Up The Witton

[christopher short]

I lived in Witton. When my mother went shopping on Witton Island, she would go "up the Witton" if she went to shop in Erdington, it was "to".
No matter in what what direction you approached the City Centre it was always "going up town".
To London from outside it is "up to town".
Uptown and Downtown in the USA are strict geographical terms, so in Brummagem, why up?

 

[Shera]

my mom also went "up the witton" but she also went "up the erdington" !!

i think its not "up" thats so bad as "up THE". of course i got in the habit of saying the same but i try to stop myself saying it now as other people must think its daft!

 

[G G Jean]

We too went up the Witton Christopher. Jean.

 

[m.humphreys]

Not Witton but in my times on the south side we used to go "round the Cotteridge" and "down the Village" to Stirchley.

 

[christopher short]

Thanks everyone,

How about this, It was never around the block, it was always "round the square" - lovely contradiction. Then there was the phrase for visiting a relative "going down our Mothers"
We had family phrase, in that I had a great aunt who lived down the road who bore our family name and we knew her as "Auntie Marge down the Short"

 

[jennyann]

For us going to Erdington was always "Going up the Village" and to Brum it was "Going to Town".

 

[G G Jean]

Jennyann even though we lived in Witton mom always called the Erdington shops the Village. Jean.

 

[Astonian]

Did you ever go up the old snooker hall at witton and have a game or two
and did you not see theprincess of darkness up there playing [ ossie osborne of course]
he only lived across the rd from there in those days
weshared an old ambulance together he had the broken arm ; and i had the broken leg
he sat in the chair along side is mother and he had it in a sling and i was layed out on the stretcher
wrapped up in plaster paris ; go to the general hospital which now is the childrens hospital
so we both went up to the hospital that morning
best wishes to you all and now i am going to go the garden to see my sweet corn , astonion ;;