Anyone else noticed the evenings getting darker a bit earlier?

[Activelife]

Is it just me or has anyone else noticed that the nights are coming in earlier.

You really should move to Scotland. That’s what our summer has been like. Days and days of rain, grey skies and cold.

Same here.

Im wearing leggings and a fleece today.

Leggings!!!! My legs are covered.

a fleece!!!!! So cosy.

3 days ago I was sweating in running shorts and vest whilst sat on my arse in front of a fan (not even doing the running part 😂)

and I’m South for those saying people
who haven’t enjoyed the summer probably aren’t.

I enjoy and have enjoyed the heat and sunshine but equally I enjoy blankets and my fleece!

No, can't think of anything I'd less rather do with my evenings than shut the curtains and snuggle under a blanket, so depressing. I love being outdoors, love that in summer I can go out in the evenings to all my usual places (allotment, sports centre, pub) without having to faff about with coats, gloves etc and vastly prefer sitting out on the patio for the rest of the time rather than indoors, I've barely been in our living room for the last three months it's been so nice out in the evenings. I also love waking up to the birds chirping and daylight streaming into the bedroom and going straight downstairs and into the garden every morning.

Same! I love being outside in the evening after a long day sitting in my desk, walking in the woods or down by the river with the dog in broad daylight, wearing light clothing and listening to the birds singing and the leaves blowing in a warm breeze. I could cope with a couple of months of darkness and crap weather, but it starts here at the beginning of November and can still be miserable at the end of March.

Yes of course as it’s closer to September than June.

On seasons they’re all good, I prefer obvious seasons than all middle 11 to 15 degrees and grey.

Haha I’m in the south east. It’s actually trying to rain which I’m glad for. But yes, bit of a culture shock…

11-15 degrees and grey is summer here!

I’m with you OP, I love watching how the seasons develop and change. I’ve always known it happens but I’ve also always found it fascinating to see. I love the summer light but I’m also a fan of the cooler, duskier autumn evenings. Last night it was dark here at just after 9pm. We had had a bit of rain too, so the ground was wet. The street lamp shining down on the wet pavement looked so autumnal! It is quite a change as a couple of weeks ago there was still light in the sky at 9 o’clock.

Almost as if the longest day doesn’t happen every single year 🧐

Not looking forward to getting up and driving to work in the dark,driving home in the dark, grey,wet,miserable days,endless rain.
My first winter since dh died so yeah, its going to be great!!!

Turn that around though. For those who work outside and have poor/no housing then the heatwaves we’ve had are really rather different. If you have access to a bedroom with a through breeze, fans, air conditioning, water coming out of a shower etc then those people are having a different experience from a builder living in a single window bedsit in an area with water shortages who is going to work on public transport.

And likewise, don’t people like the summer because of what they can do eg sit on their patio with friends late into the evening with ice drinks? How is that different from people cosying up at home? They are no more experiencing the cold than the people with a fan and glass of something with ice while sitting in a pool, or dipping their feet in a pool are experiencing the heat like that builder is.

Exactly. I usually love the summer but this year it's been absolutely miserable. My flat has been like a greenhouse whatever I do and it's been far too hot to go out and about as I normally would.

I find the cooler months more comfortable.

The brightness and the heat of the summer causes me so many headaches.

I like autumn, winter and spring. Summer can be a struggle depending on the weather.

I like dark mornings, whether I'm at home or heading out to work.

Like PP I love wfh mornings when its cold and dark and I can turn on the laptop looking at the rain with a cup of coffee.

I try to embrace every season. I like seasonal decor and changing it gives me a mental boost. I look forward to putting away my spring/summer items and getting out my autumn ones.

I dont mind going out in the wind or rain and find it far more refreshing than going out in dead heat.

I suppose the difference is the length of time it goes on for. This year has been awful in some parts of the UK with the heat (although not all parts, by any means), but the heat waves haven't gone on for the months that winter does. The hot weather in parts of the UK usually lasts for a few weeks in total at most, with far more people affected in terms of health-related conditions or excess deaths by the cold weather than the hot weather.

I can understand why many people who have lived through these heatwaves are longer for cooling weather but a SE England winter is very different from winters in more northern parts of the UK - by mid Jan we've already had 2.5 months of it, and still have another couple to go. Living in endless darkness under artificial light is no joke - and then a 'summer' of mid teens and more cloud to look forward to. If we get a few days of mid twenties then we're delighted!

It's been happening ever since June 21st.

I generally feel a bit sad when the summer comes to an end but I seem to manage to get over that and begin to enjoy the autumn. This warmth has been great for the fuel bills.

I've never been happier to see the back of summer this year. It's been relentless 😩

The difference is that people that like the heat are usually actually utilising the weather. They're basking in it, and finding it enjoyable. And yes some are finding it utterly horrid. I work outside, the extreme heat is more of a challenge than the cold/wet.

But the people that like the cold and wet are usually just celebrating not being in it. It's not like they're actually causing the nasty weather, but it just feels a bit smug to say its the best thing because they can hide from it.

This is a very good point. Most of the people I know who love winter are introverts who prefer not to have the pressure to be out and about/socialising that the good weather can bring. They can wrap up and ‘snuggle’ (hate that word) without thinking they ought to be out and about doing things.
Personally I like different aspects of all seasons. I love being able to get out and about in the summer, BBQs and drinks in the garden with friends etc. Autumn I love for the colours, the beautiful light outside and because it can sometimes feel like a relief after the heat of summer. It’s also more comfortable temps for dog walks/going for runs etc. I love Christmas so like winter for that reason, but am always sick of the cold and dark by spring so I like spring because it signals an end to that!

The heat has been longer and less broken this summer which is unusual, and even I can't deny that nature needs some good downpours.

Winter does make life harder though. There's about 6 months of having to heat homes to keep them as safe environments. Tasks like laundry either need the budget and space to use a tumble dryer or the incovenience of drying them around the home. In mid-winter, working 8 hours a day means going the entire working day without access to daylight through the working week. Getting dressed takes longer. Transport is harder be it walking/ cycling and getting cold and wet, uncomfortable waits for public transport or blazing car headlights.

No one is celebrating the cooler, darker half of the year for the joy of mushed dog shit hiding in autumn leaves squelching into the treads of your shoes, the love of soggy trouser legs or the damp smell of slow drying laundry.

The inconviences of winter are more guarenteed and longer lasting than the inconveniences of a more extreme sunmer. I agree with PPs that what tends to be celebrated is the escape strategies although I can't deny the pleasure of those rare crisp sunny frosts if you haven't had to scrape the car in the dark particularly if you hadn't realised it wasn't frozen and factored in extra scraping time

I do always notice a gear change in daylight in mid-August. It's a strange part of summer where it often feels like nature is in limbo. September often feels like a second wind, a grand finale and it's lovely when you get warm summery weather without the extremes of heat. October can be nice if it's not too overcast with excessive rain. Nov- Feb are nearly always a slog though and potentially longer even towards May. While it's now a good thing for the water table that we had a wet spring, it was a difficult, uncomfortable spring of near continuous gloom and wet until a sudden lurch into heat this year. Annoyingly I ended up driving my commute far more than I would have liked because of the inconvienience of turning up drenched to work and uncomfortably slowly drying out for hours.

I like the jump of daylight at the end of Feb when there is finally light wrapping around a working day and the potential and energy of all those lighter evenings to come (and even better when the clocks spring forward!)

Had one here tonight; it was biblical!!

No your the only one. Nobody else could have possibly noticed this.