Daylight Saving Your Views

[SummerSkye]

In Tasmania we have just switched to daylight saving, earlier than the rest of the states by about 3 weeks. Our television programs which are broadcast from the mainland are now shown at odd times with a current affair program usually aired at 6.30pm now slotted in at 10.30pm. :confused:
I cannot see the need for daylight saving here as in summer it is light until after 10pm in some areas. Queensland has just rejected introducing daylight saving. What are your views on it, love it or hate it?

[eleanor2]

i for one have never heard of day light saving. any chance you can expand on it. if its good for the environment it sounds worth finding out about.

[Healing Hands]

Do you mean by changing the clocks? If so I do not really have a problem with it. The only thing is when it get dark around 4ish I think it is time to put my jimmy-jams on and want to go to bed, but I cannot do that I still may have clients or walk the dog!

When I was in the High Artic a few years ago and it got dark around 1.30 - 2pm that was strange as I got tired and wanted to sleep. I went ice-fishing at 2 in the afternoon and it was so dark you thought it was the middle of the night.

all in all I do not have a problem with it, I quite enjoy snuggling down in the winter, my late hubby used to say that I was like a bear and go into hibernation for the winter and then come out in the spring.

[Oola]

Daylight Saving is the same as British Summer Time isn't it?

I think it was introduced because of farming during the war (wasn't there double daylight saving time or something?), and I remember Mum saying that they tried one year without it but because children had to walk to school in a degree of darkness, it BST reappeared again. I wouldn't mind it being darker in the mornings and having an extra hour of light in the evenings.

Getting dark at half past 4 just seems ridiculous to me really.

[Ivy]

My kids have to cycle to school in the dark for 4 months. Without summertime it would be just 3.

[Pippa]

In the UK the short days are not for long, after 21st December they start lengthening. I'm like Healing Hands and tend to hibernate for a short while and enjoy lighting fires and getting all outside tasks done by 4 pm. Not good for little children going to school I agree - but not many seem to cycle in this country Ivy, roads too dangerous maybe. I think the Winter is great if it doesn't rain every day, cold blustery days are great, but you have to be very motivated to make the best of every wet winter day.

[Ivy]

Well here in Germany most children in urban or suburban areas can walk and cycle to school and the small ones usually wear clothes with some reflecting parts but in the absence of school uniforms teens wear what ever they want to school and declare it to be extremely embarressing to wear anything that would show off in the dark... even bike lamps seem to be out of fashion for some so they are putting themselves in real danger and starting school at 8.AM doesn't really help to solve the problem...

[Pippa]

Gosh, that is a really early start Ivy, do they finish early as well so can cycle home in light?

[Ivy]

they allways return in daylight but all their sports activities music lessons etc are so late that again they are cycling in the dark or use mum's taxi services because I don't like them to go alone after dark.

[Crocus]

Hi, we of course don't have summer or winter time. We just carry on. Our school start at 7.30 in the morning, so I've got to wake the boys at 6. They like walking to school, and they've got to tidy their rooms (well to a certain extent!) before leaving. They leave at about 6.45. In winter it' stil dark, but they still walk if it's not raining! Wiinter evenings it's dark at about 5.45. Summer sun sets at more or less 8.15.

[sunflower]

I do'nt like it when the clocks go back and I'm on night duty!! One extra hour to work...not fun. So far I have not been on night duty when the clocks go forward....what bliss...an hour less!

[Redstart]

I don't like it as I really don't see the point. Domestic and farm animals get very confused. It's just another example of man trying to put his stamp on nature.

[SummerSkye]

I agree, I don't like it either and it confuses the cows for milking, they don't understand that the time has been moved forward. Actually it would make more sense if it were done in winter and we had an extra hour of daylight when we could use it although I suppose the mornings would be too dark.

[franbee]

In the end , we only get the same amount of daylight each day, whichever end of the day it is. I remember that experiment when we stayed with summer time for 1 winter, I think it was 1968, I was in the 4th year at school, and it was dark in the morning until after 9am. I think it was decided not to continue so children could get to school in the light, and also mainly get home in the light too. But I also find it strange in France, 1 hour ahead in our summer, when the sun doesn't rise until 8am in the summer. Fran.