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00:00Which
00:29flavor lives on longest in the memory. Is it the bitter or the sweet, the sour
00:36surprise of a thing we did not ask for, or the warmth of expectations met? The
00:42pattern of the years embraces both, the honeyed and the harsh. In the dark days
00:51before the spring begins, we can't foretell what will distinguish the summer
00:56when it comes, or who we will be when the snows return. For now, we cling to ritual.
01:05This is where we once were. This is where we are now. This is where, if the fates are
01:11willing, we will be again. I can't tell you what a joy it is to have a pancake with
01:17sugar and lemon again. What do they eat them with in America? Maple syrup, and
01:22sometimes bacon. That continent is a cauldron of all perversities. I think it
01:30sounds quite delicious. We could experiment with spam and treacle. We have both in the
01:35cupboard. If that is how you would like to celebrate passing your exams, you have
01:40only to say. It's wonderful news, lass. Welcome to our profession.
01:52Wonderful work. That's wonderful work, Maxine. You forget how much it already hurts. Oh, Steve.
01:58Steve? Stevenson!
02:01Stevenson! Don't leave me. When you do the solicitor's office, they don't like the pine disinfectant
02:08in the toilet. You have to use the lemon! I'm supposed to be doing her cleaning shit for her.
02:13Do you have to leave now, Mr. Drummond? This baby's about to be born.
02:24Oh, Reggie, love, you've even sliced the lemons. Aren't you good?
02:28I thought it would speed things up. Well, no one ought to be kept waiting on pancake day.
02:34Oh, good on you. You've been practising your new money.
02:38It's easy. It's easy than old money. Now, that is what the government told us when they
02:45said that we were going decimal. Although, two weeks in, I don't think they've convinced
02:50a single shopkeeper.
02:52You have a little girl, Maxine. Another girl? We got another girl. I thought you wanted
03:14a boy. I thought you wanted a boy. What? Never. Never. Never. Ever.
03:34Can I kiss her? Go on. I'll kiss you first.
03:44Oh, I didn't knock. I thought it was too late. The pancake batter's been standing
04:01all evening. I was listening for the sound of your bike wheel.
04:06Cyril, in my uniform. And you were in your slippers.
04:10Got delivery? Actually, it was inspiring.
04:19Oh, good girls. Bang on time. Oh, that's nice, isn't it, Christopher? Lovely kisses to start
04:29the day. He's getting better from having his kidney removed, isn't he?
04:34Yes. And we'll find out when he starts his chemotherapy soon. Girls, don't forget the rota. We're wiping
04:42round the sink in the downstairs bathroom. We need to be extra careful of germs.
04:48All Teddy ever does is feed the rabbit.
04:51That's because chores need to be assigned to people I can trust.
04:55Patrick, are you up yet? The coffee's on.
05:00I'm on district duty for the rest of the week. We need a thorough review of all our diabetic patients.
05:07Sister Catherine, in honour of your first day as a fully qualified midwife, I have assigned you the antenatal round.
05:15Entirely solo, unsupervised and independent.
05:20I hope you've eaten a hearty breakfast, honey. You'll be riding that bike for miles.
05:26I've just added Thelma Cutler at 8 Loman Street to your list.
05:29That poor lady who was sick on the floor in clinic.
05:32Six months are long and her nausea is intractable.
05:35It's rare, but I think the poor lass might be stuck with it for the duration.
05:39District nurse, Mr Kingsley, I found this little scamp.
06:08Halfway down the stairs to the street.
06:11Come here.
06:12Oh, Terence.
06:15If you keep doing this, I'm going to get you a collar and lead, huh?
06:19Mr Kingsley, it's February. It's cold.
06:23He needs more on than one sock and a vest.
06:27What is that child doing up at the window?
06:31She likes looking down, seeing what's going on.
06:36Edna!
06:36I actually came from Dr Turner's practice to make sure that everything was up to date with your diabetes medication.
06:45We haven't seen you for a while.
06:47No, I'm under the hospital. I'm a serious case.
06:50Edna!
06:54Hello, Niles.
06:56Mrs Kingsley, I didn't know you were expecting again.
07:00Do you have any clothes for these children?
07:02Loads.
07:05Just need to sort the washing out.
07:19Hello, midwife calling.
07:22It's on the latch.
07:23Poor love.
07:30There's nothing to bring up. It's just bile.
07:33I'm not crying. It's just...
07:35My eyes watering.
07:40I'm not crying.
07:42You don't have to be brave all the time, Thelma.
07:44Sometimes it's all right to say this is hard.
07:48I think it's hard.
07:50I remember flushing my contraceptive pills down the toilet.
07:53We decided to start trying for a baby.
07:57I feel like I've done nothing but stare down that toilet ever since.
08:02Bed and a washing up bowl are probably better.
08:04I've got another three parts of this.
08:19Lass, you need to attend clinic.
08:22And you need to get your home ready for the new arrival.
08:26Got it ready for the last arrival.
08:27We've still got the cotton bottles and everything.
08:32Hey.
08:32Hair brushed, lippy on.
08:37That better?
08:39Sometimes getting dressed and ready to face the day is half the battle.
08:44Felt like a battle since we lost our oldest.
08:48You've had a lot to come back from, Edna.
08:51What I would advise is...
08:52I don't need advice from someone at the ark.
08:55The father's not doing his daily urine tests.
09:02And that flap reeks to high heaven.
09:05An army of lice on all four kiddies.
09:08And the eldest should have been in school.
09:11Faye Marie, born November 1965.
09:14And there was that little boy who died when they were at a different practice.
09:18I'm afraid we've missed St. Cuthbert's Diabetic Clinic for this week, Doctor.
09:21Would you like to assess Mr. Kingsley yourself?
09:23Yes, as soon as possible.
09:25I haven't seen Faye or Nicky for two years.
09:29And there are gaps in their record before that.
09:32We'd better tell social services.
09:35Go on through.
09:36They're all in there.
09:37Oh, come on in, nurse.
09:39We're just having a women's lib meeting.
09:41You don't mind me getting on with things while I'm feeding, do you?
09:44Oh, no, not at all.
09:45But once baby's finished on the breast, I will need to examine you.
09:48Fair enough.
09:49Take a pew.
09:50Go on.
09:51You can join us.
09:53It doesn't matter if we're supported or derided on the women's march through London.
09:57The most important thing is that we are seen and we are heard.
10:02Does derided mean made fun of?
10:03Yes, but it can also mean dismissed or belittled.
10:06Women have been put down since time immemorial and we aren't going to put up with it anymore.
10:11We want to get that on a placard.
10:13You might have to make it a bit shorter.
10:16And the point me and all the other women on the Cleaners Association want to make,
10:20placards or no placards,
10:22is that we want equal rights, equal status and equal pay.
10:26Which is why we are all going to be marching shoulder to shoulder through London.
10:31Thelma seems to be living on bits of toast and boiled sweets, Doctor.
10:39And she can scarcely keep those down.
10:41If she ends up clinically dehydrated, we'll send her to St Cuthbert's.
10:44I've not seen many cases of true hyperemesis, but every time, it's the lowest I've ever seen a pregnant woman brought.
10:55Mentally as well as physically.
10:57There's not really any medication for it, is there?
10:59Not after thalidomide.
11:01There will never be any medication for it after thalidomide.
11:06A political meeting at the bedside of a newly delivered mother.
11:10I'm amazed she had the energy.
11:12It was as though all the women were getting energy from each other.
11:16I've never seen anything like it.
11:17They even gave her some homework.
11:20Show them your book, child.
11:22The Female Eunuch by Germaine Greer.
11:25What a very striking cover.
11:27What I want to know is, where do they come from?
11:31All these educated ladies campaigning side by side with cleaners from the East End.
11:37I think mostly hamstered, although there's no doubt the movement's spreading.
11:41Women of all classes have always been involved in women's advancement.
11:45My granny used to finish a factory shift in Paisley and go out campaigning.
11:51Will you come on the march with Joyce and I, Phyllis?
11:54Perhaps I should come to the meeting.
11:59I've no objection to finding out more.
12:02I think that's extremely public-spirited.
12:05The sisters and I look forward to hearing all about it.
12:08You forgot the knit lotion.
12:24I'm sorry.
12:25I must have got distracted putting a new diabetes kit together for Mr. Kingsley.
12:29I deal with him myself, but I've two new cases of Venus also.
12:33And I think that the family as a whole might respond better to a younger person.
12:42So, the projected budget details are in the blue folder, but we're still missing the sign returns from the Board of Health.
12:49I'm afraid you've drawn a dreadfully short straw.
12:51So, I've assigned myself nursery duties in the maternity home for delicious little newborns, including twins.
12:59I'll be down at feeding time, and we agreed that secular staff make better inroads with the council.
13:04Go.
13:06Lead me to get on.
13:06Asking you to fill in the 1971 census, an army of men and women with light blue sachets...
13:15Honey, I'm the nurse.
13:17Are your mom and dad at home?
13:19The form is secret.
13:20There is nothing to fear from completing it.
13:22When it's content to be...
13:23What are you doing with those pills?
13:27These are saccharine tablets.
13:29Never put them in your tea.
13:31What are you doing with them, child?
13:32Hmm.
13:36Is that all you have to eat?
13:51Your daughter should be at school, and all of your children are hungry.
13:55They need to be deloused, but first, they need to be fed.
13:57Who gave you leave to come in here and start shouting odds, eh?
14:01My wife has been diagnosed with depression.
14:04I'm going to go to the corner shop and buy a loaf.
14:07Some margarine and some jam.
14:09And when I get back, we're going to discuss our plan of action.
14:16I'm calling on behalf of Nunata's house, Hendy Street, with regard to our projected budget from June of this year.
14:22Please hold for a moment.
14:23Of course.
14:26Would that be my friend, Lady Aylward?
14:29Yes.
14:31I wasn't expecting to be put through to you, Dr. Threpwood.
14:34I asked to be connected directly, should you call.
14:37I feel I should forewarn you of certain developments.
14:41Now?
14:41It would be expedient to meet within the week.
14:48Come on.
14:49Nurse Highland.
14:49Mr. Kingsley refused to cooperate with their diabetes protocols, and I'm taking the children to the cleansing station.
14:59There's no way of heating water in that flat, and I think the youngest has scabies, as well as lice.
15:04I'd better take a look at them.
15:07Come on.
15:07Oh, yeah.
15:09I know.
15:15This belly aches worse than the sickness, sister.
15:18If I could just go.
15:19Go properly.
15:21You know what I mean.
15:23If you're dehydrated, that might well lead to constipation.
15:26But I'll have a feel of your tummy, just to make sure things are as they should be.
15:29I'll be back.
15:38I am putting in a complaint as soon as I get back to the surgery.
15:41That cleansing station needs to be open at all times, not on request or by appointment.
15:46I've never seen a family in a worse day than this.
15:49I've thought that so many times.
15:51May I come in?
15:59Have your bowels moved at all, Thelma?
16:10I'm going to get you back to bed with a hot water bottle, then I'm calling Dr. Turner.
16:16There's nothing you can give me.
16:18Don't waste his time.
16:19The surgery's three minutes' walk away, and we won't be wasting his time if we ask him to pop round and rule out early labour.
16:28We need to take care of you, Thelma, and your baby.
16:34I wish there was no baby sometimes.
16:45I'm going.
16:46I'm going.
16:49We're going to have to get them taken into care.
16:54It may take a few days to implement, but this is a clear case of neglect.
17:00I think it's worse than neglect.
17:02There's bruises on the backs of the children.
17:05And I need you to look between Nikki's toes.
17:08I think there's a cigarette burn there.
17:26Something's moving to the toilet.
17:28Can I see?
17:29What's the baby?
17:33Was the baby?
17:35Yes, sweetheart, it was.
17:38Look.
17:44Don't look.
17:50Sweetheart, we need to get you up.
17:51It's all right, Thelma.
18:03I'm with you.
18:06I'm going to leave you, but only for a moment.
18:08I need to fetch my bag.
18:09Okay.
18:10I'm afraid I always fear the worst when Dr. Threatwood starts taking an interest in our
18:28fortunes.
18:40All I could do was arrange to meet him at his office next week.
18:44Baby, 28 weeks gestation delivered into the toilet.
18:48Still breathing.
18:49Dr. Turner.
18:50Dr. Turner.
18:51He wants breathing.
18:53What's happened?
18:54Our mature baby, six months gestation.
18:56Get the flying squad.
18:58Sweetie, whose baby is it?
19:00Thelma Cutler, 8 Lutman Street.
19:03Colonel Wethro.
19:04Yes.
19:05The infant is still showing signs of life.
19:10The sensor is still damaged.
19:13The skin.
19:14The skin is like tissue paper.
19:18We've lost respiration.
19:21Come on.
19:23Come on, little warrior.
19:26It's all right, Thelma.
19:32Everything's going to be all right.
19:34Where did this gathering go?
19:36She took your baby to the maternity home, Thelma.
19:40Because it was dead?
19:42No.
19:43Because it's alive.
19:47Is it a boy or a girl?
19:49I don't know.
19:52We're taking it to Imperial Hospital.
19:55It's the only place in London with any expertise, Leonard, this early.
19:58And this small.
19:59We haven't weighed him.
20:01The weight was the least of our consent.
20:03Fingers crossed it survives the journey across town.
20:06Blue lights all the way.
20:08It is a little boy.
20:11I wouldn't generally advise taking the bull by the horns in such a way, Nurse Highland.
20:33But in this case, it's as well you did.
20:37It's the indifference that angers me.
20:39The indifference and the laziness.
20:42As well as the cruelty.
20:43Life is more of a struggle for some people than it is for others.
20:47We're fortunate.
20:49Our struggle is only with our feelings.
20:51Good afternoon, Mr. Kingsley.
21:06Have you got my kids?
21:07Your children are all here.
21:09They have been receiving hygiene treatment.
21:10We're taking them home.
21:12I suggest you come inside and speak to Sister Veronica.
21:15As a health visitor, she is the best person to advise.
21:18As a father, I'm best placed to advise the lot of you.
21:21You do not have the right to enter private premises in this manner.
21:25And you do not have the right to abduct my children.
21:30Edna.
21:31Edna.
21:33Nurse Highland brought your children here because they were in desperate need of bathing.
21:37And now we have found bruises that will have to be explained.
21:41You'll have to prove they weren't inflicted here.
21:43Huh?
21:44I know the way your sort operate and we know our rights.
21:48Edna.
21:51Come on.
21:58Come on.
22:03Come on.
22:07And thank you, Eleanor, for reminding us
22:15that women are not just discriminated against in the professional field.
22:19They are also discriminated against at home.
22:23The time has come for us to declare our self-respect and to claim a full identity.
22:29And to get equal pay for equal work.
22:32Before we move on to discussing the logistics of the march,
22:40Maxine will highlight the things we're going to do to publicise it.
22:43Namely, the one-day strike on Saturday and the exhibition of bra burning.
22:48First, I'd like to open the meeting to the floor, in case anyone has anything to say.
22:51I would like to say two things.
22:54Thank you very much to the Women's Liberation Movement and it's high time.
23:02I would like to say thank you, too.
23:06To the women who welcomed me round this table tonight.
23:09To the women who showed me that this fight is necessary.
23:12And to the women who I will stand with when we shout this from the rooftops.
23:31Enter.
23:33You need not concern yourself with your attire.
23:38The Lord gave you those tresses.
23:39And if they are his delight, they do not offend me.
23:58I have prepared you a beverage out of concern for the day you have endured.
24:05But I find I have left it in the kitchen.
24:09I'm happy just to have your company.
24:14It was a terrible day.
24:16I have seen its like many times.
24:21An infant lost or maimed or not shaped well.
24:28I keep turning it over and over again in my mind.
24:37Did I do all I should have done?
24:40Did I do anything to make things worse?
24:42I recall that unabated voice.
24:47The doubt that pursues you home and seeks to be your bedfiller.
24:53But say this to yourself.
24:55Tonight, a child breathes.
25:02Tonight, a mother lives.
25:08Tomorrow, you will resume your tasks.
25:11But what is my task now?
25:16The child is born.
25:18It has arrived.
25:19But the mother is still on the journey.
25:24And you must bring her home.
25:27I've never once doubted the importance of female solidarity.
25:35But for women of my age, it went unspoken.
25:39If we'd had a motto, it would have been deeds, not words.
25:42But we had a war to be getting on with.
25:44But even in the war, too many women were forced into limiting roles because of damaging stereotypes.
25:51That's why burning bras is so important.
25:53It's about the rejection of frivolity.
25:56A good bra is a very practical item and not frivolous at all.
26:02Trixie, tell me you're not going to be joining in with all that carry-on.
26:05Well, perhaps not with my current bras.
26:07I bought them at a New York lingerie department.
26:10But definitely something from my back catalogue.
26:14You were quite quiet in the meeting, Joyce.
26:18Didn't you enjoy it?
26:19I go quiet when I think.
26:21And I was doing a lot of thinking.
26:23So was I.
26:24I kept thinking, my husband had the power to run our finances into the ground without telling me.
26:31My husband beat me so badly, I left him without telling him.
26:35But what I learned tonight is that it's not what men have done to us that matters.
26:40It's what we do as women going forward.
26:43I left that calm to argue with.
26:45Mm.
26:55And that's it.
26:56We're ready for your outing.
26:58Shoes on, coats at the ready, and I've got your washing up bowl.
27:02I don't need it, Kev.
27:03I haven't been sick since yesterday.
27:06I keep trying to picture the baby.
27:09I never even saw his face.
27:11The sooner we get you to the hospital, the sooner you can have a proper look.
27:16You'll feel better then, I promise you.
27:17I can't believe the ideas women's liver coming up with.
27:27A one-day strike.
27:29We'll draw attention to the march at a local level and give women who can't attend the chance to demonstrate their views.
27:35They tried it last year in America.
27:37Women withdrew their labour right across the country.
27:39No cooking, no ironing, no childcare.
27:42And there were no reports of any deaths.
27:46Prescriptions signed by Dr. Turner, all present and correct.
27:49Oh, thank you.
27:50We're very low on pethidine.
27:52And Mrs. Kumar's penicillin was becoming urgent.
27:55It's good of you when you're so busy.
27:57Well, I might be a lady of leisure tomorrow if I join in with this strike.
28:02Will you be participating?
28:04No, Mrs. Turner.
28:05I've decided to forego the pleasure.
28:07Why is that?
28:09Because I come from a generation of women that got on with it.
28:13No histrionics, no sloganeering, and our foundation garments stayed intact.
28:19The baby weighed in at exactly two pounds and a half an hour.
28:28We've had a couple of two pounds to do very well this past year.
28:31The doctors here are very skilled, learning all the time.
28:36What's with the blade paint?
28:37I think those are the transistorised monitors.
28:40There's one attached to every incubator.
28:43If a baby stops breathing or there's a problem with the heartbeat, an alarm goes off.
28:48That's correct.
28:49Here he is.
28:51Baby Cutler.
28:52We can update the labels once you've picked a Christian name.
28:56Oh, we liked James, didn't we?
28:58James Kevin or James Paul.
29:03Look at him, Phil Marie.
29:03He's beautiful.
29:05He's gorgeous.
29:08Baby Smith has collapsed.
29:13She needs a chair.
29:17I can't look at him.
29:18I'm sorry.
29:19It's all right, Elmer.
29:21You only gave birth yesterday.
29:23When did I give birth?
29:25It was nothing that felt like a contraction.
29:28I didn't even realise that I pushed.
29:30My body just let go of him.
29:31My body just let go of him.
29:37I failed.
29:39You didn't feel.
29:41You were valiant throughout your whole pregnancy.
29:44I wasn't even an old pregnancy.
29:45I wasn't even an old pregnancy.
29:45I wasn't even an old pregnancy.
29:48I wasn't even an old pregnancy.
29:49I wasn't even looking like a baby.
29:52It's my fault.
29:55It's my fault because I said that I wished that there was one.
29:58But baby James is doing well.
30:05Oh, Lady Aylwood.
30:07What an unexpected pleasure.
30:09Are you looking for anything in particular?
30:11Yes.
30:12Support for the Women's Liberation March on March the 6th.
30:16Oh, women's lib.
30:18Would you want me as Violet Buckle Haberdasher or me in my mayoral robes?
30:23Either or both.
30:25Violet Buckle Haberdasher is a highly successful businesswoman.
30:29And the mayor of Tower Hamlets is a trailblazing female politician.
30:35But I've never thought of myself as liberated.
30:38Probably because you've been too busy.
30:41It's not necessarily men holding women back, Violet.
30:44But if we don't stand shoulder to shoulder with each other,
30:47we're never going to realise just how strong we are.
30:50I'll come, but only as myself.
30:53The alderman might object if I wear the mayoral chain.
30:57What happened to your moped?
31:06It fell foul of budgetary cuts.
31:09Do you need to brief me on anything before we head in?
31:13The gap in their records is because they were out of the area when their son died.
31:17I've telephoned Greenwich, but we still don't know what happened.
31:22It's nice to see the children eating a cooked meal at lunchtime, Edna.
31:26Well, Faye gets a hot dinner at school and I want you to see I'm not incompetent.
31:30Social services are not your enemy.
31:32We're here to help.
31:34Especially with the children.
31:36You were meant to help when Martin died.
31:39Hmm?
31:40Fat lot of you she were then.
31:42Ian, do you want to tell us what happened to Martin?
31:45He had a fit.
31:46That's all.
31:47Babies have fits all the time.
31:49Martin wasn't a baby.
31:50He was four and a half.
31:52You're just sitting a trap.
31:53Nobody's setting a trap, but we do need to understand why there are injuries on your children.
31:59Then look at how we can help you get back on your feet as a family.
32:01We've heard that before.
32:03When they took the kids away from us.
32:05After Martin died.
32:06It took us six months to get them back.
32:09You are not having them this time.
32:12Blessed are the midnight riders
32:22For in the shadow of God they sleep
32:29Blessed are the huddled hikers
32:36Staring out of falling rain
32:40Wondering at the retribution
32:45And their personal acquaintance with pain
32:52Blessed are the blood relations
32:59Of the young ones who have died
33:04Who had not the time or patience
33:08To carry on this earthly ride
33:15Rain will come and winds will blow
33:22While deer die in the mountain snow
33:27Birds will beat it as a fall
33:30Ticking the way like a little clock
33:34Just the way I like to hear it
33:35You have obviously been doing everything right
33:38Not many people say that sort of thing to me
33:41Edna
33:42Doctor and I were wondering
33:44If you'd like to come and have a look at the ward
33:45And deliver your own way
33:46Oh, we thought you'd like to mull over having the baby with us
33:49Instead of at St Cuthbert's
33:51I've decided against St Cuthbert's now
33:53I'm having a home birth
33:55This is your sixth pregnancy, Edna
33:57And you just tell me I've been doing everything right
33:59I'm not spending one night away from our kids
34:02This will be a home birth
34:04So you best get that in your reds
34:07I used to work as a paediatric nurse, sister
34:17And I know the quest to heal can cause terrible suffering
34:21Baby James was born at 28 weeks
34:24He is considered viable
34:25But what does viable mean?
34:28Does it mean he'll go home as a happy, healthy baby?
34:32Or could he be brain damaged and blind?
34:35We're working to regulate the amount of oxygen these babies receive
34:38Now we know too much can affect their eyesight
34:40Sister Wilmot, do you share that information with the parents?
34:46We tell the parents what they need to know when they have to make decisions
34:49James' mother is in no fit state to make any decision
34:54She struggles to even believe he is her child
34:58And without that bond, how can she choose what's right?
35:03Sometimes the parents don't choose
35:05Sometimes the problems overwhelm the babies and they simply declare themselves
35:09We can't help them all
35:11But you can help the mothers
35:14Or at least, you could help me to help this one
35:18I'm sorry, Mr. Robinson
35:22Sister Veronica has left for her district visits
35:25The Kingsley family's case notes have come through
35:28I have more details on the death of Martin
35:30Good, I don't like having a child
35:33Merely marked as deceased in our records
35:35It seems to speak of want of care
35:38Martin died of oxygen deprivation
35:43From a seizure that was only witnessed by his parents
35:45The post-mortem noted old bruises on his upper arms and back
35:51And a cigarette burn was found between his toes
35:53Were the parents ever charged?
35:56No, they were not
35:57There was thought to be insufficient evidence of child battery or neglect
36:01And the police fell back on a compassionate approach
36:03Will surveillance of the family increase now?
36:07It's ten past five on a Friday
36:08But yes, it will
36:11Hands through the portholes
36:14Like that
36:15Excellent
36:16And then just clean his little face with the damp cotton wool
36:20I worry if you're sore with that big blaster on it
36:24That's where he's smiling
36:27It's like his lips just turned up a little bit at the corners
36:30Stand back, you stop breathing
36:34That's the three of us, often ready for our big adventure
36:47Sister Veronica will collect Christopher
36:49She's going to read to him from some Cantonese storybooks
36:53Oh, that's great
36:53Teddy and me are going to do an airfix model
36:56But we're on strike, Patrick
36:58In preparation for the Women's March next Saturday
37:01And I'm all for it
37:02Some of the newspaper coverage has been really thought-provoking
37:06But, Daddy, you need to do the ironing and washing
37:09I was in the army
37:11Ironing holds no fears
37:14Have you left us a casserole or something?
37:17That's not how women's strike works
37:19What's this fire?
37:26It's a list
37:27It's a list of everything that I usually do on a Saturday and Sunday
37:31In order to keep this household on the straight and narrow
37:33But it starts with run a haberdasher shop
37:36And then it says batch bake
37:39And then it says clean all the shoes
37:41And then it says and my handbags
37:44I mean, how do you fit all this in an afternoon?
37:46You've got more handbags than the Queen Mum
37:48I do your shoes
37:51Then I do my shoes and my bags
37:53While the batch bakes in the oven
37:55Why do you think I close the shop at four o'clock at weekends?
38:00A home and a family do not run themselves, Fred Buckle
38:03But I can't run the haberdasheries
38:06I don't know the names of all the different types of elastic
38:08And people come in and ask for, um, female things
38:14I'll stick with the paper shop
38:16Cyril's running the paper shop
38:18He's strongly in support of feminist ideals
38:22I'm sorry we're having to do this here
38:30I do need to ask you a few questions about bleeding
38:34And what goes on in the bathroom
38:37But we can do that before Kevin gets back with the tea
38:40Kevin keeps pushing me to agree to give James a tracheotomy
38:45I have the consultant said it's for the best
38:49They've said it's best for his chance of survival
38:53How do we know it's the best thing for him?
38:57A tracheotomy will prevent James from suffering so many collapses, Thilma
39:01They'll cut into his throat from the outside
39:05And stick a plastic nozzle in
39:07They'll have to breathe through his neck
39:10How's that better?
39:14Why is it better to just keep him surviving?
39:18Even if he may never see
39:19Even if his brain is going to be damaged
39:22We don't know any of those things are going to happen, Thilma
39:25And we don't know that they won't
39:26You know more than me, Sister Catherine
39:31But when it comes to a baby like James
39:34Nobody knows anything
39:37Hey, keep it up
39:48There's probably a cub badge for potato peeling
39:52It's taking me an hour to do two shirts
39:57Trixie!
40:07You made it
40:08Yes
40:08John's nanny said she'd go on strike next week instead
40:11We worked it out between us
40:13Compromise is power
40:14Are you sure that's right?
40:16When I have arguments, I like to win them
40:18Oh, Mrs. Turner, you are quite the dark horse
40:21Whoever invented new pence wants hanging
40:28I've had to charge people in decimal for things that I'm measuring in yards
40:33And that's before you start talking about two-ply wall and press studs
40:36Oh, flaming Nora
40:39Flaming scones
40:48Being a man is terrible
40:51What happened?
41:04She fell out the window
41:05Where are parents?
41:08I don't know
41:09Do you know the child, sir?
41:11Yes
41:11I'm a social worker
41:13Excuse me, love
41:18You haven't got such a thing as a compact mirror, have you?
41:21I'm sorry, it's not a thing I generally carry around
41:25I suppose not
41:26I've got five minutes before a photographer arrives
41:30Me and my Nina are going to be in the papers
41:32We're taking her home
41:3314 months we've been in here
41:3614 months
41:38She must have been in the wars
41:40Not half
41:41Born at 28 weeks
41:42Bowel surgery, tracheotomy
41:44They thought she had a brain bleed
41:46Now all we're waiting for is a set of ankle splints and we're off
41:50Is my lippy all right?
41:52For the photograph
41:53It's a bit smudged
41:55Here
41:56Tal, I owe you a favour
42:00I told the consultant you'll need a statement
42:09But he confirmed that Faye has a fractured femur
42:12And collarbone
42:14And concussion
42:15The police wouldn't look up here too
42:17They also found she had catastrophically low blood sugar
42:21She seems to have swallowed prescription drugs
42:24Or been fed them
42:25Why would anyone feed a child prescription drugs?
42:28Because low blood sugar makes a child dozy and compliant
42:30I don't know
42:33It's the honest answer
42:35Just as I don't know how anyone blessed
42:38Blessed with such beautiful children
42:41Could treat them with such hideous contempt
42:44Millicent
42:53Do you think I'm barking up the wrong tree
42:56Resisting all this women's lib talk?
43:00Well
43:00Not everyone is in support
43:03I've heard quite a number of ladies saying I'm not a feminist
43:06But
43:07I just don't like the gimmicky way it's all been put together
43:11I would always counsel against objecting to a book because of its cover
43:15Innocent, you're reading the female eunuch
43:20The authoress makes a series of very sensible points
43:24Notably regarding female sexuality
43:28It's a thing
43:30I spent much of my life being ashamed of
43:34I never did, oddly enough
43:39It's like being a vegetarian
43:42As though I was wired to run counter to the general view
43:45But why am I being like this?
43:51Why am I picking holes in something the young people are full of fervour for?
43:58Do we perhaps fear losing our place in the scheme of things?
44:06Two weeks ago I was standing outside the drapers on Inkerman Street
44:10And there was a blouse in the window with a psychedelic pattern
44:14Dual tones but it was such a beguiling design
44:19And I was looking at it and I thought
44:23I will never wear that blouse
44:27Why?
44:29There's no harm in breaking out a bit fashion-wise
44:32Phyllis
44:33There is no harm in breaking out
44:37And if we don't, we'll be left behind
44:41You're not wrong
44:43Psychedelic pattern or no psychedelic pattern
44:48Police!
44:55Don't answer it
44:56Mr. Kingsley
44:59Mrs. Kingsley
45:01Because of concerns about the welfare of your children
45:05A place of safety order has been issued
45:07We have come to remove them
45:09Don't let them take them in
45:10They're orchids
45:12They're not going anywhere
45:14They're terrified
45:15Mr. Kingsley will force entry if you do not cooperate
45:17As well as the police, I have Sister Veronica with me
45:20The children will be well taken care of
45:22Mr. Kingsley
45:24Mrs. Kingsley
45:27This is uncultful
45:30I am Kingsley
45:31And I'm married, Kingsley
45:33I'm arresting you
45:34I'm suspicious of child neglect and cruelty
45:36This is what they wanted all along
45:38We've already lost one of our children
45:42Doesn't that mean anything to you?
45:45It means a very great deal, Mrs. Kingsley
45:49And I wish
45:51That we didn't have to do this
45:54I wish
46:03It's not coisas
46:06I see
46:07The children
46:08Honestly, love, you wouldn't have given a tuppence apenny for her chances in the first few weeks in old money or new money.
46:31She's as bonnie as anything now.
46:33Look at her chubby little cheeks, Phil.
46:34Mm-hmm.
46:36How's she with normal food?
46:38After all those months with the cheap up her nose.
46:40Oh, she's great with chocolate pudding.
46:42Not so good with her greens, though, but as long as it's all mushed up, she's just like any other baby, really.
46:48Do you ever feel like any other mum, Bernice?
46:52I feel like her mum.
46:54It's not so different from having any other child.
46:57You can't turn your back on them.
47:00You can't work out what they're thinking.
47:02You can't picture the future.
47:04The doctors never gave us any guarantees.
47:06Our baby gets a guarantee, really.
47:11Guarantees are the things you buy in shops.
47:13And we're lucky.
47:15We get to call our babies miracles.
47:17Hi!
47:24Hi!
47:25Yes?
47:26My waters are broken.
47:28And I'm not going to hospital.
47:31Edna Kingsley is in labour.
47:34Screaming blue murder and refusing to get into the ambulance.
47:37Police said she wants one of us to attend and I'm first on the court board.
47:41Whatever's gone on in the past or is yet to come, she is still a mother.
47:52Let me know if it's a boy or a girl and I shall add it to my notes.
47:57I'll get my bag.
48:07I'm afraid this isn't good news, Lady Edward.
48:28And it can't be countermanded, even with all the womanly wiles at your disposal.
48:34A simple statement of facts will suffice, Dr Threpwood.
48:37Very well.
48:38By 1974, all medical service provision across the country will be taken out of council hands
48:45and given direct to the National Health.
48:47But the Order have worked hand in glove with the National Health since its inception.
48:51And this council has been the go-between.
48:54Without our future involvement, there can be no more cajolery.
48:58No more persuasion.
49:00It is over.
49:01A great deal could happen between now and 1974.
49:04The new rules will be facing from this year.
49:08And there is one I know the sisters won't accept.
49:11I know it's Edna, lass.
49:17Save your strength.
49:19I want it to be all right, nurse.
49:21You're on the home straight, I promise.
49:23There's no reason to suppose anything will be amiss.
49:26I don't mean with the baby, I mean with everything.
49:30Come on.
49:31So come up, Barley Sugar, and concentrate on what's happening here and now.
49:36They can't take a newborn off you, can they?
49:39Edna.
49:41Save your energy for this, big push.
49:47Come on now.
49:50Steady push.
49:52Steady, steady push.
49:57You have a beautiful little daughter, Edna.
50:09Edna.
50:10Martin looked just like that when he was born.
50:27You forget when we haven't got a photo of him.
50:31We never had a camera.
50:32I'm going to give you the best life.
50:39Do you that?
50:41The best life.
50:43Hello, Mr. Franklin.
50:54Oh, Mr. Franklin.
50:55It's so good of you to go out of your way.
50:58What sort of friend would I be if I didn't tip up with a cup of Rosie and the chips are down?
51:02Dr. Threatwood is right.
51:04Dr. Threatwood is right.
51:06We will not accept that diktat.
51:09But it is a diktat, Sister Julianne.
51:12You aren't going to be allowed to wear the habit anymore.
51:14My sisters and I have dressed like this since the inception of the Order.
51:17It is the outward expression of the reason why we do this.
51:21The powers that be don't give two hoots why you do this.
51:26They just want it done.
51:27If Nonata's house is to survive at all, we are all going to be national health employees.
51:33And the new rules state that we will have to dress as such or leave the system.
51:37We have never been a part of the system.
51:41We have rejoiced in that.
51:42Dr. Threatwood said he'd like your response by the end of this month.
51:46I think it ties in with the end of the financial year.
51:52Who is this man to lay down the law in this way?
51:59This decision will be driven by prayer, not by the fiscal calendar.
52:03Therefore, I will choose the appropriate date.
52:07We will tell him what we are going to do on August the 31st,
52:12which happens to be the feast day of St. Raymond Nonatus.
52:18People think I talk too much.
52:21I don't.
52:23I know.
52:24And I know you listen.
52:27I've never seen Here She Goes Again, writ large on your face.
52:32But the thing I think...
52:37People don't understand about the life I chose.
52:42It's...
52:43So much of it is silence.
52:47I understand.
52:49It isn't about when we can't speak.
52:52It's about...
52:53What we can never say.
52:57What we can never name.
52:59Because...
53:00That might expose us.
53:04Lay us bare.
53:07Yes.
53:08We can't afford that, can we?
53:11No.
53:12Because really...
53:14Who wants the whole wide world to hear them howling?
53:18I don't think I can silence the howling anymore.
53:27What is it you want, Veronica?
53:33If we're going to drop the sister bit,
53:36I think you'd better call me Beryl.
53:39My real name.
53:40You can call me Geoffrey if it's not too much of a stretch.
53:49What is it you want?
53:51I want a child.
54:00I want a child of my own
54:02to hold in my arms
54:05and keep safe
54:09and cherish always.
54:12I want a child
54:14before it becomes impossible.
54:22I feel like he ought to have a special little nightie
54:24on if he's to have an operation.
54:27I feel like his dad should have had the day off work.
54:30James' first year is going to be a long haul, Thelma.
54:34Keeping up a normal routine is going to be good for everyone.
54:37I'm good at routines.
54:38Before I fell pregnant,
54:41I used to dream I'd have all the nappies on the line every Monday.
54:45Dreams are a lovely thing to have.
54:48Sometimes we just have to dream for longer than we thought.
54:52He'll be a baby for longer, too.
54:54I think I might like that.
55:05Have you come to take James for his tracheotomy?
55:08I'm his mother.
55:22What's this?
55:26Something to wear on Saturday, perhaps?
55:28On your marks.
55:40Get set.
55:41You want a sausage roll?
55:43I'll have one.
55:47I'll tell you what, pal.
55:49I love our lady folk.
55:50All of them.
55:52But this liberation, Mark,
55:54it's hard work.
55:55I went for cotton.
56:07I thought it would burn longer.
56:10I brought this one from discounted stock.
56:12Nobody's buying long line these days.
56:15I relented.
56:17Bergdorf Goodman's finest.
56:18Girls, where did you get that from?
56:23The charity cupboard.
56:25Provenance, uncertain.
56:28Sisterhood takes many forms.
56:30I think we should celebrate them all.
56:32There will always be things that we cannot change,
56:44even when there is the will
56:46and the belief that we should try.
56:51Change chooses its own seeds,
56:54sows them in its own selected soil.
56:57Our task is to alter them
57:01and not trample green shoots underfoot.
57:06In the spring of 1971,
57:10there was so much that was altered.
57:13There were endings
57:14and there were beginnings.
57:17There was uncertainty
57:19and there was confidence.
57:21There was rage
57:23and there was love.
57:26And so we marched together
57:28into all the things we did not know,
57:32hoping and also fearing
57:34things would never be the same.
57:40You may begin!
57:42I started out in Bombay
57:43and then I worked my way right up to Ladakh.
57:45Find a way to make a living.
57:47I can't see any gas.
57:48I'll be in the delivery room, won't I?
57:49So many mothers looking after him.
57:52I'm telling you, nurse,
57:54the one thing his baby isn't
57:55is a Protestant.
57:56More tea, Mrs. Clifford.
57:57Yes, please.
57:58Don't expect I'll grow.
58:19youuuuh...
58:23Yeah, Mom.
58:27But you'll soon be
58:27and never pretend he'll be
58:28.
58:32But you cannot see
58:36.
58:36Right!
58:37.
58:38.
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