This solemn, rhythmic intonation of the shipping forecast on BBC radio is as familiar as the sound of Big Ben chiming the hour. Since its first broadcast in the 1920s it has inspired poems, songs and novels in addition to its intended objective of warning generations of seafarers of impending storms and gales.
Sitting at home listening to the shipping forecast can be a cosily reassuring experience. There’s no danger of a westerly gale eight, veering southwesterly increasing nine later (visibility poor) gusting through your average suburban living room, blowing the Sunday papers all over the place and startling the cat.
Yet familiar though the sea areas are by name, few people give much thought to where they are or what they contain. In ATTENTION ALL SHIPPING Charlie Connelly wittily explores the places behind the voice, those mysterious regions whose names seem often to bear no relation to conventional geography. Armchair travel will never be the same again.
Sitting at home listening to the shipping forecast can be a cosily reassuring experience. There’s no danger of a westerly gale eight, veering southwesterly increasing nine later (visibility poor) gusting through your average suburban living room, blowing the Sunday papers all over the place and startling the cat.
Yet familiar though the sea areas are by name, few people give much thought to where they are or what they contain. In ATTENTION ALL SHIPPING Charlie Connelly wittily explores the places behind the voice, those mysterious regions whose names seem often to bear no relation to conventional geography. Armchair travel will never be the same again.
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Reviews
If listening to 'Sailing By
He brings the shipping forecast to life, revealing the reality to be bizarre, quirky and fantastic
A comic tribute to a radio bulletin ... also a quirky history of the outposts of northern Europe
A real gem
One of those simple yet brilliant ideas
A wonderfully eccentric study
An engaging and often very funny book in which a metropolitan man, buffeted by winds and high seas, travels from Norway's smallest island to Europe's westernmost pointing search of the reality behind the reassuring Radio 4 recital
Attention All Shipping went down a storm with this sea lover. It has great humour. It has great atmosphere... a very entertaining read and, believe me, you'll never see cod in the same way again
If listening to 'Sailing By' to the bitter end every night is the surest sign of a Radio 4 addict, then buying Charlie Connelly's book runs it close
A wonderfully eccentric study
Charlie Connelly proves to be a suitably intelligent and amusing guide around these coastal stations and provides an illuminating history of the forecast itself
One of those simple yet brilliant ideas... A book that's as gentle and pleasing as the shipping forecast itself
Armchair travelling will never be the same again
Connelly has a light, humorous touch
An engaging and often very funny book
More than a travelogue ... anecdotes delight in the diversity of the remote communities, while biographies of unsung heroes of British maritime history emphasise that the forecast has been crucial in saving lives
A fascinating and very funny book