That clocks should not go back in winter

[nosswith]

This weekend the clocks go back. Something I object to and would like to see end, at least in England.

Three arguments for doing so used to be made

• dark mornings in Scotland- fair point, now there is a Scottish Parliament and they can decide, there are enough places with two time zones.
• Farming- less people affected now with more mechanisation
• Guy Fawkes Night- I cannot see how one day a year starting with the few celebrations a bit later is an issue.

Since mines, shipyards and factories closed, fewer people start work early, whereas longer retail hours mean more working in the evening. If wfh at least some of the week continues post Covid 19, the numbers going out in the dark mornings will be fewer than before.

AIBU?

I live in Scotland and it was getting dark at 4pm yesterday. There is something very depressing about getting home in the dark from work for nearly half a year.

I know many farmers, none of whom are without electricity. They don't care about the issue one way or another. But it would make a big difference to people like me who wouldn't have to spend so much of their lives in darkness if the clocks didn't go back.

Aren't most schoolchildren driven to school in this country anyway?

How the people in Shetland cope I have no idea. Less than 6 hours of light a day in December

I used to know someone who grew up on Yell, and referred to Shetland as the mainland. She told me that in the middle of winter, it never got much brighter than twilight.

I'd forgotten how I hate the changing of the clocks until last night, when it was dark so bloody early. I'd like them not to change at all, so the change is gradual. I don't really care if we stick to BST or GMT, I just hate the change.

LakieLadie I'm from Shetland, now live in Aberdeen, and its not as bad as that! Plenty of daylight in December/January, albeit only 6 hours of it! But it does get properly light even at 60 degrees north. I visited in November last year, and it was a lovely week of still, sunny weather.

It's very weather dependent. Of course you get days which are so miserable and wet or overcast that the quality of light is poor, but thars due to cloud cover and not latitude. Same as in Aberdeen or Edinburgh.

Shetland is only as far north as the south of Norway. So yes, kids always go to school in the dark some mornings in winter, but it would be nice to have longer daylight afternoons.

Yabu

It's miserable in the mornings when you live in the far west of the Uk

In the depth of winter it wouldn't get light till 9am where I live

Fwiw I live in the the opposite end of the country than Scotland,cl so it's not just a Scottish issue

@LakieLady

How the people in Shetland cope I have no idea. Less than 6 hours of light a day in December

I used to know someone who grew up on Yell, and referred to Shetland as the mainland. She told me that in the middle of winter, it never got much brighter than twilight.

I'd forgotten how I hate the changing of the clocks until last night, when it was dark so bloody early. I'd like them not to change at all, so the change is gradual. I don't really care if we stick to BST or GMT, I just hate the change.

On the other hand I've sat outside reading without a light at 11pm in summer

If it ain't broke

I think it is broke, but not to the extent that we need GMT all year round or BST all year round. My main gripe with the system is that the clocks go back in late October, but we have to wait all the way to the end of March for them to go forward again. It's a stupid length of time to have to wait.

That is why I think the clocks should go back around now, but go forward at the end of February.

I also think we need the daylight in the evenings, so people can do things. Women are particularly restricted when it is dark, so the more usable daylight we have, the better. Daylight at 3am in the summer isn't very useful. Daylight until 7.30/8pm all through March is much more useful.

@IncandescentSilver your point about children being driven to school (not all but many more than in 1972 when we reverted to GMT in the winter) is a valid one. I also think people are better able to manage and be safe starting in darkness and it getting lighter, than the other way around. Car lights are put on, instead of forgetting as it gets dark.

I don't like the change but the problem is the short day, so the morning is only lighter for a short time in central Scotland. Plus my Mum said the double BST was horrific.

In Sweden they only have a few hours light in Winter (depending how far north - the south is the same as Shetland but the north is in the Arctic Circle) and schools / offices start at 8 am so no idea how they don't all top themselves. Maybe the reflected light on snow?

Bit of an aside but @TabbyM I spent a winter in Finland and it felt much less dark than Scotland precisely because of all the snow piled up everywhere!