Sunday saw the clocks go forward meaning we get more sunlight at the end of the day.
Gwent business people have been telling us what they think of the twice-yearly time change and what it means for their business...
James Pugh, of County Industrial Supplies, Cwmbran
I think it is quite overdue to re look at the clocks changing. I did a quick bit of research and the idea of single/double Summertime – SDST system means that we will get an extra hour in the evenings in summer, so the sun will rise later and set later. This however is for personal gain and I have never seen it have any effect on business, although if they don’t come in with a smile on their face they have to go in the stores and count all the fastenings.
Clive Thomas, managing partner at Watkins & Gunn Solicitors
I think the clocks changing on Sunday will be beneficial for most businesses - it's not just golfers and the barbecue industry which benefit from extra daylight!
It can have a real effect on energy. By which I don't just mean people using less electric. I mean that people are energised by getting up for work in the sunlight and knowing they have longer evenings post work to enjoy recreational activities. This translates to a happy and more motivated workforce which is always a good thing for your business.
Gerald Davies, executive chairman, Kymin, Newport
The original reason for changing the clocks, we were told, was that if we didn’t it would still be dark in Inverness at 11 o’clock in the morning. I am wondering, therefore, whether we should wait for the result of the referendum on Scottish Independence, before making any decision. If they vote to go their own way, then presumably they can be in their own little time zone. As for the current arrangements, they are merely an inconvenience but will obviously affect some businesses. As an aside, I often go to Madeira in January/February. Because it is quite a long way west of us, though on the same time zone, it is darker in the morning but light until seven in the evening.
Terry Edgell, executive director, Premier Forest Products, Newport
The clocks going forward an hour to introduce British Summer Time makes a big difference to the working day and provides a big lift for our staff. Coming to work in the dark and going home in the dark can be soul destroying and there’s a noticeable shift when the clocks change and you not only arrive for work in daylight, but leave for home at the end of the day with the sun in your face and the prospect of a being able to spend some quality time in the garden, at the park or even on the beach. Wouldn’t it just be great to be able to do that every day? But, of course, that would mean having to emigrate!
John Newell, owner, Kingston Newell Estate Agents, Newport
The clocks going forward is good for my business because the lighter evenings enable us to book in more viewings in the late afternoon and early evening at the time of the year when the housing market is at its most active.
Joanna Ingles, Llicensed conveyancer in the Newport office of Howells Solicitors
The extra hours of daylight in the evenings allows house sellers to do any DIY required to their houses in the evening before putting them on the market and house buyers often make the most of the additional daylight to view properties they have seen online for themselves after work. I think there is a general feel good factor associated with the longer evenings.
Gareth Jones, director, Audere Medical Services Limited, Usk
The actual time change means that our engineers have to manually reset some of the medical decontamination equipment we work on in the different hospitals around the country but apart from that it doesn’t really affect us. Persoanlly, the additional daylight hours in the evening allows me to get out and about in the evening going for a run in the Usk countryside which isn’t a bad thing at all.
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