If we didn’t change the clocks ?

[KangarooKenny]

Where would it stop, BST or GMT ? And what would be the advantages/disadvantages ?
Every year this gets moaned about but nothing happens, a bit like the 6 week school holiday.

I remember before they tied in the time change with the EU.
I was working for a Dutch company and teams in Germany too, and we always had to check when their clocks changed otherwise scheduled phone calls went all wrong.

I don’t get the clock change thing. Clock time is man made! If it’s light, it’s light, and when it gets dark you put lights on. I’m in Scotland - no idea why we get name checked in relation to the clock change - I dont know anyone up here who is bothered about Spring Forward/Fall Back at all..

Clock time is man made!

The village with no clocks:

We eat when we're hungry
We sup when we're dry
We go to bed when we're tired
And get up when we can't lie

If only!

I'd rather stick with GMT, I love that it's dark at 1600, although yesterday when I arrived at work at 0800 it was pitch black, Wednesday when I'm back in it will be light which I'm slightly annoyed about.

I think that's rather the point. You aren't bothered because it is beneficial to you.
You might soon be bothered if you stayed on BST all year, if the experiment in the 60s is still valid.

I've never understood the imbalance either, but not based on the equinox dates.
If we change the clocks to give us daylight in the mornings (particularly in Scotland for children going to school and for farmers) then end of October is correct point, 7 weeks before shortest day.
But I don't understand why it's then 13 weeks after the shortest day before we change back again. It's light in the mornings in Scotland by late February 🤷🏼‍♀️

The thing is that was 1968. Times have changed. Anyone who lives in the countryside will tell you that farmers now work in field all night if they need too as tractors have much better lights.

My DC leave for school in the dark and get home in the dark throughout December and January. I suppose if we didn’t change it then they could leave the house in the light or get home in the light depending on which was chosen.

I don’t see any campaign to get them to wear reflective gear when walking to school or even any acknowledgment that their entire daylight is taken up 100% with school but I suppose the Christmas holidays break it up.

I understood part of the idea is to have the light in the evenings so people at home aren’t having to put the lights on so early and it saves electricity.

In the short term it would, it would need to be gradually introduced as a general idea, work towards doing without the clock change instead of suddenly starting it one year.

Eventually it would be just another thing like businesses having longer shifts/more workers/longer opening in the run up to Christmas or accountants being busier at end of tax year or fruit pickers only being needed at certain times of year, all seasonal things you just get used to and adapt to.

It's the change that I hate, not really bothered about sticking to GMT or BST

(although it should be GMT scientifically)

The changes twice a year mess up my body clock and play havoc with babies, dogs etc.

Just choose one and stick to it please 😴😴

But you'd lose any savings because you'd have to put them on for longer in the mornings. I get up about half past six - for the last few weeks I've had to have the light on from then until about 8am when it's light enough without them. It's now light at 7am so I will only need the light on till then for the next couple of weeks. In December it will be a case of having the light on in the morning until 9:30 am not 10:30 am. In other words, swings and roundabouts!

Ifailed and Stratazon, I've been wondering exactly the same! And unable to find a reason other than it gives farmers an extra hour of daylight during harvest. Which of course it doesn't because the length of daylight doesn't change. Maybe farmers just don't want to get up an hour earlier

Yes, but most people are only up and about for an hour or two in the morning while getting ready for work etc. In the evening people are in for longer.

Ultimately none of it seems to make any sense to me. We don’t gain any hours daylight, just shift them about.

Harvest is done by this time of the year anyway, farmers work the hours they need, they are governed by the sun more than the clock, most farm machinery has good lighting these days.

But if they are going out to work, they won't be working in the dark when they get there - lights will still need to be on wherever they are.

One reason is at the equinoxes the Sun may be above the horizon for 12 hours, below for 12, but because of twilight you don't get an equal amount of usable daylight/nightime

www.timeanddate.com/astronomy/equilux.html

That's the reason we switch to BST.

When we have more daylight nobody needs light at 3am but people like having light at 10pm

Disagree - I hate the darker mornings - so much harder to get going, dropping my kid at the train station for school in the dark, walking the dogs in the dark - this will happen soon enough but a few weeks later if we hadn't changed the clocks!

I'm the same

I absolutely hate dark mornings

Secondary age kids went to school in daylight today. Friends 11 year olds got busses in the light. Putting clocks back is worth it.

Some people prefer BST , others GMT and others like the changing clock.
So I predict it’ll never change as you piss off 2/3 of people whatever you do. And having different time zones within the U.K. would be bonkers

My husband just sent me this and I thought of this thread. He is the person in image #9 saying 'But why is BST better?'

I'm the complete opposite!

Basically, the uk is a long way from the Equator. Darkness is not to do with the clocks changing, it's to do with winter! By the winter solstice, the north coast of Scotland barely gets 6 hours daylight, and Cornwall gets around an extra hour at either end of the day, but either way, daylight is limited. Evening, or mornings, or both, will be dark. It's not politics, it's geography. GMT should be the default, it is the established, historical reference for global time by zones.