Shipping Forecast The Controller of BBC Radio 4, Mark Damazer, attempted to explain its popularity: Zeb Soanes, a regular Shipping Forecast reader, described it thus: Another regular reader of the Forecast, Kathy Clugston, described it as "Like a lullaby, almost". The Shipping Forecast has inspired a number of songs and poems. Frank Muir and Denis Norden parodied the Shipping Forecast in a song written for an episode of "Take It From Here": "Dead Ringers" parodied the Shipping Forecast using Brian Perkins rapping the forecast ("Dogger, Fisher, German Bight – becoming quite cyclonic. Occasional showers making you feel cat-atatatatatata-tonic..."). Many other versions have
Shipping Forecast coastal stations and automatic weather logging stations, which are known by their names, such as "Channel Light Vessel Automatic"; these are the Coastal Weather Stations. This additional information does not fall within the 350/380 word restriction. (RTÉ Radio 1 broadcasts similar coastal reports for Ireland). The extended forecast also includes an inshore waters forecast. In addition, gale warnings are broadcast at other times between programmes and after news. The BBC instruction reads: 'Gale warnings shall be radiated (broadcast) during the next available programme junction and repeated at the end of the following news bulletin'. For example: When giving a gale