Admittedly I go to bed early but I normally get up between five and six in the morning. I like a quiet hour or so to pull myself together before the hurly burly of the day gets underway. This morning I got up between six and seven. This had nothing to do with going to be late or having a lie in which is something I struggle with anyway. No, it was due to the twice-yearly farce of adjusting the clocks to and from British Summer Time.
It was Monty Don who kindly reminded us on Friday evening that the clocks would ‘go forward’. He told us that gardeners would have an extra hour of daylight to indulge in their hobby yet, give or take a few minutes, the amount of daylight today was the same as yesterday. So called day-light saving is a myth
My heart sank. The thought of having to adjust all the clocks in the house filled me with dread. We have too many anyway and some of the electronic ones require a significant amount of button pressing. Don’t get me started about the clocks in the cars. I sometimes think it is easier to leave them alone until the autumn. I also thought of those days of tedious conversations where everyone refers back to the real time and feels out of sorts for a while.
The ritual doesn’t just affect the UK. According to AS USA, 29 American states have introduced legislation to do away with the twice-yearly switch, 18 have passed legislation in the past four years to take up Daylight Saving Time year round. If you are interested , they are Alabama, Georgia, Minnesota, Mississippi and Montana (2021). Idaho, Louisiana, Ohio (resolution), South Carolina, Utah and Wyoming (2020). Delaware, Maine, Oregon, Tennessee and Washington (2019). Florida (2018; California voters also authorised such a change that year, but legislative action is pending).
The UK should follow suit. It is an anachronistic farce and the time to get rid of it is well overdue. We need to pick a time and stick to it.
Thoughts from a Guerrilla Worker 