Time to Change

The European Union as a whole uses summer (or daylight saving) time from the last Sunday in March to the last Sunday in October. The change between the two takes place at 01.00 GMT.

In October, just when you get used to it getting dark at around 5.30-6.00pm we change our clocks from following British Summer Time (BST) back to Greenwich Mean Time (GMT). This means it will be dark an hour earlier, and don't we all notice it! It seems as though suddenly the nights are substantially longer.

...it's not surprising that so many people, up to one in every 20 people, suffer from SAD...

Subconsciously, many of us will feel winter has dawned. Most of us will be travelling to and from work in darkness, so perhaps it's not surprising that so many people, up to one in every 20 people, suffer from SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder) during the UK's long winter days. This is a specific type of depression that experts believe is related to a lack of exposure to daylight. It affects people at the same time each year - during autumn and winter.

The fact that we are back in GMT it doesn't mean our weather is affected. As the sun continues its journey south of the equator to bring summer to the Southern Hemisphere, winter sets in in the Northern Hemisphere. Here the sun, now at a lower angle in the sky, is weaker and sets earlier than during the summer. So the nights become increasingly longer, and this does have an affect on the weather.

In the depths of winter the nights in the UK are anything from 15-19 hours long.

In the depths of winter the nights in the UK are anything from 15-19 hours long. On clear winter nights heat escapes from the ground for longer than it does in the summer, so allowing temperatures to fall further and increasing the chance of frost.

At this time of year any tender or tropical plants in your garden will need to be well protected. Top tip: if you haven't got a conservatory then try putting your pots on polystyrene trays or wrapping the pots in bubble wrap.

Harsher frosts in the winter means a return to setting the alarm clock ten minutes earlier to make sure you have time to scrap the ice off the car windscreen! Keep watching the weather forecasts so you don't get up earlier every morning!

Colder nights can also lead to a greater chance of fog forming, another hazard for the unsuspecting motorist in the early morning rush-hour.

For me though winter isn't always doom and gloom. After all there's nothing like seeing the weak winter sunshine shining on a frosty lawn or a spider's web first thing in the morning.

As the nights draw in remember there's always the excuse for brewing some mulled wine and toasting crumpets on an open fire. Now you couldn't do that in the Mediterranean, could you?