Why do we change the clocks?

Today is a significant day in our calendar because the clocks go back and Greenwich mean time will soon be with us. I post blogs at five past midnight so it hasn't started yet but we all have to change our clocks and watches if we haven't done so already. So why do we change the hours?

British summer time is also known as daylight saving time and it is to give more time in the summer evenings for people to socialise. Winston Churchill was in favour of BST. He thought that it increases "the opportunities for the pursuit of health and happiness among the millions of people who live in this country". There are other reasons why we change the hours that include protecting our children because they go to school and get home in daylight hours.

Another reason that we change the hour is because the cows have to milked and daylight is much better for this. It is also said that the number of deaths on the road is decreased because of the change in the hour.

Well there must be a better answer. Nowadays the "pursuit of health and happiness" is not affected by the hour change. People go to gyms and sports stadia and they all have artificial lighting. The nation's greatest pastime, shopping is now all day and all night. Children soon come home in the dark and this obviously doesn't work in the depths of winter or even when we have exceptional bad weather. If we were really concerned about the safety of our children caused by the dangers of darkness then school hours should be seasonal.

I am not sure about the evidence for deaths on the road but it strikes me that the more obvious answer is to do with improving rush hours rather than change our clocks. As for the cows this must be the most ludicrous reason for change - they can't tell the time!

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