{"id":9808,"date":"2014-05-30T15:36:45","date_gmt":"2014-05-30T19:36:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/?p=9808"},"modified":"2014-05-30T15:38:43","modified_gmt":"2014-05-30T19:38:43","slug":"today-choppy-seas-for-the-shipping-forecast","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2014\/05\/today-choppy-seas-for-the-shipping-forecast\/","title":{"rendered":"Today: Choppy seas for the Shipping Forecast"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Peeters_Sea_storm\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Since the dawn of time, there is, there was, and there always has been…the Shipping Forecast.<\/em> We set our clocks by it. Despite\u00a0the complexities of our planet–war, famine, daytime television–the Shipping Forecast<\/em> has been there for us. \u00a0Our steady friend amid the choppy seas of life. Our rock of Gibraltar…our security blanket.<\/p>\n

Regardless of our diverse beliefs (or unbeliefs), it seems we all<\/em> believe in the Forecast<\/em>.\u00a0We somehow find ourselves regularly returning to its\u00a0altar, taking\u00a0comfort in\u00a0its soothing\u00a0ministry<\/a>.\u00a0And why should we not? It’s been there, without fail, for ninety<\/em> years.<\/p>\n

That is…until\u00a0this morning.<\/p>\n

This morning, BBC Radio 4, who produces the Shipping Forecast<\/em> experienced some technical difficulties. These, alas,\u00a0led to a failure to broadcast the Forecast<\/em> for the first time in, yes, ninety years<\/em>. \u00a0Andy Sennit shares this article from The Guardian<\/em><\/a>:<\/p>\n

It was early-morning chaos and warnings of impending armageddon when BBC Radio 4 failed to broadcast the Shipping Forecast for the first time in more than 90 years.<\/p>\n

The BBC radio service is something of an institution, metronomically broadcasting four forecasts a day since 1924, a routine which failed for the first time at 5.20am on Friday.<\/p>\n

A technical glitch meant the BBC’s World Service was played in its place, a gaffe that prompted listeners to take to Twitter to voice their bewilderment.<\/p>\n

Kirsty Connell said: “Eep. The shipping forecast didn’t get broadcast on @BBCRadio4 this morning. Isn’t that the sign of impending nuclear armageddon?”<\/p>\n

Jordan Rowland added: “No shipping forecast? If UK submarines don’t get shipping forecast, don’t they launch nuclear attack?”<\/p>\n

The BBC was only able to resolve the issue at 5.40am when it cut back to the Radio 4 programme. Friday morning’s Shipping Forecast eventually aired 6.40am.<\/p>\n

[Continue reading…<\/a>]<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

If this news has greatly unhinged you (as it has me) rest assured: \u00a0the world continues. Thus the Forecast<\/em> will await us at its regularly scheduled time tomorrow morning.<\/p>\n

(Readers, thanks for letting me wax poetic.)<\/p>\n

Confused? If you’re wondering what the Shipping Forecast is, check out this previous post.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Since the dawn of time, there is, there was, and there always has been…the Shipping Forecast. We set our clocks by it. Despite\u00a0the complexities of our planet–war, famine, daytime television–the Shipping Forecast has been there for us. \u00a0Our steady friend amid the choppy seas of life. Our rock of Gibraltar…our security blanket. Regardless of our […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[3,305,288],"tags":[1347,2964,2965,2734,2966],"class_list":["post-9808","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","category-nostalgia","category-radio-history","tag-bbc-radio-4","tag-bbc-radio-4-shipping-forecast","tag-no-shipping-forecast","tag-shipping-forecast","tag-shipping-forecast-failure"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pn3uc-2yc","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":8333,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2014\/04\/and-now-the-shipping-forecast\/","url_meta":{"origin":9808,"position":0},"title":"And now, the Shipping Forecast…","author":"Thomas","date":"April 11, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"When I lived in the UK, I would often fall asleep and\/or wake up to the Shipping Forecast:\u00a0a BBC Radio broadcast of weather reports and forecasts for the seas around the coasts of the British Isles. Though I had, of course, no real need of the Forecast, on many occasions\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "AM"","block_context":{"text":"AM","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/am\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"shipping-forecast-locations","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/shipping-forecast-locations.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/shipping-forecast-locations.png?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/shipping-forecast-locations.png?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":29909,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2017\/12\/atlas-obscura-this-weather-report-has-been-making-waves-for-150-years\/","url_meta":{"origin":9808,"position":1},"title":"Atlas Obscura: “This weather report has been making waves for 150 years.”","author":"Thomas","date":"December 31, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Eric McFadden (WD8RIF), who notes that the excellent website, Atlas Obscura, recently featured The Shipping Forecast: Why a Maritime Forecast Is So Beloved in the United Kingdom For the penultimate song on their 1994 album Parklife, Blur chose the swirling, meditative epic, \u201cThis Is\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "AM"","block_context":{"text":"AM","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/am\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/shipping-forecast-ship.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/shipping-forecast-ship.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/shipping-forecast-ship.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/shipping-forecast-ship.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":61113,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2024\/11\/the-shipping-forecast-a-special-1993-filmed-version\/","url_meta":{"origin":9808,"position":2},"title":"The Shipping Forecast: A Special 1993 Filmed Version","author":"Thomas","date":"November 15, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor and good friend, BJ Leiderman, who shares the following video on YouTube--a special Shipping Forecast tribute: On 18 December 1993, as part of the Arena Radio Night, BBC Radio 4 and BBC 2 collaborated on a simultaneous broadcast so the shipping forecast \u2013 read\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Longwave"","block_context":{"text":"Longwave","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/longwave\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/shipping-forecast-locations.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/shipping-forecast-locations.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/shipping-forecast-locations.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":13047,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2015\/04\/shipping-forecast-tribute\/","url_meta":{"origin":9808,"position":3},"title":"Shipping Forecast tribute","author":"Thomas","date":"April 25, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to @realmarkfahey who shares this tribute to the Shipping Forecast via Twitter: https:\/\/twitter.com\/bbcradio4\/status\/591484237200510976 If the embedded tweet above does not appear, click this link to listen via the web.","rel":"","context":"In "AM"","block_context":{"text":"AM","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/am\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"shipping-forecast-locations","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/shipping-forecast-locations.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/shipping-forecast-locations.png?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/shipping-forecast-locations.png?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":14959,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2015\/09\/the-demise-of-longwave-could-lead-to-the-end-of-the-shipping-forecast\/","url_meta":{"origin":9808,"position":4},"title":"The demise of longwave could lead to the end of the Shipping Forecast","author":"Thomas","date":"September 29, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post reader, Erica, who writes: \"I saw this article about the demise of the Shipping Forecast on Radio 4 Longwave and thought readers might be interested: http:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/culture\/tvandradio\/bbc\/11892805\/End-of-Shipping-Forecast-on-long-wave-radio-could-leave-sailors-high-and-dry.html I'm not a fan of DAB radio and my bedroom radio aerial has to be positioned just so to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Longwave"","block_context":{"text":"Longwave","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/longwave\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"shipping-forecast-locations","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/shipping-forecast-locations.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/shipping-forecast-locations.png?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/shipping-forecast-locations.png?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":27700,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2017\/08\/the-shipping-forecast-celebrates-150-years\/","url_meta":{"origin":9808,"position":5},"title":"The Shipping Forecast celebrates 150 years","author":"Thomas","date":"August 24, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"(Source: The Guardian) Consternation, mourning and\u00a0national soul-searching\u00a0greeted the\u00a0temporary silencing of Big Ben last week, but at least another favourite fixture of the nightly and early morning radio is to continue. The hymnal cadences of Viking, North Utsire, South Utsire, through Shannon, Rockall, Malin all the way to south-east Iceland, will\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Broadcasters"","block_context":{"text":"Broadcasters","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/broadcasters\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Met-Office-Shipping-Forecast-1024x1024.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Met-Office-Shipping-Forecast-1024x1024.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Met-Office-Shipping-Forecast-1024x1024.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9808","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9808"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9808\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9808"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9808"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9808"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}