On New Year’s Day, BBC Radio 4 celebrated the 100th anniversary of the Shipping Forecast with a whole day of special programmes, highlighting how its broadcasts are part of a daily ritual for millions.
One of my favourite bits of audio from the whole day is the episode ‘The Shipping Forecast: A Haven’ from their Illuminated strand. It features interviews and profiles with the people who go out of their way to listen to the late night broadcast at 00:48. The broadcast has remarkable reach, resulting in the continuity announcers who read it receiving correspondence from all over the world, from Bangkok to Hawaii.
If you liked this documentary, also listen to Soul Music, which celebrates Sailing By, the composition by Ronald Binge that is usually played before the forecast itself.
