"It's black over Bill's mother's": so say many of us from the Midlands when less-than-pleasant weather looks to be on the horizon. But how many of us have actually considered the meaning of the phrase? Our editorial intern Matthew Blaney was set-a-wondering about the identity of Bill's mother, so in this month's Truth or Legend he decided to find out...
As we all know, the English language is full of a range of quirky sayings and idioms which upon reflection, generally seem a bit odd when you break them down: Why bake a cake if you’re not even going to eat it? Who makes their bed just to ruin it by lying in it? And why do we consider the rain as being right? These are just a few of my burning questions I propose to the English language. However, the one saying which I find to be the most thought provoking comes from Nottingham itself. Or more specifically, that black cloud which seems to hang rather ominously over Bill’s mother’s.
A deep dive into the darkest corners of sub-reddits and facebook groups just to uncover the identity behind Bill and his poor mother, who I can only assume has not been able to put a wash on in years, has led me to several conclusions. The origins seem to date back to a royal named George who was once the prince of Wales who resided on a farm by the side of the river Trent. In a local inn nearby (close by the ‘Half Penny Bridge’ by Wilford) a group of miners went for a post-mine pint and as they were leaving/stumbling out of the venue, one of the miners noticed a rather dark cloud heading towards them and stated that they would be in for some rather ‘inclement weather.’ The young miner was then a victim of light-hearted teasing (or bullying in the work place) as one of his coworkers began to mock him for his advanced use of the English language. Whilst he attempted to modify his statement, he couldn't quite remember the name of the royal who owned the farm by the river Trent, and so suddenly announced that ‘it was looking a bit black over Bill’s Mother’s.’
Another claim to ownership comes all the way from Sneinton as it is believed that there was once a scrap yard belonging to Bill’s mother. Once the wastage piled up to a certain point, Bill’s mother would burn the excess waste, causing a cloud of smoke to rise above the scrap yard, leaving the residents of Sneinton unable to hang out their ‘tighty whities.’
Some say that ‘Bill’ is a reference to William Shakespeare whose mother, Mary Arden, lived in Stratford-upon-Avon. Others across The Midlands believe the smart money to be on Kaiser Wilhelm II (colloquially referred to as ‘Kaiser Bill’) as whenever there was a storm coming from the East, people would say that it’s looking black over Bill’s Mother’s.
Whether the drunken miners said it first or Bill’s Mother’s scrap yard seems like the most plausible origin story, I think we should all take a moment to thank Bill’s Mother, whoever she may be, for never taking a day off as we can surely crown her as being the midland’s most reliable weatherwoman.
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