Upstate/downstate

[sagehen]

 James A. Landau writes:
>Yet apparently someone
in Bletchley would think of going "up" to London and "down" to return to
Bletchley.  Can one of our British correspondents check this out, please?

>One of Reverend Spooner's famous sayings was "You have hissed my mystery
lectures.  You have tasted an entire worm.  You will leave on the next town
drain."  What is a "down train"?  Is there a corresponding "up train"?<
~~~~~~~~
It's always "up" to London, wherever you are in Gt Britain, I believe.
Remember The Oak & the Ash:

A north country lass
Up to London has strayed,
Although with her nature
It did not agree......?

The Rev Spooner's missing student might be being "sent down" (kicked out)
of University.
~~~~~~~~
As  for "upstate" in NY, although we are about as far up as you can go,
just a stone's throw from Quebec, we are "NorthCountry" not "upstate."
We speak of the "central tier" or the "southern tier" from here, but I
think "downstate" is usually reserved for NYC or perhaps, sometimes,
Albany.
A Murie

A&M Murie
N. Bangor NY
sagehen at westelcom.com