Do we really need to put the clocks back?
THERE is little time to give urgent consideration to scrapping putting the clocks back for winter. Not doing this will save the country electricity and gas costs. Everyone is awake at 5pm when darkness will be extended by an hour while few are awake at 5am when it is lighter. There is the advantage that we will be on an equivalent time to Europe, which will be beneficial for trade. I have written to every member of the Cabinet asking them to consider ending putting the clocks back, but have not received a response.
ROY BAKER, Guildford, Surrey. SOME people would like to abolish British Summer Time (BST) because it takes them ages to change their clocks and electrical devices (Letters). Up here in the Pennines and other areas of Northern England, we value BST. Long evenings, especially from early May to mid August, are eagerly anticipated because they enable so many outdoor activities to flourish, from league cricket and horse racing to cycling, dinghy sailing, rowing, tennis, bowling, angling and birdspotting. Above all, lighter summer evenings mean that after getting home from work, you have the opportunity to go walking in the Pennine valleys and hills, ending up watching the sunset from a welcoming hostelry. All of these pleasures would be made impossible or severely curtailed if we avoided having to alter clocks. Also BST does save on the use of energy so helping to reduce global warming. Double British Summertime, as instituted in World War II, would save even more power costs. Now there’s a thought.
R. S. GREENWOOD, Rochdale, Lancs. WITH energy prices rocketing, the Government could save us money at a stroke. By delaying changing the clocks by one month to the end of November and bringing the subsequent clock change forward by one month to the end of February, this would mean we would switch on our lights an hour later in the evening, saving electricity.
DAVID KILPATRICK, St Albans, Herts. THE reader who complains it takes him ages to change all his clocks and electronic devices, with many requiring complicated instructions, is lucky he doesn’t work at Buckingham Palace. The staff have to start altering the clocks on the Saturday afternoon.
NEVILLE WITHERS, London w3. WHY are we still changing our clocks twice every year? The original reasons for doing this have long since retreated into antiquity.
ALAN JACOBS, Biddenham, Beds.