100% Optical where I could meet up with old friends and make new ones.

“I’ve had many incredible experiences over the years such as attending a glittering party up the Eiffel Tower, meeting Take That in a hotel in Germany while attending a contact lens launch and getting to know celebrities including Gok Wan, designer Paul Costelloe, Dr Hilary Jones and presenter Chris Evans.

“For me, however, the main attraction has always been the lovely people in optics who are so kind and so passionate about what they do. I’ve always been so impressed at how practitioners change people’s lives with every appointment but it wasn’t until I set up my own business that I realised the whole new level of challenges that practice owners face, despite writing many features to help them meet those challenges.”

Robina is well known in the profession for her straight talking in her Yorkshire accent and her sense of humour. She was Deputy Editor of OT for 17 years and in the early years wrote and edited the SightCare patient newsletter. When OT moved up to London, she wrote and edited various supplements but was particularly proud of the glossy magazine supplement Eyefashion Today which enabled her to indulge her love of frames.

Reflecting on her long career, Robina said: “Like many people I’ve interviewed over the years I entered the profession by accident. After achieving all my ambitions in my newspaper career, I answered an advert in a local newspaper in 2000. I didn’t know much about magazines and certainly even less about optics so it was a steep learning curve but hugely enjoyable.

“As a journalist for 43 years it’s so weird not to have deadlines anymore but I’m so busy. The daily lives of my husband and I revolve around our challenging rescue dogs but we also organise the annual Moss Fest, which is a five-day celebration for our friends from all over the country.

“We have a great group of friends and are always up to something. I have trips away booked until March, usually centered around a Goth gig. In the last month I’ve already been to Brighton and six events in one day in Leeds, including an alternative market, a Goth reunion and a Goth gig. Retirement is certainly not going to be quiet.”

ED: Many congratulations Robina, we will miss you on the reporting circuit especially as you have just promoted me to the longest serving newshound!