Good, Occasionally Rhyming

A collection of selected poetry and writing about The Shipping Forecast on the 100th anniversary of the first BBC Broadcast.Humber, Thames, Dover, Wight; Forties, Fisher, German Bight Described as a litany, mantra or lullaby, the Shipping Forecast details wind, rain, pressure and visibility in the seas bordering the British Isles. 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, down the coast of France, Spain and Portugal, and then via both sides of Ireland up to the west coast of Scotland and the nearest shard of Iceland. The forecast is delivered using a precise vocabulary and with all the expressive qualities of a metronome. And yet, the nation loves it. Good, Occasionally Rhyming is a love letter to this iconic radio broadcast through poetry and prose.