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

So ... it was either getting on a Quantus flight to Melbourne and visiting Hermoine in Australia or the cheaper alternative ... getting myself some sort of SAD light, to help alleviate the winter blues!

My Philips Wake Up Light arrived this morning, but didn't have any time to plug it in until now - because of work and also that my daughter is 11 today and she invited 11 of her friends over to a birthday party. Very stressful, but the children were all very well behaved, so it wasn't that hard. Cake, Apple Juice, Biscuits, Jelly, then home-made biscuits, a bonfire in the garden and then to end the day, drumsticks and chips!! I'm knackered.

So, I got this cylindrical plastic lamp thingy. Plugged it in, time, wake up time, light intensity and birds song. So, theoretical, at 5:45 tomorrow morning the light should switch on at level 1 and move towards level 15 in the half an hours wake up phase. After that the sound of birds calling should be heard - cuckoos, I think!!

See what happens ... if one believes the instruction book it should "People who use the wake up light wake up more easily and feel more energetic." See what happens tomorrow!!

That would be a reason for divorce if my husband installed such a thing. It's bad enough that he hits the 'Schlummertaste' on his alarm clock every few minutes - plus that of the radio alarm - it drives me nuts.
The alarm rings, I get up. Easy.

Okay, my wife is the same with the Snooze button ... drives me mad, but here in Northern Germany (fast Antarctica) it is so dark in the mornings ... yesterday because of the rain it remained dark most of the day ... have to go to the sun-studio tomorrow to tank up on sunlight!!

I did that once - just to know what it was like. It was claustrophobic, and I had an allergic reaction to the detergents they used for cleaning the bench. It was an experience I never repeated.

I look and feel really ill when I am white ... pale, I meaning and everyone asks if I am ill ... NO ... THERE'S NO SUN IN NORTHERN EUROPE!! I say!! I love being warmed by the sunbed and use it to chill out and mediatate!!

I feel so badly for those of you who are trapped in perpetual darkness and gloom this time of year. We get a good 8 hours of daylight even during the middle of winter. Poor you.

I can't go to those sun places (I take medications that make me photo-sensitive), but do they really help?

Oh, there's brown powder against paleness.

I do miss the sun, but the real sun. No substitute will do for me.

I'll do many things, but my colleagues would look at me if I started to wear make-up!

Where do they look now?

My eyes, my dear! Where else??

So, how did it go?

You really are an early bird, aren't you, Bel?

Well, you know that feeling when in the middle of summer, you turn over in bed and the sun is shining in your face ... well, this happened this morning to me. Quite pleasant ... and I am in a good mood.

Some might say it is psychosomatic ... have to wait and see.

But it works ... the birds started to sing (a little too loudly) around 06.00 - can't remember hearing the Cuckoos, though. I think that I need to reduce the volume of the bird song and also the brightness/intensity of the light.

Pleasantly surprised ... what I also found incredibly good, was Philips also have a 30 day Guarantee ... if you are not entirely happy with your purchase you can send it back for full-refund... now that's service!

That's the drawback to where I live - the dark, dreich winters. I was darn sarf at the start of the week and really noticed the extra half hour's light at then start and end of each day. Praise The Lord for venlafaxine.

Sorry Edward:

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I'm not familar with these words ...

'sarf' as in 'darn sarf'. Southern English pronunciation of 'down south'.

'venlafaxine' aks Effexor (tm). Little pills that keep me happy.

'dreich' - an indispensable onomatopoeic Scots word to describe the weather. Think cold, dark days when the rain is pishing across. The word is so useful that it's even started to be used by (English) meteorologists on the BBC.

Ahhhh you mean sauf London? Nau I knows wat yourr saying me ol' darling!

I knew sarf, and gathered dreich from the context - funny what four years on hootoo do to you.

This morning I changed the wake-up call to Frogs croaking ... tomorrow the sea side - it seems to be working nicely!

Have you ever tried to fall asleep to frog croaking? I tell you, it's impossible. It's really very loud.

I didn't think that they had frogs south of Kassel? Frogs ... in England they say RIBBIT? In Germany they say .......? And in France they say ........?