I work from Glasgow, mainly for Italian clients. My computer’s set to Italian time, because that’s where the deadlines are. My watch is set 5 minutes fast, for punctuality’s sake (doesn’t always work…). I have a radio alarm set 15 minutes fast. It comes on at 6.45am.  My alarm clock (again set 5 mins fast) goes off half-an-hour later as back-up (and I still go back to sleep). But I always know what time it is. More or less.

Public holidays are another matter. Take May Day. It was celebrated in Italy last Friday, 1 May, as Labour Day. In the UK it’s today, 4 May –the nearest Monday to 1 May? If I take the Italian public holiday, I’m out of kilter here. And today I’m in UK holiday mode but am on duty. To top it all, I spent the holiday weekend (for both countries) on translation stand-by for an urgent speech revision.

Confused? Yes.

By Marian Dougan