Every November (on the 2nd, this year), the world around me dutifully prepares for the ritual of changing our clocks. People reset their watches, adjust their microwaves, and twist the dials on their alarm clocks, as if to say, “We control time.” Meanwhile, I stand back — mainspring key in hand — and quietly refuse to participate.
It’s not rebellion for rebellion’s sake. I’ve simply grown tired of this twice-yearly charade. Standard Time feels right to me — stable, natural, and predictable. My clocks, especially the older ones, seem to agree. They’ve ticked along for over a century without needing my permission, and when I leave them alone, they reward me with consistency.
I’ve even written to my local member of parliament with a request to present a private member’s bill to put an end to this archaic practice. Crickets!
Daylight Saving Time was born out of good intentions — saving energy, maximizing daylight, and encouraging productivity. But in practice, it’s a nuisance for clock collectors and repairers. Resetting thirty or more mechanical clocks is no small task. There’s always one that resists the change, another that insists on striking at the wrong hour, and a few that make their displeasure known by stopping altogether.
Beyond the inconvenience, though, I find something philosophically off about altering time by decree. The sun hasn’t moved. The Earth hasn’t sped up or slowed down. Yet twice a year, we pretend it has, and we call it progress.
So, my clocks and I will continue to live on “Ronnie Standard Time.” Visitors might find the house confusing — one room chiming on the hour while another is sixty minutes behind — but that’s all right. In this home, time isn’t dictated by legislation. It’s kept the old-fashioned way: by gears, gravity, and the steady heartbeat of a pendulum.
When November 2nd arrives and everyone else is falling back, I’ll be staying put — right where time belongs.
Until November 3rd, that is!
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Antique and Vintage Mechanical Clocks 
I wonder how many clocks are damaged during the change from daylight savings time to eastern standard.
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For those who know what they’re doing, I’d say very little damage is likely. But I can’t help wondering how many clocks have been ruined by people with little mechanical aptitude who end up doing more harm than good.
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I do not know what promoted the change in your country but here in the United Kingdom it was to assist the railways and in so doing the profits the railway companies made. Even across our small island there is a difference as you travel from east to west and that created havoc in train timetables. History has told me that there was a lot of opposition to the change but the big force of money pushed the legislation through our parliament and so it became law. I have to confess that it IS convenient to follow the change for many day to day reasons. In actual time (pun intended) my house is approximately 18.5 minutes behind the zero meridian i.e. Greenwich Mean Time. To reset all my clocks to MY local time is easy once I calculated our exact latitude and longitude. There is however the problem of he internet. I do not know of a way to stop my mobile telephone and computers from using internationally agreed time zones. My wife insists I am just too old and grumpy. Perhaps she is correct.
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That’s a fascinating perspective, and you’ve explained it beautifully. The railways really did shape how the world keeps time, didn’t they? It’s remarkable to think how something so ordinary today—synchronized time—was once a point of real contention. I admire that you’ve gone to the trouble of calculating your true local time based on your exact position; there’s something wonderfully old-fashioned and precise about that. As for your wife’s comment—well, I’d say you’re not grumpy at all, just delightfully particular about time!
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Ron, Continue to fight the good fight. Rumor has it some politicians actually care about us. Yes, a radical concept. No one needs an extra daylight hour for the plow horses. 2025 not 1925. Sigh.
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