The British government is considering a return to a wartime phenomenon, British Double Summer Time. This is a time zone that is two hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time. But the plan also calls for Britain to keep permanent daylight saving time for the rest of year, eliminating Greenwich Time altogether. It is part of the coalition government’s European tourist strategy, which is due to be published this week. Under the scheme, clocks will go forward an hour from Greenwich Mean Time in the winter and a further hour in the summer, leading to lighter summer evenings and darker mornings. Travellers from the Eastern Time Zone (Toronto, New York etc) may not like it. They will have to adjust to a six hour time difference rather than the usual five. Supporters claim Britain’s tourism industry would earn millions extra from the move, as well as saving thousands of tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions as people turn their lights on later. Conservative MP Rebecca Harris said it would extend the tourist season and boost the economy by up to £3.5 billion a year. However, opponents insist it will make life more difficult for farmers who rise early as well as children travelling to school.

Sophie says hello on South Bayview, DEW (Day Evening Weekend) on South Bayview is definitely pushing the season and an ice house, if you please, on Inglewood Drive. It withstood the recent thaw rather well.

It was unhygienic, rude and gross, but Finger Lickin Good became part of our culture. The slogan is 60 years old now and it’s being replaced by a new slogan So Good. KFC tells the story that Finger Lickin Good was created by accident when franchisee David Harman appeared in the background of a U.S. TV commercial licking his digits. Afterward, a concerned viewer phoned a company manager who said, “Well, it’s finger lickin’ good.” It stuck and over time inspired music and a parody (right) among many other things.

There were few reports of outages in our area but some residents came perilously close to losing power. Here a Hydro crew was still at work late Saturday on Hudson Drive in Moore Park where winds nearly disconnected a neighborhood. Altogether, South Bayview-land was lucky to escape with as little damage as it did.

Say hi to Gabe, who guards the crossing at Millwood and Bessborough every day. Gabe comes a long way from Scarborough to do this part time job. She hopes it will become permanent. Sometimes when its cold — as it has been this winter — Gabe goes up to the Starbucks while the kids are in school to keep warm. If you see her, say hi.

These young volunteers are busy delivering the left over bread and buns from COBS on South Bayview to the Anglican Church Flemingdon Park Food Bank. Elizabeth 7, Sarah 13 and Kamal 12 are part of a large group from St. Cuthbert’s Anglican Church who regularly pick up food from COBS and Epi Breads and with their parents, deliver it to the food bank. On this occasion, Steve and Diane were at the wheels of their SUVs for the job. They are the parents of Sarah and Elizabeth. Sarah and Kamal are students at Hodgson Senior Public School. Diane Goldie is Co-Chair with Indra Prashad of the school council.

The government regulator has picked up the challenge of loud TV commercials again. It’s a perennial complaint but, unlike in the U.S., has never resulted in legislation in Canada. For decades broadcasters have fudged the issue by saying the peak loudness of programming and commercials was the same. It was merely that the commercials had more peaks. Uh-huh. Anyway, you can have your say by gong to the CRTC online. Read about how.
l