CLOCKS GO BACK? WHEN? What to do, UK, USA and Co-ordinating

 In the UK British summer time ends the last Sunday in October. In 2024 that is October 27th.

SUMMER TIME SATURDAY

The clocks change after midnight on Saturday, so if you are in bed before 2 a,m, no problem.

Two in the morning is the change over TIME

WINTER TIME SUNDAY

When you get up in the morning some of your clocks may have updated themselves. In the UK my family's computers, laptops, mobile phones, and clocks on radio links had adjusted

 themselves.

. 

Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

Old fashioned watches with the four teeny wheels had to be checked by hand. You might want to check your car clocks. Also we had to do the cooker and the microwave.

Portugal

Portugal, which is on the west of Europe, keeps the same time as the UK, including the British summer time changed forward and back on the same dates. 

EUROPE

The rest of Europe also keeps summer time and changes their clocks. However, France, Spain and the rest of Europe, being geographically further east, are an hour different.

Memory Aid

A good memory for when you change times and in which direction, is in American English. It is Spring forward, Fall back.

The clocks change over the weekend to minimize disruption to the working week.

How does this change affect your Sunday.? In the morning, if you went to bed at midnight nd got up at 8 am, you had eight hours sleep, but the clocks are re-set to seven so you have an extra hour in the morning. 

However, in the evening, when your body clocks says it is midnight, the clocks are telling you it is only 11 pm. If you  go to bed at your body clock time you will be tired if you get up at the clock time on Monday morning.

If it gets dark at 7 pm, yesterday (Saturday) in London or Lisbon, today Sunday the clocks are saying it is only 6 pm when it is getting dark in the UK and Europe from now on it gets light earlier in the morning (supposedly helping farmers) but dark earlier in the evening so we need the Xmas lights to brighten the streets for shoppers and drivers from November.

USA

America observes daylight saving time, except for the states of Arizona and Hawaii.

AUSTRALIA

The seasons are reversed. Clocks change on different days.

Please share links to useful posts.

When Do The Clocks Change This Year?

From Simple Wikipedia. Daylight Saving Time.

The Americans have a useful saying to remind us all: Spring forward, fall back. This is a double pun in the USA where Fall means autumn. I looked at again, a single pun or double pun? Spring is a pun, Spring the season, and spring as a verb meaning direction of a moving human or animal or object.

I looked online and read that the clocks move forward on the second Sunday in March. I marked that in my diary. Then I thought, what about the UK and USA being different. It turned out that the second Sunday in March is the American date.  Sunday the 13th. Lucky, if you were born that day, or unlucky, if you are superstitious.

In the UK the clocks change on Sunday March 27th. That date is marked in my 2022 diary, which I bought in the UK. 

In 2004 on Mrch 28th. Back again in October. 

(I am saving this text for safety. More pictures and text shortly. Stay tuned or come back for more useful stuff!)

Useful Websites

Wiki

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daylight_saving_time_by_country

Other

Fascinating story about Israel, Jewish New Year, the British, and the Palestinians:

http://www.webexhibits.org/daylightsaving/g.html

https://24timezones.com/difference/

https://24timezones.com/difference/uk/singapore

Author

The Author

About the Author Angela Lansbury

BIOGRAPHY

Angela Lansbury B A Hons ACG ALB PM5 EH5 DL5 VC5 
The Author of several books including  Etiquette For Every Occasion. Wedding Speeches & Toasts. How to be the Best Man. Quick Quotations. Who Said What When.

Blogs travelwithangelalansbury.blogspot.com

dressofthedayangela.blogspot.com

translateforfun.blogspot.com

Braddell Heights Advanced Toastmasters Speakers Club Vice President Public Relations (VPPR), Previous President

Join BHA 1st Wednesday 7pm and 3rd Saturday 2 pm Singapore time 

Vice President Public Relations (VP PR) of Tampines Changkat Advanced;

Secretary of weekly online Singapore International Dynamic Toastmasters Speakers’ Club;

Member and past president of Harrovians toastmasters club, UK; Past member of HOD Toastmasters, London. Past member in Singapore of: Toastmasters Club of Singapore (TCS); Tiarel; and Senja Cashew.

More details from Toastmasters International find a club.

Regular attendee at annual Swanwick Writers’ School, England.

Regular attendee at annual Writers’ Holiday, Wales.

Contributor to poetry readings, and after tea courses on: Speaking On Radio To Promote Books; and Plots And Character.

Winner of many club and area speaking contests in the UK and Singapore.

Language advisor to Empire Toastmasters club in Indonesia.

Language and speech workshops in Singapore.

Speaker on radio and TV in England, Scotland, the USA, and Australia.

Compiler of a school course on public speaking for teachers to prepare pupils for school open days with attending ceremonies before government ministers, Singapore.

Former member of Harrow Writers’ Circle, London, and two writing groups in Singapore.

Angela is on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Twitter. She would be delighted to link up with new friends.

 Please share links to your favourite posts.

Books by Angela Lansbury
How to be the best man. (Ward Lock / Cassell.)
Wedding Speeches and Toasts.(Ward Lock / Cassell.)
Unforgettable British Weekends.
Poetry Workshop Workbook.
The Tailor and the Spy. (Lulu.)
Larry The Talking Labrador. (Lulu.)
Writing Poetry for fun.

Quick Quotations

Who Said What When

 

When Do The Clocks Change In The UK? The USA? Other countries?

Map of time zones from Wikipedia. As you see, some continents contain different zones. Best to check locally. One year we drove from Portugal to Spain at Christmas and found that the clocks were an hour different - which meant that we were still on Portuguese time and were still happily eating our Christmas dinner and puzzled when the anxious Spanish staff were trying to hurry us up had already sat down to start theirs.

Problem
When do the clocks change? I was sent a notice on Facebook that clocks change on March 11th 2018. A UK friend replied: "Not in the UK!"

As I suspected, 11th March is the date of the clock change in the USA, also Canada and Mexican northern border cities.

So when is the time change in the UK?

Answer
I checked online. In the UK it is the last Sunday in March. Who says?

https://www.gov.uk/when-do-the-clocks-change (Link repeated at end of post.)

If the government says so, they should know.

More details from:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daylight_saving_time (Link repeated at end of post.)

In the UK the debate rages backwards and forwards every year. The farmers want things left the way they are.

However, road safety societies say we can reduce accidents by abandoning the system. You might like to look at the past and future pronouncements by the AA (British Automabile Association) and RAC (British Royal Automobile Club).

The UK is an hour different to European time. This is bad for business. Changing to be on the same time as everybody else would be more convenient.

To minimise disruption, in the UK the clocks change at 1 am on the Sunday morning, in effect an hour after midnight on the Saturday night. So for the majority who don't work on Sunday, less inconvenience.

One of the best things we ever did in my UK home was to buy a radio-controlled kitchen clock. First thing in the monringk over breakfast, we know the real time. We can then check other clocks, the free-standing clocks and wall clocks, the clocks on ovens and microwaves, on watches and in cars.

On Friday and Saturday we have sent out reminders to everybody attending meetings over the weekend. Our biggest problem is the Sunday afternoon book group. There's always one person who forgets and arrives late.

If you go to the supermarket or grocery store for a Sunday newspaper and need to arrive before the papers sell out, make sure to set your alarm for the new time. You may need to re-set all the alarms on your clocks, watches and mobile phones.

I like to keep my wristwatch and car clocks five minutes fast. That give me five minutes or ten minutes in hand so I am likely to be five minutes early rather than five minutes late.

Angela's Last Top Tip
So you know which day to change the clocks, but which way do you turn them? The American saying is: Spring forward; fall back.

Useful Websites:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daylight_saving_time_by_country
https://www.gov.uk/when-do-the-clocks-change

Author, Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.

Clocks change - spring forward, autumn back.

Mark it in your diary:
https://www.gov.uk/when-do-the-clocks-change.
(See my posts from previous years.)

Clocks go forward	Clocks go back
2017	26 March	29 October
2018	25 March	28 October Clocks change midnight Saturday. Remind people on Sunday and Monday.