Good morning, lovely people. It’s Friday 23 October: one of those last bright-ish autumn mornings when the day still seems to be making a reasonable effort. This weekend brings a borrowed hour, and a reminder that the darker stretch of the year is settling in.
A quick clock-shaped clarification: when the clocks go back, mornings are lighter by the clock and evenings get darker earlier. As the weeks pass and daylight keeps shrinking, those early starts will feel darker too. The clocks go back at 2am on Sunday 25 October, becoming 1am again. GOV.UK has the clock-change dates, if your household likes its timekeeping official.
Welcome to Read with Pride’s Queer Life & Hobbies series: a little space for queer parenting, small pleasures and hobbies that don’t need to become a competitive side hustle. Let’s make a gentle plan for the hour we’ve been handed.
What to do with a borrowed hour
The extra hour is unearned, so there’s no need to spend it wisely. You could make a slow breakfast with your partner, take a walk before the day starts asking questions, or read a chapter in bed. You could also sleep through it, which is an excellent use of an hour and requires no equipment.
Parents of small children may now be laughing in a way that suggests they have already been awake since 5am. Children’s body clocks rarely care what the official time is, and some households will not be receiving this bonus hour in any meaningful sense. That’s fine. Nobody has to turn the clock change into a magical family memory.
Before Sunday becomes Monday, check the oven clock and the car clock. At least one will still be living in a different year, let alone a different time zone.
Getting ready for the darker mornings
A few small preparations can make early starts less like stumbling into a stage set for The Very Tired. Set a lamp timer, or put a warm lamp on a smart plug, so the room isn’t completely dark when you wake. Lay out clothes and pack bags the night before; morning-you deserves fewer decisions.
If you already own a daylight lamp, you might make it part of your routine. No promises or miracle claims, just one possible way to brighten a corner of the morning. Getting outside at lunchtime for natural light can also be a welcome reset. Keep the school-run torch and reflective bits by the door, where they’re easier to find than when they’re somewhere “safe”.
Shorter days can affect how some of us feel. If the season starts to feel heavy, tell a partner or friend, and have a look at the NHS mental health information for general guidance and support.
Queer parenting across the clock change
Children’s body clocks do not read the news. The clocks can change, the calendar can make a formal announcement, and somebody will still appear at the bedside asking whether 5am is morning. You are allowed to negotiate with that tiny time-traveller, though the results may be mixed.
If you have a partner or chosen family nearby, trade lie-ins where you can. Plan a slower Sunday, keep the usual bedtime routine and shift it gently across a few days rather than demanding instant cooperation from a small person with a strong commitment to their own schedule.
When the school run gets darker, make visibility part of the routine: reflective bag tags, a torch, and a quick check-in about who is collecting the children now that evenings get dark earlier. Queer families often split the load on purpose, not because every day runs smoothly, but because care works better when it’s shared. And nobody needs to be the perfect parent at 6am. If everyone is dressed and mostly kind to one another, that counts.
Darker-morning hobbies that actually suit the season
The best seasonal hobbies are the ones that fit into real life. No matching outfits or elaborate starter kits required.
Try morning pages, or a five-minute journal with a warm drink. Leave a jigsaw or crossword on the table so it’s ready for a spare moment. Experiment with porridge or set up the slow cooker for later. Start a “listen together” club: one album, no screens, opinions entirely optional.
You could pick a new walking route and time it for sunrise, or give your indoor plants a little attention while the kettle boils. These are queer hobbies in the best sense: small ways to make connection, curiosity and comfort part of the week, rather than another thing to perform correctly. They’re also excellent reasons to text the group chat: “Anyone fancy a dawn walk, or are we all just admiring our plants from bed?”
Book pick: 51 doors, one for every week of darker mornings
For a season that can feel long, here’s a book with a ready-made queer book club structure: Unfolding Doors – 51 Lesbian Coming Out Stories from Every Corner of the World – Family, Faith, Rebellion, and Love.
Set to be published in 2027, this collection has 51 chapters, each centred on a different lesbian protagonist in a different country and family structure. The stories range from a pastor’s daughter in Texas sent to conversion therapy to an imam’s daughter in London, a Sicilian Mafia princess, a dancehall star in Jamaica, a lesbian shaman in Chile, a contract-married woman in Shanghai and a North Korean defector in Seoul.
The product page describes the stories as based on real testimonies and oral histories gathered by a collective of LGBTQ+ writers and activists. That makes this a collection to add to the shelf and look forward to, and a natural fit for a book club. Try one story a week, or choose one for each meeting and give everyone room to respond in their own way.
Content note: The collection includes conversion practices, honour-based violence and police violence, alongside joy, first kisses and chosen families.
This is a lesbian coming-out-stories pick, not an MM romance recommendation. It sits alongside the many kinds of LGBTQ+ fiction readers seek: stories of identity, family, tenderness, lesbian romance and queer love stories shaped by lives around the world.
A small plan for the borrowed hour
Pick just one thing for Sunday’s extra hour: a slow breakfast, a walk, a chapter, or sleep. Then make one small kindness for the darker months ahead: put the torch by the door, set a lamp timer, or ask someone to share the school run.
And if your seasonal reading list needs a refresh, browse Read with Pride for MM romance books, gay romance novels, lesbian reads, LGBTQ+ ebooks and the strongest LGBTQ+ fiction 2026 has given us so far. Whether you’re looking for the best MM romance books 2026 has to offer, heartfelt gay fiction, queer fiction or new LGBTQ+ novels, there’s room on the shelf for different kinds of love and different kinds of readers. For anyone arriving via the mysterious search term “C Section 2026”: yes, the internet has its quirks; today’s post is about clock changes, queer parenting and making mornings gentler.
Find Read with Pride at readwithpride.com, on Instagram and Facebook. Here’s to softer starts, shared care and a little more light where we can find it.
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