The Shipping Forecast: Celebrating 100 Years

by Meg Clothier

There’s a sea lover in every Brit.

The Shipping Forecast on Radio 4 has been keeping people in tune with the gloriously fickle British weather for a century, and capturing our hearts and imaginations along the way.

Celebrating a hundred years since the first broadcast, this book takes you to the heart of what the Shipping Forecast means to us as a nation. Each of the ten chapters brings you on a fascinating exploration of a different area of our British maritime history, from stormy weather up above to the seabed far below, and from fishing boats and battleships to the songs and poems inspired by the forecast.

This joyous book invites you to sail away into the enchanting world of the forecast, and is the perfect companion for anyone curious about our great British skies and seas.

Genres: Nonfiction

182 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 24, 2024

Reviews

[Lucy Breuning · Rating 2 out of 5]

First things first, I love the shipping forecast. It is clear that the author of this book does, too.

I think there is something inherently intimate about the Shipping Forecast, this is in part due to its unsociable broadcasting hours. Floating across the airwaves (sailing by??) at 0048 and 0520 it catches you in your more vulnerable moments.

The heavy lidded insomniac, the drunk crawling into bed, and tired parent of a crying newborn can all be united by the cryptic but comforting utterances of the ‘Shipping forecast’.

The book clearly captures the intense fondness many people have for the Shipping forecast - when it does in fact manage to stay on the topic of the shipping forecast. So that was good.

On a structural level, I found the book incredibly frustrating, as it flitted, with no chronology from discussing roman history, wooly mammoths, to the ending of the planet of the apes. The chapters were meandering and seemed to be a complete stream of consciousness, tangentially going over various facts mostly about the sea.

The tone of the book failed to land with me also, and I found the flippant / jokey tone overly self aware and very grating.

On the whole it felt like the confused love child of uni students last minute essay, and a slightly self indulgent diary. The cover is pretty, but I am tired and grumpy and might throw it in the Thames.

[Colin · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Shipping Forecast is a British broadcasting institution, loved in equal measure by mariners and landlubbers for its precision and economy of language and its accidental poetry. This BBC Radio 4 book celebrates the centenary of the bulletin by looking at its origins and impact over the years. If Meg Clothier’s narrative occasionally wanders substantially off the bearing she has set for herself, there’s ample compensation in the stories she has to tell.

[Maggie · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of my favourite memories of caravan holidays was lying listening to the rain battering on the roof & the soporific lilt of 'Sailing By' & the comforting regular way the shipping forecast was given. So when saw this book I thought this was one for me. The beginning of it was very good, dealing with the history of the Forecast & historical details of events that were brought about by the weather . However, it did seem to drift away a bit & the last third seemed to be a matter of filling up the space.

Thanks to Netgalley & the publisher for letting me read & review this book. I wasn't the most riveting book to end the year but it was a reasonable read

[Lucy Hooft · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this - whimsical, poetic, rambling at times (in a good way), filled with anecdotes, snippets and the salty scent of adventures and voyages of discovery. If the shipping forecast conjurs up for you soporific mysteries or poetic fantasies then this is the book for you.

[Daniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

An absolute must read for anyone living in the UK! Loved it

[Steve Hall · Rating 5 out of 5]

So much more than just the Radio 4 shipping forecast. A great read.