Do you know where Will's mother lives?

[AnnaQuayInTheUk]

For 20+ years I lived in an area where everyone knew about Will's mother. People would arrive late to meetings explaining that they were really sorry, but roadworks on X Road meant that they had to go round Will's mother's.

I'm aware that in the Midlands they know about Bill's mother's, not Will's. And that sometimes it's black over Bills mother's house. But I've now moved to a different part of the country where no one knows about Will's mother's, or Bill's.

So,
YABU - who on earth is Will/Bill's mother?
YANBU - everyone knows about Will/Bills mother.

Never of heard of going round the Wrekin either!
Lived here all my life too.

Yep, originally from the Midlands too and ruddy roadworks often mean you end up “going around the Wrekin”. I’m the mother of a William though, I had no idea everyone went around me 😜

Me too, haven’t heard these. But my dad used to say, “it’s a monkey’s birthday,” when it was raining but sunny.

My mother always used to say it’s black over Bill’s mother’s (meaning her house) when it looked like rain. We live in Worcestershire. I always thought it was a quaint expression of my mother’s but then someone told me it was something to do with William Shakespeare. So I would expect Will’s mother is a regional version of the same thing

There is an old Shropshire (possibly east Shropshire) toast where you raise your glass and move it in a circle saying "to all around the Wrekin".

Only person I ever knew use it was my Victorian Shropshire grandfather. I may revive it!

We talk about ‘Will’s mother’ all the time and we live down South.

If it looks gloomy in the sky far away we always say ‘it’s looking black over Will’s mother’s’.

Or we’ll tell someone ‘we’ve been all round Will’s mother’s trying to find this place ….’

I thought everyone said it but come
to think about, only my partner I tend to use the expression and looking at the voting it’s clear many people have not heard of it.

You bloody English and your sayings

I was born and raised in Suffolk and it's a phrase my DM often used.

In Birmingham I've only known it to be dark over Bill's mother's.

This I know about. Eg I’m not getting that bus, it goes all round the Wrekin.

I grew up in Birmingham in the 1970s and "It's a bit black over Bill's mother's" was a completely standard expression whenever threatening black clouds appeared. Since the prevailing wind is from the west-south-west, my assumption was that Bill's mother lived somewhere between Droitwich and Stourbridge.

I have never heard of this so thanks to PP explaining it’s about rain expected!

I was brought up in west London near the big Nestle factory. Due to the way the wind blew, it always smelt like coffee when it was about to rain, even from a couple of miles away from the factory.

I never knew this was because of the factory - I thought that’s just what an incoming rainstorm smelt like everywhere 😂

Hmm. Yes, when it looks like rain, then it’s black over Bill’s mother’s. But if you have to reroute out of your way then you’re going round the Wrekin!

It's been black over Bills mothers all day today! I'm in Nottinghamshire 😊

You lot are very posh, it was always a bit black uvvah Bill’s Mam’s in my part of Nottingham. ☔️

Just going to add this very thing 😎

Definitely a Midlands expression - black over bills mothers. I live down south now and my girls have no idea about Bill or the Wrekin! (Well, they do now because I educated them!)

I was brought up in Surrey but my Dad used the phrase " going all found Will's mothers " often meaning either going a long way round on a journey or taking an age to get to the point in a conversation. He was from Cambridge

Round not found

I'm from london, Bill's mother happened to be my mother too.

Billy was always a bit wet though, so it might be about him.

I live in a similar area and you’re right that that is the direction that the weather normally comes from, but I believe it’s meant to cite Shakespeare and Stratford, so, South East instead.

"As black as Newgate's knocker" meant a storm brewing (London).

I was brought up in the West Riding and Lancashire. I would recognise the phrase which mentions black and Bill but not think of using it myself.

I’ve been in Cambridge for decades now. The only person I hear using it is my friend from Bradford, who talks about Will’s mother’s. This can be confusing as her former partner is called Will.

Well, maybe it started in Coventry/Leicester (north-east of Stratford) and spread to Brum. Although I'm a bit skeptical about the whole Shakespeare thing.

I thought it might be an Inbetweeners reference.

Apparently not, so I have no idea (Lincs) 🤣