Survivors (1975–1977): Season 2, Episode 8 - By Bread Alone - full transcript
Mister. Hey, mister!
Can you pass up the ladder?
We're coming out today.
Are you?
They said 10 days,
it's been more like 10 months.
You were sick.
They always take precautions.
(WOOD SNAPPING)
Can that cow go anywhere it likes?
-No.
-What's it doing?
Come and look at this, Phil.
Go away! Stop it!
Stop it! Go away!
Stop it!
One of the cows has got into
Charles' vegetable plot.
Drive her away, then.
Get her back to the pasture.
But it won't go. I tried...
LIZZIE: Very naughty.
Come on.
Come on.
Come on.
LIZZIE: She was eating
all Pet's vegetables.
Well, what was the point
of building that fence?
I'll murder Hubert.
And do you know, he said that Lewis
just stood there watching
while the beast did it.
Bully for him.
I can't see Lewis dealing
with an errant cow.
-He only had to chase it off.
-He's just not a very practical person.
Well, nor were you.
PET: Just look at him out there
digging that trench with Alan.
You'd think the only shovel
he'd ever handled was a teaspoon.
It probably was. Some find it harder
to adapt than others.
Well, he gets on my nerves.
It takes all sorts to make a world, Pet.
And that's what
we're trying to do here, aren't we?
You'll probably find yourself
on a charge for that, mate.
What?
A court of inquiry into why the cow
wasn't stopped from gobbling up
the commandant's vegetables.
Aren't you being a bit childish?
Gets more like the army every day.
-And you've not been sick again?
-No.
-I expect it was something you ate.
-I never thought it was anything else.
-Shall I leave our gear up here?
-RUTH: For the time being.
I expect you'll both
be staying in the white house.
-Oh, it's all right, we've got a tent.
-That's useful.
-It has been.
-But cold.
Mmm.
Come on, I'll show you round.
Arthur's right, Pet.
If a square peg won't fit into a round
hole, you can't just throw them out.
I wouldn't dream of it.
Just try to whittle off
the edges a little bit
and make the square pegs round.
-Or find square holes.
-What?
Well, we've no right
to lick people into shape.
We have to find out where their natural
talents lie and make use of them.
RUTH: We're having drainage problems.
We now know that most of the water
comes from up there.
So we're laying that land drain
to get it away before it soaks down
to the fields there.
-I'll show you the workshop.
-All right.
That's a nice-looking bird.
Maybe I'll stay a bit yet, eh?
Now what are you dreaming about?
What is it?
Where are you off to?
Lewis?
There's wood ash boiling in there,
and mutton fat in there.
Tomorrow we start brewing them together
and we end up with
glycerine on the bottom
and soap on the top.
-That's soap?
-In the making.
Urgh! It doesn't smell like soap.
You're telling me.
Hello.
-Let you out of quarantine, have they?
-RUTH: Come on, Alan.
Passed through immigration
with a clean bill of health?
You wouldn't talk like that
if one of them had a disease.
I thought you were digging
that ditch out there.
ALAN: On me own?
Forgive me.
God, forgive me.
-Any good at curing bacon?
-Never tried.
Nor had Daniella.
She used to work in a restaurant.
Mmm. And a very good restaurant it was.
Very nice client. Very smart.
We not even cook pasta,
except to Italiani who insist.
I've brought you
some extra rations, Daniella.
I suppose these two will be
staying here with you?
This is Arthur Russell. He's in charge
of provisions, amongst other things.
-Hello. Hello.
-Hello.
Where possible, we try to give everyone
their own plot of land.
All the produce is pooled,
and once a week, Arthur doles out
supplies to the various kitchens.
-Do you know anything about farming?
-Not really.
What did you study at university?
-History of Art.
-Oh, well.
-What's that?
-This is a valve.
Made it out of some
old bits of gas pipe I found.
Is that where the gas will come out?
Well, hopefully.
How's the slurry, Hubert?
A waste of good pig dung if you ask me.
Right now, hold open the sack,
and then they can pour it in.
That's it.
GREG: Lovely.
-How's it going?
-GREG: Ah, it's just an experiment.
But if it works at all,
I'll fix a bit of drainpipe to it,
then fix that to the top,
and we'll have a constant supply.
With a similar outlet
at the other end, I suppose.
Yes, of course.
What's the point
if it's all gonna run out again?
Well, by that time,
the bacteria will have done its work.
Could you get me that bit of wire, John?
Thank you.
How's Jenny this morning?
She's all right. She's helping them
plant out the sugar beet.
Feels up to it, does she?
She pulls her weight
as much as anyone here.
Oh, I don't doubt that.
Well, that should be that.
Now, all we've gotta do
is to get as much air out as we can.
So, if I manipulate the valve,
would the rest of you squeeze out
as much of the air as you can?
Okay.
That's it.
John, John! Jenny wants you, John!
She's been calling for you all morning.
JOHN: We're making gas.
Well, she wants you. Now!
Go on, John, we can manage.
But I wanted to see the gas come.
Yeah, well, that won't happen for days.
Now, you run along.
That should be about as good
a vacuum as we can manage.
All we've gotta do now is heat it up.
It's just post-natal depression.
She'll be out in the fields
this afternoon.
Nobody's criticising, Greg.
Where have you been, Lewis?
No one seems to have made any progress
with that drainage at all this morning.
What's happened to Alan?
The ditch is important.
I went to the woods
to think a few things over.
I know it's hard work,
but if we don't get that drainage sorted
out, we're going to be in real trouble.
Can you do it up for me?
What's the idea?
You'll understand.
He's wearing his shirt and pullover
back to front. Guess why.
Why?
Well, to show what he is.
A white collar that does up at the back.
Well, go on, guess.
I give up.
ARTHUR: A dog collar. Lewis is a parson.
A parson?
-You mean a priest?
-I might have known!
Well, isn't that lovely! Our own priest.
Oh, mamma mia.
The things I've said in front of him.
(HUBERT CHUCKLING)
Why you laugh?
LEWIS: I'm afraid that Greg must have
thought me quite mad.
But, you see, if I wanted to
profess my faith, it would've been
a very feeble excuse to say that
I no longer have my clerical collar.
What became of it?
I don't know.
In all the panic, there wasn't much time
for religion, was there?
Even here we have enough to do
just to keep ourselves alive.
At least that was the excuse
I made myself, I'm ashamed to say.
Why be ashamed? Survival comes first.
-Not necessarily.
-Of course it does.
-I see that you're not a believer, Pet.
-I don't know. Is anyone these days?
-Oh, I hope so.
-On what possible grounds?
Well, faith wouldn't be faith
if there had to be grounds for it.
Look, please don't draw me into
a theological argument.
It's just that if there are any members
of the community
who feel the need for God, well,
at least they'll be able to see by my...
(CHUCKLING) By my cloth,
that I'm here to help.
Otherwise it makes no difference,
except in one way.
-Student, were you?
-Yeah, at Nottingham.
Where'd you meet Judy, then?
In Grimsby. We took a yacht.
Finally ran aground at South Wales.
Who's he?
Don't tell me you're coming back to dig?
Why not?
-It's Philip, isn't it?
-That's right.
It was you trying to deal
with that cow this morning, wasn't it?
Yes.
Not very effectively, I'm afraid.
Well, let's get on with digging
this trench then, shall we?
Do you think he means to start a church?
-Hmm?
-Well, Lewis.
Oh, I'm sure it's this teat of yours
that's making Paul ill.
Even in the old days,
babies had colic, Jenny.
Yeah, and in the old days
we had doctors to tell us it was colic.
Now, we just hope it is.
Well, Ruth told you that
there was nothing to worry about.
Anyway, he should be having my milk,
not cow's milk.
Jenny, what's the matter?
You always made
the best of things before.
But why should he have to?
One day he's going to learn
what life was like before he was born,
-before we messed it all up for him.
-Well, that wasn't your fault.
But I brought him into this world,
what's left of it.
And Paul Pitman died because of it.
I can understand Lewis
taking his clerical collar off.
What I can't understand is how he has
the nerve to put it back on again.
In our village,
the priest was not a nice man at all.
Never once did I see him smile.
No one liked him.
Daniella, is there a pail
I can use anywhere?
Well, then one day he's gone,
to teach the novices at the seminary.
And for long weeks
we have no priest at all.
Everyone not seem
to know what was right anymore.
Daniella, I have to take this ash
over to the workshop.
Is there a pail that I can use anywhere?
-Outside the door.
-Oh, thank you.
But he came back.
And I remember saying
my rosary that morning with...
With a sudden lightness in my heart.
(SPEAKING ITALIAN)
Everything was right again.
That is how I feel
this morning, Father Lewis.
Please, don't call me "Father".
Il padre, what do I call you, then?
Lewis. I don't want this
to make any difference.
Now, I must get this ash
over to the workshop.
Well, it is not that work
that you should be doing.
Judy!
You must be carrying the bucket of ashes
to the workshop for Father Lewis!
-Presto!
-I'll take it myself, Daniella.
Will you be saying mass on Sunday?
-What?
-And before it, Padre,
it is long time
since I made my confession.
Daniella, I am not
a Roman Catholic priest.
I am just a humble...
Ruth will be waiting for me
in the workshop.
I see. Non-combatant duties now, is it?
Helping the women in the house.
Still, can't have the padre
getting his hands dirty, can we?
I'll join you in the trench as soon
as I've taken this over to the workshop.
Don't worry, mate, it's almost finished.
We must have done more on it yesterday
than I thought.
Not you, him.
He was out there digging this morning
before you were up.
-I don't believe you.
-He was, too. Out there at dawn, he was.
He should be at his devotions,
not digging the ditches.
Go and carry that pail for him.
Here I can manage.
I'm supposed to help you.
It's not help I need.
I work, I cook, I scrub!
No one ever say that Daniella,
she lazy, she needs help.
-Find someone who cannot manage.
-Like me.
You can manage anywhere, I should think.
I'm not scared of being kicked out.
-Come on, help us dig.
-All right.
That is not the women's work!
Come on,
we're not back to all that again.
I think...
-We are not back to anything.
-What?
Will you be getting out of my kitchen?
(SHOUTING IN ITALIAN)
(BOTH LAUGHING)
Oh, morning, Vicar.
-You don't have to call me that, Hubert.
-Thank you.
I suppose you'll be wanting us all
to go to church of a Sunday, will you?
I wonder how many of you
would come if I did.
I'll get some more water.
"We plough the fields and scatter."
Harvest festival.
Was the only time I ever went to church.
Great loaves of bread, sheaves of corn.
Marrows, a sight bigger
than they ought to be,
all laid out on the pews.
Never did find out what happened
to them afterwards.
The vicar had a good tuck in, I reckon.
No, it used to go
to the hospitals, didn't it?
You a church-goer, were you?
What, me? No.
Wife used to make me clean the car
on a Sunday morning,
do odd jobs around the house.
Sunday mornings.
I don't think that formal worship
is all that important.
One can be a good Christian
without going to church.
That mean you won't be
holding services, does it?
Well, I hadn't intended to.
But if people want me to...
Do you think anyone will?
Nah, I don't suppose so.
We're really all
a bit too busy, ain't we?
Yeah, no peace for the wicked.
Anyway, we got no hymn books.
You can't have church
without hymn books, can you?
I'll come
to your harvest festival, mind.
(GROANS)
Perhaps I should hold a service.
What do you think?
It's up to you, Vicar.
I wasn't even a vicar in Cheltenham.
I only assisted the vicar.
Oh, that's where you come from, is it?
My sister used to live in Cheltenham.
A very genteel parish.
Never more than 20 in the congregation,
and not one under 60.
Yeah, well, it's a right mixed bunch
you got for a flock now, innit?
Charles is the only
good shepherd here, no one else.
-Lewis?
-Yes, Greg.
-Are you busy?
-I'm just giving Ruth a hand.
-The trench is all but finished.
-Yeah, I saw that. No, it's...
It's just that if you're passing,
you might pop in and see Jenny.
-Well, of course. Is something wrong?
-No, no, no.
But, well, she's a bit down, depressed.
She's been a bit quiet since Paul died.
It's understandable.
She doesn't believe in God, I'm afraid,
but I think a chat
would do her some good.
Conversion is not much in my line, Greg.
What is in your line?
There'll be a church parade,
and all the ranks expected to attend.
Commandant reading the lesson.
I've seen it all.
-When were you in the army?
-As a kid.
What kind of army was that?
Me dad was a regular soldier.
I was brought up in quarters.
(CHUCKLES) Until they tried to make me
an apprentice, and then I got out fast.
But here I am,
back into it all over again.
We've even got a sky pilot on our backs.
-I stripped for Jesus once.
-You did what?
There was some pop singer, I forget
his name, "Enjoy yourself," he said.
"And if you can make some
money at the same time,
"I'll send it to the homeless
in the name of Jesus."
-So, I stripped.
-Yeah, but why that?
A boyfriend and me were at a club
and the stripper had broken her ankle.
Just for laughs, I took her place.
I got 20 quid
and I gave it all to Jesus.
(ALAN LAUGHING)
-It's true.
-Perhaps you should do it for the padre,
that would lighten up
his services no end.
-I don't think he'd approve.
-I'd approve.
-Twenty quid?
-Nowadays you make up for money
-in other ways.
-In the name of Jesus?
God is love I was told.
Not in the way you mean.
Oh, I dunno.
God is everywhere I was told.
Oh, really? Even in this heap of muck.
-I suppose so.
-Here you are, love.
So much for God, then.
Well, why don't you go and look for him?
If he's not putting up fences
or digging trenches
or repairing the windmill,
he'll be out sowing sugar beet,
which is where I should be only I happen
to be rather busy doing something else.
Yes, is there something
that I can do to help?
Yes, help Greg.
-Yes, I'm not in the way, am I?
-No.
John! John, will you come and hang out
the washing for me please?
How's the baby?
Don't tell me you've come to baptise it!
Good gracious, no.
I wouldn't mind if driving out the devil
got rid of his colic.
Well, it could, too.
I remember once baptising a child
that had been crying
all the way through the service,
till I ducked him into the font
and he came up smiling!
God be praised, a miracle.
Oh, I think it had more to do with
tipping him suddenly backwards
and up again, it brought up the wind.
I didn't seriously think it was
the magical effect of holy water.
Were you surprised to hear
that I was a clergyman?
I was surprised you admitted you were.
I'm not ashamed of it.
Well, where was God in the plague?
-Man made the plague.
-God made man.
Free.
That was the greatness of the gift.
-Free to destroy himself?
-If he chose.
And God just watched?
I can understand how you feel.
I felt it at one time.
But we just have to accept
rather than question, don't we?
Paul Pitman died for me
so that my baby could be born
into a world that's just a desert.
You'll be telling me next
that it was all God's will.
No, I don't believe that.
But I do believe that one day,
good will come of it.
John, I want you!
We just have to believe
that in the end...
It will have proved to have been
worth it? The dying?
-Will you tell Greg that I called?
-Yes.
We should be getting
some more soap soon.
-What, that goo?
-Well, it cleans nappies.
I want real soap.
I want nappies that come
in crisp hygienic packets,
and safety pins and chemists.
I want a little blue baby bath.
I want a doctor to call in once a week
to say he's doing fine,
and a hospital on hand if he's not.
Will bitterness help?
(DOOR OPENING)
And don't drop them
in the muck this time.
What can you say to help?
Trust in the Lord? What, again?
I'd better go.
Thank you for calling, Vicar.
I'm sorry I couldn't offer you
a cup of tea.
Oh, Lewis.
Come in here a minute, will you?
I've got something to show you.
Look at this.
I unearthed it amongst a pile of junk.
Now, you could do with this.
A prayer desk?
Yes, it's lost one side,
but I'm sure Jack could fix that.
-Look at this carving.
-I don't want a prayer desk, Arthur.
Well, you can use it for your services,
as a lectern.
Put your Bible on it.
Well, I'm not sure that
I should be holding a service.
You see, I left Cheltenham
in rather a hurry, like most people.
There was an army truck going with
some soldiers, and I went with them,
just as I was.
Well, the fact is,
I don't even have a Bible with me.
-You could use mine.
-Yours?
Yes, I found it
rather a comfort after...
After my wife and sons were...
Well, certain passages.
# While shepherds
washed their socks by night
# All seated on the ground
-# The angel of the... #
-Socks?
-It weren't socks.
-Eh?
"Flocks", that's what it were.
"Washed their flocks".
I thought it was "socks".
Wash their socks?
No, flocks! Flocks of sheep!
Ought to be "dip", really.
"Dipped their flocks."
Good night, Daniella,
I think I'll turn in.
# The angel of the Lord came down... #
-Hey, how does it go on from there?
-You see, you can't remember.
What's the vicar gonna do
when no one can't remember the hymns?
Perhaps we should make up our own.
I hope they don't let you try.
"Wash their socks".
No, Alan's right.
I mean, we're making a fresh start
with everything else,
why not religion, too?
Why make a start with that at all?
Who needs all that
superstitious claptrap anyway?
Bishops and choirboys
and babes in a manger.
When I think of all those churches
and cathedrals and sky pilots
like Lewis here telling you
what's good for you...
I wonder what became of Il Papa?
I went to San Pietro once.
Many thousand people in the piazza.
And Il Papa at the window
giving us his blessing.
I expect the big piazza is still there.
I shall be saying a short service
on Sunday in the yard at 11:00.
You'll need hymn books.
We'll sing what we can
and say a few prayers.
We'll have readings from the Bible.
And mass?
-Daniella, I'm not empowered to give...
-But, Father.
You can make your communion
afterwards if you wish.
With my sins forgiven?
Daniella, I am not worthy to hear you.
What's this?
It must be very uncomfortable wearing
your shirt back to front.
So I made you a proper one, Father.
-What did she make it from?
-Her own skirt.
-What about the collar?
-Bit of sacking I think,
starched with a flour paste.
He looks like a real parson now.
And I've no new clothes for Paul at all.
-If Daniella's got that much time...
-Have you asked her?
I just think there are more
important things to do in this place
than make a bib and tucker
for the parson.
Well, sure there is.
There's sugar beet and oats to sow,
and cabbage,
kale and potatoes for the winter.
And teaching people
the kind of crafts we need here,
not to mention planning some kind
of schooling for the children.
-All right, Greg.
-We need a telephone system,
power for tools, some kind of motorised
transport, but a planned programme,
not this bumbling,
inefficient amateurism
letting everyone do his own thing.
If there's one thing
I can't stand at the moment,
it's Charles' damn
patience with everyone.
(KNOCKING ON DOOR)
Come in.
Ah. I thought I might find you here.
You know that plough
Jack was supposed to be mending for us?
What, hasn't he done it yet?
He hasn't even started on it.
You know what he is doing?
-Lewis can do without that.
-Yeah, of course he can.
But look at it.
Arthur says that that's years old,
been made by somebody who
probably couldn't even read or write.
So what?
I thought if I could
carve something on this side
as beautiful as that on that side...
-It would take ages.
-Well, what's the hurry?
That's the trouble with some of you
people, you're in too much of a hurry.
-Hear, hear.
-If you don't get that plough done...
You'll get it today.
The last world went wrong
because it pushed ahead so fast
it got out of control.
This time, let's get our values right.
-Treat progress as a bonus.
-Yeah, too true.
I say, that's coming on well, Jack.
GREG: Ah, it frightens me.
There's little enough
commitment here as it is
without a priest to undermine it.
Undermine it?
Oh, I'm sure there's nothing
subversive about Lewis.
There's more to life
than just making a living, Greg.
You believe that now,
next winter we could all be starving.
Even the most primitive societies
had their gods.
(CHUCKLING) And wasn't ignorance bliss?
All religion does is just provide
something to fall back on,
an insurance against failure.
Why bother to work
when everything you lack
is gonna be made up for you
in the next world?
Mmm. Accept your lot, don't question.
Blessed are the meek,
blessed are the poor.
Greg is right. It gives even
non-believers an excuse to opt out.
Yes, well some non-believers
find other excuses for that, Jenny.
Don't be such a hustler, Greg.
If it's commitment you want,
then people must be allowed
to find it for themselves
in their own way.
-Maybe Lewis can help them do that.
-Are you prepared to take that risk?
We have got no authority to impose
a way of life on other people.
A lot of people want authority.
They're not interested in working it out
for themselves, they want to be told.
Free from responsibility.
That's why they're responding to Lewis.
You've no right to impose
a way of life on anyone?
In your position, Charles,
you haven't the right not to.
Can John and I go down to the river?
No. At least, not yet.
You can give Paul his bottle first.
Oh, can I?
Now, you know how to do it.
-And give him plenty of time for burps.
-I know.
Wait, John, I've got to feed Paul first.
Oh, we've problems enough without
worrying about religion or leadership.
Just how much sugar beet
are we planting, Greg?
PHILIP: It's only a flower.
LEWIS: But think of its complexity.
Think of everything that went into it
to bring it to such living beauty.
It blooms there unseen
whether we're here or not.
That sky.
That owes nothing to man, either.
PHILIP: It needs us to see it.
I wonder.
Certainly, we're here to see it.
Beauty, truth, love, goodness,
aspects of God which man has the power
to realise in himself.
It's the quality of life that matters.
How we live, not how long.
CHARLES: What's happening
about this ditch, then?
We've others to dig yet.
Unless we can drain that high ground
and stop it
saturating the fields down there,
everything we've just planted will rot.
Then what will we live on?
-Give me a hand with the pipes, Alan.
-I'm surprised you care.
Not much quality of life
in laying drains, is there?
ALAN: I suppose it don't matter to God
that almost everyone in the world
was wiped out by a plague.
Just as long as he can still send up
a sunset once a day.
Look, we weren't all wiped out.
You and I weren't for a start.
Oh, yeah? Chosen few, are we?
There will always be some survivors
after any catastrophe.
Enough to start again
and perhaps do better.
You scare me.
Well, how do you come to terms
with what happened, then?
Well, come on.
We'd better get on with this trench.
Get stuffed.
Lizzie, you can milk the cows,
can't you?
I'll have a go.
Anyway, we'll be back by then.
You coming, are you?
Yeah, why not?
Tell Greg and Charles where we're going,
will you, Daniella?
-We won't be long.
-Does Father Lewis know?
Course not,
supposed to be a surprise for him.
Well, you coming, Hubert?
Two miles at least.
-Where you off to, then?
-Why, fancy a walk, do you?
Wash their socks!
Don't you think it's too dry?
Well, for the time being.
-Hubert said it's gonna rain later on.
-Yeah, and if it doesn't?
Well, we'll just have to water it again
ourselves, I suppose.
Uh-huh. If you say so.
Thanks, Jenny.
Funny it should take religion
of all things to make me snap out of it.
Ah, I shouldn't have blown my top
at Charles like that, should I?
Well, it made me see sense at least.
No, it's just that I've been going on
complaining that people
aren't working hard enough and...
And you've got me and the children
hanging around your neck.
No, it's not that, it's...
Well, we've been getting more
than we've been earning.
Not that Charles minded.
That's what I find
so maddening about him.
(CHUCKLING) My poor hunted Greg.
LEWIS: Greg!
Greg, that ditch we've been digging,
it's flooded!
Well, they must have unearthed a spring
or fractured a pipe from the well.
Where are they all?
Well, Lewis has gone to tell Greg.
I haven't seen the other three at all.
If we dig a channel down there,
we should get rid of it.
Harry, would you make a start on that?
I'll go get some help.
Let's hope it won't get into my stores,
that's all.
CHARLES: Hubert. Hubert?
Hubert, can you give us a hand
in the lane?
-Where's Hubert?
-Gone off with Jack and Alan.
I said I'd do the milking
if they weren't back.
They've gone off? What, Jack, too?
Where?
He's gone off for what, Lizzie?
ARTHUR: Hymn books?
According to Daniella,
they left about an hour ago.
If that water gets in here...
-Thanks.
-Three grown men on a two-mile trek
over the hills
to get hymn books for a church.
-I never sent them. Are you sure?
-Hubert left Lizzie to milk the cows.
But we can manage without hymn books.
If we get everything over this side,
it won't matter if it comes in or not.
Why didn't they ask me first?
They wanted it to be
nice surprise for him.
Jack, he ask me to tell you.
He say they will be home very soon.
Those two kids, Philip and Judy,
did they go with them, too?
There's no sign of them either.
It's as if the whole place
has suddenly died on us.
They will soon be back.
(SPEAKING ITALIAN)
This, too, is going to be nice
surprise for il padre.
May as well tell them, I suppose.
(SHOUTING) Where have you been!
The ditch you were digging has flooded!
We've had to shift half the stores
and dig a drain.
We needed every hand we could find
and where the hell were you?
In the tree house.
Look, if you don't want to work
with this community, you can leave.
-That's just what we're going to do.
-We thought we'd move on tomorrow.
Come and talk.
Does Charles know that you've been
wasting your time doing this?
But, Father...
I don't want a surplice any more than
I wanted them to go fetch hymn books.
You and I
depend upon these people, Daniella.
They're strong, practical and efficient.
And if it wasn't for them, you and I
would have starved to death long ago.
Now, if people are going to start
letting down Charles,
I'm going to wish
that I'd never put this on.
Where's Greg?
Oh, he went off after we'd finished
digging the channel in the lane.
You know those two who just joined us?
What are their names?
Philip and Judy.
Yeah, they're leaving tomorrow.
Moving on.
DANIELLA: Where will they go?
Where is there to go?
We thought
we'd make our way to the coast.
Look, we're going to try
and find another boat,
load up with supplies from
any warehouses around.
-They're all contaminated.
-Not all.
How will you know which?
-The risk is enormous.
-So, we'll take some risks.
At least we'll enjoy life
while we have it. We're in love.
Well, that won't feed you.
Why are you always so worried
about food all the time?
We might sail across to the Continent
and see what's happening over there.
-We're free.
-PET: God will provide.
Maybe, maybe not.
We're really not worried.
You can't tell people what to believe.
It's because of Lewis?
There's a lot in what he says.
I mean, there are other things.
Beauty, truth, goodness,
things like that.
JUDY: Things that matter.
CHARLES: More than living?
JUDY: It's how you live, he says.
And he's right really.
Who cares about making soap?
PHILIP: After all,
if you've come through the plague,
you can come through anything.
We'll just take each day as it comes.
We'll get by. We did before.
If not, why worry?
It's such a waste.
What good would you be doing?
We need young people here.
Can't you see we're trying
to build a new world here?
-It looks more like the old one to me.
-Alan thinks it's just like the army.
Well, Alan's wrong.
Why don't you print some money,
fix a wage rate for different jobs,
then people could buy with what
they earn from Arthur Russell's store.
He could make
a nice supermarket, that one.
-You could even have a till.
-We don't need money.
-You seem to have everything else.
-We share the fruits of our labours.
Yeah, each according to his needs,
and each to his ability.
-What's wrong with that?
-Just that when they tried it in Russia,
they soon found
you need a few bosses around
to keep the peasants working
for the common good.
-There's no bosses here.
-There's a boss class here,
which doesn't like
the threat from Lewis.
And in Russia they didn't like people
to believe in God, either,
in case it took their minds off
their work, for the state.
(PEOPLE CHATTERING)
# Onward Christian soldiers
# Marching as to war
# With the cross of Jesus
# Going on... #
Oh, you drunken klutz, you...
Yeah, you can talk.
-I've dropped me hymn books.
-Never mind...
Oh, ta.
# One long line of sailors
# Queuing for an whore
# If they ask the boatswain
# He'll show them what it's for #
Oh, cheer up. They're only
a couple of hippies, aren't they?
Sandal-footing through the world.
Make love, not war.
Live off who you can.
How do you like my heat exchanger?
The boiling water coming from there,
goes underneath the slurry and when it
comes out over there, it's stone cold,
with all the heat going into the slurry.
It's got to be about
90 degrees Fahrenheit.
Getting any gas?
What do you think
is pushing it up like a balloon?
We squeezed all
the air out of it, remember?
You can hear it.
(LAUGHS)
And then draw it off through the valve.
Now, I'm going to put an inlet pipe,
give us a constant supply of slurry.
Then I have another pipe,
make room for it all.
But I'll design something properly.
You know, that boy Philip
made some
pretty astonishing remarks, Greg.
Forget them.
What did you say? They've been
listening to the Reverend Lewis.
Pie in the sky, not bread on earth.
You look at the state that barn's in.
Jack said he was going to do
a proper job on that weeks ago.
Not enough urgency, Charles.
They'll be even less
if Lewis sells them the idea
that all that matters is their souls.
I'm not saying that's the reason
why those two kids are...
No, no, no,
those two kids aren't drifting away
because of anything that Lewis said.
They're leaving because they think
that Whitecross is developing
into a totalitarian state.
Too much authority, not too little.
You're joking.
Bosses and workers, the old world
all over again. That was their judgment.
They come down out of that tree house,
they have a quick sniff round
and say, "No, thank you very much.
It's not for me."
Do you care what a couple of kids
have got to say?
They've convinced me that I was right
in the first place, Greg.
Let everybody develop
his own way of life,
at his own time, at his own speed.
It may not make for efficiency, but at
least we'll have a human society here,
not just an economic unit.
It'll turn into anarchy unless there's
an aim, a clearly-defined purpose.
What do you want, a five-year plan?
Look, we can only offer survival,
which is why Lewis
needs to be encouraged.
It's a nuisance
having to wait for our plough
because Jack prefers to work on
this prayer desk for the padre
but if it gives him
a satisfaction that we can't,
then that's what matters.
If they want something more
than we can offer,
and if Lewis can help them...
Without his dog collar?
LEWIS: If you rather expect to be
something of a failure, whatever you do,
it's not a bad idea
to enter a profession where
success in this world is not meant
to count for very much anyway.
Is that why you joined the church?
Not consciously.
But I certainly didn't have a vocation.
I just accepted what I was taught.
In the kind of parish I was in,
nothing much more was demanded.
Until the sickness came.
And that made you see straight at last?
What do you mean by that?
Isn't that why you threw away
your dog collar in the first place,
from disgust?
Arthur says
you haven't even got a Bible.
No, I threw that away, too.
Disgust?
I try to fool myself that it was.
Rather no God than a cruel God.
With what delight
I encompassed that idea.
To see that man
was just an animal after all.
What a luxury,
not having to believe in God.
I mean, that's easy.
What takes courage
is to believe against all the odds.
No, it wasn't lack of faith
that made me throw away my Bible,
it was just lack of guts.
But here, where people
were beginning to live once more,
you felt it safe to stand up again
and be counted.
As long as people expected
no more of me than that.
When two young people take off
into that terrifying world out there,
hoping to find
beauty, truth, love, goodness,
when a woman whose sins
must be far outweighed by her suffering
begs me to hear her confession,
when they start calling me "Vicar",
"Shepherd of the flock".
(SIGHING) I'm not worthy
to be their pastor.
When I think of some of the powerful men
of God that I've met,
dedicated, confident, inspiring priests,
that it should be left to me...
If it was cowardice
that made me take it off before,
it's certainly not that now.
Are you sure?
(SLURRED SINGING)
That's the lot.
If the damn vicar wants any more,
he can get them himself.
(GIGGLING) We've even got him this!
Mamma mia, you're drunk!
(GROANING) What stuff it was, too.
Who'd have thought the holy wine
would have been bad.
Well, there they all are.
All of them, hymns ancient and modern.
Well, you could have saved
yourself the trouble.
There's to be no Sunday mass after all.
But you can't let them down now.
Daniella has made this for you.
She's made you a surplice, too.
They fetched hymn books and a cross.
And we're still waiting
for Jack's plough
because he's been too busy
repairing that lectern, for you.
What does Greg feel about it?
I agree with Charles.
Thanks for helping Jenny.
But even Daniella
doesn't really believe.
She just wants me to believe for her
and tell her what's what.
Won't that do for a start?
What are you afraid of, Lewis?
Inadequacy.
(SIGHS)
Come on, Carrot.
"And why take ye thought for raiment?
"Consider the lilies of the field,
how they grow.
"They toil not, neither do they spin.
"And yet I say unto you,
even Solomon in all his glory
"was not arrayed like one of these."
Here endeth the lesson.
And now let's sing hymn number 483.
It's quite the wrong
time of year for it,
but I think that we have much
to thank God for already.
And it's a tune
that one of you knows at least.
It ain't here. Think the mice
must have been at this one.
LEWIS: We Plough The Fields and Scatter.
(LEWIS HUMMING)
# We plough the fields and scatter
# The good seed on the land
# The shepherds wash
their socks by night
# All seated on the ground
# He sends the snow in winter
# The warmth to swell the grain
# The breezes and the sunshine... #
Well, I thought you'd be at the service.
Mustn't let the side down, eh?
No division in the ranks.
It really would be
like the old world again.
I even thought you might have
expected me to be there.
No, we have the right
to our faith, too, Greg.
# For all his love
# He only is the maker
# Of all things near and far
# He paints the wayside flower
# He lights the evening star
# The winds and waves obey him
# By him the birds are fed
# Much more to us, his children... #
Can you pass up the ladder?
We're coming out today.
Are you?
They said 10 days,
it's been more like 10 months.
You were sick.
They always take precautions.
(WOOD SNAPPING)
Can that cow go anywhere it likes?
-No.
-What's it doing?
Come and look at this, Phil.
Go away! Stop it!
Stop it! Go away!
Stop it!
One of the cows has got into
Charles' vegetable plot.
Drive her away, then.
Get her back to the pasture.
But it won't go. I tried...
LIZZIE: Very naughty.
Come on.
Come on.
Come on.
LIZZIE: She was eating
all Pet's vegetables.
Well, what was the point
of building that fence?
I'll murder Hubert.
And do you know, he said that Lewis
just stood there watching
while the beast did it.
Bully for him.
I can't see Lewis dealing
with an errant cow.
-He only had to chase it off.
-He's just not a very practical person.
Well, nor were you.
PET: Just look at him out there
digging that trench with Alan.
You'd think the only shovel
he'd ever handled was a teaspoon.
It probably was. Some find it harder
to adapt than others.
Well, he gets on my nerves.
It takes all sorts to make a world, Pet.
And that's what
we're trying to do here, aren't we?
You'll probably find yourself
on a charge for that, mate.
What?
A court of inquiry into why the cow
wasn't stopped from gobbling up
the commandant's vegetables.
Aren't you being a bit childish?
Gets more like the army every day.
-And you've not been sick again?
-No.
-I expect it was something you ate.
-I never thought it was anything else.
-Shall I leave our gear up here?
-RUTH: For the time being.
I expect you'll both
be staying in the white house.
-Oh, it's all right, we've got a tent.
-That's useful.
-It has been.
-But cold.
Mmm.
Come on, I'll show you round.
Arthur's right, Pet.
If a square peg won't fit into a round
hole, you can't just throw them out.
I wouldn't dream of it.
Just try to whittle off
the edges a little bit
and make the square pegs round.
-Or find square holes.
-What?
Well, we've no right
to lick people into shape.
We have to find out where their natural
talents lie and make use of them.
RUTH: We're having drainage problems.
We now know that most of the water
comes from up there.
So we're laying that land drain
to get it away before it soaks down
to the fields there.
-I'll show you the workshop.
-All right.
That's a nice-looking bird.
Maybe I'll stay a bit yet, eh?
Now what are you dreaming about?
What is it?
Where are you off to?
Lewis?
There's wood ash boiling in there,
and mutton fat in there.
Tomorrow we start brewing them together
and we end up with
glycerine on the bottom
and soap on the top.
-That's soap?
-In the making.
Urgh! It doesn't smell like soap.
You're telling me.
Hello.
-Let you out of quarantine, have they?
-RUTH: Come on, Alan.
Passed through immigration
with a clean bill of health?
You wouldn't talk like that
if one of them had a disease.
I thought you were digging
that ditch out there.
ALAN: On me own?
Forgive me.
God, forgive me.
-Any good at curing bacon?
-Never tried.
Nor had Daniella.
She used to work in a restaurant.
Mmm. And a very good restaurant it was.
Very nice client. Very smart.
We not even cook pasta,
except to Italiani who insist.
I've brought you
some extra rations, Daniella.
I suppose these two will be
staying here with you?
This is Arthur Russell. He's in charge
of provisions, amongst other things.
-Hello. Hello.
-Hello.
Where possible, we try to give everyone
their own plot of land.
All the produce is pooled,
and once a week, Arthur doles out
supplies to the various kitchens.
-Do you know anything about farming?
-Not really.
What did you study at university?
-History of Art.
-Oh, well.
-What's that?
-This is a valve.
Made it out of some
old bits of gas pipe I found.
Is that where the gas will come out?
Well, hopefully.
How's the slurry, Hubert?
A waste of good pig dung if you ask me.
Right now, hold open the sack,
and then they can pour it in.
That's it.
GREG: Lovely.
-How's it going?
-GREG: Ah, it's just an experiment.
But if it works at all,
I'll fix a bit of drainpipe to it,
then fix that to the top,
and we'll have a constant supply.
With a similar outlet
at the other end, I suppose.
Yes, of course.
What's the point
if it's all gonna run out again?
Well, by that time,
the bacteria will have done its work.
Could you get me that bit of wire, John?
Thank you.
How's Jenny this morning?
She's all right. She's helping them
plant out the sugar beet.
Feels up to it, does she?
She pulls her weight
as much as anyone here.
Oh, I don't doubt that.
Well, that should be that.
Now, all we've gotta do
is to get as much air out as we can.
So, if I manipulate the valve,
would the rest of you squeeze out
as much of the air as you can?
Okay.
That's it.
John, John! Jenny wants you, John!
She's been calling for you all morning.
JOHN: We're making gas.
Well, she wants you. Now!
Go on, John, we can manage.
But I wanted to see the gas come.
Yeah, well, that won't happen for days.
Now, you run along.
That should be about as good
a vacuum as we can manage.
All we've gotta do now is heat it up.
It's just post-natal depression.
She'll be out in the fields
this afternoon.
Nobody's criticising, Greg.
Where have you been, Lewis?
No one seems to have made any progress
with that drainage at all this morning.
What's happened to Alan?
The ditch is important.
I went to the woods
to think a few things over.
I know it's hard work,
but if we don't get that drainage sorted
out, we're going to be in real trouble.
Can you do it up for me?
What's the idea?
You'll understand.
He's wearing his shirt and pullover
back to front. Guess why.
Why?
Well, to show what he is.
A white collar that does up at the back.
Well, go on, guess.
I give up.
ARTHUR: A dog collar. Lewis is a parson.
A parson?
-You mean a priest?
-I might have known!
Well, isn't that lovely! Our own priest.
Oh, mamma mia.
The things I've said in front of him.
(HUBERT CHUCKLING)
Why you laugh?
LEWIS: I'm afraid that Greg must have
thought me quite mad.
But, you see, if I wanted to
profess my faith, it would've been
a very feeble excuse to say that
I no longer have my clerical collar.
What became of it?
I don't know.
In all the panic, there wasn't much time
for religion, was there?
Even here we have enough to do
just to keep ourselves alive.
At least that was the excuse
I made myself, I'm ashamed to say.
Why be ashamed? Survival comes first.
-Not necessarily.
-Of course it does.
-I see that you're not a believer, Pet.
-I don't know. Is anyone these days?
-Oh, I hope so.
-On what possible grounds?
Well, faith wouldn't be faith
if there had to be grounds for it.
Look, please don't draw me into
a theological argument.
It's just that if there are any members
of the community
who feel the need for God, well,
at least they'll be able to see by my...
(CHUCKLING) By my cloth,
that I'm here to help.
Otherwise it makes no difference,
except in one way.
-Student, were you?
-Yeah, at Nottingham.
Where'd you meet Judy, then?
In Grimsby. We took a yacht.
Finally ran aground at South Wales.
Who's he?
Don't tell me you're coming back to dig?
Why not?
-It's Philip, isn't it?
-That's right.
It was you trying to deal
with that cow this morning, wasn't it?
Yes.
Not very effectively, I'm afraid.
Well, let's get on with digging
this trench then, shall we?
Do you think he means to start a church?
-Hmm?
-Well, Lewis.
Oh, I'm sure it's this teat of yours
that's making Paul ill.
Even in the old days,
babies had colic, Jenny.
Yeah, and in the old days
we had doctors to tell us it was colic.
Now, we just hope it is.
Well, Ruth told you that
there was nothing to worry about.
Anyway, he should be having my milk,
not cow's milk.
Jenny, what's the matter?
You always made
the best of things before.
But why should he have to?
One day he's going to learn
what life was like before he was born,
-before we messed it all up for him.
-Well, that wasn't your fault.
But I brought him into this world,
what's left of it.
And Paul Pitman died because of it.
I can understand Lewis
taking his clerical collar off.
What I can't understand is how he has
the nerve to put it back on again.
In our village,
the priest was not a nice man at all.
Never once did I see him smile.
No one liked him.
Daniella, is there a pail
I can use anywhere?
Well, then one day he's gone,
to teach the novices at the seminary.
And for long weeks
we have no priest at all.
Everyone not seem
to know what was right anymore.
Daniella, I have to take this ash
over to the workshop.
Is there a pail that I can use anywhere?
-Outside the door.
-Oh, thank you.
But he came back.
And I remember saying
my rosary that morning with...
With a sudden lightness in my heart.
(SPEAKING ITALIAN)
Everything was right again.
That is how I feel
this morning, Father Lewis.
Please, don't call me "Father".
Il padre, what do I call you, then?
Lewis. I don't want this
to make any difference.
Now, I must get this ash
over to the workshop.
Well, it is not that work
that you should be doing.
Judy!
You must be carrying the bucket of ashes
to the workshop for Father Lewis!
-Presto!
-I'll take it myself, Daniella.
Will you be saying mass on Sunday?
-What?
-And before it, Padre,
it is long time
since I made my confession.
Daniella, I am not
a Roman Catholic priest.
I am just a humble...
Ruth will be waiting for me
in the workshop.
I see. Non-combatant duties now, is it?
Helping the women in the house.
Still, can't have the padre
getting his hands dirty, can we?
I'll join you in the trench as soon
as I've taken this over to the workshop.
Don't worry, mate, it's almost finished.
We must have done more on it yesterday
than I thought.
Not you, him.
He was out there digging this morning
before you were up.
-I don't believe you.
-He was, too. Out there at dawn, he was.
He should be at his devotions,
not digging the ditches.
Go and carry that pail for him.
Here I can manage.
I'm supposed to help you.
It's not help I need.
I work, I cook, I scrub!
No one ever say that Daniella,
she lazy, she needs help.
-Find someone who cannot manage.
-Like me.
You can manage anywhere, I should think.
I'm not scared of being kicked out.
-Come on, help us dig.
-All right.
That is not the women's work!
Come on,
we're not back to all that again.
I think...
-We are not back to anything.
-What?
Will you be getting out of my kitchen?
(SHOUTING IN ITALIAN)
(BOTH LAUGHING)
Oh, morning, Vicar.
-You don't have to call me that, Hubert.
-Thank you.
I suppose you'll be wanting us all
to go to church of a Sunday, will you?
I wonder how many of you
would come if I did.
I'll get some more water.
"We plough the fields and scatter."
Harvest festival.
Was the only time I ever went to church.
Great loaves of bread, sheaves of corn.
Marrows, a sight bigger
than they ought to be,
all laid out on the pews.
Never did find out what happened
to them afterwards.
The vicar had a good tuck in, I reckon.
No, it used to go
to the hospitals, didn't it?
You a church-goer, were you?
What, me? No.
Wife used to make me clean the car
on a Sunday morning,
do odd jobs around the house.
Sunday mornings.
I don't think that formal worship
is all that important.
One can be a good Christian
without going to church.
That mean you won't be
holding services, does it?
Well, I hadn't intended to.
But if people want me to...
Do you think anyone will?
Nah, I don't suppose so.
We're really all
a bit too busy, ain't we?
Yeah, no peace for the wicked.
Anyway, we got no hymn books.
You can't have church
without hymn books, can you?
I'll come
to your harvest festival, mind.
(GROANS)
Perhaps I should hold a service.
What do you think?
It's up to you, Vicar.
I wasn't even a vicar in Cheltenham.
I only assisted the vicar.
Oh, that's where you come from, is it?
My sister used to live in Cheltenham.
A very genteel parish.
Never more than 20 in the congregation,
and not one under 60.
Yeah, well, it's a right mixed bunch
you got for a flock now, innit?
Charles is the only
good shepherd here, no one else.
-Lewis?
-Yes, Greg.
-Are you busy?
-I'm just giving Ruth a hand.
-The trench is all but finished.
-Yeah, I saw that. No, it's...
It's just that if you're passing,
you might pop in and see Jenny.
-Well, of course. Is something wrong?
-No, no, no.
But, well, she's a bit down, depressed.
She's been a bit quiet since Paul died.
It's understandable.
She doesn't believe in God, I'm afraid,
but I think a chat
would do her some good.
Conversion is not much in my line, Greg.
What is in your line?
There'll be a church parade,
and all the ranks expected to attend.
Commandant reading the lesson.
I've seen it all.
-When were you in the army?
-As a kid.
What kind of army was that?
Me dad was a regular soldier.
I was brought up in quarters.
(CHUCKLES) Until they tried to make me
an apprentice, and then I got out fast.
But here I am,
back into it all over again.
We've even got a sky pilot on our backs.
-I stripped for Jesus once.
-You did what?
There was some pop singer, I forget
his name, "Enjoy yourself," he said.
"And if you can make some
money at the same time,
"I'll send it to the homeless
in the name of Jesus."
-So, I stripped.
-Yeah, but why that?
A boyfriend and me were at a club
and the stripper had broken her ankle.
Just for laughs, I took her place.
I got 20 quid
and I gave it all to Jesus.
(ALAN LAUGHING)
-It's true.
-Perhaps you should do it for the padre,
that would lighten up
his services no end.
-I don't think he'd approve.
-I'd approve.
-Twenty quid?
-Nowadays you make up for money
-in other ways.
-In the name of Jesus?
God is love I was told.
Not in the way you mean.
Oh, I dunno.
God is everywhere I was told.
Oh, really? Even in this heap of muck.
-I suppose so.
-Here you are, love.
So much for God, then.
Well, why don't you go and look for him?
If he's not putting up fences
or digging trenches
or repairing the windmill,
he'll be out sowing sugar beet,
which is where I should be only I happen
to be rather busy doing something else.
Yes, is there something
that I can do to help?
Yes, help Greg.
-Yes, I'm not in the way, am I?
-No.
John! John, will you come and hang out
the washing for me please?
How's the baby?
Don't tell me you've come to baptise it!
Good gracious, no.
I wouldn't mind if driving out the devil
got rid of his colic.
Well, it could, too.
I remember once baptising a child
that had been crying
all the way through the service,
till I ducked him into the font
and he came up smiling!
God be praised, a miracle.
Oh, I think it had more to do with
tipping him suddenly backwards
and up again, it brought up the wind.
I didn't seriously think it was
the magical effect of holy water.
Were you surprised to hear
that I was a clergyman?
I was surprised you admitted you were.
I'm not ashamed of it.
Well, where was God in the plague?
-Man made the plague.
-God made man.
Free.
That was the greatness of the gift.
-Free to destroy himself?
-If he chose.
And God just watched?
I can understand how you feel.
I felt it at one time.
But we just have to accept
rather than question, don't we?
Paul Pitman died for me
so that my baby could be born
into a world that's just a desert.
You'll be telling me next
that it was all God's will.
No, I don't believe that.
But I do believe that one day,
good will come of it.
John, I want you!
We just have to believe
that in the end...
It will have proved to have been
worth it? The dying?
-Will you tell Greg that I called?
-Yes.
We should be getting
some more soap soon.
-What, that goo?
-Well, it cleans nappies.
I want real soap.
I want nappies that come
in crisp hygienic packets,
and safety pins and chemists.
I want a little blue baby bath.
I want a doctor to call in once a week
to say he's doing fine,
and a hospital on hand if he's not.
Will bitterness help?
(DOOR OPENING)
And don't drop them
in the muck this time.
What can you say to help?
Trust in the Lord? What, again?
I'd better go.
Thank you for calling, Vicar.
I'm sorry I couldn't offer you
a cup of tea.
Oh, Lewis.
Come in here a minute, will you?
I've got something to show you.
Look at this.
I unearthed it amongst a pile of junk.
Now, you could do with this.
A prayer desk?
Yes, it's lost one side,
but I'm sure Jack could fix that.
-Look at this carving.
-I don't want a prayer desk, Arthur.
Well, you can use it for your services,
as a lectern.
Put your Bible on it.
Well, I'm not sure that
I should be holding a service.
You see, I left Cheltenham
in rather a hurry, like most people.
There was an army truck going with
some soldiers, and I went with them,
just as I was.
Well, the fact is,
I don't even have a Bible with me.
-You could use mine.
-Yours?
Yes, I found it
rather a comfort after...
After my wife and sons were...
Well, certain passages.
# While shepherds
washed their socks by night
# All seated on the ground
-# The angel of the... #
-Socks?
-It weren't socks.
-Eh?
"Flocks", that's what it were.
"Washed their flocks".
I thought it was "socks".
Wash their socks?
No, flocks! Flocks of sheep!
Ought to be "dip", really.
"Dipped their flocks."
Good night, Daniella,
I think I'll turn in.
# The angel of the Lord came down... #
-Hey, how does it go on from there?
-You see, you can't remember.
What's the vicar gonna do
when no one can't remember the hymns?
Perhaps we should make up our own.
I hope they don't let you try.
"Wash their socks".
No, Alan's right.
I mean, we're making a fresh start
with everything else,
why not religion, too?
Why make a start with that at all?
Who needs all that
superstitious claptrap anyway?
Bishops and choirboys
and babes in a manger.
When I think of all those churches
and cathedrals and sky pilots
like Lewis here telling you
what's good for you...
I wonder what became of Il Papa?
I went to San Pietro once.
Many thousand people in the piazza.
And Il Papa at the window
giving us his blessing.
I expect the big piazza is still there.
I shall be saying a short service
on Sunday in the yard at 11:00.
You'll need hymn books.
We'll sing what we can
and say a few prayers.
We'll have readings from the Bible.
And mass?
-Daniella, I'm not empowered to give...
-But, Father.
You can make your communion
afterwards if you wish.
With my sins forgiven?
Daniella, I am not worthy to hear you.
What's this?
It must be very uncomfortable wearing
your shirt back to front.
So I made you a proper one, Father.
-What did she make it from?
-Her own skirt.
-What about the collar?
-Bit of sacking I think,
starched with a flour paste.
He looks like a real parson now.
And I've no new clothes for Paul at all.
-If Daniella's got that much time...
-Have you asked her?
I just think there are more
important things to do in this place
than make a bib and tucker
for the parson.
Well, sure there is.
There's sugar beet and oats to sow,
and cabbage,
kale and potatoes for the winter.
And teaching people
the kind of crafts we need here,
not to mention planning some kind
of schooling for the children.
-All right, Greg.
-We need a telephone system,
power for tools, some kind of motorised
transport, but a planned programme,
not this bumbling,
inefficient amateurism
letting everyone do his own thing.
If there's one thing
I can't stand at the moment,
it's Charles' damn
patience with everyone.
(KNOCKING ON DOOR)
Come in.
Ah. I thought I might find you here.
You know that plough
Jack was supposed to be mending for us?
What, hasn't he done it yet?
He hasn't even started on it.
You know what he is doing?
-Lewis can do without that.
-Yeah, of course he can.
But look at it.
Arthur says that that's years old,
been made by somebody who
probably couldn't even read or write.
So what?
I thought if I could
carve something on this side
as beautiful as that on that side...
-It would take ages.
-Well, what's the hurry?
That's the trouble with some of you
people, you're in too much of a hurry.
-Hear, hear.
-If you don't get that plough done...
You'll get it today.
The last world went wrong
because it pushed ahead so fast
it got out of control.
This time, let's get our values right.
-Treat progress as a bonus.
-Yeah, too true.
I say, that's coming on well, Jack.
GREG: Ah, it frightens me.
There's little enough
commitment here as it is
without a priest to undermine it.
Undermine it?
Oh, I'm sure there's nothing
subversive about Lewis.
There's more to life
than just making a living, Greg.
You believe that now,
next winter we could all be starving.
Even the most primitive societies
had their gods.
(CHUCKLING) And wasn't ignorance bliss?
All religion does is just provide
something to fall back on,
an insurance against failure.
Why bother to work
when everything you lack
is gonna be made up for you
in the next world?
Mmm. Accept your lot, don't question.
Blessed are the meek,
blessed are the poor.
Greg is right. It gives even
non-believers an excuse to opt out.
Yes, well some non-believers
find other excuses for that, Jenny.
Don't be such a hustler, Greg.
If it's commitment you want,
then people must be allowed
to find it for themselves
in their own way.
-Maybe Lewis can help them do that.
-Are you prepared to take that risk?
We have got no authority to impose
a way of life on other people.
A lot of people want authority.
They're not interested in working it out
for themselves, they want to be told.
Free from responsibility.
That's why they're responding to Lewis.
You've no right to impose
a way of life on anyone?
In your position, Charles,
you haven't the right not to.
Can John and I go down to the river?
No. At least, not yet.
You can give Paul his bottle first.
Oh, can I?
Now, you know how to do it.
-And give him plenty of time for burps.
-I know.
Wait, John, I've got to feed Paul first.
Oh, we've problems enough without
worrying about religion or leadership.
Just how much sugar beet
are we planting, Greg?
PHILIP: It's only a flower.
LEWIS: But think of its complexity.
Think of everything that went into it
to bring it to such living beauty.
It blooms there unseen
whether we're here or not.
That sky.
That owes nothing to man, either.
PHILIP: It needs us to see it.
I wonder.
Certainly, we're here to see it.
Beauty, truth, love, goodness,
aspects of God which man has the power
to realise in himself.
It's the quality of life that matters.
How we live, not how long.
CHARLES: What's happening
about this ditch, then?
We've others to dig yet.
Unless we can drain that high ground
and stop it
saturating the fields down there,
everything we've just planted will rot.
Then what will we live on?
-Give me a hand with the pipes, Alan.
-I'm surprised you care.
Not much quality of life
in laying drains, is there?
ALAN: I suppose it don't matter to God
that almost everyone in the world
was wiped out by a plague.
Just as long as he can still send up
a sunset once a day.
Look, we weren't all wiped out.
You and I weren't for a start.
Oh, yeah? Chosen few, are we?
There will always be some survivors
after any catastrophe.
Enough to start again
and perhaps do better.
You scare me.
Well, how do you come to terms
with what happened, then?
Well, come on.
We'd better get on with this trench.
Get stuffed.
Lizzie, you can milk the cows,
can't you?
I'll have a go.
Anyway, we'll be back by then.
You coming, are you?
Yeah, why not?
Tell Greg and Charles where we're going,
will you, Daniella?
-We won't be long.
-Does Father Lewis know?
Course not,
supposed to be a surprise for him.
Well, you coming, Hubert?
Two miles at least.
-Where you off to, then?
-Why, fancy a walk, do you?
Wash their socks!
Don't you think it's too dry?
Well, for the time being.
-Hubert said it's gonna rain later on.
-Yeah, and if it doesn't?
Well, we'll just have to water it again
ourselves, I suppose.
Uh-huh. If you say so.
Thanks, Jenny.
Funny it should take religion
of all things to make me snap out of it.
Ah, I shouldn't have blown my top
at Charles like that, should I?
Well, it made me see sense at least.
No, it's just that I've been going on
complaining that people
aren't working hard enough and...
And you've got me and the children
hanging around your neck.
No, it's not that, it's...
Well, we've been getting more
than we've been earning.
Not that Charles minded.
That's what I find
so maddening about him.
(CHUCKLING) My poor hunted Greg.
LEWIS: Greg!
Greg, that ditch we've been digging,
it's flooded!
Well, they must have unearthed a spring
or fractured a pipe from the well.
Where are they all?
Well, Lewis has gone to tell Greg.
I haven't seen the other three at all.
If we dig a channel down there,
we should get rid of it.
Harry, would you make a start on that?
I'll go get some help.
Let's hope it won't get into my stores,
that's all.
CHARLES: Hubert. Hubert?
Hubert, can you give us a hand
in the lane?
-Where's Hubert?
-Gone off with Jack and Alan.
I said I'd do the milking
if they weren't back.
They've gone off? What, Jack, too?
Where?
He's gone off for what, Lizzie?
ARTHUR: Hymn books?
According to Daniella,
they left about an hour ago.
If that water gets in here...
-Thanks.
-Three grown men on a two-mile trek
over the hills
to get hymn books for a church.
-I never sent them. Are you sure?
-Hubert left Lizzie to milk the cows.
But we can manage without hymn books.
If we get everything over this side,
it won't matter if it comes in or not.
Why didn't they ask me first?
They wanted it to be
nice surprise for him.
Jack, he ask me to tell you.
He say they will be home very soon.
Those two kids, Philip and Judy,
did they go with them, too?
There's no sign of them either.
It's as if the whole place
has suddenly died on us.
They will soon be back.
(SPEAKING ITALIAN)
This, too, is going to be nice
surprise for il padre.
May as well tell them, I suppose.
(SHOUTING) Where have you been!
The ditch you were digging has flooded!
We've had to shift half the stores
and dig a drain.
We needed every hand we could find
and where the hell were you?
In the tree house.
Look, if you don't want to work
with this community, you can leave.
-That's just what we're going to do.
-We thought we'd move on tomorrow.
Come and talk.
Does Charles know that you've been
wasting your time doing this?
But, Father...
I don't want a surplice any more than
I wanted them to go fetch hymn books.
You and I
depend upon these people, Daniella.
They're strong, practical and efficient.
And if it wasn't for them, you and I
would have starved to death long ago.
Now, if people are going to start
letting down Charles,
I'm going to wish
that I'd never put this on.
Where's Greg?
Oh, he went off after we'd finished
digging the channel in the lane.
You know those two who just joined us?
What are their names?
Philip and Judy.
Yeah, they're leaving tomorrow.
Moving on.
DANIELLA: Where will they go?
Where is there to go?
We thought
we'd make our way to the coast.
Look, we're going to try
and find another boat,
load up with supplies from
any warehouses around.
-They're all contaminated.
-Not all.
How will you know which?
-The risk is enormous.
-So, we'll take some risks.
At least we'll enjoy life
while we have it. We're in love.
Well, that won't feed you.
Why are you always so worried
about food all the time?
We might sail across to the Continent
and see what's happening over there.
-We're free.
-PET: God will provide.
Maybe, maybe not.
We're really not worried.
You can't tell people what to believe.
It's because of Lewis?
There's a lot in what he says.
I mean, there are other things.
Beauty, truth, goodness,
things like that.
JUDY: Things that matter.
CHARLES: More than living?
JUDY: It's how you live, he says.
And he's right really.
Who cares about making soap?
PHILIP: After all,
if you've come through the plague,
you can come through anything.
We'll just take each day as it comes.
We'll get by. We did before.
If not, why worry?
It's such a waste.
What good would you be doing?
We need young people here.
Can't you see we're trying
to build a new world here?
-It looks more like the old one to me.
-Alan thinks it's just like the army.
Well, Alan's wrong.
Why don't you print some money,
fix a wage rate for different jobs,
then people could buy with what
they earn from Arthur Russell's store.
He could make
a nice supermarket, that one.
-You could even have a till.
-We don't need money.
-You seem to have everything else.
-We share the fruits of our labours.
Yeah, each according to his needs,
and each to his ability.
-What's wrong with that?
-Just that when they tried it in Russia,
they soon found
you need a few bosses around
to keep the peasants working
for the common good.
-There's no bosses here.
-There's a boss class here,
which doesn't like
the threat from Lewis.
And in Russia they didn't like people
to believe in God, either,
in case it took their minds off
their work, for the state.
(PEOPLE CHATTERING)
# Onward Christian soldiers
# Marching as to war
# With the cross of Jesus
# Going on... #
Oh, you drunken klutz, you...
Yeah, you can talk.
-I've dropped me hymn books.
-Never mind...
Oh, ta.
# One long line of sailors
# Queuing for an whore
# If they ask the boatswain
# He'll show them what it's for #
Oh, cheer up. They're only
a couple of hippies, aren't they?
Sandal-footing through the world.
Make love, not war.
Live off who you can.
How do you like my heat exchanger?
The boiling water coming from there,
goes underneath the slurry and when it
comes out over there, it's stone cold,
with all the heat going into the slurry.
It's got to be about
90 degrees Fahrenheit.
Getting any gas?
What do you think
is pushing it up like a balloon?
We squeezed all
the air out of it, remember?
You can hear it.
(LAUGHS)
And then draw it off through the valve.
Now, I'm going to put an inlet pipe,
give us a constant supply of slurry.
Then I have another pipe,
make room for it all.
But I'll design something properly.
You know, that boy Philip
made some
pretty astonishing remarks, Greg.
Forget them.
What did you say? They've been
listening to the Reverend Lewis.
Pie in the sky, not bread on earth.
You look at the state that barn's in.
Jack said he was going to do
a proper job on that weeks ago.
Not enough urgency, Charles.
They'll be even less
if Lewis sells them the idea
that all that matters is their souls.
I'm not saying that's the reason
why those two kids are...
No, no, no,
those two kids aren't drifting away
because of anything that Lewis said.
They're leaving because they think
that Whitecross is developing
into a totalitarian state.
Too much authority, not too little.
You're joking.
Bosses and workers, the old world
all over again. That was their judgment.
They come down out of that tree house,
they have a quick sniff round
and say, "No, thank you very much.
It's not for me."
Do you care what a couple of kids
have got to say?
They've convinced me that I was right
in the first place, Greg.
Let everybody develop
his own way of life,
at his own time, at his own speed.
It may not make for efficiency, but at
least we'll have a human society here,
not just an economic unit.
It'll turn into anarchy unless there's
an aim, a clearly-defined purpose.
What do you want, a five-year plan?
Look, we can only offer survival,
which is why Lewis
needs to be encouraged.
It's a nuisance
having to wait for our plough
because Jack prefers to work on
this prayer desk for the padre
but if it gives him
a satisfaction that we can't,
then that's what matters.
If they want something more
than we can offer,
and if Lewis can help them...
Without his dog collar?
LEWIS: If you rather expect to be
something of a failure, whatever you do,
it's not a bad idea
to enter a profession where
success in this world is not meant
to count for very much anyway.
Is that why you joined the church?
Not consciously.
But I certainly didn't have a vocation.
I just accepted what I was taught.
In the kind of parish I was in,
nothing much more was demanded.
Until the sickness came.
And that made you see straight at last?
What do you mean by that?
Isn't that why you threw away
your dog collar in the first place,
from disgust?
Arthur says
you haven't even got a Bible.
No, I threw that away, too.
Disgust?
I try to fool myself that it was.
Rather no God than a cruel God.
With what delight
I encompassed that idea.
To see that man
was just an animal after all.
What a luxury,
not having to believe in God.
I mean, that's easy.
What takes courage
is to believe against all the odds.
No, it wasn't lack of faith
that made me throw away my Bible,
it was just lack of guts.
But here, where people
were beginning to live once more,
you felt it safe to stand up again
and be counted.
As long as people expected
no more of me than that.
When two young people take off
into that terrifying world out there,
hoping to find
beauty, truth, love, goodness,
when a woman whose sins
must be far outweighed by her suffering
begs me to hear her confession,
when they start calling me "Vicar",
"Shepherd of the flock".
(SIGHING) I'm not worthy
to be their pastor.
When I think of some of the powerful men
of God that I've met,
dedicated, confident, inspiring priests,
that it should be left to me...
If it was cowardice
that made me take it off before,
it's certainly not that now.
Are you sure?
(SLURRED SINGING)
That's the lot.
If the damn vicar wants any more,
he can get them himself.
(GIGGLING) We've even got him this!
Mamma mia, you're drunk!
(GROANING) What stuff it was, too.
Who'd have thought the holy wine
would have been bad.
Well, there they all are.
All of them, hymns ancient and modern.
Well, you could have saved
yourself the trouble.
There's to be no Sunday mass after all.
But you can't let them down now.
Daniella has made this for you.
She's made you a surplice, too.
They fetched hymn books and a cross.
And we're still waiting
for Jack's plough
because he's been too busy
repairing that lectern, for you.
What does Greg feel about it?
I agree with Charles.
Thanks for helping Jenny.
But even Daniella
doesn't really believe.
She just wants me to believe for her
and tell her what's what.
Won't that do for a start?
What are you afraid of, Lewis?
Inadequacy.
(SIGHS)
Come on, Carrot.
"And why take ye thought for raiment?
"Consider the lilies of the field,
how they grow.
"They toil not, neither do they spin.
"And yet I say unto you,
even Solomon in all his glory
"was not arrayed like one of these."
Here endeth the lesson.
And now let's sing hymn number 483.
It's quite the wrong
time of year for it,
but I think that we have much
to thank God for already.
And it's a tune
that one of you knows at least.
It ain't here. Think the mice
must have been at this one.
LEWIS: We Plough The Fields and Scatter.
(LEWIS HUMMING)
# We plough the fields and scatter
# The good seed on the land
# The shepherds wash
their socks by night
# All seated on the ground
# He sends the snow in winter
# The warmth to swell the grain
# The breezes and the sunshine... #
Well, I thought you'd be at the service.
Mustn't let the side down, eh?
No division in the ranks.
It really would be
like the old world again.
I even thought you might have
expected me to be there.
No, we have the right
to our faith, too, Greg.
# For all his love
# He only is the maker
# Of all things near and far
# He paints the wayside flower
# He lights the evening star
# The winds and waves obey him
# By him the birds are fed
# Much more to us, his children... #