The clocks are back at present - we are currently on Greenwich Mean Time, one hour behind Central European time. On the last Sunday in March the clocks go forward one hour, at 1 am. This year (2011) they will go forward on Sunday 25 March; this new time is called British Summer Time. Other European countries also put their clocks forward in the summer, so you still have the same time difference.

On the last Sunday in October the clocks go back one hour, returning to GMT. This will happen on 30 October this year. Again, other European countries will change back too, so they are still one or (eg in Greece) two hours ahead of the UK.

Britain may not stay on this system for ever. At the moment it's being debated whether it might be better to change to Central European Time, both to be in line with our nearer neighbours and also because it would save a lot of light and energy. It's also believed that an extra hour of daylight in the evenings would mean fewer road accidents.