Frank is one of our two Flemish/Belgian weather anchors. The second one is a woman, called Sabine. However, Frank has grown into a national celebrity, not only because he’s funny, but also because he’s really defending the ‘cause’. He is what we call a ‘green guy’, always trying to do things that are beneficial to the environment and our planet in general. Wind or rain, heat wave or pour-down, nothing can stop him from cycling to the television studios. Not because he can’t afford a car, but simply because he wants to protect nature.
This is Frank and tomorrow's weather forecast.
The red triangle under the central 'H' is Belgium.
The red triangle under the central 'H' is Belgium.
He also has a keen interest in astronomy, follows the comings and goings of the space station ISS and spices up his weather talks with all kinds of interesting facts … like the history of Summer and Winter time! During his weekly weather talk on one of our popular radio stations – radio 2 (click on the link and select "luister live" if you want to listen to some Belgian radio) – he came up with this story:
Before 1892, in Europe, each country used to have its own time-zone. In the second half of the 19th century, when the first train started running in many countries, it very quickly became clear that a common timetable was indispensable. Therefore, all over Europe, or at least in the countries where trains were running – clocks were synchronized in order to facilitate international travel.
During WW1, when Germany took over the rule of a large part of Europe, Summer time was introduced for the first time. Between the two WW some kind of Summer time was maintained, but it was only during WW2 that the original German system was to be introduced again.
From 1946 till the first half of the 1970-ies, most European countries went back to a uniform time all year round. But starting 1972 and the beginning of the oil crisis, little by little European countries started to introduce Summer and Winter time again, in an attempt to save fuel and electricity. Belgium has been following this rule since 1977.
There is a lot of controversy about it: farmers pretend that it upsets their cows, which give less milk; people with small children say that it has a negative impact on their children’s sleeping habits … and so on. Personally, I don’t mind moving into Winter time, as I really appreciate the extra hour of sleep we get … especially as the effect lasts for several months. I do loath going into Summer time though, as it takes me weeks and weeks to adapt to the new schedule.
What are your feelings about Summer and Winter time and do you feel/dread the change-over?
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