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I want to share this link, because it's an excellent satire of a current issue, but realised it's not as funny outside of the reach of the BBC and current UK politics.
However for those in the know:
In response to a UKIP local counsellor sending a letter to the Prime Minister blaming the recent floods on the same-sex marriage bill,
someone has recorded the UKIP shipping weather forecast, with touches of other UKIP policies and remarks slipped in.
Context:
UKIP is the far right wing party: anti-gay, anti-women, anti-immigrant, anti-Europe, anti-change. They've gained a following among conservative voters who believe the tabloid propaganda that the country is going to the dogs, and it's everyone else's fault. Especially women. And immigrants. And gays.
Their MPs and prominent members have a knack for being caught on record making painfully misogynist and racist remarks and then getting mad at the press for recording them.
The counsellor's party has now suspended him. Even for UKIP, he's embarrassing.
The shipping forecast is just that - forecast of weather on the coasts. Wikipedia has a nice explanation.
But it's grown into a sort of mantra: a recital of island names and weather conditions, that takes about 2 and half minutes at the end of the news, that is read in a slow clear voice, apparently to allow listeners to write it down if needed (says Wikipedia - I didn't know that).
It's part of the background noise of living in the UK, like knowing the theme music to 'As it happens' or 'Hockey night in Canada'.
I think it's a connection to UK's heritage - a reminder that at one time these islands were far more island-ish, driven by island economies of shipping and trade, and far more dependent on the weather conditions than most people are now.
If you haven't heard it before, it's online. Or you can look at the map version on the BBC site.
ETA: sort of related: an observation on 'what is gay?' to help the political-hard-of-thinking, from the Grauniad (more cultural refs!).
However for those in the know:
In response to a UKIP local counsellor sending a letter to the Prime Minister blaming the recent floods on the same-sex marriage bill,
someone has recorded the UKIP shipping weather forecast, with touches of other UKIP policies and remarks slipped in.
Context:
UKIP is the far right wing party: anti-gay, anti-women, anti-immigrant, anti-Europe, anti-change. They've gained a following among conservative voters who believe the tabloid propaganda that the country is going to the dogs, and it's everyone else's fault. Especially women. And immigrants. And gays.
Their MPs and prominent members have a knack for being caught on record making painfully misogynist and racist remarks and then getting mad at the press for recording them.
The counsellor's party has now suspended him. Even for UKIP, he's embarrassing.
The shipping forecast is just that - forecast of weather on the coasts. Wikipedia has a nice explanation.
But it's grown into a sort of mantra: a recital of island names and weather conditions, that takes about 2 and half minutes at the end of the news, that is read in a slow clear voice, apparently to allow listeners to write it down if needed (says Wikipedia - I didn't know that).
It's part of the background noise of living in the UK, like knowing the theme music to 'As it happens' or 'Hockey night in Canada'.
I think it's a connection to UK's heritage - a reminder that at one time these islands were far more island-ish, driven by island economies of shipping and trade, and far more dependent on the weather conditions than most people are now.
If you haven't heard it before, it's online. Or you can look at the map version on the BBC site.
ETA: sort of related: an observation on 'what is gay?' to help the political-hard-of-thinking, from the Grauniad (more cultural refs!).
