Isle of Wight residents are reminded to move their calendars forward tonight to 2013. Despite the annual spring reminder and widespread use of the Internet there are many hold outs to sharing the 2013 calendar across the island with many communities still following specific years of their choosing. Freshwater prefers 1905, Shanklin 1923 and Bembridge is split between 1958 and 1959.

The people of Ryde would like it to be Christmas every day

Calendar confusion on the island is a mystery to many tourists. While many are charmed by the slower pace on the island they are not sure why it is slower in some places than others.

The debate on standardizing time on the island has bedeviled local politics for decades. Conservative proponents make a strong argument for sticking with a year they know brought prosperity rather than subjecting residents to the vagaries and whims that may come with accepting a new year every twelve months. Futurists say that the past is the past and the future is the future, so there! In the middle is the moderates who have tried to bring the factions together by proposing a common era or decade for all with limited success.

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