It is easy to get confused over dates. Especially on a flight which leaves one day and arrives the next day. We missed dinner with friends on a Saturday night because we had a flight leaving London on Saturday and somehow failed to convey that we would be arriving in Singapore on Sunday.
Many years ago I missed a trip to Venice. To the wonderful hotel. A free trip. Why did I miss it? Because I assumed the flight went on a working day, a weekday, Monday, but it actually left on Sunday.
I arrived at Heathrow to find my flight was yesterday. Unfortunately, the PR was not understanding. I offered to pay for my own flight out. She was not interested. As far as she was concerned, I had missed the welcome dinner, embarrassed her, let her down, was unreliable. End of story.
For me of course it was not the end of the story. Every time I hear the word Venice I think of my missed trip.
It is no consolation to know that many people, worldwide, have missed trips and events. But at least I can do my part in trying to help myself and everybody else arrive the right day and the right time.
Why State The Year?
Websites often refer to an upcoming event without stating that it is this year. If you do a search on Google, up come several websites referring to last year or even as far back as ten years ago, or the most read site which might be the inaugural meeting 100 years ago!
When I am looking for an event, which might have happened last month, I am often looking for the date of the event next year so that I can plan ahead.
Which Weekday?
I find it really helps to have the day of the week and the year for every travel date and meeting date.
Oops!
I often receive emails about meetings and one of the recipients writes back to everybody, the sixteenth of November is not a Monday. The sender of the original email was looking at this month's calendar instead of next month's or even this year's diary for a date next year.
When Is 'Next' Saturday?
Many years ago I missed a trip to Venice. To the wonderful hotel. A free trip. Why did I miss it? Because I assumed the flight went on a working day, a weekday, Monday, but it actually left on Sunday.
I arrived at Heathrow to find my flight was yesterday. Unfortunately, the PR was not understanding. I offered to pay for my own flight out. She was not interested. As far as she was concerned, I had missed the welcome dinner, embarrassed her, let her down, was unreliable. End of story.
For me of course it was not the end of the story. Every time I hear the word Venice I think of my missed trip.
It is no consolation to know that many people, worldwide, have missed trips and events. But at least I can do my part in trying to help myself and everybody else arrive the right day and the right time.
Websites often refer to an upcoming event without stating that it is this year. If you do a search on Google, up come several websites referring to last year or even as far back as ten years ago, or the most read site which might be the inaugural meeting 100 years ago!
When I am looking for an event, which might have happened last month, I am often looking for the date of the event next year so that I can plan ahead.
Which Weekday?
I find it really helps to have the day of the week and the year for every travel date and meeting date.
Oops!
I often receive emails about meetings and one of the recipients writes back to everybody, the sixteenth of November is not a Monday. The sender of the original email was looking at this month's calendar instead of next month's or even this year's diary for a date next year.
When Is 'Next' Saturday?
I wrote to a group in Singapore that we were meeting 'next Saturday'. A Singaporean told me I should have said this Saturday, because 'next Saturday' meant the following Saturday.
I am sure anybody in London would think that next Saturday or next weekend means the nearest one and 'the one after next' means the following Saturday. However, I concede that her statement is more grammatically correct, less ambiguous, as well as avoiding any misunderstanding.
Are there any dictionary or classical or authoritative rules on this? It doesn't matter. The important point is to check and double-check every date, and give as much information as possible.
In the Polyglots webpage forum somebody raised the question of next September being understood as being this year, whilst next year was the following year. I replied:
Eddy, that's very interesting, bringing up months and years, which are more distant. I agree that next September would be the one this year. As for summer, I concede I might say, 'I can't see you this summer, but I can see you next summer,' as my Singaporean friend suggested. I also seem to recall a nursery rhyme, for a game supposedly predicting the future from folded paper: This year, next year, sometime, never.
Now let's move onto the question of times in other countries.
Clocks
In the Polyglots webpage forum somebody raised the question of next September being understood as being this year, whilst next year was the following year. I replied:
Eddy, that's very interesting, bringing up months and years, which are more distant. I agree that next September would be the one this year. As for summer, I concede I might say, 'I can't see you this summer, but I can see you next summer,' as my Singaporean friend suggested. I also seem to recall a nursery rhyme, for a game supposedly predicting the future from folded paper: This year, next year, sometime, never.
Now let's move onto the question of times in other countries.
Clocks
How do you remember which way the clocks go from one country to another? How about the USA and UK and Europe. I remember that when Kennedy was assassinated, it was afternoon in the USA, but we turned on the TV in London, England, in the evening.
I remember that when we lived in Washington DC the latest we could phone my parents in London, England was when my son came home from school, and if my husband came home from work early. Depending on the time of year, for British summer time. I ended up writing a note above the phone of the hours in the USA when I could phone the UK.
Night Time Or Day Time
My most embarrassing moment was phoning the USA from the UK. I had received a Christmas card from somebody in the USA after my uncle died. No address on it. They had not bothered because he knew their address. I remember when I was a teenager you always wrote the sender's address on the back of a letter so that if the letter was misdirected the post office did not open the letter to try to find the sender's address. Nowadyas with security concerns, people are less keen on putting their address on the back of the envelope. But an address inside could be helpful.
Anyway, months later, I was reading through all the entries in my late uncle's address book to try to distinguish the business addresses form the friends. Even the businesses had to be told he had died, so that they did not waste time and effort sending him reminders and offers. I came across an American address. That was it! The sender of the Christmas card. Maybe not, but I had the number so at least I could try.
I was so pleased to have solved the mystery that I grabbed the phone immediately to call whilst I had the number in front of me.
The phone rang for ages. I was disappointed, and had almost given up, when somebody answered. She sounded sleepy. I wondered if she was having an afternoon nap.
I told the puzzled woman at the other end, "You don't know me but I'm the niece of my late uncle Ronnie and I am sorry to have to tell you that he - has died."
After a silence, she said, "Ronnie who?"
"Ronnie from England."
She replied, "I am sorry to hear that your uncle has died. But I cannot recollect anybody in England called Ronnie."
"Ah," I said, Maybe you knew him by his professional name, Arthur."
"Oh, Arthur!" she replied. "Oh, no! I am so sorry. I am sorry if I sound a bit confused, but over here in California it is 4 am. And I was asleep."
I replied, " Oh my Go -sh. I hadn't realised. Shall I ring back tomorrow?"
"No," she said. "Let's talk. I am wide awake now."
Even if I had thought about the time I used to make calls to and from Washington DC I would have got the time wrong. America is thought of as a country, but it is actually a continent. Not only in terms of size, regarding population and politics. In terms of geography, the setting and rising of the sun, the time zones.
California, USA.
The USA has more than one time zone. People in New York might already be at work. People in California might still be asleep.
The moral is, check the time zone overseas, the country and the area, before you call.
24 Hour Clocks
I'll see you at nine could be nine in the morning or nine in the evening. To the speaker it seems obvious. To the listener it is no always clear. Many tickets use a 24 hour clock to avoid conclusion. This can cause more confusion if you just look at the last number and think that 14.00 if four o clock when it is 2 pm.
To be doubly safe, write down both systems, 14.00 hours (2 p.m.)
May you always arrive on time, on the right day!
Useful Websites For Travellers & Phone Callers
https://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/usa
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Date_and_time_representation_by_country
I remember that when we lived in Washington DC the latest we could phone my parents in London, England was when my son came home from school, and if my husband came home from work early. Depending on the time of year, for British summer time. I ended up writing a note above the phone of the hours in the USA when I could phone the UK.
Night Time Or Day Time
My most embarrassing moment was phoning the USA from the UK. I had received a Christmas card from somebody in the USA after my uncle died. No address on it. They had not bothered because he knew their address. I remember when I was a teenager you always wrote the sender's address on the back of a letter so that if the letter was misdirected the post office did not open the letter to try to find the sender's address. Nowadyas with security concerns, people are less keen on putting their address on the back of the envelope. But an address inside could be helpful.
Anyway, months later, I was reading through all the entries in my late uncle's address book to try to distinguish the business addresses form the friends. Even the businesses had to be told he had died, so that they did not waste time and effort sending him reminders and offers. I came across an American address. That was it! The sender of the Christmas card. Maybe not, but I had the number so at least I could try.
I was so pleased to have solved the mystery that I grabbed the phone immediately to call whilst I had the number in front of me.
The phone rang for ages. I was disappointed, and had almost given up, when somebody answered. She sounded sleepy. I wondered if she was having an afternoon nap.
I told the puzzled woman at the other end, "You don't know me but I'm the niece of my late uncle Ronnie and I am sorry to have to tell you that he - has died."
After a silence, she said, "Ronnie who?"
"Ronnie from England."
She replied, "I am sorry to hear that your uncle has died. But I cannot recollect anybody in England called Ronnie."
"Ah," I said, Maybe you knew him by his professional name, Arthur."
"Oh, Arthur!" she replied. "Oh, no! I am so sorry. I am sorry if I sound a bit confused, but over here in California it is 4 am. And I was asleep."
I replied, " Oh my Go -sh. I hadn't realised. Shall I ring back tomorrow?"
"No," she said. "Let's talk. I am wide awake now."
Even if I had thought about the time I used to make calls to and from Washington DC I would have got the time wrong. America is thought of as a country, but it is actually a continent. Not only in terms of size, regarding population and politics. In terms of geography, the setting and rising of the sun, the time zones.
California, USA.
The USA has more than one time zone. People in New York might already be at work. People in California might still be asleep.
The moral is, check the time zone overseas, the country and the area, before you call.
24 Hour Clocks
I'll see you at nine could be nine in the morning or nine in the evening. To the speaker it seems obvious. To the listener it is no always clear. Many tickets use a 24 hour clock to avoid conclusion. This can cause more confusion if you just look at the last number and think that 14.00 if four o clock when it is 2 pm.
To be doubly safe, write down both systems, 14.00 hours (2 p.m.)
May you always arrive on time, on the right day!
Useful Websites For Travellers & Phone Callers
https://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/usa
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Date_and_time_representation_by_country
Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker, teacher of English and other languages. Please share links to your favourite posts.
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