2 word usage questions in sentence

[alan gould]

Here's the sentence:

Aux alentours de midi, il a dit: "Je suggère que nous continuions à travailler jusqu'à une heure

1) i only knew "alentours" to mean proximity to a place.  can it also b used to mean one object is close to another?  and apparently it's used to approximate time. 

2) "jusqu'a une heure" makes sense to me if the speaker is saying they'll work until 1:00 o'clock.  if i were saying that we'll just continue working for an hour, i would've thought i had to say something like "continuions a travailler (seulement) pour une heure de plus."

    

[Chantal Savignat]

1) yes "alentours" can be used to mean "proximity" but not just to a place.

aux alentours du chateau

aux alentours de la maison

aux alentours de 3 millions de dollars

aux alentours de midi

aux alentours de 20%

aux alentours du 15 juin

....

2) yes, the speaker is saying they'll work until 1:00 o'clock

The sentence means : At  approximate 12:00, the speaker says they'll work until 1:00 o'clock