TIME, Gentlemen, Please

Letter to the Editor,

Apartado 102,

29439 BENALMÁDENA PUEBLO,

editorial@csnews.es

11005 Cádiz, pcia. Cadiz,

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17 / IV / 2009 (Printed on page 11)  (Better connections through www.costadelsolnews.es  )

As a senior with many years interest in the Earth Sciences, I welcome the opportunity to include two items concerned currently with Spain which may not have come to the attention of the Costa del Sol.

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The two items are closely connected, - one of which is stated to be a Campaign by the "Comision Nacional Independiente - ARHOE" to take place in various cities of Spain this Spring. www.horariosenespana.es on pages around 6 -7 of its home section makes that statement in Spanish.

Curiously, the reasons for both items are closely confirmed on page 2 of the newspaper in "The Weather".

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A)  The Campaign is unusual in Spain for countering the special, strange time on the clocks!

The Commission proclaims that workers and schoolchildren are unnecessarily harassed by the extraordinarily early starting time in the realtime day, as portrayed by your sun times shown on the right of the weather feature.

On the 2nd April, you showed the times to be 08:02 am and 8:41 pm - probably around San Pedro?. As "confirmation" the equivalent times in the "Diarios de Cadiz, Jerez and Seville" were 08:08 am and 8:47 pm (probably from Seville). Such times increase with the locations to the west, and vary to longer duration of the day in northern parts.

The Commission is admitting that the times here about 8 o´clock in the morning are misleading, - and both for the Winter and Summer!

It is easy to see from the middle time of the day you portray, that "High Noon" or "Culmination Time" (which is best stated in European terms as being the "true midday time") was actually at 14:22 or 2:22 pm on the clocks in Malaga. Similarly, you can easily see that true midnight was at 02:22 am !

(The most significant statement that I can make, is that in the majority of countries the endeavour is to make true midday / midnight around 1 o´clock in Summer - although in countries to the South they are around 12 o´clock - without summertime added to the clocks!).

The clocks in Spain run from 2 to more than 2 1/2 hours fast in summertime - and 1 to more than 1 1/2 hours fast in wintertime. Roughly, that has been true for about 100 years - and the "double summertime" or "double daylight saving time" began in 1918, - not in 1974, when it was recommenced after Franco stopped it after 1949 ! (? Why ?).

It should be plain that the clocks are running fast throughout the 24 hour day, so that sunrise is definitely NOT at a realistic time of 8 o´clock (or 7 o´clock in high summer), but is 2 1/2 hours EARLIER, at a time when banks are now opening up in Cadiz !

That is why the Commission has a basis for complaint, and it would seem that the outcome would be a starting time around that habitually found for the shops. Shops and major Markets have always ignored the clocktime established around 1912 to 1918, because they adhered to the sunclock time!

A serious point for consideration is that the Commission would proclaim the abolition of the Siesta break period in Spain in order to accommodate the required worktime !

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B)  The strange time on the clocks strongly affects the lives of all residents and visitors in Spain: It is most apparent to anyone present when visitors get to mealtime. The Spanish people (and officials) have always ignored the clocktime since 1912 - 1918 when it comes to the time for a meal ! Visitors are not told about the clocks, and to reserve their places for the meal, they sit it out until a hot meal is eventually available - up to 2 hours later than "normal",

However, that is NOT the point of interest !

The fast clocks, as depicted on your weather page, mean that "High Noon" is the time to take most care with precautions against the Sun ! From the USA, the UK and probably many capitals, the newspapers proclaim that "High Noon" is at 1 o´clock and care should be taken from 11 am to 3 pm. That is utterly wrong for Spain, the Canary Islands and France ! In reverse, it is also wrong for most tropically inclined countries, where 10 am to 2 pm is correct.

Because Spain is a country of wide expanse, then the safe time must be quoted as 12 noon to 5 pm (not as misunderstood by dermatologists, who believe that the Earth and Sun respect the Law of Spain, which appears to proclaim a High Noon time of 2 o´clock only).

Just either planting a stick upright in the sand, or observing the hourly positions of the shadow of a flagpole or lamp post, you can verify when the Sun is almost directly overhead on the beaches, etc., of our southerly latitudes. I urge everyone to develop the habit of sheltering (for lunch, etc.) around 2 pm - and not around 1 pm ! - after all that is noon time in realtime !

William Plumtree, M.Phil,(Lond) (74 yrs)

11005 CADIZ

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POST SCRIPT:

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 It seems to be unclear (via "livit") that the Commission is also targeting the  9  to  5  office schedule - which starts far too early in the morning - so a likely offer is for 10 am to 6:30 pm - with a concession for alunchbreak of about 1 1/2 hours !

Blog in attempted Spanish as "plumtree" in www.horariosenespana.es/foro