How to use the online alarm clock
Waiting beside the canal lock, you are watching the water and checking the time so the excursion boat does not arrive unnoticed. An alarm set for 12:20 pm gives you a definite moment to look up, move towards the meeting point or signal to anyone with you. It also leaves 40 minutes before 1:00 pm, enough to meet the boat without treating the whole midday hour as waiting time.
Because the excursion boat has a fixed meeting moment, the browser alarm needs a device that will remain awake until it sounds. A laptop that goes to sleep early may stay silent, and the same applies if the alarm page is no longer running; either could leave the boat arriving while your attention is elsewhere. Setting the volume beforehand and keeping the screen active avoids relying on a signal the device can no longer produce.
Once the boat has reached the lock, note what must happen later that afternoon before settling into the visit. Midday plans can run on when lock traffic, boarding or a towpath queue takes longer than expected, so leave a separate margin before the next commitment. Using 1:00 pm as a simple checkpoint helps preserve that margin without repeatedly checking the clock during the meeting.
Common questions
Will it still be right when the clocks change?
Yes. It reads your device's local clock, so the move between GMT and BST at the end of March and October is picked up automatically, as long as the computer's date, time and time zone are set correctly.
Can I use this on a phone?
It works in a mobile browser, but phones lock the screen and suspend background tabs far more readily than a laptop does, which can stop the alarm sounding. For anything important, a desktop or a plugged-in laptop is the steadier option.
Does the alarm still work if I close the tab?
No. Everything runs inside this page, so closing the tab — or quitting the browser altogether — ends the countdown there and then. Leaving it open in the background is all it asks, and switching to another tab makes no difference.
What happens if my laptop goes to sleep before 12:20 pm?
The tab sleeps along with it and the alarm will not sound on time, if at all. If you are relying on it, change the power settings so the machine stays awake, or keep a phone alarm running as well.
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