For weeks I have been telling everyone that the clocks are going forward this coming Sunday, March 11th. It made sense to me as the UK government is talking about not setting them back again this coming October. Nothing has been set in stone by the government but there is to be a discussion about it and there is a good possibility that they wont. The last time they tried this experiment was between 1969 and 1972. I personally thought it was great as I dont mind either going to work in the dark or coming home in the dark, but not both. Many people were against it and they went back to British Summer Time (BST) and Greenwhich Meantime (GMT). This time ROSPA and the save the planet mob are onto it saying that by moving the clocks forward one hour it will save a lot carbon emissions and it will cut down on road accidents. I have no idea how they came up with this conclusion but they have and it was published in a UK newspaper back in January. With the current Labour party desperate to show its green credentials this seems a goer.
So with a certain spring in my step I have been throwing back the curtains first thing every morning and thinking its not long before I can get into the garden and start tidying up, cutting lawns, hedges and cleaning the cobwebs out of the greenhouse ready to start planting for summer. It wont be dark when I get home and instead of turning on the telly I will put my wellies on and get out there. In fact I have been looking forward to it so much I have been boring the arse off so many of my friends with comments about it. Not even having to make a trip to the dentist, for a really painfull filling, could dampen my spirits over the last couple of weeks.
It was to my utter shock and complete horror that this morning, I received a couple of indignant emails telling that they were not going back at all until March 25th. I looked at the calendar again, a really special one I had been given for Christmas featuring 12 of the most rare and special Fender guitars ever built and there it was. March 11th, daylight saving begins. My mobile phone went and it was a text from the tiler crowing about how hot it was over in OZ and how he was struggling with the heat from his barbie and how he had frostbite on his hands from handling cold bottles of beer. The finishing line was "wish you were here". Green with jealousy I looked at my calendar again and the awful truth hit me. It was an American calendar with American dates in it. It was the wrong calendar………….