Call the Midwife

-[Fusses, wails] -Some Christmases will always be more memorable than others, more joyful, serene, with blessings, with love.

"That," we will say, is the best Christmas, ever."

-[Wailing] -We unbox our traditions, year by year.

Each celebration must complete with all of those that went before.

We set high standards... -Ho, ho, ho.

[ Laughter ] -...write long lists.

We cannot be ill. We cannot afford to falter.

-Ugh.

-[Grunts] Ah.

[hiss] -Christmas becomes a challenge we must rise to.

It is our duty to burnish it and to make it shine.

We must do well.

We must be well.

-[Coughing] -We must do the best we can.

-[Belches] -Christmas!

-Come on.

-Here we go.

[ Laughter ] -Yes.

Get fruit cups.

-Merry Christmas.

Wave to Mummy.

[ Camera shutter clicks ] [ Laughs ] There you go.

Oh!

Merry Christmas!

-Come on up, then, children.

Come on.

-Oh!

Hello, you!

[ Both chuckling ] Now, let me see if I've got this right.

You're Teddy.

You're May and you're Angela.

-[Giggling] -No.

-No, no.

Oh, oh, silly Santa.

You're Angela and you're May.

-[Giggling] -Oh.

What do you want for Christmas, hmm?

-[Whispers] -[Whispering] -You want Mummy and Daddy to get out of bed and put some clothes on?

-Call me a stickler for the scriptures.

I don't recall any reindeer in Bethlehem.

-You can't be certain!

St. Eustace himself had a vision of Christ between the antlers of a stag, white as snow; and there were mystics who believed that our Lord Himself appeared to them in such a form.

-Shake it all about for me.

There's a pet.

[ Indistinct conversations ] -Huh.

-Hello, love.

-I'm on my way to give succor to invalids.

I require three pounds of oranges.

[ Bell rings nearby ] I imagine a modest discount would be smiled upon from the celestial realm.

[laughs] -It's on me, love.

-[fondly] Oh.

Thank you.

-This really is exceptionally thoughtful of you, Mother Mildred.

-Oh.

-I think this is the first thing I've been able to smell or taste for a week.

-I did catch a whiff of Nurse Crane's sugar-and-onion mixture.

-I actually think I can smell it now.

-Well, it's given my tubes a good seeing to and it's probably why I'm back in my slacks and gearing up to inspect my Rolodex!

-[Chuckling] -So, Sister Hilda, it appears that Nonnatus House has been running on oiled wheels during the recent crisis.

-Ah, reinforcements from the Mother House seem to fill the gaps quite nicely.

[chuckle] -Once we showed them what to do and where everything was... -Hmm.

It seems to me that, with all the posts so amply covered, the best thing we can do is to take almost all of you away to convalesce.

You need a change of scene, good food, sea air, and I know precisely where all three can be obtained.

-I fear you evoke the specter of the Mother House.

-Our esteemed sister is incorrect.

I think that, on balance, that I speak to Sister Julienne alone.

-We could go into my office.

I had just lit the paraffin stove so I could see to some paperwork.

-Sister, it's best if we remain within convenient distance of the altar rail.

By the time I inform you of my plans, we might both feel the need to pray.

I believe God is calling me to open another branch house.

-Where?

-As ever, where good nursing and skilled midwives are desperately needed, where there is often no doctor for many miles, where climate is our enemy and water and electricity both fickle friends, at best.

-Are you thinking of expanding our operations in Africa?

-No.

We're going to the Outer Hebrides.

-The Outer Hebrides?

-I thought you'd approve, being Scottish.

-I'm not that sort of Scottish.

I grew up in a busy market town.

The Hebrides are very remote.

-Precisely.

Some of the islands have no access to a doctor and hospital help can be two hours' drive away or travel by boat is required.

-And you think the order can help?

-I'm convinced we can all help.

In the area in question, the district nurse, who is also the midwife, has not only married, but married the doctor, and they both retreated to the mainland.

Support is required, in the short-term, at least.

Ten days should suffice.

Far too often, the islands lose their nurses because the ladies marry.

Religious sisters never let their patients down in that regard.

For now, I merely propose an advance excursion, a fact-finding mission.

Call it what you will.

You and your good wife can convalesce in the fresh air whilst helping the order to explore a call from God.

-But we can't leave the children.

Nanny can't be here all the time.

-A remonstrance I foresaw and can surmount.

-Why have I got to mind the Turner children?

I'd be much more use in the Outer Hebrides.

I used to be a Queen's Guide.

-You must not question Mother Mildred's decision, Sister, any more than I.

When we are called, we must listen.

Where we are called, we must go.

-Unless we are called to go somewhere and our superior objects.

-You really wanted to go, didn't you, Sister Monica Joan?

-At prayer, I received a vision of our Lord Himself in altered form.

-Do you mean a stag, like the legend of Saint Eustace?

-Oh.

Please do not use the term legend.

It evokes a fantasy, a tale, a fable, conjured out of air.

When I speak of a vision, I speak of something real, a truth as tangible as -- as -- as flesh!

-[Laughs] -Behold!

Beige or navy?

I rooted out some convent-issue thermals left over from the Big Freeze.

-I refer you to my earlier remark.

-[Chuckle] -I'll have the beige, please, Phyllis.

It'll match my new vest.

Everything I ever heard about Scotland tells me they're going to be essential.

[ Radio plays rock ] -It's just a week, Vi, but the only building they might be able to have as a convent is some sort of abandoned church they're now using as a youth hostel.

Mother Mildred just wants to make sure it's viable.

-I'll tell you what's not viable: you just waltzing off to the back of beyond just as Reggie comes home for Christmas.

-But I-I-I'll be back before Christmas.

It's three weeks away.

[ Drawer opens, closes ] Violet, what are you doing?

-I'm hiding Reggie's Christmas presents because I haven't got time to wrap them!

And did you get him the sticky strips to make the paper chains?

Because he looks forward to doing that every Christmas.

-I bought them down Chrisp Street.

They're in my coat pocket.

I promise you, Vi.

Mother Mildred said -- -I do not wish to hear that woman's name again!

[ Rock "Jingle Bells" plays ] -Put the medical bags in the back.

- Just hear those sleigh bells jingling Ring-ting a-tingling, too - Ring-a-ling-a-ling, a-ding dong ding - Come on, it's lovely weather For a sleigh ride together with you [ Whistle blowing ] - Ring-a-ling-a-ling, a-ding dong ding Ring-a-ling-a-ling, a-ding dong ding Ring-a-ling-a-ling, a-ding dong ding Ring-a-ling-a-ling, a-ding dong ding - Our cheeks are nice and rosy And comfy and cozy are we - Ring-a-ling-a-ling, a-ding dong ding - We're snuggled up together Like two birds of a feather would be - Ring-a-ling-a-ling, a-ding dong ding Let's take the road before us And sing a chorus or two - Ring-a-ling-a-ling, a-ding dong ding - Come on, it's lovely weather For a sleigh ride together with you - Ring-a-ling-a-ling, a-ding dong ding Ring-a-ling-a-ling, a-ding dong ding Ring-a-ling-a-ling, a-ding Dong ding -Chips are lovely and hot.

[ Foghorn blowing ] [ Bleating ] -If we're half a mile past that phone box, we must've come to our left turn by now.

-Have we missed the turning, perhaps?

-I always read my maps upside down.

It's an absolutely infallible way of working out left and right.

-Oh!

[ Tires screech ] -If you're gonna slow to a dead stop every time a specimen of the local wildlife hoves into view, we won't obtain our objective this side of Christmas!

-I got three packets of Gypsy Creams in my holdall.

Do you think it's time to break them open?

[ Bleating ] -Oh, I hate cattle.

Ooh!

-That's it.

Hand this vehicle over.

I have additional keys and I am prepared to use them.

[ Scottish tune plays ] [ Bird cheeping ] -[Lows] -Ah.

-So this is home for the next 10 days?

-Come, Sister Julienne.

Let us approach, on foot, as pilgrims.

[ Music climbs ] We have obtained our objective.

[ Panting ] May the Lord guard our comings and goings and may he help us do the jobs we do so well at home.

[ Door squeaks ] -[Coughs] [ Door closes ] -I detect an animal odor underfoot.

[sniff] We would be wise to wipe our shoes.

[ Train clattering ] [ Door squeaking closed ] -Right!

Cup of tea and a gingerbread Santa because I know you've never been one for a mince pie.

-So it's true, then?

-What's true?

-Fred's not here.

-Oh!

I wouldn't lie to you, Reggie.

No, he's no here.

He's where he almost always is: helping other people.

Except, this time, he's in Scotland, which is why I need you to be the man of the house 'til he gets back.

-Can I sit in his chair?

-Course you can.

-Ah!

Can I have some of his beer?

-[Laughing] [ Laughter ] -You can have a shandy on Christmas Day when Fred's back home.

-[Laughing] -Oof!

Coats on the bed.

I haven't slept under coats since I was a kid.

-I wish I'd thought of this when I first come to England.

I just used to just lie in the Nurse's Home and shiver.

-Ohhh.

-There must be 700 years of mist, damp, and misery seeping out of these walls.

Uff!

I persuaded Phyllis to let me have Fiery Jack.

-Have you got lumbago?

-No.

I thought, if we rub some on ourselves, it might warm us up.

-[Chuckle] Well, you'd need a gallon of it, not a titchy little tin.

-I'm dabbing it on my pulse points.

Or, as Madame Coco once said of Chanel No.

5, "It should be applied everywhere a woman expects to be kissed."

-Oh, well.

I won't bother, then.

[laughs] [ Choir singing ] -Effie, come back here!

[ Bleating ] [ Bleating ] -Ooh.

[ Bleating ] [ Bleating ] -Greetings, [chuckle] good sir!

We seek to make the acquaintance of a Missus.... -Morag Norrie, third door on the right.

-We don't generally labor on the Lord's day here.

We observe the Sabbath according to the commandments.

Now, the cleanliness of this hall falls to me, so I hope there'll be no additional dirt!

The only time the last nurse used this hall was for her wedding!

Four weeks later, I'm still sweeping up confetti.

[ Grunts ] Horseshoe.

-Well, that might bring us some luck.

-Oh, you Scots?

-Yes, I am.

-Oh.

A bheil Gidhlig agat?

Oh!

I asked if you spoke Gaelic.

[chuckle] There's no need to answer.

The nurse that just left, she didn't speak it, either.

There's some here that speak nothing else on the island, but we manage.

-Are these your practice records?

-Mm, as you requested.

Anything else you want from the old surgery is in the store and will have to be fetched.

These are on their way to Stornoway.

That's where the nearest doctor is now.

-But it took us two hours to get here from Stornoway.

[ Click, click ] -The electric seems to be playing the game, ha.

If it goes off, there's oil lamps in the store.

-Hmm.

[ Ringing bell ] [ Whimsical tune plays ] [ Bleating ] -Hello, ladies.

I'm a midwife and a nurse and we are running a clinic at the village hall.

[ Dog barking ] -That is the second time you've walked out of singing practice in three weeks.

We're going to have the minister round here again.

What will we say to him, this time?

-The Psalms make my head ache.

-You're supposed to be uplifted by them.

-And improved.

[ Flames crackle ] -You don't need to be improved, Effie.

You just need to be kept steady.

We all do!

We've a new baby coming in the spring.

-I know you do.

[ Thump ] [ Slam ] [ Exhales ] [ Lowing ] [ Door creaking ] -Hurry up.

Your wee calf needs his bed making.

-Tell him to be patient.

I want Effie to see him.

[ Knock at door ] -Enter!

[ Door opens ] Ah!

Just the person.

You can help me sign the Christmas cards.

I promised Sister Julienne I'd do them while everyone was away.

-We must submit to the labors assigned us.

-Yes, we must.

I even submitted to Sister Julienne's request for frugality and bought a bargain box of 50 on Chrisp Street Market.

I'm afraid one or two of them are on the [laughing] saucy side.

[ Sniff ] Ahem.

[ Quickly tears card ] -Sister Hilda.

-Hmm?

-Do you consider my mental faculties to be diminished?

-Oh, no, no.

That wasn't why I didn't show you the card.

You can see it, if you'd like.

-Oh, [chuckle] I-I-I would not be able to deduce why something is vulgar or amusing.

My faculties always failed me, in that department.

Now, others think my faculties are mislaid, altogether.

-Sister, what can I tell you?

Other than to say that that is not so, that we cherish you.

And, if age has... cost you things, i-it has replaced them, with gifts to us all.

-[crying] It is not a gift to me to be deemed too frail to journey to a place where we are needed.

It is not a gift to me to -- to be fettered by an ever-diminishing roster of trivial tasks.

-I-I-I'm sure you're more than capable of extending your daily routine, if you feel up to it.

[ Whimsical tune plays ] -What if expenditure is required?

Senior sisters are licensed to draw down from the petty cash, but, I have not been allowed to do so for some time.

-I am overturning that, now.

Do you hear me?

-Sister, do you consider me to be of sound mind?

-Yes!

-[Gasps, laughs] [ Chuckle ] [ Closes door ] [ Outro plays ] -I feel that the sacrifice of the Gypsy Creams was warranted.

-It's a very hospitable gesture, certainly, but, I'm afraid there are going to be more midwives and nurses on the welcoming committee than we will have people to welcome.

-If I have heard the Almighty right and he intends that we establish a branch house here, then, the sisters in residence will be few and their challenges immense!

There is no disgrace in savoring our numbers whilst we may.

-I told you it's the right place.

-Do come in out of the cold.

-Good morning.

-Tea for the gentleman and the lady, Nurse Dyer.

We have some rather appealing biscuits to accompany your beverage.

Mrs. Turner will take your details.

-We won't say no to a cup of anything hot.

We just rode across from the lighthouse.

-Oh.

Sister Julienne, can you examine this lady as soon as I've taken her details?

-Hello, there.

-Thank you.

-Right this way.

-Are we too late?

-The bus always goes the long around.

-I think you'll find you're absolutely punctual.

Please, take a seat.

-The word was you were from London.

-We're all from London, including me.

[ Baby wails ] -Do come through.

[ Wailing ] -I think, perhaps, just one Gypsy Cream apiece, Nurse Dyer.

Who can foretell the hordes that may be upon us?

[ Velcro tearing ] -Is everything as it should be?

-Everything is exactly as I like to see it in a lady of eight months.

-I keep thinking something will go wrong.

-Why should you think that?

-I don't know.

I left the island for three years.

I went to Inverness to work in a pharmacy.

My granny said it made me morbid.

-Your granny didn't approve of that?

[ Laughter ] -No.

She doesn't approve of much.

Her name is Mrs. Norrie.

Have you met her yet?

-Yes.

We are acquainted.

-Ah.

-[Chuckle] Inverness is a very different environment to this.

-That's why I liked it.

Until I came home one summer for a holiday and met my Angus.

He came to work at the lighthouse from the city as a complete stranger.

When I saw my home through his eyes, that's when I realized I loved it more than I ever had.

-It's a very great gift in life, to know where you belong.

Many spend a lifetime hoping to find out.

-Ooh.

-Is that tender?

-Mm.

It's just the wee one kicking my bladder.

[ Horn honking ] [ Horn honks ] -I'll get 'em, okay?

I'll get 'em.

-[Fussing] -Help!

We need help!

Help!

-It's alright!

It's alright!

-It's my wife.

-I'll fetch my bag.

-[Shallow breathing] -Where was baby born?

-Here, in the truck.

I pulled over by the roadside about half an hour ago.

-Go into the hall while we put things to rights.

Baby's still attached to Mother by the cord.

We're at risk of blood loss.

-Have you felt any pain since the baby arrived, anything to suggest that the afterbirth is on its way?

-No.

-We need to get her inside and give her syntometrine.

-[Crying] [ Snip ] [ Both crying ] -Is it -- Is it coming yet?

Is it?

-Yes, Maggie, it is.

Placenta on its way.

-[Moans] -Here it comes.

-[Grunting] [crying] Thank you.

Thank you.

[sobbing] -Oh, my dear.

Every fragment of endeavor has been yours.

We all commend you for your fortitude.

-[hushed] Mother Mildred, could you fetch Doctor, please?

There's a problem with the placenta.

-[Sobbing] -We have a placenta, but it's incomplete.

Mother needs an ambulance and a blood transfusion, in that order.

-You need to ring the hospital in Stornoway.

I was going to order some polio vaccine.

There's a round of immunizations due.

-We're also deficient in analgesia for childbirth.

I shall ask for Trilene, if we can't get gas and air.

-[hushed] If I stop massaging the uterus, it relaxes.

-We have to stabilize her now.

The ambulance is going to take too long to get here.

-It is, nevertheless, already on its way!

Mother will be transfused as soon as she's delivered to the hospital.

-In about four hours' time.

-I think it's been expelled.

-Her uterus is contracting.

-Placenta complete.

-[Chuckle] -[Wailing] -[Both laughing] -And a strong and healthy baby.

[ Chuckle ] -[Wail] [ Waves crashing ] -[Sigh] -[Sniffle] -Oh, I'm sorry, but this is a completely dreadful way to convalesce.

We're all dressed up as if we've burgled a jumble sale.

[ Laughter ] Now, we're peeling our own potatoes!

[ Laughter ] -Oof.

With absolutely no way of turning them into chips.

May the Lord forgive me, but, right now, I'd kill for threepenny worth of chips and a saveloy.

-Hey, have we turned you into a Cockney on the quiet?

-I like to think so.

[ Laughter ] -Lucille, I heard what that woman said to you in the clinic today.

-Happens all the time at home.

I'm almost used to it.

But people like them aren't used to people like me and I can't hate them for it because I come from an island, too.

-Not an island like this, though.

-[Laughs, sniffles] All islands are like this.

All islands have a boundary and you live your life within it and you love it or you break out and make a life elsewhere.

And, on every island in the world, no matter how magnificent, there are those who cannot leave and those who cannot stay, and I was one of those who could not stay.

- The compass of the world And they that dwell therein For He hath founded it upon the seas And prepared it upon the floods -[Gasp] [ Door opens ] [ Calf lows ] -The calf was on my lap and then it did its muck all over me.

-Isla!

Ugh!

You'll have to get changed straight into your nightdress.

I've no other clothes dry for you, unless there's been some sort of miracle out on the line.

-Can I go back to the calf?

-No!

You stay in here now.

-You smell high enough already, Isla.

-Effie, get some more water.

We're gonna have to soak her things in a bucket.

-I'll soak you in a bucket.

-Uhh.

-[Laughs] [ Wind whipping ] -Report on the weather: Stormy conditions in the Western Isles with heavy gales and rainfall.

[ Static crackles, snippets of voices ] - With the hippy hippy shakes Yeah, it's in the bag, ooh!

The hippy hippy shake Well, now, you shake it to the left You shake it to the right You do the hippy shake shake With all of your might Oh, baby Yeah, come on and shake Oh, it's in the bag -Whoo-ooh!

Spin.

[laughs] -Whaah!

- The hippy hippy shake -Whoo-hoo!

- Owwwww!

-Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!

-[Gasp] -Aaaaaaaaaah!

Aah!

Aaaaaaah!

-Oh!

-Aah!

Aah!

-Isla!

Aaaaah!

-Isla!

-Aah!

- Well, now, you shake it -Aaaaah!

- To the left -Aah!

- You shake it to the right -Aaaaah!

- You do the hippy shake shake -[Sobbing] - With all of your might Oh, baby -Oh!

Yeah, come on and shake -[Continues sobbing] - Oh, it's in the bag [ Bicycle bell rings ] -Angela, Maeve, watch out for Teddy on those steps.

-Sister Francis, might I have a word?

-That was so funny!

-We've just come to bathe Baby Jesus and glue his arm back on so he's ready for the crib at Christmas.

I have been following the offices with my breviary.

-It's not the following of offices that concerns me.

[ Whimsical tune plays ] -Teddy, you're not allowed in there.

-"Since, according to your own admission, I am deemed to be of sound mind..." When did you say you thought she was of sound mind?

-When she implored me to!

I replied in the affirmative because it seemed the kindest thing.

-"I have made the decision to travel to the Hebrides independently."

Independently's underlined.

-I know it's underlined!

-"Please do not trouble your conscience or the constabulary."

-I will trouble the constabulary.

I'm going to give them this as evidence.

-She won't get very far without any money.

-She's taken a pound note and some loose change out of the petty cash.

With my permission.

-Oh, you must feel terrible.

-I wanted her to have some dignity.

-She's always got dignity.

What she really wanted was to see a stag.

-But why would she go to the Hebrides?

There are stags in Richmond Park!

-She wanted to see a white one.

She believes she might encounter Jesus Christ that way.

-Oh!

-Oh, don't tell the police that.

They'll think she's going mad.

Or that you are.

-I don't care.

I'm calling them now and insisting that they alert their counterparts in Scotland.

[ Whistle blowing ] -[Contented sigh] -Tickets, please.

Tickets, please.

-It is you and your colleagues who deserve to be subject to scrutiny.

It is some considerable time since any one of you has asked to view my travel documents.

-Tickets...please.

[ Scoff ] Ahem.

This run out in Preston.

-[Scoff] Only if you consider travel from a strictly temporal perspective.

Mine is not merely a terrestrial journey.

It is a spiritual quest and God Himself propels His chariot of fire.

-[Heavy sigh] -[Wailing] [ Bleating ] -[crying] Please, she's in here!

We can't stop her crying.

[ Bleating ] -[Wailing] -Have you put anything on these yourself?

-Only butter.

It's what you do, butter for burns!

-[Continues wailing] -It's flannel, that, Nurse Crane.

One spot from the fire, and it would've gone up like a torch.

-It's a peat fire.

Peat doesn't spark.

-We'll need to check for fragments of charred fabric clinging to the skin.

I can see one or two pieces from here.

-[Continues wailing] -Listen, Isla.

Isla.

Come on.

I need you to be a brave little lass for me.

-[Wailing intensifies, stops] -We're going to wash your poor legs with soapy water to get the butter off and then bathe them with lovely, fresh antiseptic.

-[Resumes wailing] -We'll need to calm her down.

-[Continues wailing] -Why didn't you put your wellies on?

-Because we are heading to town to collect a significant quantity of drugs, vaccines, and other medical supplies and I'm of the view that office wear is more appropriate.

-This is like nowhere else I've ever been on Earth.

-Do you wish the children could see it?

-I wish the children could live it.

-What?

You mean move here?

-The island needs a doctor, permanently!

The vacancy's already advertised and Mother Mildred says that -- -I don't want to know what Mother Mildred says.

I'm not even going to discuss it with you.

-[Sigh] -[Sigh] [ Hiss ] -I'll check your blood pressure and urine when I'm done.

It'll save you coming into the clinic while you've Isla to take care of.

[ Door closes ] -It's my fault that she's burned.

I shouldn't have turned my back.

Does she need to go to hospital?

-With daily dressing changes, she's better off at home with her parents and her big sister.

-Oh, uh, Effie's her cousin.

My sister died.

-I'm sorry.

My condolences.

-She went to work as a chambermaid in a hotel in Stornoway.

When she came back with Effie in her arms, the story was that she had been widowed.

-I take it this was soon after the war.

-1948.

The father was a submariner from Norway just passing through, long enough to leave her with a child; not long enough to leave her with a wedding ring.

-There were a lot of widows of that type in those days.

-Not here.

My sister died of TB.

I said I'd take Effie.

She was 12 when she came to me.

I already had Isla under my feet.

I thought it would be easy.

But she was a child then and, now she's a woman and I cannot keep her reined.

-Reined, as in reined in?

-Effie is the same as my sister.

She couldn't be...pinned.

She couldn't be pinned down.

-Young people always chafe, Mrs. McCloud.

They chafe more now the world's spinning faster.

-I want what's best for my niece, and that means that she cannot go running free.

[ Bird cheeping ] -Oh!

-Careful.

- Gathering winter fuel Well -Fred, are you sure you can chop a tree down, just like that?

-No one ever stopped me on Epping Forest.

Anyway, it's to cheer the kiddies up and to take the edge off their nerves when they come for their vaccinations.

-But they don't seem to really go to town with the decorations around here, or maybe they leave it all to the last minute.

Have we got anything to put on it?

-Don't worry.

It's all in hand.

I've got an idea about some paper chains.

[ Whack ] [ Indistinct conversations ] [ Door opens ] -Oh, Reggie!

[ Thump ] That was supposed to be a surprise, for Christmas.

Fred was looking forward to reading bits out loud with you.

-Sorry.

-Well, Fred isn't here, is he?

[ Baby wailing ] -And what is that pagan monstrosity doing in this hall?!

-I'm sure there was no intention, whatever, of causing offense.

-I have heard tell of such things on the mainland and from my nephews in America, but it is not the custom in these islands!

It never was and it never shall be!

-Mr. Buckle wants to do something for the children.

-And did the children ask for it?!

Have the children here ever needed such a thing?!

It is to be removed and disposed of before any more harm is done!

[ Huffs ] [ Baby wailing ] [ Dog barks ] [ Both sigh ] -Take care, now, Sister.

-Bye.

-[Laughs] -Thanks, Jim.

-I was headed down that road, anyway.

-[Laughs] Oh!

Oh!

It appears I am to travel with precious cargo.

-Yes.

-Oh.

-We have a great deal to thank your colleagues for.

-[Chuckle] -Would you oblige me by moving along?

I require an unimpeded view.

-Angus!

Angus!

[ Crying ] Angus!

[ Exhaling profoundly ] I think it's started.

-Come on.

I'm gonna get you in the boat.

-Mnh-mnh.

You can't leave the lighthouse empty.

You'll be dismissed.

-I don't care.

-[Crying] -Please, please, let me get you in the boat.

-I can't!

It's -- Oh, it's coming too fast.

Ohhh.

-This is Full Glass Lighthouse, Full Glass Lighthouse calling the Coast Guard, over.

-This is the Coast Guard, over.

-Need medical assistance for my wife.

It looks as if the baby's on the way, over.

[ Static crackling ] -And here are the scones.

[ Door opens ] -Hey!

[ Applause ] -Oh, she's here!

-[Laughing] -[laughing] Oh!

-You may note that I have refrained from contributing to this ovation.

-Because I have broken the rule of obedience.

-No!

Because you have caused alarm to your sisters, purloined convent funds from the petty cash, defrauded British Railways, and been thrown upon the mercy of the police!

-I'm sure no further discussion or chastisement will take place before you have recovered from your journey.

-I will decide what measures are required.

First, I must be fortified with scones.

[ Ring ] -Sit down.

-Somebody else can answer that!

I've no desire for any further [ Ring ] contact with the authorities.

-St. Faelan's House.

How may I assist you?

It's the Coast Guard.

-Bobbie Fishtail was a... [ Continues reading aloud ] -When the nurses arrive, you make them a cup of tea and tell them I've had to go to work.

And, for pity's sake, put those magazines away.

They're months old!

If your uncle wasn't away, thatching, I'd leave him with Isla and take you to waulk the tweed with me.

It's time you learned how.

-It's what old women do.

-Not old, Effie, just women.

[ Isla continues reading aloud ] [ Door opens ] [ Door closes ] -All I ask is that you row the midwives and myself across to the lighthouse.

-It is the Lord's day.

I cannot undertake labor!

-There's a lady on that island with no choice as to whether she undertakes labor.

She's having a baby.

-She can't get over here, so we have to get to her.

-Would it make it better if we paid you double?

-It would make it worse!

-What if we paid you nothing and you did it just to oblige?

-I obey the rules that oblige the Lord, and no other.

-I imagine we both have equal respect for the Almighty, sir.

Just lend us the boat.

Lend it to us, and we'll row ourselves.

-Or just turn your back and let us steal it.

Just don't report us to the police 'til we're halfway there.

I feel like one of us should have a megaphone to keep you both in time.

-Well, it's no worse than going round -- a couple of times, is it, love?

[ Laughter ] -It's a shame we couldn't have hired a pedalo and got us all an ice cream.

[ Laughter ] -The lease of this building is not going to be made available to us.

The local council would prefer it to be used for secular purposes, or not at all.

There will also be problems with the village hall, apparently.

-Is this because of Fred and his Christmas tree?

-The council take the view that the denominational divide between ourselves and the Presbyterians is too great.

-Sister, in Poplar, we serve Catholics, Methodists, Jews, and Muslims.

We serve atheists and Buddhists, Sikhs, and Hindus.

It does not matter who, or how, they worship.

We treat them all alike and our faith is our own affair.

-But there, strangers come into our world; and, here, we have come into theirs.

I fear I have not heard the Lord aright.

I fear I acted in haste and failed in humility by presuming all the power to give and to change and to illuminate was ours.

Or mine.

-What if you had failed in faith?

-Sister.

-[chuckling] Permit her to continue.

She's going to, anyway.

-I-I say only this.

What if he has not yet shown you all that he intends?

-Almost there.

-[Grunts] -Hurry!

-There you go.

-Hurry!

-Thank you.

-She's getting worse!

-Don't you worry, sir.

We'll be by your wife's side before you know it.

-This way, quick!

-[Groans] -How often have the pains been coming?

-Mm, I don't know, for a couple of days, now.

-Couple of days?

-Mm-hmm.

Kept thinking it was all getting going and it would just fade, but, once this started this morning, I knew there was no going back and it's more across my stomach, as opposed to up to one side.

-How do you mean, to one side?

-Almost up by my ribs.

[sobbing] Aah!

-There?

-Mm!

-The mother's definitely pyrexic.

Her pulse is also very rapid.

-How's her blood pressure?

-That seems normal.

A routine urine test at the clinic showed no sign of infection, but, Valerie's going to get a sample so we can check again.

[ Singing in Gaelic ] -Then he tried to brush his tail and if she... -I'm going to Cousin Lorna's.

She's got new magazines come in the post.

Tell your mam I might stay the night, if the storm gets worse.

-You're not meant to leave me on my own!

-The nurses will be here in a minute.

-Mam will be vexed with you.

-She's always vexed with me.

-What if the calf gets scared in the storm?

-[Scoff] The calf is perfectly happy!

-[Wailing] [Gasping] -Are you feeling you wanna push, chick?

-I don't know.

I've never had a baby before.

I don't know what pushing feels like.

I don't know.

I do-don't -- I don't -- I don't know anything!

-We do, Janet, and we're here to help.

-This is your first baby, but we do this all the time.

[ Laughter ] -Promise me.

[ Exhaling ] [ Wailing ] [ Door closes ] Ah.

-You can come right in.

The height won't bite you.

-Oh, it's not the height that bothers me.

It's the distance.

I'm not used to seeing such a long way ahead.

-A city dweller, then.

-London.

-I'm from Motherwell.

I never knew what distance was, what space was, space like there was room around you, where you could stretch out and breathe.

There was nine of us livin' in two rooms.

-That sounds familiar.

-I took to lookin' at the sky, saw somethin' that had no limits, that did not change.

And I wanted it.

The heavens belong to no man, but this is mine.

This is my star.

But it would all mean nothin' without my Janet.

-[Sigh] -[Moaning] -Good girl.

You tell me if you want some Trilene for the pain.

-No.

The pain's all gone now.

It's more like power, like a force.

-[Cries out] -Here it comes.

-Ah.

Ahh!

-Gentle pushes.

-[Wails] -Little pushes.

That's it.

[ Squelching ] That's it.

[ Squelching ] There we go.

-It's out.

-Give me your hand.

-[Panting] You feel that?

That's what that power you spoke about can do.

-[Inhaling] -Baby's turnin'.

[ Laughter ] -[Wailing] -You have a son, Janet.

-[Continues wailing] -That's it.

He's the most beautiful little boy you ever did see.

-I wouldn't care if he wasn't.

He's ours.

And he belongs where he was born.

[ Snip ] -[Continues wailing] -Ooh.

[ Laughs ] -[Continues wailing] -[Continues wailing] [ Quieting ] -[Chuckle] -Shhhhhhh.

Can we open a window, so he can hear the sea?

[ Laughter ] -It's blowing a Force 10 gale out there.

Do you want him to get sucked right out into the storm?

-How about we all just listen?

[ Wind howling ] -Do you hear that?

Do you?

This is your home.

[ Door opens ] -Nurses!

Oh.

-Hello, Isla.

-I don't want you!

-Are you all on your own?

[ Wailing ] -Isla, the more you fuss, the longer this will take and I don't like to say this, sweetheart, but the more it will hurt.

-It hurts, anyway.

[ Resumes wailing ] -[Sigh] -[Continues wailing] -We cannot sedate her again.

It's not warranted.

[ Wind howling ] -When will he start smilin'?

-[Laughs] Bless you, Mr. McGaskill.

You'll have to wait a few more weeks for that.

-Can I take him up and show him the light?

-We need to get him bathed, properly dressed, and try puttin' him to the breast.

After that, we might discuss it.

-Afterbirth's all present and correct.

You happy for me to burn it in the stove?

-[Moans] -Janet, precious, are you feelin' unwell?

-I think I'm going to be sick.

-Would you go and ask Doctor to step this way, please?

-[Vomits] -Alright.

-[Wailing] -Do you know, Isla, I've often had to put up with some absolutely horrid things.

I've sometimes tried to wish them away -[ Stops wailing] -and, sometimes, I've actually fought them.

But every single time, the thing that's got me through is the promise of a treat or a reward after the pain is done, the idea that there are better things to come, if I'm brave enough.

-What sort of better things?

-Well, it might be something like a special cake or a new nail varnish.

Manicures are almost my favorite thing.

-My favorite thing's the calf!

-[Sobbing] No, please!

[profound gasp] No!

-I'm sorry, Janet.

-Am I going to have another baby?

-No, you aren't.

You've got acute appendicitis.

[ Latch clicks ] [ Door creaking open ] [ Lowing ] [ Whimsical tune plays ] -[Sigh] I'm sorry, but I have no choice but to dislodge you from your cozy little bed.

I will bring you back when our mission is accomplished.

-[Lowing] -Oh!

You and I, young man, are perilously close to falling out.

[ Static crackling ] -Coast Guard, can you arrange for a medical evacuation?

Over.

-Advice to remain in situ until storm abates, over.

-This is the GP who diagnosed the patient.

Her labor masked the symptoms and there is a risk that the appendix may now be at the point of bursting, over.

-Coast Guard.

Are you able to remain with the patient?

-[Sigh] -Over.

I can't leave her.

But, she needs urgent surgery!

Over.

-Remain in situ.

Repeat, remain in situ until the storm abates.

-[Sigh] -Over and out.

-[Grunts] [ Calf lows ] [ Whimsical tune plays ] [ Laughing ] [ Clucking ] There, there.

[clucking] There, there.

There, there.

-[Fusses] -[Moaning] The pain stopped hurting whilst I was having him.

-Precious, that's because the act of giving birth eclipses everything.

Hormones flood through the body, sweepin' everything else away.

-Ooh.

Why can't they sweep this away?

-Because you're not having a baby now.

You're sick, and we'll take care of you.

-Ah.

[gasp] -Dr. Turner's going to anesthetize her with Trilene.

We have suture threads and needles.

The clamps and the scalpel will have to be sterilized by boiling.

-Oh, uh, the pan's coming up to simmer.

-I've brought the gloves we used in the delivery.

We need to boil them, too.

-Then, we want a pair of clean sheets to cover the table and the patient.

We'll hot iron them, if there's time.

-[Wailing] -I'm comin' right back.

-Oh, that bulb's playing silly beggars.

That's all we need.

-Dr. Turner's gown's on the back of the chair.

Scrub your hands, rinse them off with the Dettol, and then take it to him.

[ Closes door ] [ Closes door, gasps ] Sergeant Dyer's got it all organized.

Oh!

She's a right tartar when she wants to be.

You can't half tell she's been in the army.

-I was in the army.

The last time I took an appendix out was in Italy, in 1944.

-Something to do with Monte Cassino?

-He was a young artillery gunner from Scunthorpe.

I had to fit him in between two amputations, with the sound of gunfire in the distance and hail on the roof of the hospital tent.

[ Gasp ] Every single day, the thing that scared me the most was that my hands would get too cold, that they'd freeze up.

-You don't want that when you're working with precision tools.

-Feels like old times.

[mirthless chuckle] My hands aren't warm, I'm having to improvise, and, if I get it wrong, a life gets cut short.

-Come on.

You don't wanna get on the wrong side of Sergeant Dyer.

Shoulders back.

-Oof.

-[Sniffing] -He knows I'm hurt!

I can see it in his eyes!

-That's all we can hope for, Winnie, isn't it?

Someone who knows when we're in pain.

-[Sniffling] Uh.

[ Thunder rumbling ] -Your mammy's got work to do.

[ Thunder rumbling ] Everybody's busy, so you can help me do my job, [ Door opens ] eh?

[ Door closes ] You're not helping with the operation?

-Mm, not really a spectator sport.

-Scalpel.

-Scalpel.

-Now, while the baby was in utero, the appendix would've been pushed upwards which is why the pain was atypically high in the abdomen.

It should now have returned to its usual position.

So, I will make the classic incision over McBurney's point.

[ Suspenseful music climbs ] Like...so.

[ Gasp ] [ Thunder rumbles, electricity crackling ] -The electricity's gone off.

-Clamp.

Just find the clamp.

[ Metal clatters ] [ Window creaks open ] [ Baby wailing ] [ Door closes ] -The storm's blown the power out.

The keeper's gone up the tower.

We got one oil lamp and one torch, and that's it.

-It'll have to do, and you'll have to hold them.

-Tell me where to stand.

-She'll be treating us both to a preemptive dose of Lintus when we get back indoors.

We've not long seen off the flu and you're minus one of your stockings.

You sure you don't want to cycle back and fetch it?

-Oh, I'm never crossing the threshold in that barn again.

I don't care if I have to paint my other leg with dark gravy browning.

[ Laughter ] [ Sigh ] -Ooh.

-Oh, good God.

It's Effie!

-Oh.

-I thought it was an animal!

-Whatever's happened to the lass?

[ Squelching ] -Gently does it.

[ Squelching continues ] Good grief.

-Is that normal?

-No.

That's about three times the usual size.

It's full of pus and it would've burst by morning.

Swab.

[ Thunder rumbling ] -[Moans softly] -I telephoned the post office and they're taking a message to Effie's auntie.

I was suitably parsimonious with the details.

-[Moans] -We don't really have any details ourselves, except that it's whiskey.

I can smell it seeping through her skin.

-We'll leave her on this side of death.

I will deployin' the bucket, again, at some point.

-[Chuckle] Oh, lass, do you want to stand down?

-Doesn't actually help that she's wearing my pajamas.

-No, I don't suppose it does.

-I've never quite got used to it.

As a nurse, the way you can suddenly see yourself reflected back at you, in a place or a face where you least expect it.

-If we allow ourselves to think like that, we'll be seein' ourselves round every corner and not payin' due attention to our patients.

Go on.

You avail yourself of my bed.

-[Sniffle] -And I'll dance attendance on our young delinquent.

-Phyllis, Effie didn't do this because she's bad.

She did it because she's unhappy.

-[Sobbing] Mum.

[Crying] -It's alright, lass.

You're looked after.

[ Birds squawking ] [ Door opens ] -Oo-oo-ooh.

Oo-oo-ooh!

Oof!

I've come to see my granddaughter.

Donald the Ferry wants his boat back, at your convenience.

The word is you all had quite the night of it.

[ Laughing ] [ Baby cooing ] -It would appear you've all been very resourceful.

-We had no choice, other than to choose to do our best, or panic and do nothin'.

-Oh!

Panickers never last long, in these parts.

Neither do people with romantic notions in their minds.

Pound to a penny if they come here and fall in love with the islands, next thing, they fall in love with a man, and run away!

-We're not runnin' away, Mrs. Norrie.

We're just going home to London.

-When?

-At the end of the week.

But Nurse Diana won't leave you for a day or two.

-I would've died without them.

-I know you would.

You must all have been missing your families, w-with Christmas coming and -- and it being so important where you live.

-Nothing is more important than this, Mrs. Norrie.

-Oh.

[ Clack, clink ] -Kippers.

I think they'll upset me.

-Not as much as Nurse Franklin's going to upset your auntie when she fills her in on last night's antics.

-Aunt Mina doesn't need to know.

-Yes, she does.

Because she needs to know you.

[ Indistinct conversations ] [ Bell ringing ] -Oh, Reggie!

Oh, you do look smart.

But I don't think you need to wear a tie.

-You've got a hat on.

-Yes, but I'm not gonna be packing Christmas parcels with the Youth Club.

You're gonna be one of them this afternoon.

-I'd rather do paper chains.

-That will still be here when you get back.

Go and take the tie off and make yourself look groovy.

-[Laughing] [ Bird cheeping ] -The only way I'll make Aunt Mina happy is if I stay here, live in a croft, sing Psalms every Sunday, wearing Wellingtons.

-I've no quarrel with a good stout gumboot, not in these climes.

I shall deposit this in an appropriate dustbin.

I don't believe you ever really wanted it.

-My father worked in a submarine.

I never saw him, but I imagine him sometimes, under the water, in the dark, with everything locked tight, shut above his head.

He can't get out and neither can I.

Did you know I was a bastard?

-I know your mother wasn't married.

My mother wasn't married.

-You say it as if you're not ashamed.

-I was, so ashamed, [scoffing] once upon a time.

I could smell it on my skin.

Not because I was dirty, but because we could only afford the cheapest soap.

Mother and I were as clean as we could make ourselves.

Oh, but we were lonely.

-I never realized my mother and I were lonely.

She always used to say, "It's more fun, just us."

-We used to take the bus to a gospel hall in another part of town.

My mother was the only fallen woman in the congregation.

I think they quite liked having her, so they could forgive.

'Cause, one day, I suddenly realized how proud I was of my mother.

Keeping me took courage and I decided I'd make her proud of me.

-[crying] I've missed my chance there.

-Bein' proud of yourself would be a start, hmm?

-Now, remember, ladies and gentlemen, if the box you are filling has scarlet tinsel on it, it will be donated to an elderly lady, and we require the inclusion of bath cubes and a miniature liqueur.

If it has gold tinsel embellishment, it is destined for a gentlemen, so kindly incorporate a bottle of pale ale and a chocolate tool set.

I shall now hand over to Counselor Buckle.

-[chuckle] On your marks, get set, [ringing bell] go!

[ Laughter ] - Jingle bell, jingle bell Jingle bell rock Jingle bell swing And jingle bell ring Snowin' and blowin' up bushels of fun Now the jingle hop -Can still smell the drink on you, from here.

-It will pass.

-And, if you'd died from the cold, that wouldn't have passed.

If you'd been hit by a car, that wouldn't have passed.

What would your mother say, Effie?

-She isn't here to say anything.

I'm not her, Aunt Mina.

-Neither am I. I can't be what she was to you.

-You have a child of your own [sigh] and another coming soon.

-You think that means I wouldn't have room for you?

-[crying] I don't know.

-Oh!

-[Crying] [ Kiss ] -I just don't want you to make her mistakes.

-I am the mistake!

-Oh, no.

-[Sobs] -No.

You're the gift.

-[Sobbing] -What was it I said about seeing yourself reflected?

-That you don't approve.

-[laughs] That was it.

Have yourself A merry little Christmas -How nice to see a young person conducting themselves with decorum.

Do you require assistance?

-Yes.

Glue tastes horrible.

-When I was a child, we used to make chains out of scrap paper and flour-and-water paste.

It was remarkably compelling.

One never knew quite when to stop, or, indeed, if one wanted to.

-I'm gonna get in the "Guinness World Records" book.

-Oh, really?

What's that?

-For the longest paper chain in the world!

[ Gasping ] Ohh.

-Sister Monica Joan, where are you going?

-Where He leads me!

[ Door closes ] -You are to stay here and you are to rest.

-I undertook to follow our sister and I will!

-[Sigh] -Ohh.

Oh.

[ Chuckle ] [ Laugh-crying ] Oh.

I knew Him at once, from the love in his glance.

He came, he looked... [ Crying ] ...and he departed.

-In that case, we will accept His blessing and go to seek Him in another place.

-[Crying] -Oh!

Good afternoon.

I wonder if you might be able to advise.

I require a telephone number for a publishing body called the "Guinness World Records" book.

-Have a happy Christmas.

[ Bell chimes ] -I bring yuletide greetings, by hand.

-Oh!

So much more, uh, personal.

-Yes, and it saves on the cost of a stamp.

-[Laughs] -Is Reggie at home?

I have some rather splendid news for him.

-Hmm.

I didn't know what to say, Fred.

She presented it as a fait accompli.

-What do you mean, a fait accompli?

-She had it all planned out.

[sigh] The Youth Club are making paper chains.

The Townswomen's Guild and Mr. Dean's Dancing School are making paper chains, and then they're all gonna be stuck together so that Reggie can apply to be in the "Guinness World [chuckling] Records" book.

-[Laughing] Well, I bet that put him in the Christmas spirit.

-He's as bright and as happy as a robin on a postbox.

-[chuckle] Wait.

Hang on, oh, oh!

Hang on!

[ Clanking ] [chuckle] Well, that's what we want, innit?

-Yes, it is, always.

I don't want him to be let down or disappointed or -- or embarrassed!

-No, he won't be, no!

I promise.

-It's easy for you to say.

You're still over 700 miles away.

-Hang on!

[ Click ] [ Coin clanking ] Hello!

Hello?

-Mother Mildred is adamant.

This isn't the place for the order.

The health authorities are recruiting staff in the usual way.

-The doctor will be a very lucky man.

I don't envy him.

-I wish I'd been there with you for the operation.

-[Chuckle] You'd have got a glimpse of me as a younger man.

-Really?

What was he like?

-Scared.

Competent, but scared.

My hands are always warm now.

I know what I'm doing and I know where I belong.

-They not feedin' you enough?

You look as though you're scavenging for scraps.

-Scavenging for something.

I just hope Mrs. Norrie don't catch me.

-I heard about that.

I think it was the tree that she was at war with, not something that would make a child smile.

You trying to make a child smile now?

-[Chuckle] [ Whimsical tune plays ] Not a child, but, someone very special.

[ Creaking ] -You're packing up?

-Yes.

A new district nurse arrives in the new year.

-Well, the pleasure of your company has been requested.

[ Laughter ] -Thanks.

So, we can take these back home after the party.

[ Bagpipes playing ] [ Clapping rhythmically ] [ Applause ] -We love you so much.

-[Laughing] -Thank you.

Thank you.

- In the bleak midwinter Frosty wind made moan Earth stood hard as iron Water like a stone In the bleak midwinter A stable place sufficed Lord God Almighty Jesus Christ [ Whistle blowing ] [ Indistinct conversations ] [ Brass blows ] [ Brass toots ] -I found Nurse Crane's whistle.

She left it on her mantelpiece.

-Many thanks.

I have, in fact, secured the loan of Mrs. Buckle's bell.

[ Bell ringing ] -Here we are.

-Some Christmases will always be more memorable than others.

[ "Hark!

The Herald Angels Sing" plays ] Not because they surpass all the others we've known, but because the light shines from a different source.

We're warmed, but made wiser, welcomed in, and given something new.

Christmas is not a competition, but the prize itself, a gathering and a sharing of the things that matter most.

It is of no consequence whether we have the biggest or the brightest; or that we're the strongest, the bravest, or the most inclined to win.

[ Cheering ] It is the smallest things that have the highest value: the glance that soothes, the ear that hears, the thought made deed, and the links in the chain of love that bind us all.

-Merry Christmas!

-[Laughs] -[Laughing] [ Camera shutter clicks ] [ Flashbulb explodes ]