Leave My Clock Alone!!

I do not expect anyone to agree with me on this subject, but this is my diary and I'll whinge if I want to ... and I want to ...

.....

Does anyone know the real reason why we still have British Summertime? No me neither, but it means I've got to get up an hour earlier than I want to or forever be branded 'idle'. And me, being such a sensitive soul, force myself out of bed by 9.30am whether I need to be up or not ... what do you mean 9.30am is late? I'd agree if it wasn't actually 8.30am - in the summer - in the winter I have no excuse.

And they've now they've got the cheek to decide that it'd be a good idea for us to get up two hours earlier in summer and one hour earlier in winter ... well it's not happening in our house! My bathroom already lives in permanent Greenwich Meantime as I refuse to alter at least one clock - it buggers up my bath time no end but I'm not about to give in.

Apparently, according to them in the know ... tourism will increase, fuel emissions would drop, lives would be saved and our carbon footprints will be smaller - how? it's colder on dark mornings than dark evenings, thus requiring more gas and electric just to get up and go. And do they not know that we don't all live in London, I really can't see Skeggy suddenly becoming thronged with more tourists just because it'll be lighter an hour later. Will we have siesta's in the afternoons with touristy shops closing and reopening in the evenings like they do in Spain.

And lets not forget that in the months of 'double summertime' there is likely to be even more loony antisocial behaviour as teenagers will be roaming the streets for an hour longer, with nothing to do except being a pain in the bum.

And anyway we all know the real reason for this idea is to bring us in line with Europe. Well I'm English first, British second and very, very grudgingly European third and I don't give a flying f**t what time it is in Europe! I've heard it argued that Scandinavia - dark in the winter - is in line with European time, well it would be as it's on a different longitude from us so is irrelevant as an argument.

I can vaguely remember the last experiment ... It didn't work then so what makes them think it'll work now. It was so dark in the morning when I went to school that a penny was thrust into my little grasping hand each November, December and January morning so I could catch the bus - yum, sweets - well I wasn't wasting it on bus fare was I. And I didn't have the type of mother who'd stand at the bus stop to make sure I caught the bus - yeah, that's a laugh, because I didn't even have the type of mother that got up with me to make sure I got to school after the age of six.

Warning! Yet more reminiscing moments ahead:

I remember one time - at the grand old age of eight - leaving my cereals because they tasted awful. I was duly informed when I got home from school that when I'd climbed up to the top cupboard to retrieve the sugar - red lidded jar - I'd fetched down the salt - blue lidded jar ... only it wasn't, she who must be obeyed had filled them up wrong. I've never put sugar [or salt] on cereals since then.

Getting up alone had its advantages though, many a time during those dark winter mornings I had tomato soup and a glass of milk for breakfast. I'd then tiptoe into my mum's bedroom holding her purse, claiming to need money for something or other - as in the bus - to receive a grunt, whilst a hand reached out for the purse to find me a penny. Oh, this was well before the days of spending money, this was in the days of 'cunning'.

Er, what am I writing about? Let me see, dum de dum ... Oh yes the clocks, how did I manage all that drivel when I'm meant to be having a whinge?

I'm amazed at how many people actually think we're going to gain any more daylight hours, there aren't any spare, they think the government give them to us ... der! I've heard people say 'Oh I love the long summer evenings, won't it be nice to have another hour.' Wake up dimwits! You're not actually getting another hour, they've pinched it from the morning for us to have in the evening.

Actually, I've even heard one or two crumblies wishing for an extra evening hour ... er, why? What have they done with all their other hours - hmm, afternoon boredom naps - that they need more daylight later?

It's been stated that we waste daylight hours in bed in the mornings, when we could be up and about our business ... why should I be up? For those that need to start work early to be in line with Europe - bright idea coming up - why don't they go to work earlier and then leave work earlier, instead of interfering with my clock? It's not rocket science. This would have the added bonus of relieving traffic congestion and saving lives. Ah yes, as I thought, it's got bog all to do with saving lives - although quite clearly southern lives are far important than we northerners - and everything to do with bloody Europe.

Fortunately or unfortunately - I'm not sure how this clock interference will affect me in the long term - I have the type of mentality that takes each season as it comes and enjoys it and its varying weather patterns and daylight hours ... instead of wishing my life away. I rarely, if ever, moan about the weather or the lack of long summer evenings when autumn and winter arrive ... has no-one else except me heard of cosy winter nights? Am I the only one who hated trudging to work in the dark but didn't mind walking back home in the dark?

Thinking of getting home and snuggling in for the evening used to get me home from work smiling [maybe I just have a good imagination]. Alas - as you can tell with this moan - what I don't have, is the capacity to cope with getting up on dark mornings, I absolutely loathe them, what is also painfully obvious [to me], is that I'm more like my mother - re-mornings - than I'd ever hoped to be ...