I wish the dark afternoons would do one!

[asblindasabat]

It is 4:00PM and it’s already starting to get dark. I am the kind of person who prefers the dark winter evenings over the brighter summer evenings (I still do like spring and summer) but it is so depressing when it gets dark this early.

I would be much happier if it got dark between 7.30-8.30, although there is sod all I can do about it as it’s Mother Nature! 😂

@Iamthewombat we use GMT but are obviously on different longitude so the sun sets later the further West you go

@rbe78 thank you - this has made my day

Thanks, that’s helpful. So you gain an hour of light in the afternoon at the expense of the morning.

That's right

Although 21st Dec is the solstice the mornings don’t start getting a bit lighter until the 4th Jan. Sob. Nearly there. And it’s definitely getting a bit lighter at 4pm!

OP I am with you. We could easily have BST all year round. We did for four years and sadly did not continue this.

There are only so many daylight hours, but I think we would make more use of an hour of daylight in the afternoon. Fewer people start early in the morning since factories, mines and heavy industry declined.

Then it wouldn’t get light until after 10 where I am (north scotland).

After the relentless hot sunshine of 2022, I swore I'd never moan about the darkness or cold again. Normally, I whinge from November through to February. But after the torture of Essex traffic in 38 degree heat, this is bliss. I haven't complained once all winter. Even the darkness hasn't bothered me.

I absolutely loved last summer.

And look how many people are commenting on the dark mornings too. Taking kids to school in dark at 8.30, think how much darker it would if we hadn't moved the clocks back to there natural time.
The weather and ice tends to be worse at dawn than at dusk, I'll stick with GMT if it's the changing clocks that bug you. But BST in winter will just add to the dangerous dark winter mornings.

I'd ban BST if it was down to me. Staying light past about 8pm makes me tense. It feels so relentlessly bright. I think my ideal would be light by 7.30am and dark again at 7.30pm. 4pm getting dark is fine by me. Feels less draining. But we are all different.

Agree with others that by the end of the month you'll see a difference. I don't like them either. I like the starkness of just how very much dark there is around solstice, it feels eventful. But I dislike the long climb back through January. Once there's a noticeable difference I start feeling a bit perkier.

SAD is definitely a thing. Don't people in northern countries like ours drink more and get depression more? We don't get enough sunlight!

@DappledThings your timings would suit me. I hate BST too. Makes me edgy. Best is around the equator. That's a nice balance. Isn't that close to where people started out from? Like, when people became people?

Im glad I’m not the only one then! Like I said, I absolutely love the cosy-ness of the dark and cold winter evenings, but I always find 4pm too early to be getting dark! And yes @lking679 i hate having to turn my lamps on after 4 in the afternoon!

Here's my interesting fact of the day ... Dublin time (specifically the clocks at Trinity College Dublin) used to be 19 minutes behind London because of the longitude. Have to google when Ireland went to GMT ...

TBH this year its not so much been the dark nights that's been depressing, its the fact it's been damp and raining every single day. Not even just a wee bit cold. It's been miserable. Neither sledge nor bike weather.

I already knew that @NewNameForXmas

Absolutely. I spent three weeks right in the equator years ago and loved the timings of sunrise and sunset. So day and night are always light and dark at a time that feels right.

I love dark, wet afternoons. They take the pressure off having to go out or socialise or even get dressed.

I'm dreading the summer and light nights already.

I’ve spent a lot of time in the Middle East. For me, the most noticeable thing is how quickly it got light and dark. It was like somebody turned the sun on and off with a switch.

I agree. Its so miserable for so many people and we have the power to do something to improve the situation, it infuriates me.

I don’t dread any time of the year particularly- they all have their own benefits. I’d lean into the dark afternoons and light a few candles or fairy lights and embrace it.

So sick of the wind and rain, we had one sunny crisp day over Christmas now it's shit again. As if January isn't depressing enough.

I want it lighter in the mornings, schleping about in mud in the woods in the dark on a dog walk in the rain has lost its appeal

I'd rather have the light in the mornings. Am snuggled here in bed thinking about how dark (and windy!) it's gonna be when I take the dog out. I should be uo and doing it already but am struggling to motivate myself.