My toe bleeds, Betty

The wood pigeons have been very vocal today, all day. Their cooing noise goes on and on, from dawn to dusk. Depending on what part of the country you come from, the interpretation of their call is different. My grandmother, with a childhood in The Chilterns, told me they say "My toe bleeds, Betty". That's a very strange thing to say! I've heard others say that it is "Take two cows, Taffy", almost as odd. Maybe blippers have another interpretation.
I sat outside again today, but once again it was too hot to do anything useful. Instead I looked through a big file that contains facts about my father's family. Ten years ago I researched into my maiden name and just by working on the internet I was able to construct a huge family tree going back to the mid eighteenth century. At the end of the week I am going on a course at the WI College about family history research, and I am hoping to take my tree further. I can't think I am descended from royalty. All my forbears seem to be agricultural labourers!