Call the Midwife

Mature Jennifer, voiceover: Which flavour lives on longest in the memory?

Is it the bitter or the sweet?

The sour surprise of a thing we did not ask for, or the warmth of expectations met?

The pattern of the years embraces both, the honeyed and the harsh.

I've passed!

In the dark days before the spring begins, we can't foretell what will distinguish the summer when it comes, or who we will be when the snows return.

For now, we cling to ritual.

This is where we once were.

This is where we are now.

This is where, if the Fates are willing, we will be again.

I can't tell you what a joy it is to have a pancake with sugar and lemon again.

What do they eat them with in America?

Maple syrup... and sometimes bacon.

That continent is a cauldron of all perversities.

[Chuckles] I think it sounds quite delicious.

We could experiment with Spam and treacle.

We have both in the cupboard.

If that is how you would like to celebrate passing your exams, you have only to say.

It's wonderful news, lass.

Welcome to our profession.

[Clapping] [Groaning] Wonderful work.

That's wonderful work, Maxine.

You forget how much it ruddy hurts!

Oh, Steve.

Steve... Stevenson!

[Groaning] Do you need me?

When you do the solicitor's office, they don't like the pine disinfectant in the toilet.

You have to use the lemonnnn!

I'm supposed to be doing her cleaning shift for her.

Do you have to leave now, Mr Drummond?

This baby's about to be born.

[Maxine groaning] Oh, Reggie, love, you've even sliced the lemons.

Aren't you good?

I thought it would speed things up.

Well, no one ought to be kept waiting on Pancake Day.

[Fred chuckles] Oh, good on you.

You've been practising your new money.

Reggie: It's easier than old money.

Now, that is what the government told us when they said that we were going decimal.

Although, two weeks in, I don't think they've convinced a single shopkeeper.

[Violet chuckles] [Maxine wailing] Oh!

Oh!

[Panting] [Baby crying] You have a little girl, Maxine.

Another girl!

We got another girl!

Maxine: I thought you wanted a boy.

What?

Never.

Never, ever.

[Laughs] [Baby crying] [Maxine sighs] [Baby crying] Oh!

Hello.

Can I kiss her?

Go on.

[Baby wailing] I'll kiss you first.

[Chuckles] [Dogs barking] Rosalind!

Oh!

I didn't knock.

I thought it was too late.

The pancake batter's been standing all evening.

I was listening for the sound of your bike wheels.

Cyril!

I'm in my uniform!

And you're in your slippers!

[Both chuckle] Good delivery?

Actually, it was inspiring.

I'm on district duty for the rest of the week.

We need a thorough review of all our diabetic patients.

Sister Catherine, in honour of your first day as a fully qualified midwife, I have assigned you the ante-natal round.

Entirely solo, unsupervised and independent.

I hope you've eaten a hearty breakfast, honey.

You'll be riding that bike for miles.

I've just added Thelma Cutler, 8 Lowman Street, to your list.

That poor lady who was sick on the floor in clinic?

Six months along, and her nausea is intractable.

It's rare, but I think the poor lass might be stuck with it for the duration.

[Television music playing, child crying] Nurse Crane: District nurse!

Mr Kingsley... I found this little scamp halfway down the stairs to the street.

Come here.

Oh, Terence!

[Chuckles] If you keep doing this, I'm going to get you a collar and lead, huh?

Mr Kingsley, it's February.

It's cold.

He needs more on than one sock and a vest.

What is that child doing up at the window?

Ah, she likes looking down, seeing what's going on.

Ian: Edna!

[Child crying] I actually came from Dr Turner's practice to make sure that everything was up to date with your diabetes medication.

We haven't seen you for a while.

Yeah, I'm under the hospital.

I'm a serious case.

Edna!

[Child crying] Hello, Nurse.

Mrs Kingsley.

I didn't know you were expecting again.

Do you have any clothes for these children?

Loads.

Just need to sort the washing out.

[Doorbell ringing] Hello!

Midwife calling.

Thelma: It's on the latch!

You don't have to be brave all the time, Thelma.

Sometimes it's alright to say, 'This is hard'.

And it is hard.

I remember flushing my contraceptive pills down the toilet when we decided to start trying for a baby.

I feel like I've done nothing but stare down that toilet ever since.

Bed and a washing-up bowl are probably better.

Oh!

[Retching] [Gasps] Uh!

Oh, I've got another three months of this.

Mm... [Coughs] Lass, you need to attend clinic.

And you need to get your home ready for the new arrival.

Got it ready for the last arrival.

We've still got the cot and bottles and everything.

[Child wailing] There.

Hair brushed.

Lippy on.

That better?

Sometimes getting dressed and ready to face the day is half the battle.

Felt like a battle since we lost our eldest.

You've had a lot to come back from, Edna.

What I would advise is-- I don't need advice from someone out the ark!

The father's not doing his daily urine tests, and that flat reeks to high heaven.

An army of lice on all four kiddies, and the eldest should have been in school.

Faye Marie, born November 1965?

And there was that little boy who died when they were at a different practice.

We've missed St Cuthbert's diabetic clinic for this week, Doctor.

Would you like to assess Mr Kingsley yourself?

Yes, as soon as possible.

I haven't seen Faye or Nicky for two years.

And there are gaps in their record before that.

We'd better tell Social Services.

Stevenson: Go on through.

They're all in there.

Oh!

Maxine: Come on in, nurse.

We're just having a women's lib meeting.

You don't mind me getting on with things while I'm feeding, do you?

Oh-- No, not at all.

But once baby's finished on the breast, I will need to examine you.

Fair enough.

Take a pew.

Go on.

You can join us.

It doesn't matter if we're supported or derided on the Women's March through London.

The most important thing is that we are seen and we are heard.

Does 'derided' mean made fun of?

Yes, but it can also mean dismissed or belittled.

Women have been put down since time immemorial, and we aren't going to put up with it anymore.

Ooh, we ought to get that on a placard.

You might have to make it a bit shorter.

[Women chuckle] And the point me and all the other women on the Cleaners Association want to make, placards or no placards, is that we want equal rights, equal status and equal pay.

Which is why we are all going to be marching shoulder-to-shoulder through London.

[Women murmuring] Thelma seems to be living on bits of toast and boiled sweets, Doctor.

And she can scarcely keep those down.

If she ends up clinically dehydrated, we'll send her to St Cuthbert's.

I've not seen many cases of true hyperemesis, but every time, it's the lowest I've ever seen a pregnant woman brought, mentally as well as physically.

There's not really any medication for it, is there?

Not after Thalidomide.

There will never be any medication for it after Thalidomide.

A political meeting at the bedside of a newly delivered mother?

[Chuckles] I'm amazed she had the energy.

It was as though all the women were getting energy from each other.

I've never seen anything like it.

They even gave her some homework.

Show them your book, child.

The Female Eunuch by Germaine Greer.

What a very striking cover.

What I want to know is, where do they come from, all these educated ladies campaigning side-by-side with cleaners from the East End?

I think mostly Hampstead.

Although there's no doubt the movement's spreading.

Women of all classes have always been involved in women's advancement.

My granny used to finish a factory shift in Paisley and go out campaigning.

Will you come on the march with Joyce and I, Phyllis?

Perhaps I should come to the meeting.

I've no objection to finding out more.

I think that's extremely public spirited.

The sisters and I look forward to hearing all about it.

[Car horn honking] You forgot the nit lotion.

I'm sorry.

I must have got distracted putting a new diabetes kit together for Mr Kingsley.

I'd deal with him myself, but I've two new cases of venous ulcer.

And I think the family as a whole might respond better to a younger person.

Thank you.

[Dinging bell] So, the projected budget details are in the blue folder, but we're still missing the signed returns from the Board of Health.

I'm afraid you've drawn a dreadfully short straw.

I have assigned myself nursery duties in the maternity home for delicious little newborns, including twins.

I'll be down at feeding time.

And we agreed that secular staff make better inroads with the Council.

Go.

Leave me to get on.

[Chuckles] TV announcer: Asking you to fill in the 1971 census.

An army of men and women with light-blue satchels... Honey, I'm the nurse.

Are your mom and dad at home?

TV announcer: The form is sealed.

There is nothing to fear from completing it... What are you doing with those pills?

These are saccharine tablets.

They're for putting in your tea.

What are you doing with them, child?

[Faye whimpers] Is that all you have to eat?

Your daughter should be at school.

And all of your children are hungry.

They need to be deloused, but first, they need to be fed.

Who gave you leave to come in here and start shouting odds, hey?

My wife has been diagnosed with depression.

I'm going to go to the corner shop and buy a loaf, some margarine and some jam.

And when I get back, we're going to discuss a plan of action.

Female voice: Hello, and how may I help you?

I'm calling on behalf of Nonnatus House, Hendy Street, with regard to our projected budget from June of this year.

Female voice: Please hold for a moment.

Of course.

Dr Threapwood: Would that be my friend, Lady Aylward?

Yes.

I wasn't expecting to be put through to you, Dr Threapwood.

I asked to be connected directly, should you call.

I feel I should forewarn you of certain developments.

Now?

It would be expedient to meet within the week.

Joyce: Come on.

Nurse Highland?

Mr Kingsley refused to cooperate with the diabetes protocols.

And I'm taking the children to the cleansing station.

There's no way of heating water in that flat.

And I think the youngest has scabies, as well as lice.

I'd better take a look at them.

[Child crying] Come on.

Go ahead.

[Child whimpering] I know.

[Sighs] This bellyache's worse than the sickness, Sister.

If I could just go... go properly... You know what I mean.

If you're dehydrated, that might well lead to constipation.

But I'll have a feel of your tummy, just to make sure things are as they should be.

Mm... I'll be back.

Mmm... [Thelma retching] [Car door closing] I am putting in a complaint as soon as I get back to the surgery.

That cleansing station needs to be open at all times, not on request or by appointment.

I've never seen a family in a worse state than this.

I've thought that so many times.

[Retching, gasping] [Knocking] May I come in?

Yeah.

[Retches, gasping] Have your bowels moved at all, Thelma?

[Gasping] I'm going to get you back to bed with a hot water bottle, then I'm calling Dr Turner.

Mm.

There's nothing he can give me.

Don't waste his time.

The surgery's three minutes' walk away, and we won't be wasting his time if we ask him to pop round and rule out early labour.

Uhh!

We need to take care of you, Thelma.

And your baby.

Uhh!

[Gasping] I wish there was no baby sometimes.

[Throwing up] [Children chattering] We're going to have to get them taken into care.

It may take a few days to implement, but this is a clear case of neglect.

I think it's worse than neglect.

There's bruises on the backs of the children.

And I need you to look between Nicky's toes.

I think there's a cigarette burn there.

[Thelma cries out in pain] Aahh!

Yah!

Something's fallen into the toilet.

[Gasps] Can I see?

[Winces in pain] [Thelma gasping] [Quietly] Oh.

Was it the baby?

Yes, sweetheart, it was.

[Crying] [Panting] Uh!

Sister Catherine: Don't look.

[Thelma sobbing] Sweetheart, we need to get you up.

Thelma: No.

[Struggling] It's alright, Thelma.

I'm with you.

I'm going to leave you, but only for a moment.

I need to fetch my bag.

[Door opening] [Panting] [Baby whimpers] Oh!

I'm afraid I always fear the worst when Dr Threapwood starts taking an interest in our fortunes.

All I could do was arrange to meet him at his office next week.

[Door bangs open] Baby, 28 weeks gestation, delivered into the toilet!

Still breathing!

Doctor Turner!

Doctor Turner!

He was breathing.

Dr Turner: What's happened?

Premature baby.

Six months gestation.

Get the Flying Squad.

Sweetie, whose baby is it?

Thelma Cutler, 8 Lowman Street.

Miss Higgins: Kenilworth Row.

Yes.

The infant is still showing signs of life.

Placenta is still attached.

The skin... The skin is like tissue paper.

We've lost respiration.

Come on.

Come on, little warrior.

It's alright, Thelma.

Everything's going to be alright.

Where did Sister Catherine go?

She took your baby to the maternity home, Thelma.

Because it was dead?

No... Because it's alive.

Is it a boy or a girl?

I don't know.

We're taking it to Imperial Hospital.

It's the only place in London with any expertise when they're this early... and this small.

We haven't weighed him.

Weight was the least of our concerns.

Fingers crossed it survives the journey across town.

Blue lights all the way.

It is a little boy.

"Play School" presenter: Three, four.

Ready to knock.

[Knocking] Turn the lock.

Oh!

[Music plays] Play School!

I wouldn't generally advise taking the bull by the horns in such a way, Nurse Highland.

But in this case, it's as well you did.

It's the indifference that angers me.

The indifference and the laziness, as well as the cruelty.

Life is more of a struggle for some people than it is for others.

We're fortunate.

Our struggle is only with our feelings.

[Doorbell ringing] [Doorbell ringing insistently] Good afternoon, Mr Kingsley.

Have you got my kids?

Your children are all here.

They have been receiving hygiene treatment-- We're taking them home.

I suggest you come inside and speak to Sister Veronica.

As a Health Visitor, she is the best person to advise.

As their father, I'm best placed to advise the lot of you!

You do not have the right to enter private premises in this manner!

And you do not have the right to abduct my children!

Edna!

Edna.

Nurse Highland brought your children here because they were in desperate need of bathing.

And now we have found bruises that will have to be explained.

You'll have to prove they weren't inflicted here!

Ah?

I know the way your sort operate.

And we know our rights.

Edna!

[Child starts to cry] Come on!

[Child crying] Get.

Come on.

[Child crying] [Applause] And thank you, Eleanor, for reminding us that women are not just discriminated against in the professional field, they are also discriminated against at home.

[All drumming on table, chatter] The time has come for us to declare our self-respect and to claim a full identity.

And to get equal pay for equal work!

[Drumming on table, applause, all agreeing] [Knock on door] Enter.

You need not concern yourself with your attire.

The Lord gave you those tresses, and if they are His delight, they do not offend me.

I had prepared you a beverage, out of concern for the day you have endured.

But I find I have left it in the kitchen.

I'm happy just to have your company.

It was a terrible day.

I have seen its like many times... an infant lost or maimed... or not shaped well.

I keep turning it over and over again in my mind.

Did I do all I should have done?

Did I do anything to make things worse?

Oh... I recall that unabating voice.

The doubt that pursues you home and seeks to be your bedfellow.

But say this to yourself.

Tonight, a child breathes.

Tonight, a mother lives.

Tomorrow, you will resume your tasks.

But what is my task now?

The child is born.

It has arrived.

But the mother is still on the journey... and you must bring her home.

I've never once doubted the importance of female solidarity.

But for women of my age, it went unspoken.

If we'd had a motto, it would have been 'Deeds, not words'.

We had a war to be getting on with.

But even in the War, too many women were forced into limiting roles because of damaging stereotypes.

That's why burning bras is so important.

It's about the rejection of frivolity.

A good bra is a very practical item and not frivolous at all.

Trixie, tell me you're not going to be joining in with all that carry-on.

Well, perhaps not with my current bras.

I bought them at a New York lingerie department.

But definitely something from my back catalogue.

[Chuckles] My husband had the power to run our finances into the ground without telling me.

My husband beat me so badly, I left him without telling him.

But what I learned tonight is that it's not what men have done to us that matters.

It's what we do, as women, going forward.

That I can't argue with.

[Baby crying] And that's it.

All ready for your outing.

Shoes on, coats at the ready.

And I've got your washing-up bowl.

I don't need it, Kev.

I haven't been sick since yesterday.

I keep trying to picture the baby.

I never even saw his face.

The sooner we get you to the hospital, the sooner you can have a proper look.

You'll feel better then, I promise you.

Prescriptions, signed by Dr Turner, all present and correct.

Oh, thank you.

We're very low on pethidine.

And Mrs Kumar's penicillin was becoming urgent.

It's good of you when you're so busy.

Well, I might be a lady of leisure tomorrow if I join in with this strike.

Will you be participating?

No, Mrs Turner.

I've decided to forgo the pleasure.

W-why is that?

Because I come from a generation of women that got on with it.

No histrionics, no sloganeering, and our foundation garments stayed intact.

Baby weighed in at exactly 2 pounds and half an ounce.

We've had a couple of 2-pounders do very well in the past year.

The doctors here are very skilled and learning all the time.

[Machines beeping] What's all the bleeping?

I think those are the transistorised monitors.

There's one attached to every incubator.

If a baby stops breathing or there's a problem with the heartbeat, an alarm goes off.

That's correct.

Here he is!

Baby Cutler.

We can update the labels once you've picked a Christian name.

Kevin: Oh, we liked James, didn't we?

James Kevin or James Paul.

Look at him, Thelma.

He's beautiful.

He's gorgeous.

[Alarm sounds] Nurse: Baby Smith has collapsed.

She needs a chair.

I can't look at him.

I'm sorry.

It's alright, Thelma.

You only gave birth yesterday.

But did I give birth?

There was nothing that felt like a contraction.

I didn't even realise that I'd pushed.

My body just... let go of him.

I failed.

You didn't fail.

You were valiant throughout your whole pregnancy.

But it wasn't even a whole pregnancy.

He doesn't even look like a baby.

It's my fault.

It's my fault, because I said that I wished that there wasn't one.

But baby James is doing well.

Heh!

What happened to your moped?

It fell foul of budgetary cuts.

Do you need to brief me on anything before we head in?

The gap in their records is because they were out of the area when their son died.

I've telephoned Greenwich, but we still don't know what happened.

[Television chatter] It's nice to see the children eating a cooked meal at lunchtime, Edna.

Well, Faye gets a hot dinner at school, and I want you to see I'm not incompetent.

Social Services are not your enemy.

We're here to help, especially with the children.

You were meant to help when Martyn died, hmm?

Fat lot of use you were then.

Ian, do you want to tell us what happened to Martyn?

He had a fit.

That's all.

Babies have fits all the time.

Martyn wasn't a baby.

He was 4 and a half.

You're just setting a trap.

Nobody's setting a trap.

But we do need to understand why there are injuries on your children.

Then look at how we can help you get back on your feet as a family.

We've heard that before, when they took the kids away from us after Martyn died.

It took us six months to get them back.

You are not having them this time.

Ticking away like a little clock.

Just the way I like to hear it.

You have obviously been doing everything right.

Not many people say that sort of thing to me.

Edna, Doctor and I were wondering if you'd like to come and have a look at the ward and delivery room while you're here.

We thought you'd like to mull over having the baby with us instead of at St Cuthbert's.

I've decided against St Cuthbert's now.

I'm having a home birth.

This is your sixth pregnancy, Edna.

And you just told me I've been doing everything right.

I'm not spending one night away from our kids.

This will be a home birth, so you'd best get that in your heads.

I used to work as a paediatric nurse, Sister, and I know the quest to heal can cause terrible suffering.

Baby James was born at 28 weeks.

He is considered viable.

But what does 'viable' mean?

Does it mean he'll go home as a happy, healthy baby?

Or could he be brain damaged and blind?

We're working to regulate the amount of oxygen these babies receive.

Now, we know too much can affect their eyesight.

Sister Wilmott, do you share that information with the parents?

We tell the parents what they need to know when they have to make decisions.

James' mother is in no fit state to make any decision.

She struggles to even believe he is her child.

And without that bond, how can she choose what's right?

Sometimes the parents don't choose.

Sometimes the problems overwhelm the babies, and they simply declare themselves.

We can't help them all.

But you can help the mothers.

Or, at least, you could help me to help this one.

I'm sorry, Mr Robinson.

Sister Veronica has left for her district visits.

Cyril: The Kingsley family's case notes have come through.

I have more details on the death of Martyn.

Good.

I don't like having a child merely marked as 'deceased' in our records.

It seems to speak of want of care.

Martyn died of... oxygen deprivation from a seizure that was only witnessed by his parents.

The postmortem noted old bruises on his upper arms and back, and a cigarette burn was found between his toes.

Were the parents ever charged?

No, they were not.

There was thought to be insufficient evidence of child battery or neglect, and the police fell back on a compassionate approach.

Will surveillance of the family increase now?

It's ten past five on a Friday.

But, yes, it will.

Hands through the portholes.

Like that.

Excellent.

And then just clean his little face with the damp cotton wool.

I worry it feels sore with that big plaster on it.

I swear he's smiling.

It's like his lips just turned up a little bit at the corners.

[Alarm sounding] Stand back!

He's stopped breathing.

[Nurses murmuring] [Child laughs] And that's the three of us, off and ready for our big adventure!

Sister Veronica will collect Christopher.

She's going to read to him from some Cantonese storybooks.

Oh, that's great.

Teddy and me are going to do an Airfix model.

But we're on strike, Patrick, in preparation for the Women's March next Saturday.

And I'm all for it.

Some of the newspaper coverage has been really thought-provoking.

But, Daddy, you need to do the ironing and washing.

[Scoffs] I was in the Army.

Ironing holds no fears.

[Laughs] Have you left us a casserole or something?

That's not how a women's strike works.

Fred: What's this, Vi?

It's a list.

It's a list of everything that I usually do on a Saturday and Sunday in order to keep this household on the straight and narrow.

But it starts with 'run a haberdasher's shop'.

And then it says 'batch bake'.

And then it says 'clean all the shoes', and then it says, 'and my handbags'.

How do you fit all this in an afternoon?

You've got more handbags than the Queen Mum.

I do your shoes, then I do my shoes and my bags while the batch bakes in the oven.

Why do you think I close the shop at 4 o'clock at weekends?

A home and a family do not run themselves, Fred Buckle.

But I can't run the haberdashery.

I don't know the names of all the different types of elastic.

And people come in and ask for, erm... female things.

I'll stick with the paper shop.

Cyril's running the paper shop.

He's strongly in support of feminist ideals.

I'm sorry we're having to do this here.

I do need to ask you a few questions about bleeding and what goes on in the bathroom.

But we can do that before Kevin gets back with the tea.

Kevin keeps pushing me to agree to give James a tracheotomy.

Have the consultants said it's for the best?

They've said it's best for his chance of survival.

How do we know it's the best thing for him?

A tracheotomy will prevent James from suffering so many collapses, Thelma.

They'll cut into his throat from the outside and stick a plastic nozzle in.

He'll have to breathe through his neck.

How's that better?

Why is it better to just keep him surviving, even if he may never see, even if his brain is going to be damaged?

We don't know any of those things are going to happen, Thelma.

No, we don't know that they won't.

You know more than me, Sister Catherine.

But when it comes to a baby like James... nobody knows anything.

Hey, keep it up.

There's probably a Cub badge for potato peeling.

It's taken you an hour to do two shirts.

[General chatter] Woo!

Ah, Trixie!

You made it.

Yes.

Jonty's nanny said she'd go on strike next week instead.

We worked it out between us.

Compromise is power.

Are you sure that's right?

When I have arguments, I like to win them.

Oh, Mrs Turner!

You are quite the dark horse.

Whoever invented new pence wants hanging.

I've had to charge people in decimal for things I'm measuring in yards, and that's before you start talking about two-ply wool and press studs.

Oh, flamin' Nora!

[Both coughing] Aw, flamin' scones.

Being a man is terrible.

[Ambulance bells ringing] [Ambulance brakes] What happened?

She fell out the window.

Cyril: Where are her parents?

Woman: I don't know.

Do you know the child, sir?

Yes.

I'm her social worker.

Excuse me, love, you haven't got such a thing as a compact mirror, have you?

I'm sorry.

It's not a thing I generally carry around.

I suppose not.

I've got five minutes before a photographer arrives.

Me and my Nina are going to be in the papers.

We're taking her home.

Fourteen months we've been in here.

Fourteen months?

She must have been in the wars.

Not half.

Born at 28 weeks.

Bowel surgery, tracheotomy.

They thought she had a brain bleed.

Now all we're waiting for is a set of ankle splints, and we're off.

Is my lippy alright, for the photograph?

It's a bit smudged here.

Oh ta.

I owe you a favour.

I told the consultant you'll need a statement.

But he confirmed that Faye has a fractured femur and collarbone and concussion.

The police will need a copy too.

They also found she had catastrophically low blood sugar.

She seems to have swallowed prescription drugs or been fed them!

Why would anyone feed a child prescription drugs?

Because low blood sugar makes a child dozy and compliant.

I don't know, is the honest answer.

Just as I don't know how anyone blessed-- blessed with such beautiful children could treat them with such hideous contempt.

Millicent, do you think I'm barking up the wrong tree, resisting all this Women's Lib talk?

Well, not everyone is in support.

I've heard quite a number of ladies saying, 'I'm not a feminist, but...' I just don't like the gimmicky way it's all been put together.

I would always counsel against objecting to a book because of its cover.

[Gasps] Millicent!

You're reading The Female Eunuch?

The authoress makes a series of very sensible points, notably regarding female sexuality.

It's a thing I spent much of my life being ashamed of.

Hmm.

I never did, oddly enough.

[Laughs] It's like being a vegetarian, as though I was wired to run counter to the general view.

Oh, but why am I being like this?

Why am I picking holes in something the young people are full of fervour for?

Do we perhaps fear losing our place in the scheme of things?

Two weeks ago, I was standing outside the draper's on Inkerman Street, and there was a blouse in the window with a psychedelic pattern.

Jewel tones, but it was such a beguiling design.

And I was looking at it, and I thought... 'I will never wear that blouse'.

Why?

There's no harm in breaking out a bit, fashion-wise.

Phyllis, there is no harm in breaking out.

And if we don't, we'll be left behind.

You're not wrong.

Psychedelic pattern or no psychedelic pattern.

[Seagulls cawing on television] [Pounding on door] Cyril: Police!

Don't answer it.

[Pounding on door] Mr Kingsley?

Mrs Kingsley?

Because of concerns about the welfare of your children, a Place of Safety order has been issued.

We have come to remove them.

Don't let them take them, Ian!

They're our kids.

They're not going anywhere.

They're terrified.

Mr Kingsley, we will force entry if you do not co-operate.

As well as the police, I have Sister Veronica with me.

The children will be well taken care of.

[Pounding on door] Cyril: Mr Kingsley?

Mrs Kingsley?

[Pounding on door] This is uncalled for.

Ian Kingsley, Edna Mary Kingsley.

I'm arresting you on suspicion of child neglect and cruelty.

This is what they wanted all along.

We've already lost one of our children.

Doesn't that mean anything to you?

It means a very great deal, Mrs Kingsley.

And I wish that we didn't have to do this.

[Child crying] Mummy!

[Crying] [Cries] [Crying] Honestly, love, you wouldn't have given a tuppence ha'penny for her chances in the first few weeks, in old money or new money.

She's as bonny as anything now.

Look at her chubby little cheeks, Thel.

[Chuckles] How's she with normal food after all those months with a tube up her nose?

Oh, she's great with chocolate pudding.

Not so good with her greens, though, but as long as it's all mushed up, she's just like any other baby, really.

Do you ever feel like any other mum, Bernice?

I feel like her mum.

It's not so different from having any other child.

You can't turn your back on them.

Can't work out what they're thinking.

Can't picture the future.

The doctors never gave us any guarantees.

No baby gets a guarantee, really.

Guarantees are for things you buy in shops.

And we're lucky.

We get to call our babies miracles.

[Baby babbling] [Banging] Oi!

Yes?

My waters have broken.

And I'm not going to hospital!

Edna Kingsley is in labour.

Screaming blue murder and refusing to get into the ambulance.

Police said she wants one of us to attend, and I'm first on the call board.

Whatever's gone on in the past, or is yet to come, she is still a mother.

Let me know if it's a boy or a girl, and I shall add it to my notes.

I'll get my bag.

[Whistling] [Laughs] I'm afraid this isn't good news, Lady Aylward.

And it can't be countermanded, even with all the womanly wiles at your disposal.

A simple statement of facts will suffice, Dr.

Threapwood.

Very well.

By 1974, all medical service provision across the country will be taken out of Council hands and given direct to the National Health.

But the Order have worked hand in glove with the National Health since its inception.

And this Council has been the go-between.

Without our future involvement, there can be no more cajolery, no more persuasion.

It is over.

A great deal could happen between now and 1974.

The new rules will be phased in from this year.

And there is one I know the Sisters won't accept.

[Screaming in pain] Less noise, Edna, lass.

Save your strength.

I want it to be alright, Nurse!

We're on the home strait, I promise.

There's no reason to suppose anything will be amiss.

I don't mean with the baby, I mean with everything!

[Sniffs] Come on.

Suck on that barley sugar and concentrate on what's happening here and now.

They can't take a newborn off you, can they?

Edna.

[Edna crying] Oh!

Save your energy for this last big push.

Mmmm!

Come on, now!

Steady push!

Steady... steady push!

[Edna crying out] [Baby crying] You've a beautiful little daughter, Edna.

[Baby wailing] There we are... [Baby crying] [Baby cooing] Martyn looked just like that when he was born.

You forget... when we haven't got a photo of him.

We never had a camera.

I'm going to give you the best life.

Do you hear that?

The best life.

Hello, you!

Oh, Mr Franklin, so good of you to go out of your way.

Oh, what sort of friend would I be if I didn't tip up with a cup of Rosie when the chips are down?

Dr Threapwood is right.

We will not accept that diktat.

But it is a diktat, Sister Julienne.

You aren't going to be allowed to wear the habit anymore.

My Sisters and I have dressed like this since the inception of the Order.

It is the outward expression of the reason why we do this.

The powers that be don't give two hoots why you do this.

They just want it done.

If Nonnatus House is to survive at all, we are all going to be National Health employees, and the new rules state that we will have to dress as such or leave the system.

We have never been a part of the system.

We've rejoiced in that.

Dr Threapwood said he'd like your response by the end of this month.

I think it ties in with the end of the financial year.

Who is this man... to lay down the law in this way?

This decision will be driven by prayer, not by the fiscal calendar.

Therefore, I will choose the appropriate date.

We will tell him what we are going to do on August the 31st, which happens to be the Feast day of Saint Raymond Nonnatus.

People think I talk too much.

I don't.

I know.

And I know you listen.

I've never seen, 'Here she goes again', writ large on your face.

But... the thing I think people don't understand about the life I chose is so much of it is silence.

I understand.

It isn't about when we can't speak, it's about... what we can never say, what we can never name, because that might expose us... lay us bare.

Yes.

We can't afford that, can we?

No.

Because, really... who wants the whole wide world to hear them howling?

I don't think I can silence the howling anymore.

What is it you want, Veronica?

If we're going to drop the 'Sister' bit... I think you'd better call me Beryl, my real name.

You can call me Geoffrey, if it's not too much of a stretch.

What is it you want?

I want a child.

I want a child of my own to hold in my arms and keep safe and cherish, always.

I want a child before it becomes impossible.

I feel like he ought to have a special little nightie on, if he's to have an operation.

I feel like his dad should have the day off work.

James' first year is going to be a long haul, Thelma.

Keeping up a normal routine's going to be good for everyone.

I'm good at routines.

Before I fell pregnant, I used to dream I'd have all the nappies on the line every Monday.

Dreams are a lovely thing to have.

Sometimes we just have to dream for longer than we thought.

He'll be a baby for longer, too.

I think I might like that.

Thank you.

[Door opens] Have you come to take James for his tracheotomy?

I'm his mother.

What's this?

Something to wear on Saturday, perhaps?

[Laughs] On your marks, get set!

You want a sausage roll?

I'll have one!

[Laughs] I'll tell you what, pal.

I love our ladyfolk, all of them.

But this Liberation lark, it's hard work.

[Laughter] [Slamming hands down] I went for cotton.

I thought it would burn longer.

I brought this one from discounted stock.

Nobody's buying long-line these days.

I relented.

Bergdorf Goodman's finest.

[Gasps] Girls!

Where did you get that from?

The charity cupboard.

Provenance... uncertain.

Sisterhood takes many forms.

I think we should celebrate them all.

[Laughter] Mature Jennifer, voiceover: There will always be things that we cannot change, even when there is the will and the belief that we should try.

[Shutter clicking] Change chooses its own seeds, sows them in its own selected soil.

[Applause and cheering] Our task is to water them and not trample green shoots underfoot.

In the Spring of 1971, there was so much that was altered.

There were endings, and there were beginnings.

There was uncertainty, and there was confidence.

There was rage, and there was love.

And so, we marched together, into all the things we did not know, hoping and also fearing things would never be the same.

You may begin!

[Children yelling] I started out in Bombay, and then I worked my way right up to Ladakh.

Find a way to make a living.

I can't see any gas.

That'll be in the delivery room, won't it?

Woman: So many mothers looking after him.

I'm telling you, Nurse, the one thing this baby isn't, is a Protestant.

More tea, Mrs Clifford?

Yes, please.

Didn't expect Earl Grey.