West Midlands: Four things you wanted to know

People have been using Your Questions to ask us what they want to know about the West Midlands.

Lots of readers asked us the origins of phrases which use people's names like Gordon Bennett and Bob's Your Uncle.

You also asked where Shropshire greetings such as "Owd lad, Owd gal, Mon, Monner and Bow" came from.

We were asked about road works in Hereford and a Stoke-on-Trent delicacy called lobby. Here's how we got on with answering your questions:

Who are the people behind famous phrases?

Some of the most famous English phrases use people's names to convey a meaning, from the Bob of "Bob's your uncle" to the Gordon Bennett we call upon when we must not swear. But are these expressions, and others like them, based on real people? And if so, how did they become household names?

Could these be the people behind the phrases "Bob's your uncle", "all my eye and Betty Davis" and "Gordon Bennett"?

Why do people in Shropshire call people Owd lad, Owd gal, Mon, Monner or Bow?

We spoke to Stuart Davies, known on Twitter as @shroppiemon, who runs the Memories of Shropshire Facebook page.

He explained Mon and Monner are friendly greetings that could be traced back to the work of Shropshire priest-turned-poet John Audelay, who used the line "No mon this book he take away" in 1426.

A view of Shrewsbury from the abbey

Mr Davies also said Owd Lad and Owd Nick originally referred to the devil, but are now used in the same way as Mon.

"I think Salopians of all ages use them, possibly with a nod to the past," he said.

The origins of the phrases themselves is less clear and it has been suggested there are similarities in these phrases to the local dialect of Staffordshire and the Black Country.

Why do people in Stoke-on-Trent call vegetable stew Lobby?"

Lobby is a Staffordshire dish that traditionally uses left over meat, boiled in a pot with some animal bones and vegetables - because potters were paid very little and so they could not afford to waste food.

It looks like the exact origin has been lost in the mists of time - we have not been able to find a historian with an exact answer.

We could not find a historian who would pinpoint the exact origin of the name lobby

But we have two theories, partly suggested by people on the BBC Radio Stoke Facebook page - the first one is that the name comes from people having to "'lob whatever they had in the pantry" into the dish.

The second theory, suggested by local historian Mervyn Edwards, is that Lobby comes from the same source as Liverpool's Scouse in that they both derive from lobscouse, a stew commonly eaten by sailors throughout Northern Europe.

How is the new road between Morrisons and Hereford station supposed to help traffic and also what provision has been made for crossing it?

The new road is part of the Hereford 2020 project, which involves city centre refurbishment, an urban village, revamped walking and cycling facilities and southern link road.

Herefordshire Council says the new road is designed to "relieve some of the traffic from the centre of Hereford, particularly on Commercial Road and Blueschool Street".

It will also make it "easier and more enjoyable to walk around Hereford city", the council says.

A map of the city link road in Hereford

You can find more on the plans here, along with photos of the work being carried out.

"The City Link Road, which is due for completion at the end of 2017, will include crossing provision for pedestrians at all of the junctions along the new road - at Edgar Street, Widemarsh Street, Station Approach and Commercial Road," the council said.