Good, Occasionally Rhyming: A celebration of the Shipping Forecast in poetry and prose

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, ...