Survivors (1975–1977): Season 2, Episode 1 - Birth of a Hope - full transcript
- Hi!
- Hello.
Hello. Are you well?
- What's your name?
- Yeah, I'm very well.
- My name is Greg.
- I am Pet.
Hello, Pet.
I'm looking for a man
called Charles Vaughan.
He's here. Come on in.
- Where are you from?
- A place about 50 miles away.
- How many of you?
- Oh, there are 12 of us now.
Come to see if I can buy some wheat.
Buy? What with?
That.
Now, we've learned the art
of curing skins.
You know, we got hold of
some lime and all the rest of it.
So, not only am I selling those,
a couple of cow hides out on the cart,
but I'm prepared to let you
have the secret formula.
- For two sacks of wheat.
- What happened to your wheat?
Oh, I think we sowed ours too late.
Then we got hold of some
wild corn and that sprouted.
You probably stacked it too wet.
- Ah, probably did.
- I expect we can let you have some.
Oh, thanks.
- You don't have any matches, do you?
- No, ours ran out.
We can make do with this.
We've only got about
ten gallons of petrol left.
So we have to count every drop.
- How about you?
- One and a half gallons.
- For emergencies.
- Damn.
I was hoping you'd be
able to give me a refill.
Oh, we can spare that.
That's all right, I'll manage.
I just need one fire tonight
to sort of get me to bed
and thaw me out in the morning.
And then one for a meal
on my way home tomorrow.
- You're going back tomorrow?
- I'm afraid so.
- What do you live on there?
- Ah, sheep mostly.
We've got so many rams this year,
I think they are likely to take over.
And we got cattle
and rabbits and chickens.
We grow a bit of barley,
potatoes, carrots.
We're doing very nicely.
- Where can I get hold of Charles?
- Just a minute.
Charlie!
- Take your coat off.
- Hmm. Thanks.
- Is that charcoal?
- Mmm-hmm.
- Here.
- Very clever.
Secret formula.
Where do you know Charles from?
Well, I met him about a year ago.
There were three of us then.
Charles wanted us to settle with him.
He always wants people to settle.
Greg! How are you?
- Good to see you.
- You're looking well.
- How are you getting on?
- Well, fine.
- Settlement's doing well.
- Yes, how's...
Thank you, uh, Abby and Jenny?
Well, Abby's gone off,
'cause she got news of her son.
Uh, Peter, yes, yes I remember.
Yeah, she said she'd come back,
but that was in June.
- And Jenny?
- Well, she's all right.
- Got about 12 people now.
- Great.
Now, what are you doing here?
Nothing wrong?
Oh, no, no.
Ooh, looks nice.
Yes, well, I can see
you've learned to survive.
- He wants wheat.
- We got plenty.
Hmm. Haven't got any harness, have you?
Uh, no but I know where
there was some in the autumn.
We've haven't got
the right skins to make harness.
- Is that elderflower?
- No.
- Grape.
- Grape?
Yes. We grew some. It's a little young,
but I think you'll be amused...
By its presumption!
- Here you are. Well.
- Thank you.
- Welcome.
- Cheers.
Sit down.
Charles,
a couple of months ago,
we sent you our medical student Ruth,
about your babies.
Oh, yes, yes. Thank you.
Uh, well, she did her best.
One of the babies was still born,
and the other one survived. Ida's.
And after that she and Lorraine
just didn't seem to hit it off.
So Ida left and Lorraine went soon after
and she took the boy with her.
And I came on up here.
You don't happen to know
where Ruth is now?
Uh, about 15 miles away, St Mary's
I think, someone had a bad fall.
- Is she still there?
- No, I think she moved on.
Do you need her?
Oh, it's just Jenny's having
a baby in a couple of weeks
and Ruth said she'd come back
and give us a hand.
She just hasn't turned up yet.
- Yours?
- Uh-huh. It's mine.
Congratulations.
It's me.
- Hello, Paul.
- Shh! Lizzie's asleep.
I know. She's been snoring.
- Good night.
- Good night, Paul.
- You all right?
- Yes.
Cheer up. He'll be home in a day or two.
Yes.
Can I get you something?
No, thank you.
Emma just brought me this.
What's up?
Just trying to imagine the baby.
If it's going to be all right.
- What it's gonna look like.
- You don't have to worry about that.
That's all sorted out.
He'll have your eyes and Greg's hair.
Or the other way around.
- I checked John and Lizzie.
- Oh, thank you.
It's funny how they adopted us,
isn't it? Like ducks.
The first thing they see
after coming out of their shell,
they call mummy.
The first thing they saw after
the Death was Greg and me.
Ah, I do love them.
- This one will be really yours.
- Hmm. And Greg's.
There's been a good few people
pass through here, but
there's no one for me.
I wish I had a woman, Jenny.
Someone will come along.
It's not likely.
I think I'll have to go looking.
Ruth will be back soon,
you got on well with her.
Out of my class.
She fancied you.
Why do you say that?
Don't go, Paul. Greg needs you here.
Oh, I liked Eddie, but
I obviously didn't care for
the tension between us.
Hmm.
Still, it's easier
with just the one boss.
You mean you prefer to be your own boss.
Yes, there's that, too.
Well, in these times
there seems to be a natural distinction
between the leaders and the led.
- May I?
- Please, help yourself.
Thanks.
Where'd you meet Pet?
Oh, she's been here for
about two months or so.
She wandered around and about
until she eventually arrived here.
- She's nice.
- Mmm.
Yes. You know, before the Death,
her father used to run
the Continental Caf? in Worcester.
It's why she's so good
with the customers.
Greg, why don't you
stay here till tomorrow?
Have a look at that wind pump.
- What's wrong with it?
- Nothing, really.
Pumps water from the well
to the roof tank.
In fact, I'd like to get a tank
for the whole community.
There must be something else
we can use it for.
Well, what you could do,
you could hitch up a car dynamo to it
and then charge up a car battery,
- for a start.
- Yes.
You could have
a primitive telephone system.
If you run out a line from here
to my place or wherever you want,
then have a telephone at each end.
I mean, obviously, it wouldn't be hi-fi,
but at least you would be
able to make out the words.
Telephone.
Tell me,
what do you know about the power loss
over 50 miles of wire?
Haven't a clue.
Can always read it up.
Hmm. Here.
Besides, how long will it take
to run a line
between here and your place?
And where do we get
that amount of wire from?
Hmm. Suppose we just
have to look for it.
The old phone lines are still there.
Yes, but they're not intact.
And they go through towns.
- Which we won't.
- All right.
We loop round the towns.
You know, if we can get the wire,
it wouldn't take more than
a week to trace a line.
Who's got a week?
A feudal baron like you.
Well, who's talking about feudal barons?
You know, Greg,
if I traced a line
between here and my neighbours,
and he traced a line
and so on and so forth,
you know,
we could cover the whole country
with your dynamo and my wind pump.
Yeah, well, when the baby's born,
let's talk about it again.
What do you burn in your lanterns?
Oh, mutton fat.
You melt it down and strain it.
Melt it down again and strain it again,
till it's pure.
You know, that's beautiful wine.
What do you use in yours?
Mutton fat.
- Good night.
- Good night, Charles.
Mummy!
It's stuck! I can't move it.
Help!
Mummy!
- I'll go.
- Oh, thanks, Paul.
Jesus.
Get a towel or something.
Help! Help!
Go upstairs, quick.
I'll get the kids. Warn the others.
- Is Jenny all right?
- Yeah, look after her.
Lizzie.
Fire, fire quick!
Get away from the door,
I'm gonna push it in.
Are you clear?
John, down the stairs.
Keep your head down.
Fire, fire, quick!
Windy enough for you, then?
If it gets much windier, I think
that windmill is gonna take off.
Don't worry now.
- I'll try not to.
- Here you are. Payment in full.
- Thanks, Charles.
- Have you got your pie?
- Yeah, that should see me safely home.
- Come and see us sometime.
- Oh, yes we will.
We'll try.
Listen, I'll send one of our fellows off
to a couple of places,
see if we can find anything of Ruth.
If you do get her,
would you send her straight away?
- Yes, of course.
- Bye.
Yes. I'll come back
for another one of those.
- Bye, Charles.
- Bye, Greg.
- Take care.
- Thanks a lot.
Bye.
Bye.
Why did you let him go?
He had a baby due. He had to go.
But you said we had to expand.
It didn't matter who came here again,
you wouldn't let them go.
Didn't you?
Yes.
But you never even asked him
to come back and settle here.
No.
Why?
Why didn't you?
Not for any reason concerning you.
Greg's his own boss now,
he doesn't want to follow me.
Go on, go and feed your pigs.
My other pigs, you mean.
Put some clothes on, you'll freeze.
Whoa.
- What's the matter, Arthur?
- The house, it's been burned down.
But Jenny's all right.
Whoa, whoa.
Oh, Greg...
- What have you been living on?
- Carrots and turnips, raw.
We couldn't get a fire lighted
because...
The house was too hot to get
a burning bit of wood from.
And then the rain came out.
It was raining most of the time.
Yeah, I know. I know.
- We had milk.
From Bessie.
- It isn't Bessie, it's Rosie.
- Oh, yeah, Bessie ran off.
Right. Paul.
Have you looked in there?
Yes, Donny and Pete were
right beside the straw.
I have no idea, Greg.
It could have been a log from the fire
or the boiler chimney, I don't know.
Can't stay here now.
You're always saying we should have
a standby cottage.
Yeah, well, obviously
I didn't say it loud enough.
I know there are cottages down the road.
They are derelict, windows broken.
Birds have got in.
Rats. It's not the weather
for clearing them out.
Or rubbing two sticks together.
- Greg?
- Yeah?
We haven't told the kids yet
what happened to the others.
What have you told them?
That they are sheltering somewhere else.
- Yeah, well, I'll tell them.
- Do you need to?
Someone's got to, sooner or later.
Oh, put your coat on, lovey.
Where are the blankets?
They are not blankets, they're rugs.
Anyway, I'm keeping warm doing this.
What are you doing, John?
- I'm building a wall to keep Jenny warm.
- Good boy.
Where's Aunt Emma?
Yes. Where are the others?
You both come close and I'll tell you.
Come on.
Now, the very worst thing
that could have happened to us all
was a fire in the middle of winter.
And that's exactly what has happened,
that very worse thing.
But it's all over now,
and we've all come through it.
That's all of us who are here now.
But the others had that same smoke
that you had.
And they tried very hard to get out,
but they couldn't
and the smoke put them to sleep.
That's what I thought happened.
I did, really.
So, what we're gonna do is,
we're all gonna go on from here.
We're gonna have some
warm milk from Rosie
and then we're gonna go on.
And we're gonna go to a farm
where a friend of mine lives.
There are lots of people there,
plenty of children
for you two to play with,
and Ruth's gonna be there, too.
It's gonna be all right, Jenny.
I promise.
- Don't forget the rugs.
- Here you are, Arthur. Catch.
- Upsy-daisy!
- Take that in with you.
- I've got that old rug for you.
Thank you.
Okay then, Paul. Let's get off.
Come on.
Right, out you come, you two.
Come on, let's have you.
- Come on then, John.
What is this place?
A barn.
Who lives here?
Nobody lives in a barn, silly.
It's just full of hay.
And it's nice and dry.
So you two undo a couple of bales
and make yourselves
some nice, dry beds, yeah?
Now, out you come.
Don't you keep this
five star hotel waiting.
Oh, lovely.
I'm all right.
Of course you are.
Wrap this around you.
What we want is some good, hot milk.
Thank you.
So, if Rosie's willing.
Are you willing, old girl?
Honestly, I don't think she is.
Oh, my feet.
What about her? She's got four of them.
Hey, look at me.
Come up here, John, it's great.
Come on, Arthur, let's have some milk.
I'll do that. I...
- There are rats here.
- Lots of rats.
Rats, bats, cats, it doesn't matter.
Who's gonna grind some corn, hmm?
Gonna have some corn porridge.
- And carrots.
- Yes, and carrots.
Sorry, I didn't want to wake you.
Uh, it's probably field mice or rats.
Hoping to get something to eat from us.
They're going to be disappointed.
- You slept?
- No, not much.
- You haven't started?
- No.
Talk to me, Greg.
Tell me about Charles.
Well...
he lives in a place called Whitecross.
There are ten adults
and five children there.
And they all live in separate houses.
And when I was there, we talked about
the chance of setting up
a telephone system
to link up the different communities.
And there's a nice woman there
called Pet.
I suppose it's short for
Petrenella or something.
I suppose she could just be called Pet.
What about the babies? The two babies.
No, there was just the one baby.
But I didn't see it.
What's wrong with it?
There's nothing wrong with it.
I just didn't see it.
What about the other one?
There was supposed to be two.
No, no.
No, I think there was just the one.
Hey, now, you try and get some sleep.
- How's Ruth?
- Fine, fine.
He's kicking.
- Or she.
- I'm absolutely certain it's a boy.
Pack it in, Arthur.
Lie down and get some kip.
Can't. I'm too tired.
- Thinking about the fire?
- Of course.
Gonna have plenty of time
to think of that.
One blessing,
I shan't have as long as you.
- What do you mean?
- You're young.
Come off it, Arthur.
What's happened is terrible,
but your lousy, self pity
isn't gonna help any, is it?
- We're all in the same boat.
- I know, Paul, I know.
But all our friends,
Charmion, burned to death.
I've been pretty resilient
during my career.
I've survived the Death.
I've even adapted to this
ghastly way of life.
But this last blow,
I must be getting old.
I can't take it.
Come on, Arthur.
Funny thing is that
you don't really want to live
and yet you still crave
warmth and shelter.
- Why are you here, Hubert?
- No reason. Just seeing.
- Seeing what?
- Pigs, seeing pigs.
- Those are pigs.
- Oh, you sure they're not sheep?
- Yeah.
- Because one of my pigs is missing.
And I think it's among your sheep.
- It's not among my sheep.
- Have you killed him?
You stole one of my pigs
and now you've killed him.
I did not steal one of your pigs.
You took one of my pigs.
- I did not take one of your pigs.
- Where is he?
You can't steal your own, can you?
The pigs are mine.
I fed 'em and I reared 'em.
The sheep are mine,
someone took one of my sheep yesterday.
- You weren't here yesterday.
- Oh, I see.
I wasn't here yesterday
so it was fine to take one of my sheep.
But the sheep are everybody's.
That's what I say,
the pigs are everybody's.
So it was right for me
to take what was my own.
There are hundreds of sheep and
there are only seven pigs. Six now.
And there's far too many rams.
You killed one of my rams.
I saw half the carcass.
- Charles killed the ram.
- Charles killed the ram.
You're Charles' woman
so I took one of your pigs.
But there's no salt left now
and it's gonna go rotten...
What's going on here?
Listen, you sent me 20 miles yesterday,
20 miles back,
and while I was gone
you killed one of my sheep.
A ram, yes.
And I hope you're gonna help us eat it.
I hope so, too.
- So I killed one of my pigs.
- One of my pigs! Yes...
Now wait, wait! Wait a minute.
There is no division of property here.
Only division of labour.
We each do what we can do best.
I'm sorry you killed the pig
because we're out of salt.
Why is there no salt?
Your job to get salt.
Because I can't afford to spend a week
in January by the sea boiling sea water.
- Boiling the sea?
- Right.
Hubert, you've only been here
about a month.
- Now, we need to talk more.
- We do.
And because you always win,
I'm gonna go and put one of my pigs
on to roast first.
We've got to learn to live together.
- Hey!
- It's Greg.
Hello, you came back! Who else is here?
We've been burnt out Charles.
Can you help us?
Of course. Of course. Pet!
Can you get some eggs
and some bread and some butter?
You'll find some logs in the back there.
Now, if you go into the boiler,
you'll find some hot coals.
Get a shovel full and follow us.
- Thank you.
- Okay.
There, come on.
Just let yourself go, love.
You're gonna be all right.
There you are.
Here we are. One of
the last remnants of civilisation.
When these rot, we'll have to
make do with other comforts.
I'm sorry we couldn't prepare
the place for you. It's a bit dusty.
The damp will go as soon as
you light the fire.
It's not very well designed.
I don't know who used to live here.
- Some commune people I think.
She needs some sleep.
Go on, this will get us warm. Got it?
Yes.
Do you think we should bathe her down?
No, I think you should
let her sleep for a while.
Thanks for the wood.
I chopped some more for you.
Oh, you're welcome.
Here's my twigs.
They're too thick.
They're not.
No, I mean thin.
- Got a light?
- No.
Oh, wait for your... What's his name,
Arthur, he'll bring one.
- Hey.
- Oh, and this is Hubert.
- Hubert, this is Greg.
- Hi, Hubert.
- How do?
- Paul over there.
And that's John. And that's Lizzie.
- Hello.
- Hello.
I came to say, I hear you had bad luck.
Well, we'll share some of this.
With some of my wine
- and some of Pet's honey cake.
- Honey cake.
Make way, make way. I hope it'll catch.
- I see you use charcoal.
- For the stove, yes.
- Didn't you?
- No.
Oh, it's hotter and it's cleaner.
Do you make bread on a wood fire?
- Yes.
- What is charcoal?
Charcoal? Well,
it's a long story and an old one.
Once upon a time, there used to live
an old charcoal burner in a house
in the middle of the forest.
And what he did was,
he built the wood into stacks
and he set fire to it,
and then he covered it all over
- with turf to keep the air out.
- We must have a go at that.
Look, it's caught! It's going.
- Let's have a welcome drink, then.
- Thanks.
- We drink wine.
- I'll bet you do.
There you are, then. Here's one for you.
Here's one for you, Lizzie.
Got one, Paul?
You've been taught
your manners, I see!
- Well, welcome to Whitecross.
- With much gratitude, old boy.
- And to you, Pet.
- Thank you.
- Many thanks.
- Thank you.
Well, the set up here is,
we each live our own lives.
I mean, Hubert looks after the sheep
and the others help with the main crop.
The wheat, the oats, the hay.
Pet and Peggy run the dairy,
the milk, butter, cheese.
We have a carpenter called Jack.
And Pet has her pigs and
her chickens and her ducks.
- We all have chickens.
- And I do all the odd jobs.
And the land and
the building and the plans.
- Who makes the charcoal?
- I do.
Greg.
- Excuse me.
- Where is everyone?
- They're all in next door.
- Greg, where's Ruth?
- Mmm-hmm?
- I haven't had time to ask yet.
- How are you?
- Well...
- Would you like a wash down?
- I could put some water on to heat.
- There's a lovely fire going next door.
- Yes. Yes, a wash would be nice.
- Did you bring a kettle with you?
- No, I'm afraid we didn't.
- It's all right, I'll find one.
- Where's Ruth?
- Who?
Oh, yes. Hubert.
Hubert, this is Jenny.
- She's the one who's expecting the baby.
- I can see that. How do?
- Hubert went 15 miles yesterday...
- I was sent 20 miles there,
20 miles back, two days, sent for
a doctor who used to live here once.
The day before yesterday...
This doctor was...
- Yeah, but she was a medical student.
- Oh, she was.
She was sent to St Mary's
to see about a broken leg,
and then she left there to go somewhere
else to see about a baby.
And then she left somewhere else to see
about somebody's toothache.
And she ain't been back since.
But now, if it's babies...
Yeah, all right, thank you very much
Hubert, that's very kind of you. Thanks.
I'll put the water on for you.
- Oh, Greg.
- It'll be all right.
We don't have a spare kettle, do we?
All right, I'll give them this one.
- I'll find them a kettle.
- Is the pump working?
There's enough in the tank.
Well, you got him, didn't you?
- We got him.
- And he's not going to go again.
Unless he loses the baby.
Oh, my love, we've expanded.
Smile.
This is a fallow field
that goes with the house.
Hmm?
By the way, the roof leaks a bit.
I'll give you a hand to fix that.
If you'd like to be alone,
Paul and Arthur can move off
to the white house.
No, we'll stick together for
the time being. Thanks for the offer.
- You didn't keep bees, did you?
- No, we hadn't got around to it.
What did you do for sugar?
Used up what we had,
and then went without.
I'd like to try sugar beat.
We could boil it, crystallize it,
purify it with animal charcoal.
Charles, I'm not sure
if I'm going to stay.
- Jenny must have her baby here.
- Yes.
I'd like to get all that over and
done with, but when it's the spring,
I think we ought to move on
and find a place for ourselves.
Greg, I can't keep you till the spring.
Not without working.
You don't have to tell me that.
You know we'll work.
It means digging, Greg.
Putting your resources into the soil.
You're gonna leave that?
Leave your investment?
It doesn't make sense, does it?
Then what would you do?
Find a fallow field
and start work on it
a couple of months late?
Charles, we get on well enough,
but you know as well as I do,
there just isn't room
for two of us here.
- Oh.
- So we'll leave when it's spring.
In this sort of setup
there's room for both of us.
Each to his own kingdom. Come on in.
Have a look at that.
- What is it?
- It's a tinder box.
You put dry moss, or charred cotton
if you can get it, in there,
turn the handle, you have to turn it
very fast. There you are, you see.
You get sparks, you blow
and eventually you get a flame.
I should've thought of
making one of these myself.
- After all the matches ran out.
- Hmm.
No, no, no. No, you keep it.
Oh, thanks.
You don't mind if I improve the design?
- Hello, Hubert, what's in the sack?
- Yes, what's in the sack?
Yes, Hubert, what is in the sack?
- A present for you.
- For me?
Yeah, for you and your friends.
Ooh.
All I'm saying is
they've got room for us
in what they call the white house,
if you think it's too cramped here.
- Thanks, Arthur.
- There's some folk already in there.
- One of them is a nice-looking chick.
- What are you waiting for?
- Hubert's got a present.
- He said for me.
For all of us.
- Here you are. A present.
It's a pig. A fair sized piglet.
- That's very kind of you.
- I thought you might like a pig,
seeing as you've come with nothing.
Trouble is, Hubert, we haven't got
any salt to salt it away with.
So would you mind very much if we shared
it around with everyone else?
Yeah, sure.
- He didn't have any salt either.
- I thought they might like a pig.
- You thought right.
- Oh, yes.
Greg.
It's all right, it's gone.
- What's gone? Contraction?
- Well...
- Started then?
- Hubert.
Look, I've been a shepherd for years.
I've brought lots of lambs in the world.
Well, I lost a few,
but I done all right.
If there's any trouble, I know what's
what. I seen the vet do his stuff.
So I'll hang around, no trouble.
Hubert, if we need you,
we'll find you, all right?
Oh, you're going to be all right.
There. You just tell me
when the next one comes.
Where's Ruth? Where's Ruth?
She promised to come to me.
You'll be all right.
Bit of a leak here.
- Charles, can I have word with you?
- Okay, won't be a second.
- Jenny's started.
- How is she?
She's feverish,
but she keeps asking for Ruth.
- And you know what I forgot to do.
- Oh, no. Leave your address.
Everywhere I've moved on to
since this started,
I always leave a note of
where I'm going and how to get there.
Well, in the circumstances.
But don't you see,
Ruth's going back there to help Jenny.
If she went back there and you weren't
there, where would she go from there?
Oh, I don't know.
Back where she came from, I suppose.
Well, we'll have to find out, won't we?
- But we don't know where that is.
- Oh, we know the general direction.
A day there and a day back.
I don't see much point in that.
I got some petrol.
A gallon and a half
won't take you 100 miles.
Bit of luck,
I'll be back in about four hours.
It's going.
That's it.
Nearly.
- It's gone.
- Good.
Is it good? They're supposed to happen
every few minutes, aren't they?
You're fine.
Have you got a watch?
There. It's Charlie's.
He said you'd ask for one.
Thank you.
- There's so many things to go wrong.
- If you're a pessimist. I'm not.
- Is there soap and hot water...
- Kettle's on the stove.
- And soap?
- No. We've run out of that.
Because it's not replaceable,
we haven't foraged for it.
So we've learned to do without it.
Do without? Is that Charles' philosophy?
Well, I don't have any philosophy.
- You haven't had any babies?
- No.
- My sisters did.
- How many sisters?
Four. And three brothers.
I was the youngest by a long shot.
An afterthought.
So I had a lot of loving.
As a child and as a woman.
So I'm a natural optimist.
- How is she?
- Contractions every six minutes now.
Jenny says it's still the early stages.
- She seems to have done her reading.
- Yeah, she's done that all right.
Does it help?
Sounds like you need your brow bathed.
Why don't you sit down?
No, no, no, no, no.
Why is Charles pulling
a crazy stunt like this anyway?
Just to make me feel so grateful that
I'm gonna stay here forever?
Ruth won't be there
and life's not like that.
You're wanted here Greg.
Well, ask Charles.
He said he wants you
'cause you're an engineer. He said so.
Well, the engineering age
has been and gone.
Now he's been pouring out
his superiority over me in everything.
I'm swamped in it.
He's a great fellow but I'm getting out.
Oh, don't go, Greg. We can have
such a lovely time here together.
All of us, I mean.
All of us.
- It's Ruth!
- It's Ruth. Ruth.
Ruth!
- Jenny's been waiting for you.
- Hello, Lizzie. Hello, John.
- Hello.
- Hello, Greg.
Am I glad to see you.
I'll talk to you two later.
Go look inside the car.
There you are,
she's cold and she's very hungry.
- Yeah, well, I'll take that.
- Okay.
- Thanks, Charles.
- You're welcome.
Well, Ruth's a lot more sure of herself.
She's taken a man's appendix out.
She gave him a couple
of Pethadine tablets to kill the pain
- and just opened him up.
- Did he survive?
Yes, very well, she said.
And she's done a breech birth.
She couldn't wait to get back to Jenny.
You were right, she was
on her way back to St Mary's.
Come on, have some of this.
Jenny's doing fine. The baby is
the right way up in a good position.
She's three fingers dilated,
if you know what that means.
It'll be a few hours yet.
Charles, I don't suppose
you've got any soap, have you?
No, I'm afraid not.
I'll have to use
my precious stock, then.
We'll have to get your
technology going soon, Charles.
- What technology is that?
- Last one was four minutes.
- Fine.
- What's the technology, Charles?
Oh, well, with the 21 people we have,
all we can do at the moment
is grub out a living from the soil
and repair and maintain our clothes
and our shelters.
I mean, we all have specialities,
some useful, some not,
but the community is dependent
on one person to do one specific job.
I mean, Ruth is a good example.
She hasn't got the time to teach anyone,
to pass her knowledge on.
Well, I think that more people
would give us that time.
Time to send someone to
the seashore and bring back salt.
Time to make your
telephone system, Greg.
Time to make lime,
not just for skins but for cement.
And we could even make soap.
We can maintain a library.
And, eventually, the people will come,
some to trade, some to settle.
Before long we'd have a town,
and eventually a kind of civilisation.
Go and rub her back, Greg,
she'll tell you.
- Is there any more?
- Oh, yes, love.
There's my pig being roasted.
But I'll get you something
else for the time being.
Think Greg will stay now?
- I don't know, I hope so.
- You offered him enough.
Think I'm bribing him?
Food, a house, the last
of the petrol and the tinder box.
Those aren't bribes,
those are the instruments of survival.
He's going to be all right.
- Hello.
Hello. Are you well?
- What's your name?
- Yeah, I'm very well.
- My name is Greg.
- I am Pet.
Hello, Pet.
I'm looking for a man
called Charles Vaughan.
He's here. Come on in.
- Where are you from?
- A place about 50 miles away.
- How many of you?
- Oh, there are 12 of us now.
Come to see if I can buy some wheat.
Buy? What with?
That.
Now, we've learned the art
of curing skins.
You know, we got hold of
some lime and all the rest of it.
So, not only am I selling those,
a couple of cow hides out on the cart,
but I'm prepared to let you
have the secret formula.
- For two sacks of wheat.
- What happened to your wheat?
Oh, I think we sowed ours too late.
Then we got hold of some
wild corn and that sprouted.
You probably stacked it too wet.
- Ah, probably did.
- I expect we can let you have some.
Oh, thanks.
- You don't have any matches, do you?
- No, ours ran out.
We can make do with this.
We've only got about
ten gallons of petrol left.
So we have to count every drop.
- How about you?
- One and a half gallons.
- For emergencies.
- Damn.
I was hoping you'd be
able to give me a refill.
Oh, we can spare that.
That's all right, I'll manage.
I just need one fire tonight
to sort of get me to bed
and thaw me out in the morning.
And then one for a meal
on my way home tomorrow.
- You're going back tomorrow?
- I'm afraid so.
- What do you live on there?
- Ah, sheep mostly.
We've got so many rams this year,
I think they are likely to take over.
And we got cattle
and rabbits and chickens.
We grow a bit of barley,
potatoes, carrots.
We're doing very nicely.
- Where can I get hold of Charles?
- Just a minute.
Charlie!
- Take your coat off.
- Hmm. Thanks.
- Is that charcoal?
- Mmm-hmm.
- Here.
- Very clever.
Secret formula.
Where do you know Charles from?
Well, I met him about a year ago.
There were three of us then.
Charles wanted us to settle with him.
He always wants people to settle.
Greg! How are you?
- Good to see you.
- You're looking well.
- How are you getting on?
- Well, fine.
- Settlement's doing well.
- Yes, how's...
Thank you, uh, Abby and Jenny?
Well, Abby's gone off,
'cause she got news of her son.
Uh, Peter, yes, yes I remember.
Yeah, she said she'd come back,
but that was in June.
- And Jenny?
- Well, she's all right.
- Got about 12 people now.
- Great.
Now, what are you doing here?
Nothing wrong?
Oh, no, no.
Ooh, looks nice.
Yes, well, I can see
you've learned to survive.
- He wants wheat.
- We got plenty.
Hmm. Haven't got any harness, have you?
Uh, no but I know where
there was some in the autumn.
We've haven't got
the right skins to make harness.
- Is that elderflower?
- No.
- Grape.
- Grape?
Yes. We grew some. It's a little young,
but I think you'll be amused...
By its presumption!
- Here you are. Well.
- Thank you.
- Welcome.
- Cheers.
Sit down.
Charles,
a couple of months ago,
we sent you our medical student Ruth,
about your babies.
Oh, yes, yes. Thank you.
Uh, well, she did her best.
One of the babies was still born,
and the other one survived. Ida's.
And after that she and Lorraine
just didn't seem to hit it off.
So Ida left and Lorraine went soon after
and she took the boy with her.
And I came on up here.
You don't happen to know
where Ruth is now?
Uh, about 15 miles away, St Mary's
I think, someone had a bad fall.
- Is she still there?
- No, I think she moved on.
Do you need her?
Oh, it's just Jenny's having
a baby in a couple of weeks
and Ruth said she'd come back
and give us a hand.
She just hasn't turned up yet.
- Yours?
- Uh-huh. It's mine.
Congratulations.
It's me.
- Hello, Paul.
- Shh! Lizzie's asleep.
I know. She's been snoring.
- Good night.
- Good night, Paul.
- You all right?
- Yes.
Cheer up. He'll be home in a day or two.
Yes.
Can I get you something?
No, thank you.
Emma just brought me this.
What's up?
Just trying to imagine the baby.
If it's going to be all right.
- What it's gonna look like.
- You don't have to worry about that.
That's all sorted out.
He'll have your eyes and Greg's hair.
Or the other way around.
- I checked John and Lizzie.
- Oh, thank you.
It's funny how they adopted us,
isn't it? Like ducks.
The first thing they see
after coming out of their shell,
they call mummy.
The first thing they saw after
the Death was Greg and me.
Ah, I do love them.
- This one will be really yours.
- Hmm. And Greg's.
There's been a good few people
pass through here, but
there's no one for me.
I wish I had a woman, Jenny.
Someone will come along.
It's not likely.
I think I'll have to go looking.
Ruth will be back soon,
you got on well with her.
Out of my class.
She fancied you.
Why do you say that?
Don't go, Paul. Greg needs you here.
Oh, I liked Eddie, but
I obviously didn't care for
the tension between us.
Hmm.
Still, it's easier
with just the one boss.
You mean you prefer to be your own boss.
Yes, there's that, too.
Well, in these times
there seems to be a natural distinction
between the leaders and the led.
- May I?
- Please, help yourself.
Thanks.
Where'd you meet Pet?
Oh, she's been here for
about two months or so.
She wandered around and about
until she eventually arrived here.
- She's nice.
- Mmm.
Yes. You know, before the Death,
her father used to run
the Continental Caf? in Worcester.
It's why she's so good
with the customers.
Greg, why don't you
stay here till tomorrow?
Have a look at that wind pump.
- What's wrong with it?
- Nothing, really.
Pumps water from the well
to the roof tank.
In fact, I'd like to get a tank
for the whole community.
There must be something else
we can use it for.
Well, what you could do,
you could hitch up a car dynamo to it
and then charge up a car battery,
- for a start.
- Yes.
You could have
a primitive telephone system.
If you run out a line from here
to my place or wherever you want,
then have a telephone at each end.
I mean, obviously, it wouldn't be hi-fi,
but at least you would be
able to make out the words.
Telephone.
Tell me,
what do you know about the power loss
over 50 miles of wire?
Haven't a clue.
Can always read it up.
Hmm. Here.
Besides, how long will it take
to run a line
between here and your place?
And where do we get
that amount of wire from?
Hmm. Suppose we just
have to look for it.
The old phone lines are still there.
Yes, but they're not intact.
And they go through towns.
- Which we won't.
- All right.
We loop round the towns.
You know, if we can get the wire,
it wouldn't take more than
a week to trace a line.
Who's got a week?
A feudal baron like you.
Well, who's talking about feudal barons?
You know, Greg,
if I traced a line
between here and my neighbours,
and he traced a line
and so on and so forth,
you know,
we could cover the whole country
with your dynamo and my wind pump.
Yeah, well, when the baby's born,
let's talk about it again.
What do you burn in your lanterns?
Oh, mutton fat.
You melt it down and strain it.
Melt it down again and strain it again,
till it's pure.
You know, that's beautiful wine.
What do you use in yours?
Mutton fat.
- Good night.
- Good night, Charles.
Mummy!
It's stuck! I can't move it.
Help!
Mummy!
- I'll go.
- Oh, thanks, Paul.
Jesus.
Get a towel or something.
Help! Help!
Go upstairs, quick.
I'll get the kids. Warn the others.
- Is Jenny all right?
- Yeah, look after her.
Lizzie.
Fire, fire quick!
Get away from the door,
I'm gonna push it in.
Are you clear?
John, down the stairs.
Keep your head down.
Fire, fire, quick!
Windy enough for you, then?
If it gets much windier, I think
that windmill is gonna take off.
Don't worry now.
- I'll try not to.
- Here you are. Payment in full.
- Thanks, Charles.
- Have you got your pie?
- Yeah, that should see me safely home.
- Come and see us sometime.
- Oh, yes we will.
We'll try.
Listen, I'll send one of our fellows off
to a couple of places,
see if we can find anything of Ruth.
If you do get her,
would you send her straight away?
- Yes, of course.
- Bye.
Yes. I'll come back
for another one of those.
- Bye, Charles.
- Bye, Greg.
- Take care.
- Thanks a lot.
Bye.
Bye.
Why did you let him go?
He had a baby due. He had to go.
But you said we had to expand.
It didn't matter who came here again,
you wouldn't let them go.
Didn't you?
Yes.
But you never even asked him
to come back and settle here.
No.
Why?
Why didn't you?
Not for any reason concerning you.
Greg's his own boss now,
he doesn't want to follow me.
Go on, go and feed your pigs.
My other pigs, you mean.
Put some clothes on, you'll freeze.
Whoa.
- What's the matter, Arthur?
- The house, it's been burned down.
But Jenny's all right.
Whoa, whoa.
Oh, Greg...
- What have you been living on?
- Carrots and turnips, raw.
We couldn't get a fire lighted
because...
The house was too hot to get
a burning bit of wood from.
And then the rain came out.
It was raining most of the time.
Yeah, I know. I know.
- We had milk.
From Bessie.
- It isn't Bessie, it's Rosie.
- Oh, yeah, Bessie ran off.
Right. Paul.
Have you looked in there?
Yes, Donny and Pete were
right beside the straw.
I have no idea, Greg.
It could have been a log from the fire
or the boiler chimney, I don't know.
Can't stay here now.
You're always saying we should have
a standby cottage.
Yeah, well, obviously
I didn't say it loud enough.
I know there are cottages down the road.
They are derelict, windows broken.
Birds have got in.
Rats. It's not the weather
for clearing them out.
Or rubbing two sticks together.
- Greg?
- Yeah?
We haven't told the kids yet
what happened to the others.
What have you told them?
That they are sheltering somewhere else.
- Yeah, well, I'll tell them.
- Do you need to?
Someone's got to, sooner or later.
Oh, put your coat on, lovey.
Where are the blankets?
They are not blankets, they're rugs.
Anyway, I'm keeping warm doing this.
What are you doing, John?
- I'm building a wall to keep Jenny warm.
- Good boy.
Where's Aunt Emma?
Yes. Where are the others?
You both come close and I'll tell you.
Come on.
Now, the very worst thing
that could have happened to us all
was a fire in the middle of winter.
And that's exactly what has happened,
that very worse thing.
But it's all over now,
and we've all come through it.
That's all of us who are here now.
But the others had that same smoke
that you had.
And they tried very hard to get out,
but they couldn't
and the smoke put them to sleep.
That's what I thought happened.
I did, really.
So, what we're gonna do is,
we're all gonna go on from here.
We're gonna have some
warm milk from Rosie
and then we're gonna go on.
And we're gonna go to a farm
where a friend of mine lives.
There are lots of people there,
plenty of children
for you two to play with,
and Ruth's gonna be there, too.
It's gonna be all right, Jenny.
I promise.
- Don't forget the rugs.
- Here you are, Arthur. Catch.
- Upsy-daisy!
- Take that in with you.
- I've got that old rug for you.
Thank you.
Okay then, Paul. Let's get off.
Come on.
Right, out you come, you two.
Come on, let's have you.
- Come on then, John.
What is this place?
A barn.
Who lives here?
Nobody lives in a barn, silly.
It's just full of hay.
And it's nice and dry.
So you two undo a couple of bales
and make yourselves
some nice, dry beds, yeah?
Now, out you come.
Don't you keep this
five star hotel waiting.
Oh, lovely.
I'm all right.
Of course you are.
Wrap this around you.
What we want is some good, hot milk.
Thank you.
So, if Rosie's willing.
Are you willing, old girl?
Honestly, I don't think she is.
Oh, my feet.
What about her? She's got four of them.
Hey, look at me.
Come up here, John, it's great.
Come on, Arthur, let's have some milk.
I'll do that. I...
- There are rats here.
- Lots of rats.
Rats, bats, cats, it doesn't matter.
Who's gonna grind some corn, hmm?
Gonna have some corn porridge.
- And carrots.
- Yes, and carrots.
Sorry, I didn't want to wake you.
Uh, it's probably field mice or rats.
Hoping to get something to eat from us.
They're going to be disappointed.
- You slept?
- No, not much.
- You haven't started?
- No.
Talk to me, Greg.
Tell me about Charles.
Well...
he lives in a place called Whitecross.
There are ten adults
and five children there.
And they all live in separate houses.
And when I was there, we talked about
the chance of setting up
a telephone system
to link up the different communities.
And there's a nice woman there
called Pet.
I suppose it's short for
Petrenella or something.
I suppose she could just be called Pet.
What about the babies? The two babies.
No, there was just the one baby.
But I didn't see it.
What's wrong with it?
There's nothing wrong with it.
I just didn't see it.
What about the other one?
There was supposed to be two.
No, no.
No, I think there was just the one.
Hey, now, you try and get some sleep.
- How's Ruth?
- Fine, fine.
He's kicking.
- Or she.
- I'm absolutely certain it's a boy.
Pack it in, Arthur.
Lie down and get some kip.
Can't. I'm too tired.
- Thinking about the fire?
- Of course.
Gonna have plenty of time
to think of that.
One blessing,
I shan't have as long as you.
- What do you mean?
- You're young.
Come off it, Arthur.
What's happened is terrible,
but your lousy, self pity
isn't gonna help any, is it?
- We're all in the same boat.
- I know, Paul, I know.
But all our friends,
Charmion, burned to death.
I've been pretty resilient
during my career.
I've survived the Death.
I've even adapted to this
ghastly way of life.
But this last blow,
I must be getting old.
I can't take it.
Come on, Arthur.
Funny thing is that
you don't really want to live
and yet you still crave
warmth and shelter.
- Why are you here, Hubert?
- No reason. Just seeing.
- Seeing what?
- Pigs, seeing pigs.
- Those are pigs.
- Oh, you sure they're not sheep?
- Yeah.
- Because one of my pigs is missing.
And I think it's among your sheep.
- It's not among my sheep.
- Have you killed him?
You stole one of my pigs
and now you've killed him.
I did not steal one of your pigs.
You took one of my pigs.
- I did not take one of your pigs.
- Where is he?
You can't steal your own, can you?
The pigs are mine.
I fed 'em and I reared 'em.
The sheep are mine,
someone took one of my sheep yesterday.
- You weren't here yesterday.
- Oh, I see.
I wasn't here yesterday
so it was fine to take one of my sheep.
But the sheep are everybody's.
That's what I say,
the pigs are everybody's.
So it was right for me
to take what was my own.
There are hundreds of sheep and
there are only seven pigs. Six now.
And there's far too many rams.
You killed one of my rams.
I saw half the carcass.
- Charles killed the ram.
- Charles killed the ram.
You're Charles' woman
so I took one of your pigs.
But there's no salt left now
and it's gonna go rotten...
What's going on here?
Listen, you sent me 20 miles yesterday,
20 miles back,
and while I was gone
you killed one of my sheep.
A ram, yes.
And I hope you're gonna help us eat it.
I hope so, too.
- So I killed one of my pigs.
- One of my pigs! Yes...
Now wait, wait! Wait a minute.
There is no division of property here.
Only division of labour.
We each do what we can do best.
I'm sorry you killed the pig
because we're out of salt.
Why is there no salt?
Your job to get salt.
Because I can't afford to spend a week
in January by the sea boiling sea water.
- Boiling the sea?
- Right.
Hubert, you've only been here
about a month.
- Now, we need to talk more.
- We do.
And because you always win,
I'm gonna go and put one of my pigs
on to roast first.
We've got to learn to live together.
- Hey!
- It's Greg.
Hello, you came back! Who else is here?
We've been burnt out Charles.
Can you help us?
Of course. Of course. Pet!
Can you get some eggs
and some bread and some butter?
You'll find some logs in the back there.
Now, if you go into the boiler,
you'll find some hot coals.
Get a shovel full and follow us.
- Thank you.
- Okay.
There, come on.
Just let yourself go, love.
You're gonna be all right.
There you are.
Here we are. One of
the last remnants of civilisation.
When these rot, we'll have to
make do with other comforts.
I'm sorry we couldn't prepare
the place for you. It's a bit dusty.
The damp will go as soon as
you light the fire.
It's not very well designed.
I don't know who used to live here.
- Some commune people I think.
She needs some sleep.
Go on, this will get us warm. Got it?
Yes.
Do you think we should bathe her down?
No, I think you should
let her sleep for a while.
Thanks for the wood.
I chopped some more for you.
Oh, you're welcome.
Here's my twigs.
They're too thick.
They're not.
No, I mean thin.
- Got a light?
- No.
Oh, wait for your... What's his name,
Arthur, he'll bring one.
- Hey.
- Oh, and this is Hubert.
- Hubert, this is Greg.
- Hi, Hubert.
- How do?
- Paul over there.
And that's John. And that's Lizzie.
- Hello.
- Hello.
I came to say, I hear you had bad luck.
Well, we'll share some of this.
With some of my wine
- and some of Pet's honey cake.
- Honey cake.
Make way, make way. I hope it'll catch.
- I see you use charcoal.
- For the stove, yes.
- Didn't you?
- No.
Oh, it's hotter and it's cleaner.
Do you make bread on a wood fire?
- Yes.
- What is charcoal?
Charcoal? Well,
it's a long story and an old one.
Once upon a time, there used to live
an old charcoal burner in a house
in the middle of the forest.
And what he did was,
he built the wood into stacks
and he set fire to it,
and then he covered it all over
- with turf to keep the air out.
- We must have a go at that.
Look, it's caught! It's going.
- Let's have a welcome drink, then.
- Thanks.
- We drink wine.
- I'll bet you do.
There you are, then. Here's one for you.
Here's one for you, Lizzie.
Got one, Paul?
You've been taught
your manners, I see!
- Well, welcome to Whitecross.
- With much gratitude, old boy.
- And to you, Pet.
- Thank you.
- Many thanks.
- Thank you.
Well, the set up here is,
we each live our own lives.
I mean, Hubert looks after the sheep
and the others help with the main crop.
The wheat, the oats, the hay.
Pet and Peggy run the dairy,
the milk, butter, cheese.
We have a carpenter called Jack.
And Pet has her pigs and
her chickens and her ducks.
- We all have chickens.
- And I do all the odd jobs.
And the land and
the building and the plans.
- Who makes the charcoal?
- I do.
Greg.
- Excuse me.
- Where is everyone?
- They're all in next door.
- Greg, where's Ruth?
- Mmm-hmm?
- I haven't had time to ask yet.
- How are you?
- Well...
- Would you like a wash down?
- I could put some water on to heat.
- There's a lovely fire going next door.
- Yes. Yes, a wash would be nice.
- Did you bring a kettle with you?
- No, I'm afraid we didn't.
- It's all right, I'll find one.
- Where's Ruth?
- Who?
Oh, yes. Hubert.
Hubert, this is Jenny.
- She's the one who's expecting the baby.
- I can see that. How do?
- Hubert went 15 miles yesterday...
- I was sent 20 miles there,
20 miles back, two days, sent for
a doctor who used to live here once.
The day before yesterday...
This doctor was...
- Yeah, but she was a medical student.
- Oh, she was.
She was sent to St Mary's
to see about a broken leg,
and then she left there to go somewhere
else to see about a baby.
And then she left somewhere else to see
about somebody's toothache.
And she ain't been back since.
But now, if it's babies...
Yeah, all right, thank you very much
Hubert, that's very kind of you. Thanks.
I'll put the water on for you.
- Oh, Greg.
- It'll be all right.
We don't have a spare kettle, do we?
All right, I'll give them this one.
- I'll find them a kettle.
- Is the pump working?
There's enough in the tank.
Well, you got him, didn't you?
- We got him.
- And he's not going to go again.
Unless he loses the baby.
Oh, my love, we've expanded.
Smile.
This is a fallow field
that goes with the house.
Hmm?
By the way, the roof leaks a bit.
I'll give you a hand to fix that.
If you'd like to be alone,
Paul and Arthur can move off
to the white house.
No, we'll stick together for
the time being. Thanks for the offer.
- You didn't keep bees, did you?
- No, we hadn't got around to it.
What did you do for sugar?
Used up what we had,
and then went without.
I'd like to try sugar beat.
We could boil it, crystallize it,
purify it with animal charcoal.
Charles, I'm not sure
if I'm going to stay.
- Jenny must have her baby here.
- Yes.
I'd like to get all that over and
done with, but when it's the spring,
I think we ought to move on
and find a place for ourselves.
Greg, I can't keep you till the spring.
Not without working.
You don't have to tell me that.
You know we'll work.
It means digging, Greg.
Putting your resources into the soil.
You're gonna leave that?
Leave your investment?
It doesn't make sense, does it?
Then what would you do?
Find a fallow field
and start work on it
a couple of months late?
Charles, we get on well enough,
but you know as well as I do,
there just isn't room
for two of us here.
- Oh.
- So we'll leave when it's spring.
In this sort of setup
there's room for both of us.
Each to his own kingdom. Come on in.
Have a look at that.
- What is it?
- It's a tinder box.
You put dry moss, or charred cotton
if you can get it, in there,
turn the handle, you have to turn it
very fast. There you are, you see.
You get sparks, you blow
and eventually you get a flame.
I should've thought of
making one of these myself.
- After all the matches ran out.
- Hmm.
No, no, no. No, you keep it.
Oh, thanks.
You don't mind if I improve the design?
- Hello, Hubert, what's in the sack?
- Yes, what's in the sack?
Yes, Hubert, what is in the sack?
- A present for you.
- For me?
Yeah, for you and your friends.
Ooh.
All I'm saying is
they've got room for us
in what they call the white house,
if you think it's too cramped here.
- Thanks, Arthur.
- There's some folk already in there.
- One of them is a nice-looking chick.
- What are you waiting for?
- Hubert's got a present.
- He said for me.
For all of us.
- Here you are. A present.
It's a pig. A fair sized piglet.
- That's very kind of you.
- I thought you might like a pig,
seeing as you've come with nothing.
Trouble is, Hubert, we haven't got
any salt to salt it away with.
So would you mind very much if we shared
it around with everyone else?
Yeah, sure.
- He didn't have any salt either.
- I thought they might like a pig.
- You thought right.
- Oh, yes.
Greg.
It's all right, it's gone.
- What's gone? Contraction?
- Well...
- Started then?
- Hubert.
Look, I've been a shepherd for years.
I've brought lots of lambs in the world.
Well, I lost a few,
but I done all right.
If there's any trouble, I know what's
what. I seen the vet do his stuff.
So I'll hang around, no trouble.
Hubert, if we need you,
we'll find you, all right?
Oh, you're going to be all right.
There. You just tell me
when the next one comes.
Where's Ruth? Where's Ruth?
She promised to come to me.
You'll be all right.
Bit of a leak here.
- Charles, can I have word with you?
- Okay, won't be a second.
- Jenny's started.
- How is she?
She's feverish,
but she keeps asking for Ruth.
- And you know what I forgot to do.
- Oh, no. Leave your address.
Everywhere I've moved on to
since this started,
I always leave a note of
where I'm going and how to get there.
Well, in the circumstances.
But don't you see,
Ruth's going back there to help Jenny.
If she went back there and you weren't
there, where would she go from there?
Oh, I don't know.
Back where she came from, I suppose.
Well, we'll have to find out, won't we?
- But we don't know where that is.
- Oh, we know the general direction.
A day there and a day back.
I don't see much point in that.
I got some petrol.
A gallon and a half
won't take you 100 miles.
Bit of luck,
I'll be back in about four hours.
It's going.
That's it.
Nearly.
- It's gone.
- Good.
Is it good? They're supposed to happen
every few minutes, aren't they?
You're fine.
Have you got a watch?
There. It's Charlie's.
He said you'd ask for one.
Thank you.
- There's so many things to go wrong.
- If you're a pessimist. I'm not.
- Is there soap and hot water...
- Kettle's on the stove.
- And soap?
- No. We've run out of that.
Because it's not replaceable,
we haven't foraged for it.
So we've learned to do without it.
Do without? Is that Charles' philosophy?
Well, I don't have any philosophy.
- You haven't had any babies?
- No.
- My sisters did.
- How many sisters?
Four. And three brothers.
I was the youngest by a long shot.
An afterthought.
So I had a lot of loving.
As a child and as a woman.
So I'm a natural optimist.
- How is she?
- Contractions every six minutes now.
Jenny says it's still the early stages.
- She seems to have done her reading.
- Yeah, she's done that all right.
Does it help?
Sounds like you need your brow bathed.
Why don't you sit down?
No, no, no, no, no.
Why is Charles pulling
a crazy stunt like this anyway?
Just to make me feel so grateful that
I'm gonna stay here forever?
Ruth won't be there
and life's not like that.
You're wanted here Greg.
Well, ask Charles.
He said he wants you
'cause you're an engineer. He said so.
Well, the engineering age
has been and gone.
Now he's been pouring out
his superiority over me in everything.
I'm swamped in it.
He's a great fellow but I'm getting out.
Oh, don't go, Greg. We can have
such a lovely time here together.
All of us, I mean.
All of us.
- It's Ruth!
- It's Ruth. Ruth.
Ruth!
- Jenny's been waiting for you.
- Hello, Lizzie. Hello, John.
- Hello.
- Hello, Greg.
Am I glad to see you.
I'll talk to you two later.
Go look inside the car.
There you are,
she's cold and she's very hungry.
- Yeah, well, I'll take that.
- Okay.
- Thanks, Charles.
- You're welcome.
Well, Ruth's a lot more sure of herself.
She's taken a man's appendix out.
She gave him a couple
of Pethadine tablets to kill the pain
- and just opened him up.
- Did he survive?
Yes, very well, she said.
And she's done a breech birth.
She couldn't wait to get back to Jenny.
You were right, she was
on her way back to St Mary's.
Come on, have some of this.
Jenny's doing fine. The baby is
the right way up in a good position.
She's three fingers dilated,
if you know what that means.
It'll be a few hours yet.
Charles, I don't suppose
you've got any soap, have you?
No, I'm afraid not.
I'll have to use
my precious stock, then.
We'll have to get your
technology going soon, Charles.
- What technology is that?
- Last one was four minutes.
- Fine.
- What's the technology, Charles?
Oh, well, with the 21 people we have,
all we can do at the moment
is grub out a living from the soil
and repair and maintain our clothes
and our shelters.
I mean, we all have specialities,
some useful, some not,
but the community is dependent
on one person to do one specific job.
I mean, Ruth is a good example.
She hasn't got the time to teach anyone,
to pass her knowledge on.
Well, I think that more people
would give us that time.
Time to send someone to
the seashore and bring back salt.
Time to make your
telephone system, Greg.
Time to make lime,
not just for skins but for cement.
And we could even make soap.
We can maintain a library.
And, eventually, the people will come,
some to trade, some to settle.
Before long we'd have a town,
and eventually a kind of civilisation.
Go and rub her back, Greg,
she'll tell you.
- Is there any more?
- Oh, yes, love.
There's my pig being roasted.
But I'll get you something
else for the time being.
Think Greg will stay now?
- I don't know, I hope so.
- You offered him enough.
Think I'm bribing him?
Food, a house, the last
of the petrol and the tinder box.
Those aren't bribes,
those are the instruments of survival.
He's going to be all right.