Time Marches On - Springing Forward

 



How many of us have woken this morning in a slight confusion about the actual time? How many times during the day will we say 'well last week it would have been dark at this time!' 

Once again we have undertaken our bi-yearly ritual and adjusted our clocks. ('spring forward' - thank goodness for a trusty saying to help me remember which way the clocks move!) No doubt I will spend the next 24 hours out of sorts, then slightly downhearted when I feel someone has taken an hour of today from me. But come next week with the lighter evenings, I will have adjusted my body clock and will be looking forward to summer.

This made me start thinking about how over the last year 'time' has become so important to all of us. With lockdowns and restrictions, we have counted the days until we can get back to some sort of normality. It is now only 7 weeks until we can welcome back visitors to the Museum, for instance. Of course, the main part of our collections charts the history of the local infantry Regiment which led me to think about how important time is in the military world. How military the day is structured with PT, meals, training, inspection...how in a conflict, working to a specific time can be a matter of life or death (going over the top at 0700hrs).

In fact, time is crucial to how the Armed Forces work. Think of the parades we have witnessed from Trooping to Colour to the local Remembrance Parade, and notice how the military are well practiced at being 'in time.'  Soldiers march in unison, designed not only to intimidate the enemy but make the soldier feel more confident, striding out with others for the same purpose. Knowing that your fellow soldier is marching beside you strengthens that feeling of being part of something; this is your family. It also instills confidence in those watching...think of those parades of soldiers marching off to fight in the First World War. The whole way of life within the Armed Forces is governed by the (24hour) clock.


Of course, our week won't feel any different and by the Easter weekend we will have adapted our routine and have forgotten that we moved the clocks at all. We will enjoy the rosy feel of long summer evenings, more daylight, evenings without turning on lights. That is until we head towards late autumn, when we 'fall back' again into short days and long nights. Appreciating that one night with an extra hour in bed. But that is a long way off. So let's enjoy spring and summer, the lifting of lockdowns and the easing of restrictions and just take today to adapt to British Summer Time.

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