'Should the clocks go back?' Poll discussion

Gareth_Lazelle

siarad wrote: »

It's the rest of the EU that should change to our time based upon noon at the Prime meridian

I don't think the intent is to change "to be like the rest of the EU", but to change if it is useful to us,

I really don't think that the rest of Europe care one way or the other (I mean, why would they?),

roblaw

I honestly believe the quality of life would be better if the clocks were not put back. Holiday a lot in Northern France and because they are 1 hour in front of us they have exactly what we could get, more light in the evening and it is warmer due to the difference.

Rob lawrence

ossian

I'm in the North of Scotland however even when I lived in Edinburgh it's dark before you get out of the office in the afternoon in winter so I'd rather get a bit more light in the morning especially for kids going to school.

siarad_2

winter

ossian wrote: »

I'm in the North of Scotland however even when I lived in Edinburgh it's dark before you get out of the office in the afternoon in winter so I'd rather get a bit more light in the morning especially for kids going to school.

Edinburgh is directly North of me near Swansea so is already about 16 minutes behind GMT giving darker mornings & lighter evenings, thus most of Scotland has increasingly lighter evenings. Unfortunately being so North the Winter daylight hours are shorter & nothing will increase this so never will London & Edinburgh agree methinks

Paulgonnabedebtfree

I've no strong feeling either way about this issue. I am an outdoor worker so I suppose it is helpful to be able to start a bit before 8 in the winter because a lot of the parking restrictions around my way don't start till 9. It means I can work without looking over my shoulder for wardens. Once the town centre work is finished though it's not an issue for me.
Whatever way I slice it, during the 3 months closest to mid winter, I just work if it's light enough and don't if it isn't. If the clocks aren't altered, it effectively means I would start and finish work an hour later (self-employed) during winter (I think !! ) .

I see no reason why Scotland shouldn't have a different time zone.
Damned planet being on a tilt like this. Why couldn't Slartibartfast have straightened it up a bit?

siarad_2

Paulgonnabedebtfree wrote: »

Why couldn't Slartibartfast have straightened it up a bit?

I think you may be in luck, we're in a reducing tilt era:)

siani70

Let's go back to GMT and stay there. Would much rather have an hour more light in the morning than the evening.

Ginger15

I was at Primary School in the 1960's when the last trial of not changing the clocks occured. I live in Edinburgh, all the school children had to wear reflective 'bibs' so that drivers could see us and there was many more adults accompanying their children to school. Going to school was like going in the middle of the night ... it was like the dark ages!:cool:

gaps39

:TI'm new to this forum thing but I do feel strongly about this subject and apart from the pubs,clubs and TV side of you reasoning I fully agree with Scotland and Northen Irland having a different time zone. Once changed lets adjust and live with it.

MKB wrote: »

I am too young to remember the 1968/71 experiment, but we should remember the world was a different place then. We had limited tv and radio channels, and they were all closed down each night by 23:30; pubs chucked out at 22:30; nightclubs never went beyond 02:00. In short, we were a nation that went to bed a lot earlier! There's a good argument that the UK time zone needs to shift to match the sleeping patterns of the modern-day lifestyle of the majority.

That said, is there actually any problem with the current GMT+1 zone that we use during the summer? I don't see any reason to change the March to October arrangments.

In December and January, it's pretty miserable at one end of the day whether you go for GMT or GMT+1. The safety and environmental arguments seem to favour GMT+1, so I would go for that, at least for England and Wales.

In early November and in February and March, there's quite a lot of daylight to go round, and these are the months where a switch to GMT+1 can have the biggest effect on improving evening daylight, stealing the hour from the morning at a time when most people are asleep.

So I would say:
- Give the Scots and Northern Irish the right to choose their own time zone;
- In England and Wales, either stick to GMT+1 the whole year, or, if we must have GMT, restrict it to Nov 21st to Jan 21st.

Sarnian

Don't let this be yet another thing that Brussels etc brow beat the nation in to taking away from British history & tradition .... Lbs & ounces, 1/2 dozen eggs to name just two recent examples under discussion. GMT was adopted by most of the railways across Britain by 1847 and legally made the official time across mainland Britain in 1880 (thanks Wiki).
Changing each year to "Bloomin" Stupid Time and back again is just a waste of time !!!!