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Call the Midwife S14E09 Christmas Specials 2025
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00:00Old, and closed, and packed away.
00:04Advent had erupted into Christmas.
00:07Darkness retreated in the face of light.
00:11And the wheel of the year kept turning.
00:15But once again we gather, as the sky grows cold.
00:20The leaves have tumbled, the fresh snow falls.
00:25Pages turn as new doors open.
00:28Time, and time, and time again.
00:33Merry Christmas, Greg.
00:34Merry Christmas.
00:38Medical supplies packed and labelled,
00:41and ready for hand delivery to the brunch house.
00:44A biscuits clinic?
00:45You think you should write on it in Chinese?
00:47Hong Kong is a British colony.
00:50I'm quite sure everyone is competent in our mother tongue.
00:54I detect a wanton enthusiasm in your visit.
00:58When adventure beckons, you should embrace the couple.
01:02This trip is a wonderful opportunity for Violet to see her son.
01:06And the sisters at the clinic will be so grateful for these supplies.
01:11I'll just be glad of a chance to run an errand, if I'm honest with your sister Julian.
01:14And then there's talk of cocktail parties.
01:18Kevin, I've told you before, stay inside the lines.
01:45The lines represent the edges of the lorry.
01:52You too, Teddy.
01:54We don't want you falling off the float and getting run over.
01:57Do you think they're going to need bigger roles for their mouths, Mrs Turner?
02:01I'm worried that they're going to be deprived of oxygen.
02:03Oh, please, please, don't anyone stop singing on my account.
02:11Hello, Diane.
02:12Oh, now, Pack, what do we say when a very important lady, like Mrs Buckle, our mayor, is kind enough to come and visit us?
02:29Good evening, Mrs Buckle.
02:33Thank you, Pack.
02:34Now, off you pop and work on your knots.
02:37It's all set out on the tables.
02:39One piece of cord between two.
02:43I've bought a dozen pairs of brown tights for the reindeer.
02:47I managed to get them on a special order.
02:49Well, you'll not get lads of this age to wear tights, Mrs Buckle.
02:53Well, you'll have to tell them that it's in a good course.
02:56I mean, the whole Christmas carnival is in a good course.
03:00Erm, elastic.
03:03Black felt squares.
03:05Erm, sleigh bells.
03:07And WD-40.
03:09What's that for, to oil the sled runners?
03:12Fred needs to do the paper shop bell before we leave.
03:16Mrs Buckle, go.
03:18Go to Hong Kong.
03:20And do not give the Christmas carnival a second thought.
03:33Oh, Mrs Buckle!
03:36I'm sorry.
03:37I'm sorry, Mrs Turner.
03:39I'm not quite sure which way is up this evening.
03:42I wondered if you could take a tiny parcel to Hong Kong for me.
03:46It's a letter and some photographs for May's mother.
03:51We haven't heard from her for over a year.
03:54But the sisters say they still see her from time to time with her little boy.
03:58Of course, I'll take it.
03:59It must all be, well, such a worry.
04:02I used to fret about my Derek when he was in the Navy,
04:05but now he's in the Hong Kong police.
04:08They have to wear guns, Mrs Turner.
04:12It makes me nervous.
04:14You'll be back by Christmas with wonderful memories.
04:18And we've got Reggie coming home.
04:20I'm already hoping that it will be snowing for him.
04:24Whoever guesses the mystery ingredient in this year's chutney
04:30gets to eat the first mince pie and make a wish.
04:32I'm getting definite top notes of tamarind.
04:37Have you been on another cooking course?
04:38No, Matthew took her to Antigua for their wedding anniversary.
04:43It's mango.
04:44Yes!
04:48It's good to hear you're moving back to London, lass.
04:51Matthew has to stay in New York until autumn.
04:54And Jonti's starting pre-prep at Easter.
04:57I needed to get him home and settled.
04:59Sister Julianne, I will be free for midwifery duty,
05:02should you be short-staffed.
05:03We very seldom are at present.
05:07Things have been remarkably quiet.
05:09I have offered her a receptionist role
05:10at my new osteopathy practice on Harley Street,
05:13but no dice, apparently.
05:15You're only there four hours a week.
05:16Nevertheless, his couch sees a constant parade of celebrities,
05:20by all accounts.
05:22Celebrities!
05:23Coming to you with their crooked necks.
05:24I hope you're going to name names.
05:26Professional discretion is my watchword.
05:29Have a mince pie.
05:30Fred, have you seen the time?
05:40We're going to miss the plane.
05:42The party was running late,
05:43and I didn't want to disappoint the kiddies.
05:45Get in the cap.
05:46You can change out who you've got costume on the way.
05:48The party was running late,
06:18Please, let me knock my hanky and put it on my head, Vi.
06:31No, we'll get you a nice, smart Panama hat
06:34as soon as we've left these parcels with the sisters.
06:38Er, we're looking for a sign that says Hibiscus Street.
06:43Derek says it should be written in Chinese as well as English.
06:47There it is.
07:00There it is.
07:05Look at me.
07:06Bring me in.
07:07Bring me in.
07:08The burning has collapsed, stay back please.
07:15The burning has collapsed, please stay back.
07:19The burning has collapsed, please stay back.
07:23Kido.
07:24Kido.
07:43There must be fatalities.
07:50I'm sorry to intercept you, Sister, but Mrs. Buckle has just telephoned from Hong Kong.
07:57It's about the branch house.
08:02How on earth can an entire building just collapse?
08:05I've never heard of anything so colonial.
08:07There were rumours that the ground in that area was unstable.
08:11But whatever the cause, it's the consequences that are truly shocking.
08:15Sister Alice and Sister David were both killed.
08:18Along with the doctor who worked with them.
08:21Some of the children in the nursery did not survive.
08:24Meanwhile, the maternity ward has been destroyed.
08:28The sisters are homeless.
08:29And the people who depend upon them are scattered across Kowloon.
08:33Once they have overcome this, they will need somewhere to live and carry on their work.
08:38Now, they need a doctor.
08:40They need nurses and they need midwives.
08:43In short, Sister, they need us.
08:50I keep thinking we should be making Christmas trees for the carnival, not palm trees.
08:54The theme of the float is a Caribbean Christmas.
08:58There's going to be a still band playing carols and a gospel choir.
09:02And a gospel choir.
09:03Lovely.
09:04Are these the palm trees?
09:09Mm-hmm.
09:10I'm starting to think we should be making jacarandas.
09:14So, what's this letter you want to talk to me about?
09:19If ten days on the ground in Hong Kong means that we can get them through this crisis, I am more than happy to put a locum in the surgery.
09:28And, Sister Veronica, you must go. You were three years at that ranch house.
09:33You're the only one with even a glancing knowledge of the way things work out there.
09:37I will go wherever I'm told. I will do whatever I'm told.
09:41Very well.
09:42Dr. Turner will go, as will Nurse Crane, Sister Veronica, and myself.
09:49So, this man, this Mr. Fisher, who writes with an educated hand from an address in Belgravia, wants to rent this flat with immediate effect?
10:00For a period of time that he is unable to specify. For an amount that we are free to name.
10:06You'll call me ruthless if you want to. But, Pastor Robinson, what I make of it is money for the church.
10:14Running a church is always going to cost somebody something. I'll find somewhere else to lay my head for a week or two.
10:20The truth is, I'm more worried about me missing you over there than I am about me being missed over here.
10:26You were vital to everything when we were in South Africa.
10:29And I came home with Teddy on the way.
10:32Look, Timothy is quite old enough to hold the fort if you came to Hong Kong.
10:39He's home on study leave for a month.
10:41Patrick, I'm needed here.
10:47That's the last box, Miss Higgins.
10:52Dr. Elise Watkiss is our first choice for locum cover. She's young but has excellent GP experience.
10:59I will attend to the necessary paper work. Timothy, you might call the pharmacy regarding the export forms whilst I see to this.
11:06Yes, Miss Higgins.
11:08The posters have turned out an absolute treat. I found a photo that must have been taken years ago.
11:13And you'll never guess what. You can see it clear as day now it's blown up life-size.
11:18Mom, look.
11:19Oh, it's me. As a baby. Before we even knew her. I would recognize her anywhere.
11:31Come on, ladies. Dig as deep as you can. Merry Christmas.
11:35Merry Christmas.
11:36Thank you very much.
11:37Every penny counts. Don't be shy.
11:40Some of these clothes are ours, Mum.
11:50Yes. I went up into the loft and there were bags full of woolies that went back years.
11:56This was mine. I remember this.
11:59You had it when you first arrived from China.
12:05Would you rather we didn't send it off?
12:07Yes.
12:08The radio reporter says, ready when you are.
12:13Ten-year-old May Turner has a special reason for helping with the appeal today.
12:16Can you tell the listeners what it is, May?
12:18I was born there.
12:21A photograph of May, aged 12 months and held safely in the arms of a Nonnatas nun,
12:28features on posters for the rescue mission.
12:30As the Nonnatas sisters are popular, head east to help.
12:33Do you have a message for people listening, May?
12:37Please give all you can.
12:42Because some of the children there have nothing.
12:57Sister Hilda will be joining the Nonnatas party at Heathrow.
13:01At least that's only one plane we have to meet, Fred.
13:05Derek, you're eating the lime marmalade.
13:08I'm not going to lie, dear.
13:10I've laid awake at night dreaming of this stuff.
13:13Thanks for bringing it.
13:14And the mustard.
13:15Proper taste of home.
13:16It's even got English written on the tin.
13:19Fred and I were wondering about popping over to Kowloon
13:22to see if there's anything we can take the poor sisters.
13:25Mum, Kowloon isn't the East End.
13:28Nobody pops over there.
13:29Not to that bit of it, anyway.
13:31Hibiscus Street's about as dodgy as it gets.
13:34Drugs, prostitution, smuggling.
13:36Makes you wonder why the sisters are so keen to stay there.
13:40Well, it's the same as popular, isn't it?
13:42Bad things happen.
13:43Good people saw you out.
13:44Best people in the world couldn't sort Triad out.
13:46What is Triad, Derek?
13:48Organised crime.
13:50It's invisible and it's everywhere.
13:52I got used to Tim not being here because he's at medical school.
13:59What I can't get used to is him not being here because he's in the pub.
14:05Mum and Dad.
14:08You should be in bed, Tillie Mint.
14:11We've been talking.
14:12Oh, it's very late.
14:13See, we've all been talking.
14:15And we all want you to go to Hong Kong, Mum.
14:18Do you?
14:20Yes.
14:21And I want you to take this.
14:32And that was confirmation that you can refer any health visitor business over to Miss Haynes at the Stepney Clinic.
14:40If I say so myself, the plan is impregnable.
14:43You, meanwhile, are the only one I trust with my Rolodex.
14:46I will guard it with my life.
14:48And Nurse Aylwood considers herself on call at any time should you require her support with any administration.
14:55I'm also available for midwifery duty. You only have to pick up the phone.
14:59It's most unlikely that it will come to that.
15:01This is a mercy mission.
15:08It's also a mercy dash and we'll be home soon.
15:11By the time we all gather here again, we will have left our friends in Hong Kong in a place of hope and of comfort and of joy.
15:24Thank you, all of you, for helping us to help them.
15:37I am reminded of spit fires streaming overhead.
15:54Skies and fights, half known, but undetermined.
16:02They'll all be home by Christmas.
16:05That was our motto.
16:07In a different war.
16:18I still don't like the idea of you living in a bed seat.
16:22Like you'd just come off the boat.
16:24It's a better bed seat than I had in those days.
16:27It's got fitted carpets and hot water.
16:29Oh.
16:31Oh, you, I take it, are Pastor C.A. Robinson, of the Shining Tabernacle Church of God?
16:35Oh, you, I take it, are Pastor C.A. Robinson, of the Shining Tabernacle Church of God?
17:01And you must be Mr. Fisher.
17:04Please, come in.
17:09We got rid of the electric meter to stop the lights going out when people were testifying.
17:13And this is the bedroom.
17:16We put up thick curtains so the trains won't bother you in the night.
17:33Well, the trains won't bother me at any time of day.
17:36But I can't do it.
17:48Don't worry.
17:53I thought you'd be saying lords in your room, Sister Monica Joan.
18:16In Hong Kong, they will be saying the afternoon office, and the sum does not vary, no matter
18:29from which corner of the globe we offer up our praise, I shall raise my voice with yours
18:36and theirs.
18:46He will not suffer, I thought you'd be pure, and he that he will feel lost me.
18:57It's not a good thing.
19:04It's a good thing.
19:08It's a good thing.
19:12It's a good thing.
19:19There they go there.
19:35Defeat this, Dr. Turner.
19:37You just have to keep your nerve.
19:40I haven't lost my nerve, Fred.
19:42I have lost sight of the van containing all of the medical supplies and the donations.
19:47I told the driver at the airport
19:49I said they were to follow immediately behind us.
19:52I wonder what you were saying.
19:54You sounded commendably forceful.
19:56We just have to hope you said what you thought you said.
19:59If we have any problems whatsoever,
20:02my Derek has told me which police station to go to and to use his name.
20:06That's one of our sisters.
20:17That's one of our sisters.
20:18That's one of our sisters.
20:20I greet you in Lord Jesus Christ's name.
20:35We greet you likewise.
20:37There is much to be considered.
20:44Seven day.
20:45I have them upstairs.
20:46Sick nun.
20:47Sick children.
20:48And we could not be more grateful.
20:50See that term Cantonese.
20:52I know.
20:54Not important.
20:55Trouble.
20:56I know also.
20:57You have trouble.
20:58Come.
20:59Help.
21:00We can't all be living here.
21:06Onward.
21:07I can hear the child crying.
21:08I can hear the child crying.
21:36ねぇ the child crying.
21:50I believe Sister Sa min.
21:51that she should have to leave for hospital and have her wrist reset under anesthetic.
21:56And I suspect that Sister Prudence has a broken collarbone.
22:01We're going to get them all down and send them for hospital treatment.
22:04when did the diarrhea start before the cough or after doctor i know what ails me
22:13i have tuberculosis are you sure would you simply fear it miliary tuberculosis the worst kind
22:22tuberculosis is so very contagious it has spread from my lungs throughout my body
22:28i have little time left to live when were you diagnosed the day the clinic collapsed
22:36i was told by our doctor dr lee i took myself out for a walk whilst she arranged for me to go to
22:45a sanatorium and when i returned there was no clinic and no doctor
22:54no bed in the sanatorium and no choice but to carry on handling the children
23:03oh
23:10your kindness just doing my job
23:20at least the main treatment for preeclampsia is bed rest both these ladies have had that
23:28rudimentary though the beds may be once we've unpacked i'll ask them to oblige me with some
23:35samples and get the dipsticks out
23:37this is infected i don't think it's been properly cleaned
23:43is it any wonder with them all huddled up here without even the barest essentials not to mention
23:49ignoring their own injuries
23:50if you ask me the sisters work miracles enough
23:55just keeping everyone alive
23:58and now it's our turn
24:01this place reminds me of a cash and carry
24:04there must be a gross of tin bamboo shoots in this box and enough soy sauce to float about it
24:12do you reckon mrs mar would mind if we move stuff about
24:15we'll have to ask her fred
24:18i know she's a christian convert and she has been very accommodating but these are her premises
24:24i need the labelled crates of medical supplies fred we have to run urgent tb tests on everyone
24:31over here doc
24:32excellent excellent
24:34no
24:37no no no no
24:40these have been forced open
24:43it's all gone
24:48is that the new vista sanatorium
24:52m'goy
24:54i have a very sick lady who requires urgent admission
24:58koi hu ban
25:00m'goy sai
25:01you have been charity itself mrs mar
25:03i'll hold
25:04you took the sisters in
25:05and gave them food
25:07and shelter
25:07only to rescue
25:09you are rescue
25:11now you're all gone
25:12but we have nowhere else to go
25:14we will find a new clinic
25:17we will find a new convent
25:19but we cannot do that today
25:21it's not safe
25:23why is it not safe
25:25you stay
25:31stay now
25:32but go soon
25:33and use back door
25:35not front
25:36linnata's house
25:45midwife speaking
25:46can i bring my wife to the maternity home please
25:48of course sir
25:49what name is it
25:51she says what name
25:53diane mary edgar
25:55diane mary edgar
25:58i made myself a cup of coffee miss higgins
26:04do you want
26:05uh thank you
26:06i generally keep myself in check until elevens is
26:09your white coat should be hanging on the back of the door of the consulting room
26:15would you like me to fetch it
26:16it's fine
26:16i don't need it yet
26:17we've got bad coughs coming in at half past nine and ten past ten and at eleven
26:22all in the over fifty age group
26:24have these patients been referred to the east london chest clinic
26:27i'm sure they have
26:28if dr turner considers that appropriate
26:31excellent
26:31i'll have a quick rummage through their notes just to make sure
26:35the files are through here aren't they
26:36they are indeed
26:37no fluids in the filing room if you'd be so kind
26:40perfect work
26:54you certainly know what you're doing
26:56oh i feel terrible about bringing those reindeer heads
26:59i'd have never gotten finished otherwise
27:01good morning
27:03may i help you
27:04my name's queenie foresight
27:06my daughter's in childbed
27:07we arrived last night
27:08that's six massive pushes i've done now
27:14it's not budging nurse
27:16let's get you back on the bed
27:19and then i can examine you
27:21we'll soon have a better idea of your progress
27:23i'm telling you now there hasn't been any
27:25this one's not playing the same game as my others
27:29midwife's calling
27:46good gracious
27:50it's like the first day of the sales in here
27:52can we open one of those windows and let in a bit of air
27:55how long have you been feeling that you need to push child
27:58i don't know
27:59and every time they yell at me to push i try
28:03five hours
28:04five hours she's bananas
28:06okay honey
28:08until we know what's what
28:10you must not push
28:11do you hear me
28:12you must not push i am not a bossy woman but i am being bossy not
28:21how much did your other babies weigh diane
28:23seven pound six and eight pound nine
28:25darren was like giving birth to a sofa
28:27this one feels like a ruddy three-piece suite and a coffee table
28:31i think baby might be on the bonnie side
28:35but i don't think he's read the book that tells him how to line up nicely for delivery
28:38doctor could you pop across and speak to dr what kiss
28:44it's r-o-t
28:45a right occipitotransverse
28:51i'm quite a big baby
28:53but my dad dr turner always attends
28:56in the event of any transverse position
28:59well i'd better come through then
29:01that poor girl started pushing long long before she was ready
29:05has she damaged her cervix
29:07it's not torn
29:08but it's so swollen
29:09i can actually see it at the entrance to her vagina
29:12no baby's going to get through that unless we bring that swelling down
29:16we need ice
29:18ice
29:19i think i saw a refrigerator
29:21if we don't make this work
29:24she'll need a cesarean section
29:26diane don't cry
29:28there are all sorts of things we can do to get things moving
29:32would dr turner try the von toos do you think
29:35no
29:37he always uses forceps in a transverse position
29:40in which case
29:44we'll continue with trial of labor
29:45we'll transfer you to st cuthbert's if we get no joy
29:51timothy this won't do
30:03nanata's house
30:05if you pursue midwives they are all abroad
30:09or otherwise at large
30:11is there nobody there at all
30:12nurse clifford
30:14has a multi-powerous woman in obstructed labor
30:16and the locum doesn't know how to use forceps
30:19supply the details
30:21and i will provide the advice
30:23you're going to be grateful to me in the long run
30:26but i'm not going to lie to you and say this ice pack
30:30is the nicest thing you ever had slip underneath your covers
30:32are you allowed to love things like dad i don't get the chance very often
30:40it's freezing
30:46serves you right for being disrespectful
30:48diane we need you head down and with your bottom in the air
30:57this position will stretch your pelvic ligaments
31:01and give the baby enough room to adjust its head position
31:04i hope you have that on good authority
31:07the best authority you can possibly imagine
31:09let's have a little nap
31:13is there anything else wrong with her
31:16i don't think so
31:17but queenie
31:19women need skilled help when they give them birth
31:21especially when it's their first
31:23i took her to the doctor when she first knew that she'd fallen
31:25we were up in the far north then
31:27you should forget where you've been
31:29i haven't decided where you're going
31:32and besides i went to the hospital with me last one
31:37i wouldn't venture that again
31:39i'll examine her
31:41let's hope it's worked
31:43i just want to lie down
31:47baby has shifted position diane
31:49all we need to do now is make plays with gravity
31:52oh i'm gonna have to push
31:58that's all right diane
31:59you give it everything you've got
32:01this is the bit where i'm glad i did the enema
32:04i fear verbal instructions alone
32:11would not suffice
32:13verbal instruction has done more than you could possibly imagine
32:15baby's head is beginning to crown
32:18the swelling has gone down marie
32:23but i need you to do exactly as i say
32:25listen to nurse hyaline
32:27on the next one
32:28i want your chin on your chest
32:29and a slow quiet steady push
32:32slow
32:34slow
32:36we've got the head
32:47come on you can do it
32:50keep it coming
32:52keep it coming
32:53is it a boy or a girl
33:01i'm afraid i can't tell
33:03i've got something in my eyes
33:04can you see sister monica joan
33:10i can see every aspect of the miracle
33:13you have a daughter
33:15this stinging will end soon marie
33:26just breathe
33:27just breathe
33:28and we have a head
33:31we also have my cornea
33:37the midwife says we need an ambulance
33:42oh boy
33:43oh
33:49ah
33:51You've a little boy, Marie.
34:16I want him.
34:18All will be well, Marie.
34:19I promise you, all will be well.
34:21He must be baptised, now.
34:35But there'll be a chaplain at the hospital, Queenie.
34:37This is his home, and he is not leaving his mother's arms
34:39until he is baptised.
34:45Well, Dr Watkus's curriculum vitae
34:49stated very clearly she is fully trained in obstetrics.
34:53She has now revealed that in almost five years of GP practice,
34:57she has only delivered two babies,
34:59neither with any complications.
35:00That's the way it is these days.
35:02We're all trained in obs and gynae,
35:04but the expectation is that almost every baby
35:07will be born in hospital.
35:08Dr Watkus wanted to continue trial of labour,
35:11but we couldn't countermand her because she's more senior.
35:14And next time, we may not have Sister Monica Joan to call on.
35:18Any wisdom I have was hard won
35:20in the days when there might have been no doctor to send for.
35:24We were wise out of necessity,
35:27and you are skilled in your own right.
35:31Nevertheless, I will not permit this to happen again.
35:35I am sending for Nurse Elwood.
35:42Lord Jesus Christ,
35:44who took little children in your arms and blessed them,
35:48hold this infant, Luke Michael,
35:50in your matchless love,
35:52today and always.
35:54Fill his mother and father with your peace,
35:57and cherish him according to thy will.
36:01Amen.
36:02Amen.
36:03Amen.
36:04I keep thinking.
36:15May's mother was a nanny for a British service family.
36:19Is it worth asking if the army have any record of her?
36:23She would have just been cheap, casual labour.
36:28After she lost her job, she must have been desperate.
36:30And where would desperation take you in a city of this size?
36:37We have to find out.
36:41Esther Tan gave us the greatest gift we've ever had.
36:44And we can't abandon her.
36:46Esther Tan, are you lying awake for the same reason that I'm lying awake?
37:02I don't know.
37:05Well, I'm lying awake because we've flown halfway around the world on a rescue mission.
37:10And if we get thrown out of this place by Mrs. Marr, we're going to be in as much need of rescue as anyone else.
37:18The injured and the six sisters are leaving in the morning.
37:23Sister Edith to the sanatorium, and the other sisters to the Roman Catholic Hospital.
37:27We have orphans to care for.
37:30And expectant mothers.
37:31Any one of whom could have caught TB.
37:33And out in the street, there are prostitutes and addicts who will look to ask for help.
37:39I know there are.
37:40But we will pray.
37:42And we will wait to see what love can do.
37:45And we will pray.
38:15ORGAN PLAYS
38:45I'm sorry, Miss Higgins.
38:51I've been through all of these cases,
38:52and there are at least half a dozen who should be at St Cuthbert's and not here.
38:55Well, Mr Parry himself expressed satisfaction with our care.
38:59Good afternoon, ladies.
39:01Dr Watkiss, I presume?
39:03Nurse Elwood.
39:04Sister Elwood, as it happens,
39:06I've accepted a promotion during the absence of Dr Turner,
39:09under whom I've worked for 16 years ever since I qualified.
39:11So we have three mothers over 40,
39:18two gestational diabetes,
39:19and Maureen Santaro, I know already,
39:22she had her first set of twins with us.
39:24Second set isn't unheard of.
39:25I've never handled a multiple pregnancy, Sister.
39:28Well, there's always a first time.
39:30Dr Watkiss and I will call ourselves Cubicle 1,
39:32send them all to us,
39:33and we'll see how we do.
39:34Hello?
39:45Queenie!
39:47Have you brought Marie?
39:49She's still above in the hospital with the baby.
39:51He's after taking the antibiotics.
39:53She's doing grand.
39:57It's me that needs to see you.
39:59Are you expecting, Queenie?
40:03Under this coat and having me ninth?
40:06You don't shout about it when you get to my age.
40:10But I heard what you and the other nurse was saying.
40:15I need skill to help.
40:17If you want it, we'll make sure you get it.
40:19I do want it.
40:21My last was a stillborn.
40:24Even though I had it in hospital.
40:25Queenie, I'm so sorry that happened to you, Queenie.
40:31We're going to walk beside you now.
40:36I'll start by filling in your co-op card.
40:47Oh!
40:49A tin of carnation milk, if you please.
40:52Ah, and a quarter of humbugs, if you'll be so kind.
41:00No, no, no, no, no, no.
41:01Perhaps just two ounces.
41:03I do not consume them in any conspicuous place.
41:05You don't want them turning sticky at the bottom of the bag?
41:09No.
41:17Oh!
41:19I thought I heard that.
41:20It catches.
41:23Doesn't it?
41:27I think Mr. Buckle was supposed to oil it before he went away.
41:30He must have forgotten.
41:32But then I...
41:34I thought I'd imagined it.
41:36It catches.
41:37It catches.
41:39It's all very well and good complaining that all the people who can deliver babies have
41:49gone to Hong Kong.
41:50I'm more concerned that all the people who can sew have gone to Hong Kong.
41:53You're always waving your magic wand and producing costumes, Jeffrey.
41:57And no one's going to see the details.
41:59It's for a carnival.
42:00Everything's going to be moving past at speed.
42:02Well, moving past.
42:04I'm an ideas man.
42:06And a contacts man.
42:07I'm not a needle and thread man.
42:09And it was not my idea to dress up the midwives of Ninata's house as angels complete with ostrich
42:14feather wings.
42:15I thought we could do it with just a bit of cotton and sticking, like grizzling in our
42:19Christmas trees.
42:20They're palm trees.
42:22I heard rumors the sewing machine was out.
42:24Angela just tried on her spoon costume and ripped it.
42:28You look like you could do it with a snowball, honey.
42:31Do you want some maraschino cherry in it?
42:33I'll have to.
42:34What sort of wounds have they taught you to suture at medical school?
42:38Oh, my highlights include closure of incision after two appendectomies.
42:42And I did a rugby play scalp once.
42:45Needle, thread.
42:46If you want a cocktail, you're going to have to earn it.
43:00This is not the way I intended my service to end.
43:06It's a patient in a sanatorium.
43:09You have given all you can, Sister Edith.
43:13That is enough and more.
43:15It was the children I lived for and loved the best.
43:21I remember your daughter well.
43:24May?
43:25Oh, she's ten years old now.
43:28And so many children pass through the orphanage.
43:31I took medicine to her mother, Esther.
43:39Three months ago, she was living out on Tau Street, number 122.
43:45The numbers daubed on on the door.
43:48Sister Edith, do you think she might still be there?
43:51She was there once and not too long ago.
43:56Beyond that, I cannot say.
43:58The sooner we are able to move into the premises, the better it will be for the people in our care.
44:22I can even overlook the pigeon infestation for a small reduction in the rent.
44:28Down payment will be 2,000 Hong Kong dollars.
44:32The sisters have the funds for that.
44:34And there will be ongoing support from a number of private philanthropists, plus the Rotary Club of Hong Kong.
44:42Very well.
44:46We shall prepare the documentation.
44:48Oh.
44:50I'm going.
44:52Let's hope the army can help with our medical supplies.
44:56The collapse of that clinic barely made the news here.
44:59And of course, we're delighted to assist now that we know there's a res commission on.
45:02The sisters need all the help they can get, sir.
45:05Well, it's not disinterest because buildings fall down all the time.
45:08It's avoidance.
45:09Because it's going to happen more and more.
45:11Everybody knows that and there's nothing we can do.
45:14Because of the overcrowding?
45:15Because they just keep building upwards on insecure foundations.
45:19One misplaced mudslide could obliterate Kowloon.
45:22At least we can improve on the human side of things.
45:27Morning, Major.
45:28Morning, Corporal.
45:28I'm coming with my best party manners and a begging bowl.
45:45It really is extraordinarily kind of you to accompany us, Mrs. Buffle.
45:53I thought it may be necessary to tell untrue, sister.
45:57And I thought if that was the case, then better me than you.
46:01Mrs. Buckle, have you told untruths?
46:04No.
46:07I may have slightly pre-empted one or two realities,
46:10although I'm sure the Rotary Club will be only too pleased to opt their support.
46:15Once I make contact and explain the situation.
46:20I don't even ask about the private philanthropists.
46:23Well, one of them is me.
46:25And I'm sure there will be others.
46:28It's not just the TB kits and penicillin I'm grateful to the Major for.
46:49It's use of the Army labs for processing the tests.
46:51Oh, it's all well and good, the sisters having faith in God.
46:57But I reckon the military beat him every time.
47:00The military is certainly better organised.
47:03Well, I suppose they have to be the same as the police,
47:05especially with all this triad malarkey.
47:09Just like the Kray Twins, and then some.
47:12I've stitched wounds inflicted by the Kray Twins.
47:15But they never bothered us.
47:18More than Arta's house.
47:19In fact, the sisters were revered.
47:22I don't reckon the triad revered the sisters here.
47:25If they did, they would help them.
47:27I think you're right.
47:29You know, violence lyric says there's somebody triad
47:34in every street that people have to answer to or pay.
47:39And Mrs Maher is living in fear of someone.
47:51Oh, I'm searching for a young lady called Esther Tang.
47:56She used to live at this address
47:58and has a young boy about the same age as this little one.
48:08I wonder if you or your wife might know where she moved to?
48:13She has gone.
48:15She will not return.
48:21Miss? Miss?
48:23Esther left one week ago.
48:25Did she say where she was going?
48:28She was sick
48:29and she was afraid.
48:31Don't look for her, please.
48:33Can I ask your name?
48:36Grace.
48:38Don't look.
48:52Have yourself a merry little Christmas.
48:56From now on, our troubles will be out of sight.
49:06Merry Christmas.
49:07Merry, merry Christmas.
49:09Have yourself a merry little Christmas.
49:14Make the yuletide gay.
49:16From now on, our troubles will be miles away.
49:21From now on, our troubles will be miles away.
49:26Once again, as in olden days,
49:30happy golden days of yore.
49:35Faithful friends who are dear to us
49:38gather near to us once more.
49:42Joy, Trixie's supposed to be doing our make-up, but there's no sign of her.
49:53She's not the only one who knows what to do with a bit of eye shadow.
49:56And if she doesn't turn up on time, our floaters leave them without her.
50:00Isn't it going to look a bit feeble with just the three of us?
50:02We are midwives.
50:05Not the four horsemen of the apocalypse.
50:07Pack, pack, pack.
50:09You are all to visit the toilets now
50:11and come straight back here
50:14as soon as you have washed your hands.
50:17Now, Harry,
50:19who has arrived from university
50:21just in time to help us tonight,
50:23is now going to hand out cough candy
50:25to help us all with our singing.
50:27Come on!
50:29Come on, please!
50:31Come on, I want Sarah!
50:33Me!
50:34Oh, my God!
50:35Promise me you'll always have me home for Christmas.
50:39We're going to be late, Geoffrey.
50:42If you were content with boarding a carnival float,
50:45wearing improperly attached angel wings,
50:48well, I can assure you I wasn't.
50:50Oh, for pity's sake,
50:51pushing this pram through snow
50:54is like dicing with insanity.
50:57What's that?
50:58It's a walking stick.
51:01It's actually rather elegant.
51:02I think it's got a solid silver top.
51:05Oh, no, no, sis, I know this.
51:08This belongs to one of my Harley Street patients,
51:11Maurice Templemore.
51:12He was an enormous film star
51:13when the talkies first came out.
51:15What's it doing here in Poplar?
51:17Also, if there's one thing I do know,
51:19if you find a walking stick lying on the ground,
51:21you're likely to find its owner nearby
51:23and lying in a similar position.
51:25Sir!
51:26No.
51:27Maurice Templemore cannot be in Poplar.
51:30I doubt he even knows where Poplar is.
51:32He must have been burgled.
51:33Sir!
51:35Sir!
51:36Over here.
51:41I'm terribly sorry.
51:43I seem to have rather overstretched myself.
51:48Mr. Templemore?
51:49Please don't call me that.
51:52Not here.
52:12Merry Christmas.
52:42What are you doing in this insalubrious part of town?
52:55You're in the same insalubrious part of town.
52:58You're not well.
52:59I know that because you said so when I was sorting out your fibrositis.
53:04A blood disorder, you told me.
53:06What kind of blood disorder?
53:09A malignant one.
53:10But I didn't tell him that.
53:17I was born in this flat when the paper shop was a greengrocer.
53:25My father came all the way from Russia straight off the boats.
53:29All he knew was beets and turnips, and so he made a life from that.
53:35And you made a life out of different things entirely?
53:37Little Manny Fisher became Moise Templemore.
53:43New York, Hollywood, and then home.
53:47Well, London's West End.
53:51Instead of the East End, and a life of comfortable obscurity.
53:56But everyone had gone.
54:03Your family had gone.
54:11Here, here.
54:12All manner of humanity that I once loved had gone.
54:22So I'd come home to die.
54:24Mr. Templemore, you live in Belgravia.
54:26Not anymore.
54:29And I'm no longer Mr. Templemore.
54:33There I truly was.
54:34He needs medical care, sis.
54:41And I'll arrange that in the morning.
54:43But at this precise moment in time, we have a carnival to catch.
54:47Come along.
54:48I used to make...
54:51I used to make the boat.
54:56Oh, no.
54:57No.
54:59A baby.
55:00Left to be found.
55:01This happened all the time at the hibiscus clinic.
55:12A girl.
55:14I've not pushed her at more than two days old.
55:17And the cord looks to have been chewed through.
55:20Oh, my mother.
55:21Oh, my mother, baby.
55:23Oh, it's okay.
55:26Oh, dear.
55:26Look what you say.
55:49What do you mean we can't have the house on Half Lotus Street?
56:08We have the keys and we have paid the deposit.
56:12It is not suitable.
56:13Oh, it's extremely suitable.
56:15And we can move there immediately with the children and our adult patients.
56:20The man who owns the building say no.
56:22Give me the keys.
56:28If we are to return them, it can only be in exchange for the money we have paid.
56:39Give me the keys.
56:43Keys.
56:44Ester is a very, very important person to our family.
56:53It's as though they have both vanished.
56:55Throw it a third piece.
56:57The only doctor is still for my forceps.
56:59Everyone's bringing a bottle.
57:02Run by a crook who calls himself the Cormorant.
57:05A gangster?
57:06Of the worst kind?
57:07Mr. Fred and the doctor are in trouble.
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