Is it time to leave our clocks in daylight saving time all year round? Photo / 123rf.com
Is it time to leave our clocks in daylight saving time all year round? Photo / 123rf.com
We feed our animals around about the same time every day.
Usually, about 6.45am and again between 4pm and 4.30pm. If we are late in the morning, we usually find the rooster, The Admiral, outside the door.
He walks next to Mr Neat back to his ladies, pops in thegate and waits for his breakfast.
During the week when we get home from work, they run like crazy things to the fence. On the weekends, every time you step outside, they run to the fence hoping for some treats.
Jack (my horse) also knows what time his breakfast and dinner is coming. He calls out to me in the morning when I go out to the hay shed and at night when I step out of the car.
The trouble is, no one told Jack or the chickens about daylight saving. They didn’t know that at 3am, everyone in New Zealand gained an hour.
The morning was fine because I was up early, and even though the clock said 7.30am, they were delighted to see us. The rest of the day was busy with this, that and the other thing, visitors, cooking, and enjoying some time outside in the beautiful sunshine.
About 4.15pm, I thought I’d spend some time with Jack. So in he came to have a lovely brush and his feet attended to.
Linda Hall is assistant editor at Hawke's Bay Today. Photo / Warren Buckland.
Usually when I do his feet, he doesn’t put a foot wrong. But on Sunday, he was not a happy boy. By this time it was 4.45pm, so I thought, ‘Oh, he’ll be getting hungry’.
Then it dawned on me. Crikey, no wonder he’s grumpy, he wants his dinner. He hasn’t gained an hour. He tells the time by the light of the day. It was back to the paddock for his dinner.
It made me think back to the days when my children were little, and the battle we had at bedtime when the clock went forward and then backward. It was either a battle to get them to sleep or, at the other end, to get them out of bed.
I love daylight saving. In fact, I think we should keep daylight saving hours all year round. If we like more light in the summer, why the heck would we not like more light in the winter?
Why do we need to plunge ourselves into dark evenings? Isn’t it better to leave it dark in the morning?
The lighter mornings only last for a while anyway, and then we are back to getting up in the dark.
New Zealand introduced daylight saving way back in 1927, with dates and times changing over the years.
During World War II, it was extended to cover the entire year. What a great idea. Let’s do that again.
According to my research (thanks Google), daylight savings didn’t reappear until 1974.
Dates have been extended over the years. In 2006 - 2007, it was extended to its current dates, the last Sunday in September to the first Sunday in April - that’s 25 weeks away, which means we spend more time in daylight saving than out of it.
Might as well make it permanent.
Pros:
Less time in the dark, especially on weekends. Just stay in bed until it’s light.
People that don’t work can sleep in and save power. Don’t get up until it’s light.
No trying to explain to your children that the time for bed has suddenly changed.
Animals won’t get grumpy.
Cons:
You won’t be able to use daylight savings as an excuse for being late to work come September.
