The Shipping Forecast

[classic33]

90 Years old this year.

 

[tyred]

It would need to forecast a hurricane to blow out all those candles.

 

[Fnaar]

 

[stephec]

Not as old as my Nana.

 

[accountantpete]

Here's the forecast with added wind

 

[gbb]

Some things remind you of childhood. I used to listen to a portable radio in bed, from foreign lanuage stations that made me wonder where they were from..and the shipping forcast..dogger bank, german bight, biscay, they all seemed so interesting somehow.

 

[shouldbeinbed]

apparently they've renamed the area Finistere to Fitzroy.

I've no idea why as I'm not a sailing buff nor Francophile but I was quite miffed by that.

 

[AnythingButVanilla]

I love the Shipping Forecast and received a tea towel with a map of the areas on it for Secret Santa a couple of years ago.

 

[colly]

apparently they've renamed the area Finistere to Fitzroy.

I've no idea why as I'm not a sailing buff nor Francophile but I was quite miffed by that.

February 4 one of the best known areas Finisterre will disappear for good. It's being renamed after complaints from Spain.

The name Finisterre has been part of the UK Shipping Forecast since 1949. Britain uses the term to refer to a 90,000 square mile area of Atlantic Ocean off the North West

The problem is, Spain also uses the name Finisterre for a much smaller zone in the same ocean. The United Nations World Meteorological Organisation has decided this could confuse sailors and has ordered Britain to rename its Finisterre sea area.

British broadcasters will rename the zone FitzRoy, chosen in memory of the founding father of the Met Office, Admiral Robert FitzRoy, who allegedly committed suicide in 1865, frustrated that his forecasts couldn't prevent ships from sinking at sea.

Cribbed from here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/today/reports/archive/features/finisterre.shtml

Edit: I think I read that the name 'Finisterre' means end of the lane lan d.

 

[Spinney]

British broadcasters will rename the zone FitzRoy, chosen in memory of the founding father of the Met Office, Admiral Robert FitzRoy, who allegedly committed suicide in 1865, frustrated that his forecasts couldn't prevent ships from sinking at sea.

Cribbed from here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/today/reports/archive/features/finisterre.shtml

Edit: I think I read that the name 'Finisterre' means end of the lane.

I think that is the same FitzRoy that was captain of the Beagle when Darwin went around the world...

 

[Spinney]

See what you can do with the words from the shipping forecast...

 

[colly]

I think that is the same FitzRoy that was captain of the Beagle when Darwin went around the world...

The very man !!

 

[Arch]

Fans of the Shipping Forecast might like to read Attention All Shipping, by Charlie Connelly, in which he visits every sea area. Lots of interesting facts, and funny too.

 

[deptfordmarmoset]

There may be some who haven't heard the impeccably delivered UKIP shipping forecast: https://soundcloud.com/nicholas-pegg/ukip-shipping-forecast

 

[Poacher]

I once wrote some lyrics to "Sailing By" (the theme tune to the shipping forecast). Never performed in public, possibly due to legislation, rather than reticence.