Daylight saving - I'd like to make a withdrawal please!

trisontana

I was working in Ireland when this was tried before in 1968. Even in November(because it was so far west) it wasn't getting light until just before 10 o'clock in the morning.

Unity

geordieracer wrote: »

but what about those who live further north than you in the far reaches of Scotland? It's very dark up there well before it gets dark anywhere else..

mind you they all talk funny too

Well they only get five hours of daylight in the Shetlands in winter so it's dark most of the time . Mind you they get 19 hours in the summer and it doesn't get properly dark - known as the 'simmer dim' - yes they do talk funny and we love them for it.

augustsmummy wrote: »

It's the night shift workers I feel sorry for. Whilst I am enjoying my extra hour in bed they are slaving away at work for an extra hour. So glad not to be working it this year! Those 12 hour shifts were bad enough, without adding an extra hour to it!

That used to be my husband as well, every year he got to work an extra hour in October, but because of the nature of his work he never got away an hour earlier in spring :rolleyes:.

trisontana wrote: »

I was working in Ireland when this was tried before in 1968. Even in November(because it was so far west) it wasn't getting light until just before 10 o'clock in the morning.

So it was '68? Thanks for that :T, I thought it was around then - certainly I knew it was when I was still in primary school. I remember there was a certain excitement at being at school in the dark and leaving for home when it was light.

Rolandtheroadie

augustsmummy wrote: »

It's the night shift workers I feel sorry for. Whilst I am enjoying my extra hour in bed they are slaving away at work for an extra hour. So glad not to be working it this year! Those 12 hour shifts were bad enough, without adding an extra hour to it!

Dont, it's another hours overtime and when the clocks go the other way, I work an hour less, still get paid 12 and your up an hour earlier for your dayshift lol.

davidlizard

OK - the people in the north, and in particular those who live in the highlands and islands of Scotland will have dark mornings.

However if we consider the distribution of the population in the UK, the south of England is a heck of a lot more densely populated that the north of Scotland. So at present for the benefit of a handful of Scots, almost three quarters of the UK population have to grope their way home from work in total darkness.

From the census website:
Population of UK who live south of Manchester: 37 Million
Population of Scotland: 5 million.

This is before other factors such as road accident rates, increase in energy consumption are considered - there is a wealth of stats available to show how these are adversely affected by reverting to GMT.

Welshwoofs

I always remember my Mother citing the reason for the time change as "those f'ing Scottish farmers"

Actually...as Scotland has devolved then perhaps they could do what they want about the time and us lot South of the border could stick to the one time

Unity

Welshwoofs wrote: »

I always remember my Mother citing the reason for the time change as "those f'ing Scottish farmers"

I don't know if it was just the Scottish farmers, but presumably it was back in the days when milk had to be collected and got to milkmen in time to be delivered and probably long before the days of pasteurisation etc.

Although it seems ridiculous to think that such a small group of people could dictate how we time our daylight hours, I wonder if it has more to do with Freemasonry? I personally know three farmers - not a lot, but each one is a mason, so it has me wondering if this provided more leverage when the decision was originally taken .

Welshwoofs wrote: »

Actually...as Scotland has devolved then perhaps they could do what they want about the time and us lot South of the border could stick to the one time

That's a good point :T. I'd never subscribed to an 'us and them' stance but then I ventured to Glasgow to visit relatives earlier this year. We were in a pub and there was a football match on TV involving Chelsea v some Spanish club and the roar that went up when Chelsea were being beaten really surprised me. Then I was told that when England played Argentina in the World Cup - the Scots were all sporting Argentinian flags!

From an MSE point of view it would be much better not to be using so much power in the early evening. I also find it is easier to motivate myself on a dark morning, having had a night's sleep - than to keep motivated on a dark evening, when all I want to do is curl up and snooze. I remember my mother and her sisters always saying that they longed for the return of the lighter nights when they felt more inclination to carry on with the housework.

Personally though I think diurnal animals have it right - they get up when it's light and go to bed when it's dark .

cajef

Unity wrote: »

I wonder if it has more to do with Freemasonry? I personally know three farmers - not a lot, but each one is a mason

Interesting theory but as Freemasonry is a secret society how did you know they are masons, do they walk around with one trouser leg rolled up.:D

Craftyscholar

davidlizard wrote: »

OK - the people in the north, and in particular those who live in the highlands and islands of Scotland will have dark mornings.

However if we consider the distribution of the population in the UK, the south of England is a heck of a lot more densely populated that the north of Scotland. So at present for the benefit of a handful of Scots, almost three quarters of the UK population have to grope their way home from work in total darkness.

As opposed to groping your way to work in total darkness?

momoyama

Can Scotland not just have a seperate time zone?

rl290

My understanding is that at some point in the past, a horseman riding through the English countryside on a summer's morning noticed that, despite the beaming sun, no one was out working in the fields. He figured that all over England countless working hours were being lost, so suggested the idea upwards for moving clocks FORWARD in summer (and not backwards in winter - they just stayed as they always were). A few years later an act was passed by parliament to this effect. I think I read this in The Times a while back.

It is also worth noting that there is some evidence to show that, back then, people used to sleep three times a day. The current notion of taking all your sleep in one-go then goes decidedly against how we are designed. My point: the way we live have changed so much that it seems right to rethink whether clock changes are needed. That said, I believe that, if only for school children, things should stay as is.

R