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Ready for some time travel? (The clocks are going back, and we're trying to make it interesting)

Winter Time begins tonight.

MEMBERS OF THE nation’s news media tend to pine for the return of Alan Shatter around this time of year.

Not for any particular political reason, mind (sure aren’t we all strictly non-partisan?) – but because of those laboriously whimsical press releases, whenever it was time to put the clocks back or forward.

Shatter relished his ‘Time Lord’ role when he was Minister for Justice: his twice-yearly announcements came with references to Doctor Who, reminders about “sensitive equipment and gizmos” and encouragements to “seize the hour”.

alan TheJournal.ie TheJournal.ie

In retrospect Shatter’s little jokes probably weren’t really that funny at all, were they?

But when it comes to humour from politicians – well, that famous quote about elephants playing woodwind instruments comes to mind:

“Whether it’s any good or not isn’t really the point – it’s remarkable that it happens at all”*.

Anyway, here’s what you need to know about the time change tonight:

  • Winter Time begins at 2am. 
  • That means you need to put your watches and clocks back an hour at that time. 

Spring forward, fall back.

Good news if you happen to be out clubbing, in other words. And if you need to be somewhere tomorrow morning, it’s an extra hour in bed.

*This quote may be a little bit made-up. The actual quote I was trying to remember is from Samuel Johnson and, as I’d quite forgotten, is really, really incredibly sexist.

Read: Here is the sex scene from Alan Shatter’s novel

Read: Here’s where you can still get tickets to the first showings of the new Star Wars

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17 Comments
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    Mute Dec
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    Jun 20th 2020, 7:10 AM

    If the coronavirus hadn’t taken over Brexit is all we’d have been hearing about for the past 3 months……. I’m well aware of the importance of both but I’m sick of Brextit and Covod 19.

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    Mute Michael Kavanagh
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    Jun 20th 2020, 7:29 AM

    @Dec:
    Well – As Leon T said:
    “You may not be interested in war, but war is interested in you”

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    Mute Dec
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    Jun 20th 2020, 11:51 AM

    @Michael Kavanagh: A Trotsky quote to make a point re the advancement of capitalism…. however unlikely it may be it’s an excellent quote and very apt in this instance! It’s the reason we keep reading and commenting on Brexit and other such articles even when we’re completely disillusioned with them all!

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    Mute willow moon
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    Jun 20th 2020, 11:11 AM

    ‘The Duchy of Lancaster’…..God what is it with these people.

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    Mute Heisen berg1
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    Jun 20th 2020, 9:23 AM

    It just showed how much the readers of the journal are interested in brexit, this storey is up 2 hours and only 2 post about it. I got bord after the scend line .

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    Mute John Daly
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    Jun 20th 2020, 10:38 AM

    @Heisen thing is there is nothing to comment on

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    Mute *.stevem.*
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    Jun 20th 2020, 10:05 AM

    “…which was illuminating in showing how little we still don’t know.”

    Do you even read what you write?

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    Mute Gary Kearney
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    Jun 20th 2020, 12:45 PM

    Boris the Bluffer and his cronies have shown themselves up ti be as useless as most people outside the UK saw them to be.
    1000 people a day dying from Covis-19 but they only count hospital deaths! It keeps the numbers low.
    All the lies they told about Brexit are being shown as that

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    Mute Heidi Cain
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    Jun 21st 2020, 2:49 PM

    @Gary Kearney: there are not a thousand dying each day check worlometers

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    Mute Gerry Ryan
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    Jun 20th 2020, 12:32 PM

    When the boy cried wolf he gained a reputation. British Perfidy has been around for hundreds of years. Indeed Stalin refused to believe the British when they warned him of imminent German onslaught. He thought they were lying. That’s what reputation does.

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    Mute Bríann O Connor
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    Jun 20th 2020, 10:56 AM

    Embarrassing shambles, the entire affair. Full of lies and some misplaced Empire nostalgia nonsense. Johnson is a pathological liar and unfit to be the prime minister.

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