Madam, I write with reference to 'The Gazette View' and letter regarding "Bill's Mother's". According to Mrs Winifred Leeds, who researched the local dialect and wrote the book called "Herefordshire Speech", the phrase quoted was attributed to a weather rhyme from Pembridge. She also quoted that Hertfordshire has a similar saying for storm clouds in the West – "A bit black o'er Will's Mother's way". Another local saying is "Old Penyard is smoking his pipe" referring to the mist over Penyard Hill.

Jean Reeves, Ross