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Original poster

Stop changing the clocks?

15 replies

DustyLee123 · 29/10/2024 06:21

So yesterday I was wide awake at 5am, today it was worse and it was 4.30, and I’ve got to work :(
I know we do this every year, but talk me into believing that changing the clocks is a good thing, as I can’t see it right now?

OP posts:
Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g · 29/10/2024 06:31

Try living in Scotland through a winter on BST.

StarlightLady · 29/10/2024 06:35

Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g · 29/10/2024 06:31

Try living in Scotland through a winter on BST.

I get that, but is that not a case for Scotland to work to a different time zone?

North America and Australia (l appreciate they are bigger) do not have a uniform tome zone across the country.

Tel12 · 29/10/2024 06:37

Once he retired my dad never did. Lunch 11.30am. He couldn't see why he should be disrupted.

Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g · 29/10/2024 06:39

Many times the size of the UK. I was a child in Scotland the year the UK tried having BST all year round. We went to school in pitch darkness. It wasn't safe. Same probably applied to the North of England. If anything should change, how about abolishing BST. Introduced to help farmers. Far fewer people working on the land now.

forgotmyusername1 · 29/10/2024 06:51

It is changed to make it safer for children going to and from school (so it isn't pitch black at either of these times)

The original reason was something to do with farming but when they tried not doing if it was found to be more dangerous for children so they brought it back after 1 year

Madmoomoo · 29/10/2024 06:57

I appreciate why the clocks change but I’d like to see them change back sooner. I’d like bst to kick in at the end of February rather than end of March. That way the clocks change 2 months before the shortest day and change back 2 months after.

PrimalLass · 29/10/2024 07:10

I was just thinking that. They could just change for December and January.

StarlightLady · 29/10/2024 07:23

Madmoomoo · 29/10/2024 06:57

I appreciate why the clocks change but I’d like to see them change back sooner. I’d like bst to kick in at the end of February rather than end of March. That way the clocks change 2 months before the shortest day and change back 2 months after.

All of mainland Europe and the UK, although on different time zones, change clocks on the same day/date.

To deviate from this would cause havoc with the aviation and ferry industries.

Hoglet70 · 29/10/2024 07:46

I think it's funny that everyone moans about the clock's going back. This is GMT. This is Britain! BST is the change.

StarlightLady · 29/10/2024 08:01

Hoglet70 · 29/10/2024 07:46

I think it's funny that everyone moans about the clock's going back. This is GMT. This is Britain! BST is the change.

That doesn’t make one better than the other though. At one time, time zones varied across the UK. BST was introduced back in 1916, so there were more daylight hours for industry.

All of Ireland works to GMT and BST although not all part of Britain.

Aircraft and air traffic control all over the world work to GMT as they (obviously) all need to operate to a common standard.

Mumofteenandtween · 29/10/2024 08:02

As other people have said - in the winter GMT is needed for the safety of school children. The school day is centred around midday so GMT makes total sense.

However, the typical working day (9-5) is centred around 1pm so, once the safety of school children is assured, it is sensible to enable workers to be able to travel both to and from work in the light as again that increases safety for everyone. So BST makes sense for most of the year. (I actually think it should go back End of Feb not End of March.)

And finally, in those lovely days of summer when we have up to 18 hours of light a day, when do you want those hours to be? Personally I massively prefer it to be light from 9pm - 10pm rather than 3am - 4am. I would actually like a few weeks of GMT+2 - so we get 10pm - 11pm rather than 4am - 5am but we can’t keep fiddling with the clocks!

notimagain · 29/10/2024 08:05

StarlightLady · 29/10/2024 07:23

All of mainland Europe and the UK, although on different time zones, change clocks on the same day/date.

To deviate from this would cause havoc with the aviation and ferry industries.

Show quote history

I’m not sure it would cause that much havoc for aviation since as I guess you might know the working part of that industry churns away running on UTC permanently.

It certainly copes OK with the various mismatches in changeover you get around the world, for example the several week gap between the US clock change and the UK/European once…you just end up with some short lived timetable changes (as in the times you see quoted in local time) to cover the period where one country is on daylight saving and the other isn’t.

StarlightLady · 29/10/2024 08:27

notimagain · 29/10/2024 08:05

I’m not sure it would cause that much havoc for aviation since as I guess you might know the working part of that industry churns away running on UTC permanently.

It certainly copes OK with the various mismatches in changeover you get around the world, for example the several week gap between the US clock change and the UK/European once…you just end up with some short lived timetable changes (as in the times you see quoted in local time) to cover the period where one country is on daylight saving and the other isn’t.

Show quote history

I didn’t want to go there with UTC (almost GMT but more technical; think GMT on class A drugs! 😀), in case l got accused (perhaps rightly so) of derailing the thread.

l concede “havoc” was a bit strong, but short term timetables are, nevertheless, a pain in bum for those concerned.

notimagain · 29/10/2024 08:31

True enough…

and TBF and for info I now see “my several weeks” UK/US was exaggeration, it’s one week this time around. Right now there is a mismatch as it does look like the US stays on Daylight saving until next weekend yet there are flights across the pond all week…

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