100 Years of the Shipping Forecast

100 Years of the Shipping Forecast
Ulster Hall, Belfast

There are so many reasons why this prom is special to me personally. To start, it's being held at the Ulster Hall in Belfast. I travelled to Northern Ireland for the very first time this year. Two trips: the first one was work related, and I was staying at the Clayton hotel just up the road from the Ulster Hall and BBC broadcasting centre there. While I didn't go inside the Ulster Hall, I took the litte free time I had to walk over to see the Rory Gallagher statue. I subsequently returned to Belfast about 6 weeks later, wanting to see more. I took in the Titanic Quarter, Peace Walls, and did a tour of the City Hall, before taking the train to Derry for a couple of days.

The second, more poignant, reason this prom is special to me personally, is because it touches a subject that is close to home: my paternal grandfather was lost at sea in 1979. 

It's clear from the get go that this venue does not share the same acoustic profile of the Albert Hall, as is evident by the sound of the audience clapping over the radio.

We start with the gentle theme to the shipping forecast, and then there's a poem (can I call it a shanty?) The music then takes us to more stormy waters. 

Debussy's Clair de Lune is very tranquil. Like a calm, but vast, sea. And there's a poignancy to Ned Bigham's Two Nightscapes Serenaade.

The highlight of the evening, for me, is Simon Armitage and the LYR. He runs through a list of all things nautical; from weather vanes and wanderlusts, and God knows what else. Later on he even throws in some modern dating terminology such as 'ghosting' and 'breadcrumbing' - don't get me started on those. In all, Yonderland is a joy to listen to.

We hear a passage in recognition of the RNLI (an institution even older than the shipping forecast).

We finish with some comic relief, in the form of the 'Belfast Shipping Forecast'. "Ironic, becoming sarcastic later" - one after my own heart.

A sensational prom!