Should the clocks have gone back? Poll discussion/results

geoffW

I don't have a problem with putting the clocks back because as I'm retired I have now left my clocks and watch on BST for two years. I like the extra hour in the evening.

Cacran

flying_teddy wrote: »

The poll didn't include the most obvious answer, and that is not to put the clocks forwards in the spring.

The fact is that the mornings don't get lighter (or darker, or whatever it is) the fact is that we do things earlier or later.

For example, Take the trip to school. During the winter, the kids undertake the trip to school to arrive by 9 o'clock (say). In spring, when the clocks go forward, this journey is undertaken an hour earlier, at 8 o'clock; It's just that we CALL it 9 o'clock by virtue of moving the clocks. So why not just go to school at 8 o'clock - because that is ACTUALLY WHAT YOU ARE DOING!

The messing about changing the clocks is so stupid. If you need to have daylight for school journeys, change the school opening by an hour. I repeat - THIS IS WHAT IS ACTUALLY HAPPENING. it's just called a different thing.

Not moving the clocks would have so many advantages. Overnight operations (Trains, planes, TV & Radio, hospitals, buses, newspapers, police, electricity supply, gas, water, garages etc., etc., etc) will no more have to mess about gaining and losing chunks of the day. Overnight trains and planes will no longer arrive an hour late (or early), an hour of TV programming will no longer disappear (or need obtaining), arguments about getting paid an hour's overtime (for the 17% of UK workers who work nights) will no longer happen.....

And additionally, there will no longer be thousands upon thousands of wasted man-hours changing all the nations clocks twice a year. We have 15 clocks in our house, clocks in cars, clocks in microwaves, clocks in VCRs etc., mantle clocks, wall clocks, alarm clocks (but not clocks in PCs which generally change themselves), all of which require manual intervention. Multiply this by 25 million households, and that's a lot of clocks! This could be regarded as OK, but what about all the clocks in business and service premises which need to be changed on overtime - someone has to pay.

The arguments about business hours are equally fatuous. If we want to do business with Europe, then get to the office an hour earlier - I repeat, this is what is actually happening, we arrive at 8 o'clock, but we call it 9 o'clock. We seem to be quite happy to do business with China, Hong Kong, America etc. with many hours difference quite happily. And all the confusion because America changes a week later than Europe.. nightmare.

And no, the cows don't give a hoot (or moo I suppose) what the time is. Farmer has to get up when the sun does no matter what you call the time.

So, to sum up: change the time you do things, not the clocks. That way you cut out half the problem.

God Bless GMT!

This is the best sollution I have heard. Greenwich Mean Time is the basis of time all over the World. At one time we were pioneers in inovative ideas. Those days of us inventing and following through with ideas are rapidly deminishing. We should retain our heritage before everything slips away. Instead of changing our clocks, change our brains.

AnnaDin

Ok so I sort of agree with the clocks reverting to GMT late October, (ie 2 months before the shortest day) but why do we have to wait such a long time for the welcome change in Spring?

Surely it could change a month earlier - late Feb, rather than 30th March 2008 so we would only have 4 months of GMT rather than 5 - and a whole lot more lighter evenings.

(And why not put the clocks forward at mid-day - I don't have my lunch until 1:00 and it would come round a lot quicker that day without missing an hour in bed)

Topaz_3

Before we started messing about with clocks going back/forward what time was normal??

I get annoyed when economy 7 finishes earlier in winter when you get up later and vice versa in summer. Its crazy.

GiveItBack

sometimes I wonder why we bother. I go to work in the dark, work in an office with no windows and come home in the dark whether the clocks change or not.

but then this is the real north.

CopperPlate_2

Isn't it something to do with the farm animals and daylight and milking times, etc., another reason why farmers have to start so early in the morning and, the 'extra' hour daylight (ha! if you can call it daylight!!) in the afternoon for the same reason? Just something that was rattling about at the back of my head although could be completely made up!

Keep the clocks going back - it is dark enough up here in the frozen North in winter without taking another hour of daylight away. They claim that it would make it lighter in the mornings. Well from practical experience that it's sometimes still semi dark at 8am and in deepest winter with grey snow filled skies, sometimes still dull/grey at 9 and beyond, not putting the clock back would add another hour onto those times, and it would STILL be dark at 4 o'clock (as it stands, it's getting dark - and VERY quickly beyond it - at 3 or half 3 in the afternoon).

Iom-rf

Can't the Scots (or people living in Scotland) just get up an extra hour early to suit?....

I say leave it as it is!!

CopperPlate_2

Iom-rf wrote: »

Can't the Scots (or people living in Scotland) just get up an extra hour early to suit?....

I say leave it as it is!!

There's an idea!! :rotfl: Perhaps we could all stay the way we are up here and everyone elsewhere can stop putting the clocks back... :cool: :rotfl:

Scottish Summer Time/Greenwich Mean Time...

Potatoman_2

My preference is not to put the clocks forward in March and stay on GMT

CopperPlate_2

flying_teddy wrote: »

The poll didn't include the most obvious answer, and that is not to put the clocks forwards in the spring.

The fact is that the mornings don't get lighter (or darker, or whatever it is) the fact is that we do things earlier or later.

For example, Take the trip to school. During the winter, the kids undertake the trip to school to arrive by 9 o'clock (say). In spring, when the clocks go forward, this journey is undertaken an hour earlier, at 8 o'clock; It's just that we CALL it 9 o'clock by virtue of moving the clocks. So why not just go to school at 8 o'clock - because that is ACTUALLY WHAT YOU ARE DOING!

Hang on - If 9am is 9am GMT in Winter (when the clocks have gone back from British Summer Time, then when the clock goes forward in Spring, it becomes 10am BST, not 8am as suggested above.

This, in turn, still puts us an hour ahead of Europe which is (in most cases) on CET during Winter (when we're on GMT) and which is always one hour ahead of GMT in Winter, and TWO hours ahead of GMT in Summer (but still only an hour ahead of BST):

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Summer_Time

To put us into line with Europe we would need to operate Double British Summer Time - as we did during the Second World War, in which case it wouldn't get light up here until about lunchtime!