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Attention All Shipping by Charlie Connelly

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Attention All Shipping

Author
Charlie Connelly
Narrator
Charlie Connelly
Publisher
Little, Brown Book Group
Publish Date
31 March 2022
Run Time
13 hours 42 minutes
Format
Audiobook
Genre
Travel writing
$13.95

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What to expect

This solemn, rhythmic intonation of the shipping forecast on BBC radio is as familiar as the sound of Big Ben chiming the hour. Since its first broadcast in the 1920s it has inspired poems, songs and novels in addition to its intended objective of warning generations of seafarers of impending storms and gales.
Sitting at home listening to the shipping forecast can be a cosily reassuring experience. There's no danger of a westerly gale eight, veering southwesterly increasing nine later (visibility poor) gusting through your average suburban living room, blowing the Sunday papers all over the place and startling the cat.
Yet familiar though the sea areas are by name, few people give much thought to where they are or what they contain. In ATTENTION ALL SHIPPING Charlie Connelly wittily explores the places behind the voice, those mysterious regions whose names seem often to bear no relation to conventional geography. Armchair travel will never be the same again.

Critics Review

  • An engaging and often very funny book in which a metropolitan man, buffeted by winds and high seas, travels from Norway's smallest island to Europe's westernmost pointing search of the reality behind the reassuring Radio 4 recital

    Sunday Times

  • A wonderfully eccentric study

    Observer

  • One of those simple yet brilliant ideas... A book that's as gentle and pleasing as the shipping forecast itself

    Daily Mail

  • If listening to 'Sailing By' to the bitter end every night is the surest sign of a Radio 4 addict, then buying Charlie Connelly's book runs it close

    Independent on Sunday

See more reviews
  • Armchair travelling will never be the same again

    Western Mail

  • He brings the shipping forecast to life, revealing the reality to be bizarre, quirky and fantastic

    Guernsey Press

  • Charlie Connelly proves to be a suitably intelligent and amusing guide around these coastal stations and provides an illuminating history of the forecast itself

    Hampstead and Highgate Express

  • Attention All Shipping went down a storm with this sea lover. It has great humour. It has great atmosphere... a very entertaining read and, believe me, you'll never see cod in the same way again

    Sunday Tribune

  • Connelly has a light, humorous touch

    Glasgow Evening Times

  • A fascinating and very funny book

    Weekly News

  • A comic tribute to a radio bulletin ... also a quirky history of the outposts of northern Europe

    Irish Times

  • More than a travelogue ... anecdotes delight in the diversity of the remote communities, while biographies of unsung heroes of British maritime history emphasise that the forecast has been crucial in saving lives

    Waterstones Books Quarterly

  • A real gem

    Bookseller

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Details
Author
Charlie Connelly
Narrator
Charlie Connelly
Duration
13 hours 42 minutes
Release Date
31 March 2022
ISBN
9781405553728
Format
Audiobook
Publisher
Little, Brown Book Group
Genre
Travel writing

Synopsis

This solemn, rhythmic intonation of the shipping forecast on BBC radio is as familiar as the sound of Big Ben chiming the hour. Since its first broadcast in the 1920s it has inspired poems, songs and novels in addition to its intended objective of warning generations of seafarers of impending storms and gales.Sitting at home listening to the shipping forecast can be a cosily reassuring experience. There's no danger of a westerly gale eight, veering southwesterly increasing nine later (visibility poor) gusting through your average suburban living room, blowing the Sunday papers all over the place and startling the cat.Yet familiar though the sea areas are by name, few people give much thought to where they are or what they contain. In ATTENTION ALL SHIPPING Charlie Connelly wittily explores the places behind the voice, those mysterious regions whose names seem often to bear no relation to conventional geography. Armchair travel will never be the same again.

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