Spring Ahead.

[stuey]

We start DST (daylight saving time) early Sunday morning. I believe you call it British Summer Time. I found this: "In 1916, Germany and its allies were the first countries to use DST as a way to conserve coal during the First World War. Britain, parts of Europe, Canada and the U.S. eventually followed suit." I don't understand the part about saving coal. Didn't the UK have "double" BST during WWII?...Now, how many clock do I have to set ahead?!

[Svejk]

It's not this weekend, stuey, is it?

[ubasses]

Not in Uk. I believe Stuey is overseas.

[Svejk]

Just checked. It's the 29th.

[stuey]

Yes. I think that you change in three week's time.

[Svejk]

Ah, right, didn't realise other countries did it.

[Jackdaw33]

You are right about double BST during WWII. This was to allow farmers to work late. Coal was the main source of fuel and in order to restrict its use, because people worked to the clock regardless, the more work done in daylight meant the less spent on coal to provide artificial lighting.

[Svejk]

Was it as late as WW1 that they 'synchronised' British clocks. They used to have different times depending on the part of the country. ;D

[Jackdaw33]

In 1968 the UK decided to keep BST all year round, which meant that in the winter it didn't become daylight until 9 a.m. and in Scotland, nearer to 10 a.m. This proved very unpopular so was repealed in 1971.

[stuey]

Yes, Jackdaw33, I thought that the primary reason for the introduction of DST/BST was to provide more daylight hours of working time, and that the saving of coal was a fringe benefit, so to speak...Anyway, it's interesting.

[Jackdaw33]

No, Svejk, much earlier. This goes back to the 1840s and the building of the Great Western Railway. There used to be such a thing as Local time and railway time. The latter was introduced with the publication of the first national railway timetable.

[stuey]

This is how Churchill described BST: “An extra yawn one morning in the springtime, an extra snooze one night in the autumn… We borrow an hour one night in April; we pay it back with golden interest five months later.”

[Clanad]

Ours starts at 0200 on Monday morning, stuey… 'course we all change the time at bedtime on Sunday...

[stuey]

Surely, Clanad, you change the time on Sunday morning, not Monday?

[Jackdaw33]

In the UK clocks go forward from 1 am to 2am on the last Sunday in March, and go back from 2 am to 1 am on the last Sunday in October.

[1ozzy]

We go back one hour on the 5th of April, until the 4th of October.

[stuey]

Time is so confusing, isn't it? A person who owns a clock always knows the time; however, a person who owns two clocks is never quite sure:)

[Jackdaw33]

That's because you are in the southern hemisphere, so that when you are putting your clocks forward we are putting ours back.

[1ozzy]

That is right Jackdaw.

Stuey, I have one clock that is right twice a day ;-)

[stuey]

Do clocks in Australia run anticlockwise?

[ummmm]

I don't actually own a clock. I wake up and guess what time it is and find out when I turn the TV on.