Call the Midwife (2012–…): Season 7, Episode 1 - Episode #7.1 - full transcript

1963 began not as

a bright green shoot,
unfurling from a seed,

but as the germ of something frozen,

locked like a crystal in
a splinter of black ice.

Nothing grew, nothing moved forward.

Everything was waiting,

marking time until the thaw.

'The winter of 1962-63 is
now known to be the coldest

for almost 300 years.

Temperatures have risen above
freezing on only two occasions...

The water's gone off at
Lisbon Buildings again.



.. falling as low as minus 15
degrees for days at a stretch.

That's quite enough doom
and gloom for one day.

♪ He's so fine

♪ Do-lang, do-lang, do-lang

♪ Wish he were mine

♪ Do-lang, do-lang, do-lang

♪ That handsome boy over there... ♪

Turn it up, Dad!

Oh, I don't know about
these American pop groups.

There's such a lot of
slang in their songs,

and their diction leaves
a lot to be desired!

You're in danger of being on time
for your paper round today, Tim!

I told you all we had to do was
leave the house ten minutes earlier.

A little pre-planning



and some proper organisation
makes all the difference!

Even when the country is forced
to re-enact Scott Of The Antarctic

on a daily basis?

Good morning, ladies.

I think we'll have you on the
post-natal round today, Nurse Dyer.

Nurse Franklin can do
the booking-in lists,

and Sister Winifred to the maternity home.

I will shoulder the burden
of the district lists.

Nurse Crane, apologies
for the interruption,

but a communication has
arrived for Sister Winifred.

It's from the borough council.

I imagine it's about your driving test.

I doubt it!

I heard they cancelled over
10,000 tests nationally

since this cold snap started.

Oh. Weather permitting, it's in two weeks.

- Good morning!
- Good morning!

To what do we owe this
non-inconsiderable pleasure?

I'm on my way to give a dental
education talk to the mixed infants

and have acquired tubes of
Colgate, one gross, to give away.

- Did somebody donate them?
- Yes, me.

And I got something for you while
I was at the cash and carry.

What, six packets of corn
plasters and a bottle of TCP?

No!

Miss Dior by Dior.

They don't do gift wrapping
at the cash and carry.

And this is the couch where
the poorly people lie down

while I see if I can make them better.

And, sometimes, I look into
their ears with my magic torch

and evaluate the tympanic membrane.

Stop playing with your otoscope!
You'll run the batteries down.

I've just taken a call from
Mr Gelin, 34 Peninsula Street.

His wife has been in a lot of pain

since she was discharged from hospital.

I know she had carcinoma of the bowel,

but that was diagnosed a few months ago.

She was only having
adjustments to her stoma.

Something isn't right. I've put her
on your list for this afternoon.

You all right, darling?

♪ When you move in right up close to me

♪ That's when I get the shakes all over me

♪ Quivers down the backbone

♪ I've got the shakes down my kneebone

♪ Yeah, havin' tremors
in the thighbone... ♪

I hope you didn't come
downstairs dressed like that.

I don't like the customers seeing
girls in a state of undress.

I thought they were paying to
see us in a state of undress.

A winceyette nightie and a quilted housecoat
aren't exactly what they had in mind.

Well, it's been a very cold winter.

Er, yes. Thank God for Venus in Furs, eh?

The punters like my act.

It's classy, seeing a mink coat on stage.

And you can play with them
-- opening, closing it.

The regulars are getting bored, Nadine.

"All tease and no flamin'
strip!" one of them said to me,

and I can't have that
getting back to Mr Marmara.

Anyway, you'd best get changed.

I need you to go on after
the Three French Hens.

I don't do lunchtimes.

Lunchtime's for beginners and has-beens!

Meanwhile, I've got a sign outside
saying "Nonstop Exotic Girls",

and Eve of Eden's fell off the
back of some Maltese fella's moped.

You can have ten bob extra
if you go on with her python.

The street is supposed
to be being demolished.

But some of us are owner-occupiers.

The council can't do anything to us.

Arnold!

The doctor's a busy man,

and you waste time
bringing him tea so slowly,

there'll be a sheet of ice on it
before you get it to the parlour!

It's as warm as toast in here, Mrs Gelin.

Ah! I'm fortunate -- I
have an electric fire.

My son, Martin -- he's an eye
doctor in Florida, America --

sent me the money for it.

- You have a lovely home.
- Uh-huh.

Tea for the doctor, and a
little bit of cheesecake.

I... I didn't make it fresh
today but, sometimes, you know,

it cuts a little better.

And it always tastes good.

I know it does!

He worked for Segal's Bakery
for over 20 years and,

the day they closed,

he moved into my kitchen, and
I've hardly seen it since!

Bread he makes every time there's
nothing on the television.

I'm not a man that can sit idle.

And these romantic programmes
-- they don't interest me.

I went in the kitchen,
looking for an aspirin,

and there was a whole tray of strudel.

If you were looking for
aspirin, Mrs Gelin,

was it because you were in pain?

Maybe a little.

Maybe I just wanted to
know where the aspirin was.

Let me finish this cheesecake,
then I'll take a look at you.

Might one enquire as to the nature
of this soup, Sister Julienne?

It is pea this time, I believe. No ham.

A very welcome change.

I thought you should never get
to the end of that mulligatawny.

One imagines we are now to
be faced with this pottage

to an indeterminate sequence of teatimes.

Our numbers are unconscionably depleted.

As it happens, a new midwife
is on her way to join us.

Our burdens will be eased immediately and,

Nurse Franklin, you may be able to
book that long postponed holiday.

That was sharp work, Sister!

Fortunately, a new class just qualified

from a teaching hospital in Somerset.

Nurse Anderson excelled there.

I thought that she might
share your room, Nurse Crane.

By all means.

But Nurse Crane's just
turned Barbara's old bed

into a studio couch!

I'm sure that Nurse Anderson

and I will make very
good comrades-in-arms.

Wasted scatter cushions notwithstanding.

Can I tempt you to a Nescafe?

It's nearly bedtime!

It won't stop me from sleeping.

Maybe we should buy one of
those electric percolators.

Oh, dear!

What?

I've a letter here about Mrs
Gelin from St Cuthbert's.

Her stoma revision wasn't
uncomplicated at all.

I was going to arrange further tests.

She had further tests in hospital...

.. and they showed that the
cancer is back in her bowel,

and she's also been diagnosed
with lung and liver metastases.

Poor woman. She won't have long.

Take your coat off! Come
on, let's get this coat off!

All right, love? Hello!

Is that all we're going to get?

Listen, we've paid good
money! Let's have a look!

Come on, get the coat off!

Right, Nadine. There comes a point

when even two elastic roll-ons
isn't going to hide it.

You knew?

You'll have to go, Nadine. There's
no point me sugar-coating it.

I could manage one more
week! I could manage two!

No-one can tell if I
keep doing Venus in Furs.

And I've been saving and saving
until when the baby comes.

Please, Sonia! Please, just
give me two more weeks!

Stop begging.

Men beg when they think they're in
with a chance of what they want,

and it makes my skin crawl.

What about my wages?

If you're sacking me, you'll have to
pay me off! I've done three shows today.

Yeah, and you never showed more
than a flamin' knee in any of them!

You're a stripper, Nadine.
You get paid to strip.

You can come back, you know,
if you don't keep the kid.

Why would I want to come back here?

Because it's a decent, steady living,

and I think you'll regret it if you don't.

You have no idea what I regret!

When Christian Dior commissioned this,

he said to his perfumiers, "Create
a fragrance that's like love."

Hm. So he got 100 roses,
a big bunch of jasmine,

and squeezed them in a bottle
with a dash of Lemon Pledge?

Oh, Valerie! That's the heart note
of chypre and Sicilian oranges!

Hm! Can I smell furniture polish?

Trixie's been trying on her new perfume.

It was a present from Christopher.

Oh. It's got quite a
personality, hasn't it?

I bring redundant scatter
cushions and grim tidings.

Can't be any grimmer than Valerie's news.

My Auntie Edie's upped
sticks to live in Frinton,

and I'm going to have to
teach ballet classes evenings

and weekends until the
dancing school is sold.

Meanwhile,

the electricity workers are going
ahead with their work to rule.

The power cuts start tomorrow.

Oh!

And no wandering around the coach station.

Fred's going to walk you right up
to the chaperone and hand you over.

Yes, Mum. I love you, Mum.

I'm concerned that the
conditions are too challenging

for a learner driver.

Nonsense! Good driving is
all about caution, attention

and coping with the unexpected.

That's the ticket!

Foot off the clutch.

Of course. First things first.

I'm scared!

Mrs Gelin, I can refer
you back to St Cuthbert's

if you'd like to talk it all
through with the consultant.

Would it make everybody
happy? I know what I know.

You talk about making people happy, Mum!

But what would make me happy
is if you and Dad packed up here

and moved in with Bernard
and me in Hendon.

Dad, Mum doesn't want any strudel!

Hilary, we've had this conversation.

I know you've got two bathrooms.

I know you've got a rotisserie
oven and central heating.

And you know your father
worked his fingers to the bone

to buy this house!

I'll fetch some water.

Ruth! Ruthie!

Just so you know that I know what
it is that we're all not mentioning.

People have different
ways of coping, Hilary.

I know it's hard, but you have
to take the lead from your mother.

They tiptoe around everything!

They won't even discuss the fact that
the street's about to be knocked down!

Have they had an eviction notice yet?

My husband, Bernard, thinks that there
must have been a compulsory purchase order,

but that they've ignored it.

They wouldn't tell us if they had.

Hello!

- So, if you take a seat over there.
- Thank you.

Hello, Dr Turner.

Yes.

I was told this was where to
come to see a Nonnatus midwife.

Did your last doctor give you a
Co-operation card to pass on to us?

I only saw him once, but he gave me this.

Excellent, that's it.

We'll get you transferred
to our books straight away.

I do rather envy you with
this sensational coat.

It's earning its keep
at the moment, Nurse.

I've got it on my back all day,

and then on my bed to
keep me warm at night.

Where are you living?

I was working up west
for a couple of years,

but I've just moved into
digs off the Commercial Road.

I grew up round here, so
I thought I'd come home

until after I've had the baby.

Lots of friends and family, I expect.

No. None. And that's the way I want it.

Now, according to your notes, your
blood group is rhesus negative,

which can cause problems for the baby

if it inherits a positive
blood group from its father,

but it doesn't affect first pregnancies.

This one is my first.

Well, then, it won't be a problem.

Out of curiosity, do you know
the baby's father's blood group?

Nurse, I don't even know his
phone number. Or his name.

Ooh!

Oh!

Heavens to Murgatroyd!

I imagine Nurse Anderson's journey
has been delayed by poor weather.

I'll put a salmon sandwich and a
piece of pork pie aside for her.

Would it be rude to ask what's
going to happen to the gateau?

I suppose that rather depends on whether

it's covered in artificial cream or fresh.

Fresh, I'm afraid. It isn't going to keep.

In which case, that settles the question.

Hoorah!

Sister Monica Joan, if these
power cuts are to continue,

I think I have a task for you.

My first responsibility is to
ensure the consumption of this cake.

I would not like our new helpmeet to be

incommoded by the
ingestion of spoiled cream.

Why can't I do it?

The information about electricity
rationing is published every day.

We're in Area J, according to this table.

We were given advance notice last night

that Area J will be
disconnected during Period 3.

According to this table,
Period 3 starts at 5pm.

Their reliance on
numerological formulae is

almost akin to necromancy.

Which is why I'd be so very grateful
if you'd check the paper every day.

If you give us the information,
we can organise our work.

Christopher!

Would I be right in remembering you
have a few hours off this afternoon?

Barring emergencies, to which we
are, of course, perennially prone,

yes, you are!

That's splendid. I've
brought you a present.

Alexandra!

You can take the morphine
orally for now, Mrs Gelin.

No need for any injections,

and Nurse Crane will
explain the dose to you.

I didn't want the bed brought downstairs.

You'll be warmer, Mrs Gelin. And
the stairs were troubling you.

The damage to my paintwork
is troubling me more!

The bag has come away!

Dr Turner, on your way out,
could you call upstairs

and tell Mrs Gelin's daughter
we'll be needing a change of linen?

Of course.

No, no, no! Don't let Arnold see!

Don't worry, don't
worry. We'll soon have...

we'll soon have that changed.

Will the new nurse come today?

I hope so, after all the hard
work you've done on this snow lady.

It's rather a shame we
didn't give her any hands.

A manicure would have
finished her off perfectly!

You could have one of our manicure
lessons later, if you'd like.

Don't you want to try a bit
of my new nail varnish?

It's Pomegranate Kiss. You've been
longing for me to buy that one!

My mummy says only tarts
paint their nails.

Oh, look, look, look! It's starting!

Alexandra didn't realise
what she was saying.

I'm not sure she even knows
what the word "tart" means!

But she knew the way her mother said it.

And that was enough.

Moira is a very bitter woman.

On the balance, it
probably wasn't wise for me

to take Alexandra home last week
with bright pink fingernails.

They weren't bright pink, Christopher!

They were a sort of delicate salmon.

Anyway, she'll be taking a
lovely plate of Krispie Cakes home

to her mummy this time, so perhaps
my reputation will be restored.

Your reputation is spotless.

Your ex-wife called me a tart.

I wouldn't mind, but we
didn't even get to go skiing.

What does skiing have to do with it?

Well. We would've been away.

Together. In Switzerland.

Switzerland is hardly a separate
moral universe, Christopher.

We would've been staying in a hotel.

And I still want us to stay in a hotel.

I don't care if it isn't in Switzerland.

I don't care if it's five minutes
up the road in Epping Forest!

I just want to be somewhere, with you,

in a room where we can close the door

and not be troubled by anyone else.

I really don't think this
is an appropriate location

for this sort of talk.

We have another picture postcard
from Nurse Mount and Nurse Busby

whose latest adventures
involve a safari in Botswana.

It's as well we found a new recruit.

We shall just have to hope she turns up.

I just spoke to the Matron,

Nurse Anderson cleared her room

at the Taunton Nurse's
Home yesterday morning,

and left on the early train.

She's a young girl, travelling alone!

If she doesn't materialise tonight,
we have to notify the police.

"Nurse Lucille Anderson, SRN, SCM.

"Age 25. Not likely to be in uniform.

"Height, unknown.

"Hair colour, unspecified.

"Eye colour, a matter of conjecture."

I can hardly put five County
Constabularies on alert

with only that to go on.

Nevertheless, Sergeant,

no-one should vanish
and not provoke concern.

I leave you with the facts
I have at my disposal.

I'm sure Christopher was joking
about the hotel in Epping Forest.

He wasn't joking about the hotel.

Or everything that that implies.

He brought the subject up
again when he telephoned today.

Crumbs, thanks to the power cuts,

I don't think we have a
single set left clean.

The thing is, Valerie,
I'm not that sort of girl.

And I've never been that
sort of girl. Not once.

In the whole of my life.

I was knee deep in Test
Yourself On Road Signs!

Sister Monica Joan said
there were no power cuts

in our area till tomorrow.

I should have checked the
information she gave us.

I asked too much of her,
and she was mistaken.

I was not mistaken!

The statistical evidence was erroneous,

and probably falsified

by those who would
conspire against society.

Sister, you must not distress yourself.

Anyone can make a mistake.
I make them all the time.

And not one of them is seized upon

as proof of your... derangement!

You are too swift to declare
that my mind is infirm!

That is not the case at all.

We've all been under strain,
and you are not invincible!

And neither am I consigned
to second childishness!

"Sans teeth, sans taste,

"sans eyes,

"sans everything!"

Come in, quick! Out of the snow!

Do you need to see a midwife?

I am a midwife.

I'm Nurse Anderson.

Lucille Anderson.

Ah, of course you are!

And I just fell over!

I'm sorry we're in the
middle of power cut!

I'm sorry I'm late! I've
been travelling for two days.

- Have you brought a suitcase or anything?
- I brought two,

but I had to leave them behind,

- when we were forced to
evacuate the train. - Ah.

Nothing a bit of Germolene won't fix.

We couldn't have said the
same if you'd had frostbite.

My mother sent me the money
for these fleece-lined boots

the very first winter I was in Taunton.

They stay in their box until this year.

- Is Taunton where you
did your training? - Yes.

Quite a few of us arrived from the
West Indies and went straight there.

One hot water bottle, one cup of tea,

one nip of the nuns' cooking
brandy, and, of course, a candle.

I feel like a cross between a St
Bernard's Dog and Wee Willie Winkie.

The Germans have ten feet
of snow every winter,

and they don't go
abandoning trains on a whim.

In all fairness, it wasn't really a whim.

We were stuck in a sidings for 14 hours.

So, I suggested to the guard
we all just get out and walk.

He took a modicum of persuading,

but the sensible course of
action was quite obvious.

You'll breathe more
easily sitting upright,

at least until we get
some oxygen organised.

Martin!

Breathless?

No.

I just ran to the phone
because I was so excited.

Martin.

Mum's lying.

I've brought you a couple of pairs
of my nylons, just to tide you over.

And some brand-new thermal knickers,

from the Order's official supply.

I so appreciate your kindness.

It's shoulders to the wheel at
eight o'clock tomorrow morning!

You make the most of your early night.

- Sleep well!
- Night.

I had to wake the poor
lass up this morning,

she slept through her alarm clock.

What do you suppose our patients will say,

about her being... coloured?

One would hope they won't say anything.

There have been West Indian nurses
at St Cuthbert's for some time.

Nevertheless, people can
be frightfully ignorant.

Hmm. And RUDE. Especially round here.

Anyone saying anything sideways
deserves to be corrected.

The National Health was struggling,

till all these girls started
coming from the Commonwealth.

Good morning, Nurse Anderson!

I know you've already met
Nurse Dyer and Nurse Franklin.

- This is Sister Winifred.
- Very pleased to meet you.

- Likewise. You look very smart.
- Thank you.

Didn't you want any breakfast?

We thought the smell of
bacon might have tempted you!

All right, sweetie, can
you stand up for me?

Sorry.

She's got a raging temperature.

No wonder you collapsed!

Right, back up to bed with you!

It's a rip-roaring bladder infection.

Five days of lemon barley water

and antibiotics ought to set her straight.

No work for at least a week.

I'll make sure she rests.

Well, you have at least a
couple of weeks to decide

where you're going to have the baby.

But, Nadine, I would say you'd
have more support in the hospital,

or a maternity home.

I'll be on me own wherever I go, Nurse.

I got used to hiding
things, when I was working.

I quite like the thought
of just hiding, now.

You've done nothing wrong, Nadine!

We're here to take care
of you and your baby.

Can't even decide on a name for it.

Because they change the names
when babies get adopted.

It doesn't seem worth it,

picking something lovely,

then it getting thrown away.

Do you give out leaflets?

About adoption?

Yes. We do.

You may enter.

I didn't want to disturb you.

Oh! When I am fixed upon a task,

the diminution of my
attention is not possible.

- I am led to understand you
have a bladder disorder? - Yes.

I was a little unwell
when I set off for London,

and the journey made matters worse.

You have a wonderful book collection.

There are whole worlds
within their boards.

"Much have I travell'd
in the realms of gold,

"And many goodly states
and kingdoms seen."

"Round many western islands have I been

"Which bards in fealty to Apollo hold."

You are acquainted with Mr Keats!

I know him well.

I was a librarian back home in Jamaica,

before I came here to train as a nurse.

Oh, dear! They're in a terrible jumble.

Would you like them rearranged

according to the Dewey Decimal System?

They are aligned according
to the understanding

that exists between
their authors and myself.

No rearrangement is required.

♪ He will not suffer thy
foot to be moved... ♪

Martin...

♪ .. And he that keepeth
thee will not sleep

♪ The Lord himself is thy keeper

♪ The Lord is thy defence
upon thy right hand

♪ So that the sun shall
not burn thee by day

♪ Yea, it is even he
that shall keep thy soul

♪ The Lord shall preserve... ♪

♪ .. Thy going out and thy coming in

♪ From this time forth for evermore. ♪

I do not care if regulations

"do not permit private vehicles
within designated demolition zones."

I am engaged in delivering
vital medical supplies

on behalf of the National Health Service.

Can't you get out and walk?

As I have a large replacement tank
of oxygen in my boot, I cannot.

If you do not remove this barrier,

I shall find myself obliged
to confer with your superiors.

How long is this going to go on for?

The last time I examined you,
your cervix was dilating nicely.

Just a few more hours.

Hours? Not days?

Nobody's labour is allowed
to go on for days, Nadine!

Not in the modern world.

And yours is progressing beautifully.

I had to see this woman once,
about a kid I didn't want to have.

She did something with
something sharp, and cold,

but didn't let me see and
then sent me on my way.

Those pains went on for three days!

- Was it this baby you were
trying to get rid of? - No.

When that one came away,

it weren't much bigger than my hand.

It was like a little bright-red doll.

So, this isn't your first pregnancy?

It's my first baby, isn't it?

It's all right, sweetie.

This time, we're going to try the gas.

I'll see to it, Mr Gelin!

Good morning. Are you the
proprietor of this vehicle?

Yes, Sergeant Woolf. I am.

It's causing an obstruction.

May one enquire as to what, and to whom?

Essential demolition work.

Which appear to have ceased
at the first sign of snow.

This street is now the
site of major public works.

Your car is classified as a nuisance.

And you are intruding on a private home.

The council have informed us that
as soon as the houses opposite

have been levelled, then all
the utilities on this side

will be disconnected, and demolition
will follow in short order.

That won't be convenient, I'm afraid.

I have an extremely poorly
lady to take care of.

What you doing, Nurse?

I'm just checking Baby's position.

It's always been a wriggler.

Used to reckon if I decided to keep it,

I could take it back to the Red Sesbania

and get it a job as a contortionist!

I can't promise it's going to
appear in a spangled leotard,

but it would seem we have a bit
of a trickster on our hands.

It's breech.

- Is that bad?
- Not bad.

Just rather inelegant.

I'm afraid it's poised
to come out bottom first.

I'm just going to knock next door
and ask them to call Nonnatus House.

Sister Winifred, if you didn't
damage the War Memorial,

and you didn't damage Nurse Crane's car,

I really don't think it
counts as an accident.

It counts as a failed manoeuvre.

The only manoeuvres you need to
be thinking about this afternoon

are midwifery-related... You
head off to the maternity home...

.. they've got three ladies there

in labour -- and I'll go and help
Nurse Franklin with this breech.

Hello, Nonnatus House? Midwife speaking.

That was Sister Julienne.

She's got undiagnosed twins,
on the far side of the district.

I'm sorry, Lucille. I
know you're not well.

But this is like when Churchill
had every plane in the air

in the Battle of Britain!

Just give me a bicycle. And a map.

You don't need a map!

You follow me,

and I'll drop you with Trixie and
then go on to the twins case.

Something's happening in
my back passage, Nurse!

I think you're feeling the urge to push.

But you must try not to, until
we're sure you're fully dilated...

- I can't help it!
- Yes, you can, Nadine! Blow.

Lots of short blows, like this.

Just until I've managed to examine you!

Are you all right, Lucille?

I'm in fine fettle!

I've just never ridden on
this kind of road before.

- It's called cobblestones, you'll
have to get used to them. - OK.

Prop your bike here, then
straight down that alleyway,

up the stairs and look out
for flat 9. Best of British!

Nadine... Nadine, sweetie!

We need to change your position.

And you need to listen to me.

I can't do it!

Yes, you can...

.. and you have!

You're exactly where we need you to be.

Bottom right on the edge of the mattress,

and one foot pushing down on each chair.

Midwife calling!

- How many breech births
have you seen? - Three.

Two complete breech during hospital
training, one frank on the district.

Everything else is in my head,
fresh as paint from my final exams!

She started pushing before
she was fully dilated.

The last time I examined her, I felt
a definite anterior lip of cervix.

That doesn't matter now. The
rest will unfold as it unfolds.

With your next pain,
Nadine, I want you to push.

Can't you just pull it out, Nurse?

Oh, we've got lots of party pieces
up our sleeves if you need them.

But right now, the more work you
do, the better it is for Baby.

Motherhood starts here...
with a vengeance.

That's it, that's it. Keep it coming!

Nurse, something feels a bit funny.

Let's see how things are coming along.

I can feel a foot.

Or a hand...

"Toes are all the same length,

"and the great toe cannot be abducted.

"The os calcis or heel bone has
no equivalent on the hand."

It's a foot.

Another one of those pushes
when you're ready, Nadine.

We're going to keep things
moving slowly and steadily.

Here it comes!

First foot.

And the other one.

Baby's born up to her
tummy-button now, Nadine!

You are a natural-born
deliverer of babies!

Now, Nadine, I want another one
of those beautiful, steady pushes

with your next pain. You'll know when.

Wonderful!

Wonderful.

Now I'm going to wrap
Baby, to keep her warm

and turn her just a quarter of a circle...

.. so that we have one arm...

.. and another!

Oh, thank the Lord!

But you're a clever girl, Nadine.

Then I'm going to gently let go,
and let her hang just for a moment.

Gravity can do amazing things.

It keeps our feet on the ground
and bring babies down to earth.

I can't see the neck or
the hairline, Lucille...

Extended head?

Nadine, sweetie. Can you manage
without Nurse Anderson behind you,

- just for a minute?
- Why?

It's all right, darling. Just
another game for the birth club.

I need you to apply suprapubic
pressure, as I manoeuvre the baby.

Mouth's free!

And the nose is free.

Extractor.

There.

Come on, Nadine. Good girl.

That's it, good girl. That's it.

Do you want to hold
your little girl, Nadine?

I'm scared...

No.

You're brave.

So unbelievably brave.

And I wish we all had your courage.

Baby's in surprisingly good condition,

But the mother disclosed that
this is her first live birth,

not her first pregnancy. She
had a back-street termination.

So there may be rhesus
complications after all.

I've left the cord long in
case baby needs a transfusion.

Let's transfer them here, as soon as
an ambulance can negotiate the snow.

Thank you.

Nurse, Nurse! Thank God you're here!

Ruth!

I leave you overnight, and look
at the spectacle that greets me.

She started coughing,
it turned to retching.

It... It just poured out of her mouth.

Oh.

I've got a treat for you!

A heat lamp that bathes
your poor nether regions

in a lovely soothing glow!

I feel like I've been
riding on a bacon slicer.

You have had quite a few stitches. Ooh!

You don't sound too good either!

Well, don't tell anyone, but
midwifery's just my hobby.

Evenings and weekends, I teach
Toddler Tap and Baby Ballet

at Madame Edith's School of Dance.

I went to Madame Edith's! Down
at the British Legion hall?

It's at the Iris Knight
Institute these days.

Madame Edith's my aunt, but
she's just retired to Frinton,

and wants to sell the school as a
going concern and buy a bungalow.

I loved Madame Edith! She was
the first person to ever make me

feel like I was good at something.

When will we know if
she's going to be poorly?

Any jaundice will start to
show within the next day or so.

It just looks like a bit
of a sun tan at first.

Patrick, what's your
favourite European language?

- English.
- Wrong answer!

You have choice of French, German,

Spanish, Italian, Danish or Hungarian.

We're getting an au pair.

I imagine you're going to
enlighten me as to what that is?

It's a new Continental
system of domestic help,

in which young ladies wishing
to improve their English

lodge with British families
in exchange for help

with housework and childcare!

So, I decided I'm getting an au pair.

Enter.

I wondered if Doctor could come
and have a look at Baby Mulvaney?

I can see definite signs of jaundice.

Can't I go with her?

She's too little to go
anywhere on her own.

I saw the ambulance outside!

Baby's being sent to St Cuthbert's,
for an exchange transfusion.

You were right, of course.

Pulmonary haemorrhage.

It's the secondaries in the
lungs that are going to take her.

I already knew the blinds were going down.

She's taken no nourishment
for three or four days.

Can I come in?

It's your house, Mr Gelin.

Come and sit down.

You don't have to break the news.

I knew as soon as she stopped
polishing the candlesticks.

Blood all over the bed,
I didn't need to see...

Are you getting any support
from your synagogue, Mr Gelin?

I haven't gone to synagogue for years.

I paid my dues, but I just stopped going.

The congregation got
smaller, people moved away.

I moved away.

Up here.

Even if I've never left this house.

You can't throw them out!

This is their house, and they
have a right to stay here.

The Council are confident
that all the procedures

have been observed, madam. I'm
here to ensure they're carried out.

Why don't you wait till
my mother's carried out?

In a bloody box!

Go inside, lass.

Would you be so kind
as to step aside, sir?

There are times when uniform
speaks best to uniform,

and this is one of them.

Thank you, Nurse. What you'll find...

I'm afraid you misconstrue,
Sergeant Woolf.

My uniform is going to talk to your
uniform, not the other way around.

And what my uniform says is this --

there is a woman in this house
who has days, or hours, to live.

She came to Poplar more than
30 years ago, as a German Jew,

to escape persecution.

And if you hound her out of her house now,

if you drag her from the bed where
we are striving to keep her at peace

and free from pain, you will
have as much on your conscience

as those who drove her from
the place where she was born.

I am not entirely without
compassion, Nurse.

My own grandparents came here from Russia.

And there goes the telephone wire!

Her one link with her son in America!

The ties that bind can be so very fragile.

Stay right where you are!

Staying sober is about not giving in.

Not letting go.

Not allowing yourself to do the one
thing that will make you happy.

Self-discipline becomes a habit.

Self-protection becomes a habit.

And you think you're putting on armour,

but in truth you're building a cage.

And it's safe in a cage.

You can even sing quite
a satisfactory song,

as I've discovered.

But one way or another...

.. you're still behind bars.

You just...

aren't having anything to drink.

Waiting for a passing is
like waiting for a birth.

We need things to keep us occupied.

There's nothing to be afraid of, Arnold.

Is she in pain?

Her chest, it sounds
as though it hurts her.

Not any more. We've taken
care of all of that.

She's still Ruth.

And she needs you.

I've had the, er, telephone
line repaired this morning,

and there's a stay on all demolition
work until further notice.

If I could be informed when the, um,

when the end comes, that
would be appreciated.

There are things I can set in train.

Thank you, Sergeant.

The East End's still good
for some things, Doctor.

If I never said I was grateful to you.

I say it now.

If I never said I was proud
of the home that you kept,

I say it now.

If I didn't tell you
that you were beautiful,

when your face grew lined...

.. when you didn't have a new blouse
from one summer's end to the next,

I say it now.

And if I didn't tell
you that I loved you...

.. I say it now.

Missing you...

.. I will talk about tomorrow.

They say they're going to discharge
Elizabeth in a week or two.

Elizabeth?

That's a nice name.

It sounds smart, and respectable.

She can do a lot in life,
with a name like Elizabeth.

And I'm going to be
around to watch her do it.

Have you decided against adoption?

I let her in, Nurse.

I let her in, and it was
like she tore me open!

Not just my body,

but my whole self.

I'm not sure I even knew I had
a whole self, until she came.

Some people spend a lifetime
waiting for love like that.

And some people are just scared of it.

Gelin residence.

This is Mrs Gelin's nurse speaking.

Hello, Martin.

I'm afraid your mother's just passed away.

Your suitcases came!

Apart from my church hats
being a little bit squashed,

they survived very well,
all things considered.

So did this! West Country
Clotted Cream Fudge.

My mother always told me never
to turn up anywhere empty-handed.

And I... put a hot water bottle
under the eiderdown for you.

I thought you might need
it, coming from a death bed.

Thanks, lass.

- I want my wages.
- What wages?

For the last two shows I did,
and for covering Eve of Eden.

I want my wages. And I'm not begging,

because you don't like that.

Have you pawned your mink?

No. I sold it. I'm
buying a dancing school.

And I'm paying cash for the goodwill.

I think the phrase you'd use
is "decent, steady work".

Don't forget your
self-respect on the way out.

This is my self respect!

You asked to see me.

And I wasn't wholly sure I was
going to be in favour or out of it

- so I got you these.
- Thank you.

I think it's time that we booked
that holiday, Christopher.

The skiing holiday?

If I may paraphrase,

I just want to be somewhere, with you,

in a room where we can close the door

and not be troubled by
anyone else for a while.

I think we can manage that.

You'll be fine, OK. Breathe in and out.

In through the nose, and
out through the mouth.

Worked a treat for me, at El-Alamein.

And have a piece of fudge.

She's on her way to take her driving test.

It is not always sunshine
that splits the seed

cleaving the armour,

releasing the shoot.

Darkness makes the heart's case fragile.

Pain breaks it open.

Courage teases out the leaves

and life unfurls and expands

thrusting upwards into light.

Oh, good afternoon, Mr Gelin!

Oh!

I can't linger.

Hilary's outside, in the Rover, and
she's scared someone'll scratch it.

Are you off to live in Hendon, then?

Hm. Her kitchen, you wouldn't believe it!

And this is the last thing
that came from mine.

Strudel. Oh!

- Oh, thank you.
- You're welcome.

She does look rather stern.

Magdalena, meet the family.

- Hello.
- Oh.

Get those curlers out or she'll
look like she's just off the boat.

I love the time that the
three of us spend together.

- Men? In a mothercraft class?
- You know what you should do.

- I miss her, Nurse. - Life really
can change in the blink of an eye.