Hi Tom-Whereabouts in London? Im a noob here too,and i'm not quite sure yet of the finer points of board etiquette.I have no doubt one or two of the senior members will reply at their earliest convenience-and the knowledge they have on this subject is incredible! I have been reading through these forums for a few days,and have learnt a huge amount. Most important-Don't ask questions that can be answered by researching the forum yourself-most of the answers are here. And as almost everyone here will state-Yes! you DO need goggles for anything over a couple of milliwatts!
Enjoy!!