It’s not a new book or even a new idea, but my own little book: Glossary is a diversion, hopefully not a contraflow. It’s available on Amazon, and briefly, it is a collection of Gloucestershire place names given new meanings by me.

I am publishing some selected pages here over the next few weeks. If you would like a copy of the entire collection, you can find it on Amazon, just search the title and my name.

I suppose this is my version of sharing a joke. For the uninitiated, it is a great pastime when travelling: to give new meanings to place names. Try it!

Bishop’s Cleeve
The word cleeve is generally thought to refer to how a valley forms, so it’s a geographical term. A cleeve is a wooded valley. How it relates to a Bishop is unknown; it could be a favourite walk of the Bishop or possibly a parade through the area by religious people.

Bilsey
How you might feel after a long night on the Podsmead. A challenge to underwear.
Symptoms include a headache and nausea, and the only known cure is a very large bacon sandwich made with thick slices of white Wonderloaf, margarine, fatty bacon (undercooked) and red sauce (sauce of origin unknown but that has never seen a tomato). Try it!

Buckshaft
A bum note played by a brass band, or counterfeit coinage engineered locally.

Buckover
The act of passing a Buckshaft for goods.

Bussage
Unreliable public transport, especially the ghostly 46 Bus from Cheltenham to Nailsworth run by Stagecoach and which is no more. It is believed that one can hear the ghostly cry of ‘tickets please’ when wandering in the dark in the area, which many residents do.