I hate winter. There I’ve said it. Cold wind, cold rain, layers of clothes, ages to clean the mud off the bike, but most of all, the perpetual darkness. The mud and the cold I can deal with, but the one thing that does my head in is going to work on a dark morning, sitting in an office all day, and then going home in the dark in the evening. I need light dammit !!

If we change from GMT and stay in summer time, would this be a good thing ? According to the BBC, it would improve health and reduce emissions. Sensible idea, or complete nonsense ? Can it be done, or would there be too much resistance ? Would trout be put out of business ? What about those in North Scotland ?

Isn’t this the last time we put the clocks back? I heard that for the next 3 years we are going to trial not putting the clocks forward and back, or am I imagining it (could well be!)?

Wouldnt have thought it would make much difference as the dayslight hours are much reduced anyway. It’ll still be dark when you’re at home.

It wouldn’t get light until 10ish in Northern Scotland and in December and January it would still be getting dark by hometime. I remember coming home in the dark at 4pm from school if it was a particularly gloomy day. Interestingly there was a Professor of something or other on Radio Scotland this morning advocating the change for Scotland for the health benefits that could arise from it. Basically he thought that the benefits would outweigh the cons of it staying dark till 10am.

Would Scotland having it’s own time zone be that radical if England and Wales changed?

I’m looking forward to the clocks going back and not going to work in the dark for a bit.

In a couple of weeks time, even if we stayed on BST it will still be dark on the way to work and dark when you leave, so what difference does it really make?

http://www.singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/daylight-saving-time-clocks-going-backforwards

I really don’t see the arguement for not putting the clocks back.

Ok, so supposedly everyone will be “happier” in the evenings as it’s lighter for longer. I don’t know about anyone else but I’m a grumpy bugger in the morning when I have to drive to work in the dark – I hate getting up in the dark and can’t wait for the clocks to go back. Will it really make a difference if school finishes at dusk rather than dark? As for journeys home – surely the majority will still be in the dark/dusk, plus morning rush hour will be in darkness so swings and roundabouts?

It’s been tried before and wasn’t popular so why keep banging on about it.

So there!

edit MTG – ok, nice link. That shows that this is an arguement that crops up every year.

I think its a pretty stupid idea. I think the little bit of extra light we get in the mornings by setting the clocks back one hour is actually quite important for road safety.

From a personal standpoint I don’t think the argument that people will exercise more if the evenings are slightly lighter during the winter is a convincing one. People generally excercise outdoor less in the winter because its cold and the weather is bad.

The fact that some parts of Scotland won’t get light until 10am will also cause all sorts of long term problems. Just look at the incidence of depression and other mental health problems in some of the Scandinavian countries that have to endure extended periods of darkness in the Winter.

The only enduring solution is to have longer working hours in the summer and shorter in the winter, whereas I’d prefer the opposite.

It would be a stupid idea

I remember living in Glasgow when the hour was not put back. Dark till 10 am or so even that far south. It was horrible and would cause all sorts of issues up here.

A classic londoncentric view

setting the clocks back one hour is actually quite important for road safety.

It’s been proven otherwise,

In the morning kids walk to school, everyone drives/walks/rides to work etc.

In the evening everyones busy going shopping, socializing, going to the gym, etc etc.

So yes the morning journey might be slightly more troublesome, but its usualy a simpler journey. And the extra light on the more complicated journeys was found to have an overall +ve impact on road safety.

Every year this topic arises at this time of the year, not just on STW but on the news channels and breakfast TV etc. The same positives get banded about as do the same ol’ negatives but 2 days after the change, everyone’s got used to it and moved on! 🙂

Lots of countries manage just fine with more than one time zone.

I don’t think I’m in favour of the idea though.

And I dunno about reducing emissions – you’d need your lights on in the morning for longer, no?

It’s dark when you get up in the morning and come home from work anyhow so I don’t see any argument one way or the other form that point of view.

At least on days off there would be a little more light at the end of the day rather than while you’re eating breakfast where the light is wasted.

time is percieved.

next two weeks im working longer hours deliberately so i commute both ways in the dark. By the middle of november i will be used to living in the dark and it wont bother me

As spoon said,it will make no difference to road safety. You can either have small children going to school in the dark or coming home in the dark, and there are more other journeys in the evening.
Anyone here old enough to remember when they tried it back in the sixties? Did it work?

Sod it, I’m going to spend 6 months here and 6 months in NZ every year from now on.

A classic londoncentric view

You could have Scotland on a different timezone 😉

andrewh – Member

As spoon said,it will make no difference to road safety. You can either have small children going to school in the dark or coming home in the dark, and there are more other journeys in the evening.
Anyone here old enough to remember when they tried it back in the sixties? Did it work?

It was the 70s and yes I remember. In Glasgow it meant going to school in the dark but it was still dark when you came home

it was unpleasant to say the least. For Scotland it would be stupid to do. The further north and wet you are the worse the effect.

AlexSimon, earlier:

1968 according to BBC Scotland. The experiment didn’t go down well apparently.

Yeah, spending 6 months here in summer and migrating south for the winter would be my dream. One day it will be a reality.

Ah – it lasted until 1971 I knew I had been in Glasgow at school and we did not move to glasgow until 1970

For Reference:

By Winter Solstice (December 21st) sunrise in Aberdeen is 8:46am and sunset 3:27pm, meantime in London it will be 8:04am till 3:53pm

http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/sunrise.html

Ahh – beautiful image molgrips. That’s me. Although the 6-monthly carbon footprint would be a bit bigger. Maybe I’ll cycle.

TBH who cares about Scotland, they’re all pretty grumpy up there anyway, and no f**ker lives there. Change the clocks.

djglover – Member

The only enduring solution is to have longer working hours in the summer and shorter in the winter, whereas I’d prefer the opposite.

In Spain we work longer in the winter when you don’t really want to be outside, then work less in the summer so you can spend more time next to the pool.

if it was a really good idea then it would have actually happened rather than being talked about for a week or so prior to the clocks changing and then being forgotten about until the same time next year.

Should be BST in winter and BST+1 in summer…
…also a shorter period of month for the winter.

I travelled to school when the original experiment was done and it was fine and great having some light in the late p.m. (Manchester).

As for Scotland, the length of day (a.k.a. gloom) is so short that it surely makes no difference wether this is an hour later/earlier.

🙂

Can we not mine under the country (perhaps employ the Chilean chaps) get some big F-off tugs and move the country south, thus solving this problem, improving the climate, Europe would have shot of us and we could control immigration better!!

Interviewed a Scottish farmer on Radio 4 this week about this. He as up for the change (didn’t actually care) as he didn’t own a watch and went to work when he woke up and finished when it got dark 😆

Might give the dour feckers something new to whinge about. I thought they’d love the opportunity in Scotland.

Yeah, that’s why I was surprised to hear this chap NOT have a pop 🙂

The other way is to start earlier. School/work starts art 8.00 am and finishes an hour earlier. Same effect. Before we forget just remember the Northern Irish – they are to the West of the UK mainland and as such they too will be affected. The point about countries have multiple time zones is that they change as you go east/west no north/south

I used to do shift work, 8am – 8.30pm and the GMT/BST change never bothered me at all cos I needed lights at least one way of the journey for about 8.5 months of the year anyway!

This topic comes up every single year yet within a couple of days everyone has got used to it and just gets on with life. If anything, the most dangerous time on the roads is actually early October as it’s dark in the mornings, getting cold etc and everyone is driving round with no lights on and frosted/misted windows.

You could have Scotland on a different timezone

Aren’t they already on GMT minus 30 years ?

It only makes any difference for a week or so then it’s dark all the time anyway.

I find the key to it is to get out jogging for half an hour in you lunch break through the winter just to make sure you see some daylight regularly.

3 or 4 times a week ought to do it. Quit moaning

It was the 70s and yes I remember. In Glasgow it meant going to school in the dark but it was still dark when you came home

it was unpleasant to say the least. For Scotland it would be stupid to do. The further north and wet you are the worse the effect.

I dont get it. I don’t see how it makes any difference. It’s normally dark when I go to work and dark when I get out anyway, so how would shifting the hours a bit make any odds? And the short winter days in Scotland are beautifully offset by the stunningly long summer days. This summer on a few occasions I was still walking around outside, taking photos, unaided by electrickery, at nearly 1am.

Do what you like with the clocks, makes no odds to any sane human. In fact I’d say the shifting confuses peoples bodies/minds more than keeping it the same.

Here we go again 🙄

You could have Scotland on a different timezone

Aren’t they already on GMT minus 30 years ?

post of the year – outstanding 😆