Wedding Ahoy! –

 The Shipping Forecast

The wedding season is still going strong it seems. The weather might be closing in but I notice that there are still lots of you intent on splicing the knot and other nautical analogies for getting married. Which set me musing on the Shipping Forecast and all the exotic areas covered by that most essential of warnings for our brave fishermen. I would say fisher folk, but I don’t think I have ever seen a trawler woman. Did you know the origins of those areas are historic?  I didn’t realise that Viking, Forties, Dogger, Fisher, Sole and Bailey are named after sandbanks. But I guessed that Cromarty, Forth, Tyne, Humber, Thames and Shannon were named after estuaries.  While the areas Wight, Lundy, Fair Isle, Faeroes, Portland, Hebrides, South-East Iceland and Utsire were all named after islands. And I certainly didn’t know that the area of French sea I know as Finisterre was renamed FitzRoy in 2002, to avoid confusion with a smaller sea area of the same name used in the marine forecasts produced by the French and Spanish meteorological offices. Well blow me down.

Shipping News

Which of course then led my butterfly mind to Annie Proulx’s novel Shipping News, which is set in Newfoundland  and is about a reporter on the Gammy Bird a local newspaper. It is a bit of a dark read best kept for winter evenings, but it has a kind of happy ending.  And the leading character rebuilds his life with love and friendship, which is heart warming. I recommend the book, but it won’t be a quick read.

Our Shipping News and Forecast

If you need a present for that upcoming wedding then we have some lovely new stuff, did you know stuff is a Norwegian word, from those nice people at The Just Slate Company? We have selected some gorgeous and desirable pieces, all made in Scotland and that will make impressive gifts. And our shipping forecast this is: For European destinations allow 2 to 3 working days, for the United States and Canada 3 - 7 working days, while Australia and Rest of the World take up to 7 working days. Just don’t put your address down as Finisterre, we’ll confuse it with Fitzroy!  Ahoy there!

And remember we do free gift packing and free UK delivery with orders over £50.

https://www.jamespirie.com/brands/the-just-slate-company.html