The changing daylight hours thread

[Bottesford]

If you were to do a survey of favourite times of year with the great British public I wonder which would come out tops?

I think reckon you might end up with a fairly well spread result with spring, summer, autumn & christmas faring well. I think the only period of time that seems universally disliked by many is January & February. 

And yes I know many on here like Jan for its snow potential but I for sure don't know anyone in real life that does (unlike for all the other times of year).

[Milhouse]

If you were to do a survey of favourite times of year with the great British public I wonder which would come out tops?

I think reckon you might end up with a fairly well spread result with spring, summer, autumn & christmas faring well. I think the only period of time that seems universally disliked by many is January & February. 

And yes I know many on here like Jan for its snow potential but I for sure don't know anyone in real life that does (unlike for all the other times of year).

 

January is just the pits. A mild and sunny one with the Spring bulbs poking through and the snowdrops out do help things though.

[hillbilly]

I must be the odd one out but to me the worst period of the extended winter is November and December and not jan and feb.It maybe colder then but spring is just around the corner than months away and the days are getting longer!

[Jax]

I must be the odd one out but to me the worst period of the extended winter is November and December and not jan and feb.It maybe colder then but spring is just around the corner than months away and the days are getting longer!

All the seasons depend on my mood and what I hope to be doing, they all have highs and lows IMHO.

Edited August 9, 2013 by Jax

[Bottesford]

I must be the odd one out but to me the worst period of the extended winter is November and December and not jan and feb.It maybe colder then but spring is just around the corner than months away and the days are getting longer!

I find myself torn between November & January for worst months. In November you've been shocked into it by the clock move but christmas is coming and people are generally happier. There's more going on and the dark/cold seems a novelty  after summer with snow to maybe look forward to. But on the flipside you know you've got ruddy months of it to go yet and its so damn awful on the roads - very much worst month of year for the commute I find.

 

In January you know its getting lighter at last and spring is coming but no one has any money, nothings going on and people are bit fed up with the dark/cold by then. Isn't 22nd Jan meant to be the most depressing day of the year? Can see why - new year optimism tends to fade as you realise spring is a long way off still, pay day can't come soon enough and the xmas glow has long faded...

[stewfox]

Definitely notice it now, sitting here in total darkness with my partner. One of us will break eventually switch the light on and make a cup of tea cira 10pm I guess.

[cheese]

I think you overestimate how much people are affected by the weather. I've yet to come across a person who is genuinely depressed during the winter. People may bemoan the cold or rain every now and again, but they're certainly not depressed because of it, and it certainly doesn't consume their life. They just continue living their life as they would during the summer, but with less time spent outdoors. People are still happy, people rarely make a reference to the weather outside of idle chit chat, and people have money. I have to say I have never noticed myself having less money during winter than any other time of the year, despite using more gas. However, I do have a gas metre, and I do not need to top it up very often - even though I use the heating more than most.

 

Anyway, to me, being severely affected by the weather has always been an alien concept, because I generally tolerate or like all weather types to a certain extent, and have never found myself in a position of depression or unhappiness because of the weather. In everyday life, the weather kind of fades into the background for me, if it's cloudy or sunny. I just don't notice it. There is nothing going on visually speaking, so I don't pay attention. I just get on with what I am doing. However, if it's searingly hot or there is a very cold, strong wind blowing, then that will make it harder not to notice the weather, because you can feel it more, and you cannot ignore it in those circumstances.

Edited August 9, 2013 by cheese

[LJS22]

I used to love the summer evenings but since i have a job now where i get up at 3.15am for work so i generally go to bed about 20.00 in the evenings on weeknights.  Daylight and heat until 22.00 wasn't pleasant for getting to sleep and as i drive for a living a good nights sleep is important so i'm quite looking forward to going to bed in cool darkness again soon.

 

Flip side is i'm now doing early morning deliveries in darkness again now where as a few weeks ago it was daylight.

[johnholmes]

sunset 2045 here and tonight, clear sky, already getting dark

[Stargazer]

Sunset 2038 here so pretty dark already.  Just returned from a week visiting the in-laws in Ireland - it's always a pleasant bonus to get the extra half hour of daylight in the evenings in West Cork.

[Norway Nut]

At  23:00 (local) still waiting for it to get dark enough to see any stars or shooting stars.  Now at 23:45 the stars are out with Capella shining away north towards Bergen and others peeping out.

[CongletonHeat]

Yes, it does seem to be a fixation with some people, and trying to defend myself for a preference I have no control over, or shrugging off implications that I'm some kind of antisocial recluse who must wish the darkness so I can hide in the shadows while I plot bad things is very tedious - and completely wrong. There's nothing wrong,as far as I can tell,with looking forward to darker days and winter.

I think you may be plotting something like this.

 

[laserguy]

Don't put ideas in my head,CH!!

[Jax]

didnt need the lounge lights on this morning even though it is cloudy.

[laserguy]

No-one can have failed to notice the shortening days now... and the whole feel of the days seem to have abruptly changed too. Autumn's benevolent fingers are reaching out to begin the stranglehold on summer's malevolence. I feel like a supporter of football whose team has suddenly gained the upper hand.  Was out with the nippa this morning - collecting blackberries!

[Isolated Frost]

Bottesford, you know you want to...

[Jax]

No-one can have failed to notice the shortening days now... and the whole feel of the days seem to have abruptly changed too. Autumn's benevolent fingers are reaching out to begin the stranglehold on summer's malevolence. I feel like a supporter of football whose team has suddenly gained the upper hand.  Was out with the nippa this morning - collecting blackberries!

blackberries here are still quite small and green, apples too are a way off yet being ripe.

[Summer of 95]

At  23:00 (local) still waiting for it to get dark enough to see any stars or shooting stars.  Now at 23:45 the stars are out with Capella shining away north towards Bergen and others peeping out.

 

Finally a clear night and dark. 1.30 am now and a definite Autumn look to the sky. Can see Fomalhaut low in the south and the Pleiades have cleared the rooftops to the NE. 

[AderynCoch]

Should be a good night to look out for Perseids.

[Summer of 95]

2 bright Perseids seen just now, one going through the Square of Pegasus and the other below Aries. And Aldebaran has risen now- that's a winter star!

[Relativistic]

Should be a good night to look out for Perseids.

Saw a couple of shooting stars last night staring out of my window, did you have any luck?

[laserguy]

My, was pretty much night at 2030 around here this evening - albeit assisted by heavy cloud cover. Still, we're getting there....

Ah, Perseids - a few years back,maybe 2007, I dragged the nippa off in the dead of night to an area of low light pollution at the supposed height of the shower and spent an hour peering skywards in vain. Got home and from the backyard of our house at the time, saw dozens amongst the yellow street light-tinged glow which tainted the sky. Grr.

[AderynCoch]

Saw a couple of shooting stars last night staring out of my window, did you have any luck?

Nope, but I didn't check for that long.

[londonsnow]

Since I moved from central London to a house in a forest I have become very aware of the night sky without light pollution. Seen several shooting stars this evening. Part of the persieds I guess!

[Coast]

Very drab this morning and a definite Autumnal feel with another trip into work with he lights on