Good, Occasionally Rhyming

A collection of selected poetry and writing about the Shipping Forecast on the 100th anniversary of the first BBC broadcast.

And now, the Shipping Forecast issued by the Met Office…

Often described as a litany, mantra or lullaby, the Shipping Forecast has long been a favourite of cosy homes on chilly evenings. Its practical use as a precise reading of the marine weather around the British Isles has been largely forgotten by its recreational listeners, who instead value its gentle rhythm and curious wording as a comfort, a charm, or fail-safe formula for inducing sleep.

Its thirty-one areas, cast like a safety net, take us on a virtual voyage that starts between the Shetlands and Norway, zig-zags down the North Sea, scoots westwards along the English Channel, sailing by the coast of France, Spain and Portugal, via both sides of Ireland up to the west coast of Scotland and as far as the nearest shard of Iceland. Forties, Dogger, German Bight, Humber, Thames, Dover, Wight… These words speak to us like a spell, nonsensical in their substance, but enchanting in their delivery.

Since its first BBC broadcast in 1925, the Shipping Forecast has captured the nation’s heart. Good, Occasionally Rhyming is a love letter in poetry and prose, from Britain's literary landscape to this iconic radio broadcast.

…That’s the end of this shipping bulletin.

About the Authors

Rob Stepney writes on medicine, science, travel and The Archers for the broadsheet newspapers. He has edited three poetry anthologies, co-written two books of poetry, and contributed to Radio 4’s From Our Own Correspondent. He also paints watercolours and lives in the Cotswolds.

Kathy Clugston chairs the long-running radio programme Gardeners’ Question Time on BBC Radio 4. A former continuity announcer, she has read the Shipping Forecast hundreds of times. In 2014 she co-wrote But First This, a comic stage musical about Radio 4.