The Shipping Forecast: A Beginner's Guide

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Documentary

Summary

As Radio 4 marks one hundred years of the Shipping Forecast on the BBC, Paddy O'Connell guides us through the history and meaning of 'The Ships'. From The Royal Charter Storm of the mid 19th-century, to the future of the forecast itself, he explores why the Shipping Forecast began, how it's evolved and what it actually all means. Along the way he meets people who read it, write it and use it, and discover why this is still an important supply of information

Review

Tom Goulding

Faeroes, FitzRoy, Fastnet…the Shipping Forecast is as comforting to landlubbers as it is to sailors, who depend on it for bad weather warnings.

To mark this idiosyncratic weather report’s 100th year on the airwaves, Radio 4 dedicates a day to programmes including a Soul Music episode on the theme, Sailing By, and readings from Stephen Fry, Val McDermid and Adrian Dunbar. And we can also look forward to Gavin and Stacey’s Nessa (Ruth Jones) reading the Forecast.

The Shipping Forecast: A Beginner's Guide

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