In 2007, the United States extended daylight savings time by three weeks. Europe did not. We will change our clocks this coming weekend.
So tonight should be the last night that I must grill in the dark. 
Now, readers in the northern US may say that I should be glad to be grilling in March at all. They underestimate one factor: rain.
It wasn’t raining when I decided to grill a chicken breast for Anita’s dinner. But this is Ireland, and a gentle but chilly precipitation began drifting around the sky by the time I started. It was a typical Irish rainfall. The drops are so tiny that they dance around like snowflakes. Rather than falling to the ground, they collect on every surface, whether horizontal or vertical. It doesn’t rain harder or softer — it’s more like the rain is more dense or less dense.
It’s not an unpleasant kind of drizzle, barring windy or cold conditions. Our little garden is very well sheltered. And throughout the year, it will rain about every second time I decide to work outside.
I don’t mind the rain. But I will be very glad to grill in sunlight for the next several months.
Our only outside light comes from a motion-triggered floodlight. The motion-detector senses my presence only when I move to a spot that is exactly 10cm beyond my reach with a grill tool while standing near the grill. So I either grill in the dark (and mistreat the food), or I leap back and forth and brandish my spatula. Depends on my mood.
Our neighbours must puzzle over the combination of flashing floodlights and American-style curses emanating from our garden.
Fun fact (Well, it’s fun for some.) : In the US, each time zone changes when it reaches 2am — in series, rather than all at the same time. In the EU, every time zone changes at once, at 0100 UTC.
6 Comments to “Last Dark Grill of the Year”
24 March 2009
I approve of combining Guinness with grilling activities. Carry on.
25 March 2009
Katherine bought me a light one christmas that went on the handle of my grill. It was very helpful, but since It runs on batteries and was outside, the insides corroded and it doesn’t work anymore. Sad…. It was something like this:
http://www.amazon.com/Weber-62101-Grill-Handle-Light/dp/B000BQNZNC
Very interesting tidbit on the DST in Europe. I’m fascinated by time zones and DST. It’s so haphazard, and I’m not even sure what the point is…. I know it’s supposed to save energy, but I don’t know how.
25 March 2009
“Guinness is soul food, said Joey the Lips.” — Roddy Doyle, The Commitments
27 March 2009
Thanks for the Tumblr article, Will (I wish I could comment on Tumblr stories!) – The one thing highlighted in the article that gets me is the comment:
“The energy-savings claims for DST, Part Deux, have been likened to cheating at Solitaire, or cutting an inch from the top of a blanket and adding it to the bottom, to make the blanket longer. In other words, maybe fewer lights are on, but people are consuming energy in other ways.”
That’s the way I feel about DST. But if the Badminton association wants more DST, I guess we should give it to them.
30 March 2009
Dave, you’re welcome to comment on Tumblr articles in any old blog post. You can’t comment on Tumblr itself, because I wouldn’t want anyone to miss your comments because they appear elsewhere!
I agree with your quoted paragraph on DST. I’d go further, though. There’s no way it’s worth the trouble, no matter how much it’s enjoyed by the aficionados of a sport that originated with British officers bored by their postings in India.
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