Norwegian Sailors

What shall we do with the drunken sailor

Getting into this search for the lyrics of the various tunes on the Radio4UK Theme right now has produced some interesting curiosities. Should you feel so inclined, grab some chime bars- chords provided- and sing along to this Norwegian version some helpful troll has posted. I suppose they got to know the tune while Sailing By North Utsire, South Utsire or even South East Iceland through merciless North Sea gales and waves as high as a Fjord transit.
Ah the good old shipping forecast: like the ravens of the Tower of London, should it ever disappear from the airwaves then Britons will be slaves and Britannia will have given up her command from Heaven to rule the waves. How long can I keep the metaphors flowing this morning, I wonder: until Rome in Tiber melt? Wrong country, wrong writer [ Shakespeare, but which play?]- sorry. I must still be thinking of the gorgeous Umbrian scenery the Anglican vicar of Rome enjoys from the wonderful garden he now has thanks to Ground Force, which lulled me off to sleep during a repeat last night.
The pillars of British national life have been taking a pounding this week though every bit as frightening in this post 9/11 world as anything nature can throw at us. Although mercifully no terrorists were involved, a "Fathers for Justice" protester dressed as Batman managed to scale a wall of Buck House on Monday -equipped with nothing but a ladder-while yesterday the very foundations of parliamentary democracy were threatened when five activists burst into the chamber of the House of Commons as the bill to ban foxhunting was in its final stages. Meanwhile, outside riots reminiscent of the anti- Poll tax skirmishes of the early 90s made a sickening sight in Parliament Square.
If all this were not so serious, it would be comical: the media have likened the commons fiasco, with scenes of 'men in tights' attempting to arrest the protagonists, to the Keystone Kops. What a sad world we now live in: if the week started with the BBC asking what it means to be British, is this now it? Some have even likened the happenings in Westminster yesterday to a civil war- the battle of town against country. Maybe with UN statistics showing the world has now become more urban than rural that is the crux of it, and how tragic it is that it should come to this. Man started as hunter-gatherer: we ploughed the fields and scattered the good seed on the land. And God said kill-eat (with apologies to any of my vegetarian friends). Typical man perverted this: God did not say kill-sport, though of course I'm aware that the fox is potentially a very nasty pest in farming communities.

Who can know how this will all end? Please God that it won't be in anarchy. The commemorations of the third anniversary of the Twin Towers atrocities this week were somewhat muted, with enough new horrors and worries to occupy the minds of the great and the good, let alone the common man. Hurricane Ivan is terrible indeed. New Orleans has become like a ghost port, Grenada has been devastated, and the archetypal laid back attitude of the latitude has had to give way to desperate preventive measures and heading for the hills. I've had particular concerns for folk I know in Mobile, Alabama, where tornadoes and floods made landfall last night.
I don't think I've known a September like this for so much worry and grief. Beslan's living nightmare has passed from the headlines, but it will remain vivid and horrific for many a month, years even to those who survived. And yet yesterday saw signs of hope, as other Beslan little ones returned to school. However awful this world seems,despite it all the oft-quoted remains a truism: life must go on. To do otherwise is to give in to despair , rather than to see the beauty which still permeates this awesomely complex world and universe,and the amazing works which many committed to the betterment of society carry out every day. Last night while watching Corrie, there was an ad for Philips which drew me to their website http://www.simplicity.philips.com. Take a look: it features some fascinating glimpses of new developments the Dutch giant are involved in, particularly in Medicine. There is an awe-inspiring 3D image of a foetus in the womb, a home de-fibrillator to re-start the heart and remarkably detailed images of the inside of the human body in the latest in CT scanners. The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy returns to Radio 4 next Tuesday evening; I can't wait, but meanwhile I think the way the TV version ended, with Louis Armstrong singing What a Wonderful World remains true.

Staying with the happier side of life and those morning melodies, I was surprised by how many other verses are available for What Shall we Do with the Drunken Sailor, but as some of them might offend sensitive tastes I have spared you those. The shanty does have a fascinating history though. Find out more, and those alternative versions, at http://www.geocities.com/Yosemite/Trails/2625/song1.html

Next time, more on Early One Morning. It's warming up here in Eastbourne although the gorgeous Caddy Lee Preston tells us there's not much weather to talk about! Staying dry, bright and warm for the whole of next week as well, which has to be good news, at least