The changing daylight hours thread

[Bottesford]

Try cycling instead of driving in it - not only is it dangerous its both ruddy freezing and (eventually) boiling hot too!

My route takes me downhill for first 5 or so mins - from cold... So lots of windchill and no body heat yet and given that I feel coldest in the mornings it can be quite 'bracing',,, and that's before your eyes start watering from the cold. Then I get going and warm up - but warm up too much with all the layers on often ending up roasting inside but still with any exposed skin frozen. Of course if its icy/snowy I don't get to maintain any speed so remain frozen the entire trip...

Comparing to recent journeys in shorts 'n t-shirt without any inkling of discomfort (bar any chilly mornings) it couldn't be any more different!

[Wynn D Woo]

Repeat ad nauseum.....yawn!

 

I think most people get the picture does every post have to be moaning you dont like winter?

[Bottesford]

Repeat ad nauseum.....yawn!

 

I think most people get the picture does every post have to be moaning you dont like winter?

 

You're more than welcome to not read any posts by posters you find dull - we won't mind

[Radiating Dendrite]

To be fair your could just block his posts

[Jax]

Really noticed how dark it was even by 20:00 last night, it really is picking up the pace drawing in now.

[Isolated Frost]

I love being out in the cold, jogging, playing tennis/football and cycling. Takes longer to warm up and you don't sweat like hell (I know sweat's good and that, but tell me that after 3 hours in the boiling sun!). I like the warmth and sunshine, but certainly appreciate the cold and dark; being in and watching it is lovely as well.

 

Certainly noticing the nights drawing in, and waking up at 6 also means I'm starting to fall behind the sunrise!

[Wynn D Woo]

You're more than welcome to not read any posts by posters you find dull - we won't mind

If I could block you I would.

[Tamara]

The good thing about the March spell was the longer daylight hours - you could actually see it rather than it be dark most the time. Also coming home from work in the snow is a million times easier when it isn't dark. Dark rush hour in icy conditions isn't fun at all.

I also continue to get out & about in the winter - I ain't no hermit. But it definitely reduces compared to summer partly as it is cold - so you need more prep to go outside in the first place. Can't just wander out barefoot in the clothes you were wearing inside for example. But also the darkness is very restricting - with only 7 or so hours two days a week (i.e. 14 hours per week!) to choose from it doesn't exactly make it easy.

Although snow is fun and all that - the whole needing to prepare to meet the outside world and the stark contrast from indoors to outdoors I don't relish. Some call it 'cosy' - I call it 'stuffy' or 'trapping'!

The exercise and the cold sharp air outside has the stimulating effect on me that half a Kerala crop of chillies does to Laserguy! So I feel on a high by the time I get home - plus of course the excitement and enjoyment of the snow has a lot to do with that. Lots of exercise, a refreshed and buoyant mind and mood, a great appetite etc etc. What more could anyone want

 

Oh and one more thing...as the light fades, that magical ghostly whiteness that muffles everything outside as the flakes still slide past all the lamp posts...

 

Happy days!

[Milhouse]

Theres different types of cold though. On one hand you have the perishing cold easterlies that seemed to be a frequent occurence during the second half of Winter. I recall getting off the train in London one Sunday morning to a bitterly cold easterly with light snow flurries. Even walking along there was no way i was going to warm up. But then you also have the sort of day that is completely calm and sunny with temperatures barely above freezing but it still feels pleasant to the extent that after a little strenuous activity you can be in a tshirt and still feel warm enough. Cold is fine by me for a while but cold, windy and cloudy is just horrible.

[syed2878]

as much as i love summer i do enjoy getting out in a dark snowy day. Also it makes it easyer to play football.

[StretfordEnd1996]

The clocks go back in just under two months time but the darkness is already showing it's bright spark; very soon the 06:00 wake ups will get caught out by waking up in the pitch black. The evenings are now becoming notably shorter too ... in the 19:00 hrs very soon.

[feb1991blizzard]

Yes, Snowy autum si  a ripper

 

 

 

 

[laserguy]

Repeat ad nauseum.....yawn!

 

I think most people get the picture does every post have to be moaning you dont like winter?

 

Aw c'mon, cut Botte some slack - I moan for England about sun and warmth and I've got plenty of stick for it, but if we can't moan to one another on a weather forum in good humour it's a pretty poor show!

[weatherguy]

I don't really mind the dark nights too much until it breaks the 6pm barrier.  Once that is breached, it means it's quite likely you'll go to work/uni/wherever in the dark, and return in the dark...

 

That said, it gets dark now well before 8 and even now I noticed how low the sun in the sky is.  Needless to say...winter is coming.

 

[Relativistic]

The minimum temperature here for the day was recorded at 7:19am, the latest since the 26th of April. A sure sign that the darkness is encroaching further into the morning.

[Dancerwithwings]

 A sure sign that the darkness is encroaching further into the morning.

The day shortens by 4 mins a day now so by the end of september we'll have roughley around two hours less light than we have now

[Eugene]

lol stuffy is the last word I would use to describe winter, I think stuffy sums up the past week, oppressive with a lack of freshness unlike today which was gorgeous, not sure why the warmies like to be in their house when it feels like an oven, what is fun in that, modern houses built in the past 50 years really keep their heat unlike Victorian/Edwardian houses.

[Dancerwithwings]

Couldn't agree with you more Eugene, Went for a walk down the park this morning lovely blue skies which was nice and for the first time for a while a fresh feeling morning.

Just nice to get that cool air into the lungs

[Bottesford]

lol stuffy is the last word I would use to describe winter, I think stuffy sums up the past week, oppressive with a lack of freshness unlike today which was gorgeous, not sure why the warmies like to be in their house when it feels like an oven, what is fun in that, modern houses built in the past 50 years really keep their heat unlike Victorian/Edwardian houses.

 

Well mine is a Victorian house and evicting heat & light is the job its most efficient at! Warm/humid out = pleasant in here; fresh/cool out = cold in here. Winter is stuffy when you work in an airless office with 4 people+computers+radiators and you can't open the windows - remember we can't all just up and wander off for a bracing country walk whenever we like...

 

Still not had to put the heating on this year so far which is an improvement on last year. Last year switch off was late June and back on again late Aug. This year it off second week of June and it'll be at least the weekend till switch on - hopefully longer.

[laserguy]

 This year it off second week of June and it'll be at least the weekend till switch on - hopefully longer.

 

Hey Bott's I actually fired up my radiators yesterday.... but only for a few minutes to see if they were still working after their long lay-up and to avoid problems when the time comes to fire them up proper! Yep - they still work.

[cheese]

I put my heating on yesterday for an hour - and it felt absolutely wonderful. With a max in the teens for the past two days and blustery winds, it certainly hasn't felt summery.

Edited September 2, 2013 by cheese

[Polar Maritime]

Checked mine last night to, the pinging sound reminded me of the coming season.

[Bottesford]

The 'on' season is so very long compared to the 'off' season. Late August-early June was last year's 'on' season - 10 months! 

Can't say I've missed micro-managing the heating system everyday these past 3 months that's for sure...

[Isolated Frost]

On season lasts about 3-4 months here, sometimes less. We usually just wrap up more. No need for it until October/November really.

[Cheshire Freeze]

I put my heating on yesterday for an hour - and it felt absolutely wonderful. With a max in the teens for the past two days and blustery winds, it certainly hasn't felt summery.

 

Think I'm about £100 in debt with my gas meter. Those standing charges mount up! They really have you by the balls.....charged extortionately when using gas, charged when not using gas. Still, won't put me off having a harsh winter!