h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Having spent an intresting weekend where I had four hours sleep on Saturday night as a result of the change from GMT to BST I was wondering if the result was worth all the trouble?

No it isn't.
We should adopt a new time to replace GMT/BSTm, though we could just call it GMT.
And set it at the midway point between BST and GMT, for teh sake of half an hour, we would do away with all the hastle.
And whilst we are at it, we can extend teh day to a useful length, say 30 hours.

Hoorah! I was thinking of starting a thread on this myself - and/or ing F19585?thread=174772

In short, I really don't see the point of it - I mean, if you want people to get up at a different time, tell them to get up at a different time, don't go round changing all their clocks to make them think it's the same time!

It strikes me that all this "summer time"/"daylight savings time"/"double summer time" is like rearranging everyone's speedometers to say they're going faster than they really are, to stop them speeding...

And I love this quote: "You're right about daylight savings time though - it's like cutting a foot off one end of the blanket and sewing it on the other end in order to make the blanket longer." (Lady Scott †, in F63252?thread=100492&post=4724531#p4724531, based on a cartoon she once saw, apparently)

I live for the day when BST is standard. GMT is just depressing. You work all day, then go home in the dark and your spare time is night time. It would be nice for working people to have a bit of day left when they get home in the winter.

And, you know what? I've never met a single person--not one single person--who thinks this clock-changing lark is anything other than ridiculous. It's 'cos we're not a bunch of shepherds any more. Not even here in Wales.

Okay, I'll dissent

I like daylight savings time... I like the fact that in the middle of June it's still light outside at 9:30 at night (longer if you're further north!). And I enjoy the extra hour of sleep in the fall Changing the clocks doesn't bother me much, some of the electronics I have change themselves.

I'll never forget the year I forgot to change the clocks tho -- and showed up for work an hour early! At least I wasn't the only one.

I remember my mother told me that when she was young daylight savings time wasn't standard, it was adopted (or not) by county or town... so even though it was one time at your house, it might not be the same time at a nearby relative's. On the whole, I think I prefer the standardised way of doing it (but it would be easier if you Brits didn't do it a week early )

Its rubbish and a waste of time and energy. It also has no logical function.

In Scotland, where the is less daylight, going to work in the winter would be in the dark if we weren't on GMT at the time. But if we stayed on GMT then we wouldn't get the extra hours sunlight in the evening.

I really appreciated that on sunday because it meant we could carry on gliding for an hour longer than we could other wise. Of course you could say that we could have started an hour earlier, but we would have found it difficult to get their that early.

I agree that the need for light during the mornings during the winter in the UK is only applicable really to the far north and people who work outdoors.

Apprently (according to my Dad) when we joined the EU back in the 1970s we stayed on BST all year around for two years, but people wanted to go back to GMT in the winter.

You don't get any extra daylight though, what you gain in the evening you lose in the morning. And it would have become that light in the evening anyway in around 12 days, so what is the rush? Why move 12 days just to make evenings lighter and mornings darker, when it would be just like that in less than a fortnight anyway?

It just depends on when the daylight is more useful. If we didn't change the clocks then it would start getting light around 4:30 in the morning during the summer... which might shed a bit more light on my drive into work, but there isn't much to see since most everyone else goes in at 7 when it's light regardless.

In other words, if you didn't change the clocks then in the summer it would get light when most people didn't need it (and indeed would probably wake some people up who would just as soon have the extra hour in bed), and take light away from the time more people would benefit from it.

One arguament which hasn't been mentioned is the safety aspect.

a lot of people have driving accidents (and outdoor constuction ones as well) when it is dusk.

It was shown during that 2 years experiment that the actual number and severity of accidents didn't change, but not moving to bst moved the times of the accidents.

(but it would be easier if you Brits didn't do it a week early )

Actually its you Americans and Canadians that do it a week late. Britain conforms with the rest of Europe and most of the rest of the World.

Donald

Yes, the quote: "You're right about daylight savings time though - it's like cutting a foot off one end of the blanket and sewing it on the other end in order to make the blanket longer" was indeed from a political cartoon I saw... back in the 70's.


I don't mind getting up with the sun - it's in my nature. My Dad was a farmer who always got up with the sun and I seem to have inherited those genes.

However most people need an alarm clock to wake them up in the mornings, and become very upset if the sun wakes them up an hour before the alarm clock is set to go off.

I wholeheartedly agree about driving at dusk being dangerous - there's just something about that time of day that makes it incredibly difficult to see. Turning the lights on doesn't help because it's not dark enough to give enough contrast.

I can see the point of it but it really messes me up! Was almost late for work today as I had got my body clock all nicely programmed to wake me up at 6:50 european time. Last night I mucked up setting my alarm so woke up at what is now 7:50. Fifteen frantic and rushed minutes later I was in a taxi and now feel seriously crap! Hate starting the day in a rush with no breakfast...

It hasn't got much to do with the thread, but here in France that particular moment of the day when it's no longer day but not yet night (so that's dusk) is called "entre chien et loup" (between dog and wolf).

Personally, I hate when it's light in the morning when getting up for work as the sun shining in through the bedroom wakes me up early. I also hate the light nights when it doesn't get dark till about 10pm! What's that all about, why can't it be light from say 8am till 6pm then dark for rest of evening, all year round! Or am I just mad? Am I alone in these thoughts?

Probably , perhaps you have the reverse of SAD, where you get depressed in the summer. I always associate long summer evenings with being lonely and bored in the summer holiday - so I don't really like them.

Welcome to the Forum Tomboygirl I don't believe we've met before..

Thanks Z

I've been on Forum for months now but I usually just read and don't post that often. My pal got me hooked on it though!

Daylight only from 8-6 all year round?

I'd never get to see the sun

I LOVE summer evenings when you can sit in your garden/pub beer garden with a wee glass of something refreshing and soak up some rays.

if the sun wakes you up then get opaque curtains/blinds

TBG- well I can't tell lurkers, it's always nice to know that people notice us though