Should we turn the clocks back?
Posted by Fiona Nevile in Cottage tales | 28 comments
Photo: Swing seat in winter
My ex husband B used to start fretting in August about the shorter days in Winter. The grizzling drove me nuts and spoilt the summer for us both.
“I can’t bear the thought of tramping round a muddy field with Fly under a cold grey sky.”
“But what about the good things about winter? Roaring fires, Christmas, crumpets and snow.”
“It’s January and February that are the worst.” He’d gloom.
After we split up I heard that he’d invested in a SAD Lightbox. 18 years ago they cost a few hundred pounds – luckily they have dropped in price since then.
I must admit that I’ve been feeling a bit like B for the last couple of weeks. Tending to garden in the afternoon, dusk gently stops play just as seem to be making some progress. ATM I’m still digging rubble out of the new long border the runs from the gate to the cottage in the front garden. I’m longing to play in the solar tunnel but creating this border has made such a mess of the front that finishing it and clearing the piles of rubble and roots is a priority.
And on Sunday the clocks will go back and it will soon be dark by 4 pm. Arrgh. In yesterday’s Costing The Earth I was delighted to hear that a private bill is going to be debated in Parliament in December that requests that the clocks are not turned back. This will save on fuel, our carbon footprint and lives amongst other benefits. Not turning the clocks back was tried in the late sixties for three years and was voted out without the results of the research being known. More children died in accidents in the morning but far fewer actually died overall. Cutting our carbon footprint wasn’t a concern in those days. You can listen to this programme again on the BBC iplayer here.
I, along with the children interviewed, would prefer darker mornings and lighter evenings. Have you any thoughts on this?
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It may be a nostalgia thing but nowadays I miss the more noticeable changes of season that seemed to occur when I was younger, so I really like the putting forward and back of the clocks as this does seem to heighten the differences between summer/autumn and winter/spring, at least just a little bit. What I really dislike is the long gloomy slide that we get from autumn into winter into spring. I’m also looking forward to an extra hour in bed on Sunday morning!
I totally struggle with the mornings despite having a dawn alarm clock. Personally, can’t wait for the clocks to go back. Darker evenings? More excuses for putting another crumpet on and another cup of tea for me please!
I don’t think I have a preference but I love Tamar’s mom’s name for it!
If I had a choice then darker mornings and lighter evenings would be my preference! I worry about my DH driving home in the dark after a long day.
I completely agree, the time switch is confusing, and here in the states has been linked with more accidents the first week the time is different. Personally I find light earlier in the morning is just a pain in my behind, driving to and from work during sunrise or sunset is the worst because either your windsheild is full of light making it hard to see the car in front of you, or it’s in your rearview mirror and its hard to see the cars behind you. While I hate getting up in the dark, I agree it seems unnatural, I would actually get a chance to use sunlight in the evening to work in the yard or walk after work, but I won’t get up earlier to do those things if it is lighter in the mornings.
Tammy has a point getting to see the sunrise can be quite a bautiful start to the day!
It’s a personal thing but I agree, I prefer darker mornings, its a gentle start to the day and,if it’s a good day, you get to see the sunrise.
Not everyone prefers darker mornings and longer evenings.
For myself, having to get up in the morning while it is still dark is the worse thing about winter. It feels so wrong to be awake while it is still night outside. So I have to disagree with you on this.
I’d rather just leave the clocks alone – I hate the forwards/backwards thing!
Yes! Let’s start a trans-Atlantic push to end all this fiddling with the clocks. I don’t mind getting up in the dark, but when the sun sets at 4:00, it is pretty grim.
My mother’s name for Daylight Savings Time is Phony Baloney Time.
I understand the problem when you have to work to a schedule dictated by work but if you don’t have to, then what is all the fuss about? If you can get up when you want and go to work when you want, it doesn’t matter what time of the day or night it is by anyone else’s standards.
More people can work flexible hours and so I would assume that again it is less of an issue, if you want to go to work later and stay later does that matter? Or conversely go to work earlier and leave earlier. In Denmark it was not unusual to start at 7am and finish at 3pm.
And just in case you think the times in Denmark don’t change – they do! All the countries I know of in Europe change their clocks too and so not doing so would mean Britain was out of step.
Well that’s my penn’y’worth 🙂