British Summer Time ends...
Don't forget! British Summer Time came to an end on Sunday 30th October 2011. Did you remember to put your clocks BACK one hour before you go to bed on Saturday night...

British Summer Time starts again... link
British Summer Time officially ends at 0200 hours on the last Sunday in October when clocks shall be put back to 0100 hours Greenwich Mean Time. As the clocks go back in the UK, there are fresh warnings of a rise in car accidents and more awareness of children walking to and from school is needed. The darker morning and evenings caused by the clocks being turned back an hour have been singled out as the biggest factor in the rise in vehicle accidents seen every November.

Increased Danger!
The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) say drivers should take time and effort to cope with the changing conditions. Motorists should sit in their cars for a while before moving off so they can adjust their eyes to the dark, watch their speeds, check their lights and be aware of vulnerable road users, the society said.

Parents should ensure children wear bright clothing, preferably with reflective or fluorescent strips.

Do the clocks go FORWARD or BACK?
Every year in the Spring we adjust our clocks by one hour to take advantage of the changing light conditions as the days get longer thus giving farmers more daylight to work on their arable land. The saddening thing about putting the clocks forward, we lose an hour in bed. But on a brighter note, when the days are drawing in, and it gets alot darker earlier in the day, with wet, cold and frosty mornings, we gain an hour in bed to keep snug under the quilts (by putting the clocks back in Autumn).

A simple analogy to remember which way the clocks go, is to appreciate another word for Autumn is Fall (imagine the leaves falling off the trees). So once we know that, by remembering the following little phrase SPRING Forward, FALL back. Hopefully this will help to to know whether to put our clocks forward or back

British Summer Time - A background
The idea of British Summer Time was dreamed up in 1906 by William Willett, a Surrey-born builder who believed it would be helpful to maximise and standardise daylight hours. He believed people woke up quicker and in better spirits when it was light, and suffer relatively little as the nights drew in. Mr Willett also argued it would save the country £2m a year in fuel costs. His first idea, an advance of 80 minutes rather than an hour, brought forward in four moves of 20 minutes each, was met with ridicule and derision.

Many were determined to stick to Greenwich Mean Time (GMT), which had been in existence for 25 years but had only just been adopted nationally. Railways mounted some of the toughest opposition to daylight saving, arguing time changes and a deviation from GMT could lead to more accidents. Mr Willett campaigned hard, and eventually the first Daylight Saving Bill was introduced in 1908. It was thrown out, as were two further attempts in 1909 and 1911. It finally became law in 1916, as a wartime measure because of an acute coal shortage. It then continued long after the war, and in 1925 it was made permanent by the British Summertime Act.

Did you know: Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) is also known as Zulu Time. There are 25 integer World Time Zones from -12 through 0 (GMT) to +12. Each one is 15° of Longitude as measured East and West from the Prime Meridian of the World at Greenwich, England. Some countries have adopted non-standard time zones, usually 30 minutes offset which have a * designation.

Each Time Zone is measured relative to Greenwich, England. There are both civilian designations which are typically three letter abbreviations (e.g. BST) for most time zones. In addition there are military designations. These use each letter of the alphabet (except 'J') and are known by their phonetic equivalent. E.G. Greenwich Mean Time (civilian) or Z = Zulu (military and aviation).