Diverting miscellany in the Shipping Forecast canon (and there is a canon)…

Joining the shelf-ful of other books on the Shipping Forecast, Clothier’s commonplace book of personal memoir, cultural history and long asides circles the Shipping Forecast rather than simply placing it at the centre. Never attempting to explain the whole of the system itself, neither its esoteric naming conventions nor its actual use, this is an entertaining personal connection to one of our national weathervanes, which seems antiquated on paper but provides an intangible backbone to our recognised obsession with the weather, an incontrovertible truth in a world full of half-truths and shaky opinions.

Three and a half stars, rounded up to four.

A real insightful joy of a book. From the history of the shipping forecast to interesting facts associated to the zones

One of my favourite memories of caravan holidays was lying listening to the rain battering on the roof & the soporific lilt of 'Sailing By' & the comforting regular way the shipping forecast was given. So when saw this book I thought this was one for me. The beginning of it was very good, dealing with the history of the Forecast & historical details of events that were brought about by the weather . However, it did seem to drift away a bit & the last third seemed to be a matter of filling up the space.

Thanks to Netgalley & the publisher for letting me read & review this book. I wasn't the most riveting book to end the year but it was a reasonable read

A gentle book looking at the Shipping Forecast in a variety of ways - from the historical, mythological and personal and I found it to be as soothing as listening to the actual broadcast.