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00:26There are challenges
00:28that are eternal.
00:30How do we stand and face our fears,
00:34and how do we let go?
00:36We forge on because we must,
00:40with weapons as fragile as courage,
00:44as simple as work,
00:46or as precious as compassion
00:48for our fellow human beings.
00:51These are the threads that bind
00:54the very warp and weft of days,
00:58the things we think we will remember,
01:01then move on from and forget.
01:09You poor child.
01:10I'm pretty sure that's it for now.
01:13Go and get ready.
01:15I'll cover for you.
01:19Mum, what's going to happen
01:21when they close the maternity home?
01:23I wish there was a simple answer, May.
01:26The truth is, nobody knows.
01:29Will we have to move house?
01:31No.
01:32This is our home,
01:34and that's not going to change
01:35because Daddy will still have his surgery.
01:39I promise you, sweetheart,
01:41everything will be all right.
01:44Angela needs to do everything together.
01:47Now we don't even get the same bus.
01:49She'll be home tonight,
01:50just as she always is.
01:53And Timothy's back in London,
01:54living at St Cuthbert's.
01:56So that's good, isn't it?
01:59I know.
02:00New things are always hard.
02:07Nurse Crane's been held up
02:08at the maternity home.
02:09She's asked me to give out morning orders.
02:11Sister Catherine,
02:12are you happy to be on first call this afternoon?
02:15Of course.
02:15I was top of the call board myself,
02:17but I know how I'm meeting
02:18halfway across London.
02:20Good morning, all.
02:21Rosalind Ladadette Ice.
02:23She's just sodding out a fresh beer.
02:25Well, I hope she's eaten a hearty breakfast.
02:27She's going to be cycling all over Poplar today.
02:36See you later.
02:37Six o'clock.
02:39And don't be late.
02:45Come in.
02:53And it is wakey, wakey, rise and shine for my favourite slugger bed.
03:01I bring grapefruit tea and French toast chaser.
03:06Have I overslept again?
03:09You're keeping not dissimilar hours to Princess Margaret.
03:12Although I am told her cooling tray has nothing on it
03:15but black coffee and an orange juice.
03:17She probably wakes up with a hangover.
03:19I've never had a hangover.
03:22Are you getting a bad back sleeping on the sofa?
03:25I did think of sending for an osteopath.
03:28Then I remembered I am one.
03:30Well, I've slept like a log every night since I came here.
03:33It's like I'm getting over an illness.
03:35You look to me as though you are recuperating nicely.
03:39Apart from the faintest suggestion of a few split ends,
03:43dare I make you a little appointmentette at the salon on the corner?
03:46The hairdressers.
03:47Oh, no, I really don't think I can go to the hairdressers.
03:50Not with my hair in this state.
03:55In a moment, we'll be inviting the ladies and gentlemen of the press inside
03:59to view the magnificent Ground Four extension
04:03funded by the Bathroom Grant scheme.
04:06But first, I'd like to ask Mrs Rhoda Mullocks,
04:09who's here today with her daughter Susan and son Paddy,
04:13to say a few words about how she and her family
04:16have benefited from this council initiative.
04:20This has been a really fortunate development for us.
04:24As many of you know, Susan was affected by thalidomide.
04:28And we were struggling a bit more than most
04:31with the old outside toilet and tin bath.
04:34Hello, Mum.
04:36For those of you who don't know, this is my second eldest, Perry.
04:40He's at Technical College.
04:42My grandma was actually born in this house.
04:46And the addition of the bathroom has brought us
04:49bang into the middle of the 20th century.
04:52And what do you have to say, Susan?
04:53It's fantastic.
04:56That's the thing.
04:57In you go, members of the press,
05:00straight through to the back of the house.
05:02Oh, and Mrs Mullick's sanitary wear is in a new colour,
05:05called Pampers beige.
05:06So you might want to caption your photographs accordingly.
05:10Oh!
05:13Come on, love.
05:16Let's bump you up.
05:25I can't believe we're under notice of closure,
05:27yet we've still got a cohort of junior doctors
05:30coming in for district obstetrics.
05:32And all the more unsettling because my own son's one of the doctors.
05:36Oh, he was such a little boy when he came into my life.
05:40You were younger than he is now when your path first crossed with mine.
05:45Oh.
05:45And look at us now.
05:47Shutting up shop to all intents and purposes.
05:50Where do you think we'll be this time next year?
05:53Possibly in a better place than this.
05:57Possibly in a worse one.
05:59But not here.
06:01Sheila.
06:02The council are not going to give Nonata's house any more money.
06:08We'll have to see what God thinks.
06:11And what the order proposes.
06:15Hurry up, please, gentlemen.
06:17The mother is feeling the urge to push.
06:19And Mr Parry wants all junior doctors to be in guns.
06:25I'm sorry, Dr Turner, but I have begged for an extraordinary meeting
06:29of the Board of Health.
06:31And Dr Threatwood says we have to wait until the next one's scheduled on Friday.
06:36They might announce more closures at that one.
06:39There are half a dozen other maternity homes just waiting for the axe to fall.
06:43Which doesn't give the board the right to treat you or Nonata's house
06:47like a canary down the mine.
06:49Meanwhile, I fear the fact that our GP practice is remaining open
06:54has confused matters.
06:55I had expected some degree of local uproar,
06:58but no one has so much as started a petition.
07:01The system we're heading into is going to be so big
07:04it dwarfs people's comprehension.
07:06Then, by the time they realise what's afoot,
07:09their voices will seem too tiny to be heard.
07:13Well, my voice isn't too tiny to be heard.
07:23Now, Mother, let's concentrate on the task in hand.
07:27Less noise equals more effective bearing down.
07:30I'd do better without a ruddy audience!
07:33Come, come. Just keep reminding yourself
07:35you're making very satisfactory progress.
07:38Now, whilst this contraction ends and Mother has ceased her exertions,
07:43would one of the gentlemen present like to step up
07:46and describe what he can see?
07:48Ah, Dr. Turner, Jr.
07:53Rule one of obstetrics.
07:55There is often something liquid on the floor.
08:02The fetal scalp is not visible at the introitus
08:05during the pause between contractions, sir.
08:08The presenting part is the vertex in a cephalic presentation.
08:13The head is beginning to distend the perineum.
08:16The crowning has not yet occurred.
08:18And?
08:21Boy or girl?
08:24It's reassuring to know your expertise knows its limits.
08:36Well, Lady Aylward, matron of the Lady Emily Clinic
08:41for women and babies does have rather a ring to it.
08:44Yes, it does.
08:46And I'd like to accept, with caveats.
08:49You know I'll grant you any caveat you desire.
08:52I can't commence until the new year.
08:55I have to give him my notice to Nonata's house.
08:58They're not in the best shape at the present time.
09:08Had I to feel this bell much longer,
09:10I would have been in need of embrogation from my elbow,
09:15as well as assistance to the lavatory.
09:18This means the diuretics are working.
09:24And helping to cleanse your body of all the excess fluid.
09:29I am not in want of a biology lesson.
09:33Merely your aid.
09:35It might be more convenient if you set up a commode for you.
09:38I have always pried dignity above convenience.
09:46I've spent the whole of my career in the East End.
09:51Which equates to almost all of my adult life.
09:54You would have served less time for murder.
09:56I don't see it that way, Mr. Scarrisbrick.
09:59It wasn't a sentence.
10:01It was, and still is, a privilege.
10:05And now our maternity home is closing down.
10:09And the domestic delivery of babies could end up virtually outlawed.
10:14Thank you, Peel Report.
10:15I don't want to work in hospitals.
10:18I want to get to know the women I'm caring for.
10:21I want them to feel safe.
10:23As though birth is a miraculous but normal part of life.
10:28Soon I won't be able to provide that.
10:30And, in my view, that's a terrible loss.
10:34I'm simply grateful we're able to offer an alternative.
10:39To those who can afford to pay.
10:43Nevertheless, we have new adventures to look forward to.
10:46In due course, I'll have something else to put to you.
10:49But, not today.
10:51We have quite enough to celebrate.
10:53Perhaps you'll allow me to take you out to dinner.
10:56Perhaps.
10:58In a week or two.
11:02Oh, good evening. Is that the Gazette?
11:05Oh, Miss Leverett. Glad I caught you.
11:08Could you put me through to Mr. Reynolds on features?
11:12Paddy, what noise?
11:13A sheep make.
11:19I'm going to have to take Susan to the surgery tomorrow, Bernie.
11:22That blister looks like it's become infected.
11:24You can't have that, can we?
11:26What's the matter, how beautiful, eh?
11:29It hurts when I put the legs on.
11:32Does it?
11:33If I take her first thing, can you drop Paddy at nursery?
11:36No, no, I can't. I've got a funeral.
11:38At ten o'clock, out in East Ham, Mr. Albion wants us lined up at the hearse by nine.
11:43Sometime through the day you took that undertaking job.
11:46Well, it's a steady line of work.
11:49You're drinking more of that milk and magnesia than you ever did when you were pregnant.
11:53You're not trying to tell me we've got some news, are you?
11:55Chance would be a fine thing.
11:59God, our almighty Father, we ask today for a blessing to add to all the blessings you have given us.
12:05And as we thank you for leading us to one another, and for letting us love one another,
12:11and fold us as my hands and fold hers, and protect us as her body protects our child.
12:17Amen.
12:19Amen.
12:27Oh, gosh. It is beautiful, isn't it?
12:33I've always loved pearls.
12:36The idea that inside all that sheen there's a tiny speck of sand.
12:46The heart of a pearl is so much stronger than we think.
12:53I didn't even know we kept Sherry on the premises.
12:56When a house is a home to a lot of young women, it's always wise to be prepared for a
13:00celebration.
13:01I managed to grab some twiglets and smoky bacon crisps.
13:05Fred sends his congratulations.
13:06This is turning into quite the shindig.
13:11Have you given any consideration to a date yet?
13:15I went to the register office this morning and filled in all the forms.
13:19It's going to be in three weeks' time.
13:23Three weeks?
13:28And what of your parents? Are they as delighted as we?
13:32They don't know yet.
13:34They've been away on the school trip to Bruges, so I'm going to call them tomorrow night.
13:41They are educated.
13:43And they are inhabitants of the modern world.
13:48Congratulations.
13:49Congratulations.
13:57I've stopped short of going the full bit Elsa soon and giving you a geometric bob, but I think that's
14:06taken the curse off.
14:07Farewell, Splatoon.
14:10I've never had eggs rubbed in my hair before. It felt quite right.
14:14Trixie put me onto the protein rinse when I decided to go long.
14:17But, Beryl, now that you've had a rest, we need to talk about the future.
14:25The Order want my answer in three weeks.
14:27And what are you going to do with those three weeks?
14:30Are you just going to sit them out indoors in the hope that clarity will come floating through the window?
14:36Or are you going to try to live a little?
14:39I think I'm living quite a lot just being here.
14:43Beryl, you know that's not true.
14:49Today, whilst I'm out manipulating the vertebrae of London's jet set, I want you to make a list of every
14:59single thing you wish to do before you tell the sisters whether you're going to leave or stay.
15:04To what end, Geoffrey?
15:07It may help you decide which sacrifice is bearable.
15:16What do you mean mayor turns midwife?
15:19You can't deliver babies, Mrs. Buckle. You're not qualified.
15:24I'm not intending to deliver them. The idea is that I follow you and the other ladies round Poplar as
15:32you go about your work, lending a hand, you know, as and when appropriate.
15:37And getting photographed by the Gazette?
15:39The Gazette feels that it will draw attention to the destruction of midwifery services as we know it.
15:47That I can't deny.
15:50But so far, we've left the news to seep out slowly so we don't cause alarm.
15:57Nurse Crane, in my opinion, we need to cause alarm to save the maternity home.
16:03If people protest, it might make a difference.
16:13How often do you wear the artificial legs?
16:15Every day. They make them wear them at school.
16:18There's three other thalidomide kids and the teacher says they all have to set an example to each other.
16:23What do you think about it all, Susan?
16:25I don't really like them very much.
16:27The other kids?
16:29The legs. They're heavy and they hurt and they don't look like proper legs.
16:34You're probably ready for a bigger set.
16:36She's growing like a weed.
16:38Um, while I'm here, Dr. Turner, I want mine some more milk of magnesium.
16:44Rhoda, you really need to get that gallbladder removed.
16:48You've been at the top of the waiting list twice and cancelled the operation both times.
16:52I'm too busy, Doctor.
16:55Belinda's away at university and I'm busier than ever with Paddy and Susan to look after.
17:01I can look after myself.
17:03Susan, you know that's not true.
17:05And the campaign for compensation has had so many ups and downs.
17:08I'll write you a prescription.
17:11It's cheaper than buying it over the counter, but promise me, the next time your name comes up you'll get
17:16the operation done.
17:20They don't complain like this in male surgical.
17:25He's hungry.
17:28Sorry mate, we don't run to bar snacks.
17:32The infant stomach is a small fusiform organ situated in the upper abdomen.
17:41The capacity of approximately 30 milliliters.
17:47Anatomically, it's comprised of the cardia, the fundus, the body, and the pilares.
17:57And the gastric macruso is capable of submitting hydrochloric acid.
18:01What do you think you are doing with that infant?
18:04I was comforting him.
18:06His cry was quite high-pitched, so we might have colic.
18:10And he stopped the moment you picked him up?
18:13Yes, sister.
18:15He just didn't seem very happy.
18:17A well-managed baby is a contented baby.
18:21Doctors do not care for babies.
18:24They diagnose them, and they treat them.
18:28And junior doctors are on this ward to learn.
18:33Sorry sister.
18:35Ooh!
18:37I don't know what's gone on here.
18:39This one's covered in lipstick, and there's a whiff of whiskey.
18:42Oh!
18:46Now, you don't get a belt or badges because you're not a nurse.
18:50Your hair must be off your collar, there's to be no coloured eyeshadow, and I shall be inspecting your fingernails.
18:57Not that we'd let you too near the business end.
19:01I'm just so used to seeing you do everything.
19:04The caring and the medicine were mixed up.
19:08In a perfect world, the caring and the medicine would always be mixed up.
19:13And in obstetrics, most of all.
19:16Obstetrics and hospital just seems like another branch of surgery.
19:19There's so many rules and protocols.
19:22You'll be doing your rotation on the district soon enough.
19:24You'll probably wish there were more rules then.
19:27Just wish the maternity home wasn't closing.
19:30The maternity home was an innovation once.
19:33Practice evolves all the time.
19:35And as a doctor, you have to lean into it or medicine won't grow.
19:42Sometimes change is for the better.
19:45I mean, look at us tonight.
19:47Putting on fireworks for the children just like we always have.
19:51But timing them so Angela and May don't miss their pop music programme.
19:55If you're talking about the Partridge family, that is not change for the better.
20:05It looks like the Sunday Times has come out on our side again.
20:09Like the manufacturer's latest compensation offer.
20:12The manufacturers, they want their book flying out.
20:16Three million quid for 400 children.
20:18Arms missing, legs missing, some deaf blind.
20:21I've heard the campaign leaders say the kids deserve 20.
20:24A million.
20:25I've never seen numbers that big until we started this campaign.
20:29And they'll never be big enough.
20:30Money can't buy what that girl will never have.
20:36Susan, what's the matter?
20:38She's screaming at David Cassidy.
20:41He's a pop star.
20:42You have to scream when you see his picture.
20:51David Cassidy.
20:52I want to scream every time I see his haircut.
20:55It's better than their T-Rex fella Belinda likes.
21:03That Susan's going to grow up soon.
21:05Isn't she?
21:07I think it's happening already.
21:14Right, Nurse Clifford, I'm assigning you to juice and milk tokens.
21:18That way you can show off your engagement ring.
21:21Thank you, Nurse Crane.
21:22Are you ready with the petitions, Miss Higgins?
21:25I have personally typed up four copies to be presented to the board,
21:30and they will be circulated while clinic is in progress.
21:36Mrs Buckle.
21:38And a gentleman of the press, unless I'm mistaken, you are most welcome.
21:48I've drawn up a list of suitable poses, but first you'll need to help me with the hat.
21:57I'm telling you now, you'll not last long in a slingback corkshaw.
22:07You may enter.
22:11I bought you some crescent, sister.
22:14They're still coming up lovely on the allotment.
22:20There was an earwig in the last bouquet.
22:23I watched him climb from petal to petal for an hour.
22:28It was so like being out in nature that I almost fancied I felt sunlight on my face.
22:36Would you like us to get you into the garden, sister?
22:39I could light the brazier, you could have a blanket on your knees.
22:41I think you mistake me for one elderly and frail.
22:47Never.
22:52I'm sorry to confess it.
22:58But I do not think my feet will carry me.
23:04Sit with me for a while.
23:11That's right. Give me the joy.
23:14Give me the excitement.
23:19Trouble with this is...
23:21We do our most important work when people aren't smiling.
23:34Do you reckon Sister Monica turns far you didn't, sister?
23:37She's certainly weakening.
23:39And the worst thing is...
23:41She knows it.
23:44She must be getting scared.
23:46Not of death, but...
23:51Letting go of life.
23:53And life means so much more than breath and a heartbeat.
24:01It's...
24:02Independence.
24:04And company.
24:05And joy.
24:08Even nuns take pleasure in things.
24:11And with every day that passes, she's...
24:14Denied a little more.
24:19Maybe it's time to move the telly to her bedroom.
24:23That said, I don't even think the TV will perk her up.
24:28There's only the test card half the time.
24:32We need to get her outside.
24:36Well, why aren't you and Sarah making this call together?
24:40Because, in case you've forgotten, my parents haven't spoken to him since the day I introduced them.
24:45Which was also the day they said he wasn't the man for me.
24:49I think I need to break the ice.
24:52Honey, you're going to need a pickaxe.
24:55My mother and father aren't bad people, Joyce.
24:58They're just very blinkered.
25:00And my marriage is their chance to see things a different way.
25:05You're a good child, Chad.
25:18My name's Bernie.
25:19I'm an alcoholic.
25:22I used to be a warehouse man.
25:25Before they closed the docks.
25:27I was good at it.
25:29Things on shelves, things in boxes.
25:34Lists to tick.
25:37I was in control.
25:39And then I lost my job.
25:41And I have to have a reason to get up every morning, to get dressed, go out.
25:47Or else the drink comes creeping in.
25:49So when Mr Albion offered me a job, I thought, yeah, things in boxes.
25:58That feels familiar.
26:00I didn't know that I would find my calling.
26:04That it would make me more human.
26:07That it could make me feel so much.
26:09And you don't feel much of anything at all.
26:11Apart from safe.
26:14In a warehouse.
26:25And a little while back, we had to take care of a family who'd come to grief in their own
26:33home.
26:35Carbon monoxide.
26:38It took a mum, it took a dad, it took a little girl.
26:45And the little girl was the same age as my youngest daughter.
26:51Even their names were nearly the same.
26:52Suzanne instead of Susan.
26:58And her hair.
27:01And her hair.
27:02I had to wash and brush.
27:06Her hair.
27:13But it was when I was washing her feet.
27:15That I thought these.
27:20Perfect.
27:22Little feet.
27:24Will never go dancing.
27:30We all found that one hard.
27:34It was a hard job.
27:37But I can't put those feelings on the shelf.
27:43That keeps things safe.
27:47Because my Susan's feet.
27:51They don't have a go dancing either.
27:55Her hands.
27:57Never wear a wedding ring.
27:59Never hold a child.
28:05And I love her so much.
28:09Every imperfection she has is beautiful to me.
28:13There are days I think I just live to see her laughing.
28:19And sometimes.
28:22Sometimes.
28:24When.
28:25When I stop.
28:27To look at her.
28:32I'll stop.
28:41But I know that I am not at ease.
28:48With.
28:51With what was done.
28:53To her.
28:57Because sometimes.
29:00I.
29:03Sometimes I compare her.
29:06To the dead.
29:10That's.
29:11You.
29:13I'm sorry.
29:13Rosalind.
29:14I.
29:15A telephone call we couldn't make together.
29:18Telling you we couldn't deliver.
29:20A person was never going to end in happiness.
29:22For anyone involved.
29:24I suppose I just thought that the niceness I'd always seen in them,
29:31the general decency they'd always shown would somehow come out on top.
29:39But it didn't.
29:42What did they say about the baby?
29:45Nothing.
29:47Because I didn't tell them.
29:51Ursula, the baby is more important than the wedding.
29:54I know that.
29:56I just...
29:57It's agony enough having them reject the man I love.
30:02I'm not going to give them the chance to reject our child.
30:12One, buy a new dress.
30:14Oh, Feral.
30:15Well, that's a bit basic.
30:17I have put not in navy blue in brackets.
30:21Our lad mustn't go with a wimple and lace-ups.
30:25I could see you in tiger print chiffon.
30:29No, I don't think animal print ever really works if you're bigger than the actual animal.
30:33The only member of the feline species you outrank in the size department is tabby cat.
30:39The door is wide open for tiger print and, indeed, leopard.
30:45Two.
30:46Two.
30:47Drink wine.
30:48While making crepes.
30:50Weed in there.
30:51Like the galloping gourmet.
30:52Well, I can put a line through that one after tonight.
30:54And we'll get the scorch marks off the frying pan eventually.
30:57Three.
30:58Oh.
31:00Earn some money.
31:02How am I going to earn money?
31:05Sing hymns in the street and put a hat down.
31:08I need a secretary.
31:10You could be the Miss Higgins of Harley Street.
31:13I don't have a felt hat or a petrifying manor.
31:16No, no, no.
31:17It makes perfect sense.
31:18I hire space in three sets of consulting rooms and I'm always missing calls.
31:22But do say yes.
31:25Only if you forgive me for the frying pan.
31:27I'll do more than forgive you.
31:28I will buy you a felt hat.
31:30And an ocelot two-piece.
31:42Oh, hell, what's fell through that?
31:49What's the matter?
31:50The pain.
31:52What?
31:52The pain.
31:54I can't stop being sick.
31:56I have woken up Paddy now.
31:58He's got nursery in the morning.
32:00I'm going to call 999.
32:01Oh, my God.
32:06Thank you for attending this seminar today, gentlemen.
32:10This practice was established in 1947 under the auspices of the then-new National Health Service.
32:18And the maternity home was opened in 1958.
32:22Is it true that it's due to close down?
32:25Yes, in a word.
32:28Do you have any questions relating to your training?
32:32Do we have to ride bikes?
32:34Proficiency in cycling is considered an advantage.
32:41Evolution gave you two hands, Dr Drinkwater.
32:45Can we see one on each handlebar, please?
32:47Now, gentlemen, if you would all oblige me by signalling as if you were turning left.
32:57That's the other left, Dr Turner, Jr.
33:03Sorry.
33:05He was like that as a little lad.
33:07I had him in cubs.
33:12Any oil left in that can, Fred?
33:17They're going to operate tomorrow.
33:19Take the whole thing out.
33:21I know.
33:21And the nurse says that it's worse because it's an emergency.
33:25Dr Turner's not getting on at you for the good of his health.
33:28It's for yours.
33:29And you ignored him.
33:30I've got too much to do.
33:32Now you've got too much to do.
33:35I'll cope.
33:36Your sister's going to come and pick up Paddy.
33:39Travis?
33:41I'll have to give her a list.
33:43What about Susan?
33:51It's not the most luxurious mode of transport, but with a couple of cushions, it'll be just
33:58the job for taking you out in the fresh air.
34:02By fresh air, do you mean in public?
34:08Sister, you need stimulation and you're capable of embracing it.
34:14Why then did you bring that infernal television into my chamber?
34:19It is the equivalent of putting straw down in the street so a moribund patient will not
34:26be disturbed by the carriage wheels.
34:28You make all these gestures because you think I am not long for this world.
34:35Can you not see that all of these gestures are because we love you?
34:41I have neither the time or the temper to engage in violent sentiment.
34:47Love is not violent, sister.
34:51Love is patient and love is kind.
34:54And sometimes love pushes us to places where we do not wish to go.
34:58I thereby refer you to my feelings regarding that conveyance.
35:10She was as mulish as I have ever seen her and I came as close to losing patience as I
35:15ever have.
35:16When I was in formation, Mother Albert used to say that our greatest trials would always come from within our
35:24family circle.
35:25I've had flesh and blood sisters, as well as sisters in Christ.
35:30The thing is, you don't have to forgive the flesh and blood ones.
35:33You can just roll around on the floor and smack each other and forget.
35:37That sounds quite appealing.
35:44Sister Catherine, I'm afraid I have to increase your nursing duties.
35:50Mother Mildred has asked me to go to the Mother House to discuss plans for our missionary work.
35:56You've always said we are missionaries here.
35:59And there's a whole world in need of healing.
36:02Let us see what is proposed.
36:04I'm just...
36:13Belinda.
36:15Hello, love.
36:16Yeah, we need you to come home.
36:18Er, help look after Susan.
36:21Did Mum say that's what she wants?
36:23Oh, no.
36:24She wants you to prioritise your studies.
36:26It's me, I'm asking you.
36:27Then I'm doing what Mum wants.
36:28I...
36:29I wouldn't be at university if she hadn't worked so hard to help me.
36:32I owe it to her.
36:33To work hard and make the most of the opportunity.
36:35But what about Susan?
36:36I can't, Dad.
36:38I just can't.
36:41You don't have to stay here for this, Rosalind.
36:45From now on, we share all the hard things.
36:52So, Pastor Robinson, Rosalind.
36:57What's all this?
36:59We wanted to talk to you about the engagement and the wedding.
37:03This is the wedding that's taking place in three weeks' time.
37:06Less than three weeks now.
37:09And you think I don't have eyes in my head?
37:11There's a look to young mothers, even before their bodies tell the tale.
37:18Have you guessed, Mrs. Willis?
37:20I have.
37:22I must have said some terrifying things in your imagination.
37:28Yes.
37:30Then let that be your punishment.
37:33Now make me a cup of tea.
37:40I beg your pardon.
37:45I never promised you a rose garden.
37:48Along with the sunshine.
37:52There's got to be a little rain sometimes.
37:56But when you take, you've got to give.
37:59So live, let live, or let go.
38:02Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, baby, oh, buddy.
38:06I never promised you a rose garden.
38:11I could promise you things like big diamond rings.
38:15But you don't find roses growing on stocks so close.
38:21So you better think it over.
38:25Well, it's sweet talk, and you could make it come true.
38:29I will give you the world right now on a silver platter.
38:35But what would it matter?
38:39Thought it'd be a little rain sometimes.
38:41This newspaper story certainly made a splash.
38:44Will it make any difference, do you suppose?
38:46My dad went along with it, but I don't think he's very optimistic.
38:52I keep feeling as though I should be helping you.
38:54You're a junior doctor now, not a student.
38:57No donkey work allowed.
39:02There's some sort of spring sticking out of this saddle
39:05and into my backside, Joyce.
39:07Hmm.
39:08District work is all about determination in the face of challenge.
39:12And if you can't get on board with that,
39:14you're not getting your red card again.
39:20I feel for the pair of them, Mrs. Wallace.
39:22Nothing takes a shine of a wedding like parental disapproval.
39:26It was always going to be under our shadow
39:28because of Pastor Robinson's divorce.
39:31But he deserves as much happiness as any other man.
39:34Now his mistakes are behind him.
39:37I don't think his marriage to Lucille was a mistake, Mrs. Wallace.
39:41It was never a union without love.
39:43What it was, was a union without luck.
39:47Perhaps matters would have turned out differently
39:49if they'd been able to have a child.
39:51A baby is always a blessing.
39:55And now we must look to the future.
39:59Let us say nothing further.
40:05Meanwhile, hastily arranged though it may be,
40:08this is Rosalind's first wedding.
40:11How do we make it special for them?
40:14How do we make up for the fact that her parents
40:17have treated them so coldly?
40:19It's simple enough, Nurse Crean.
40:21We show them love.
40:25Nurse.
40:26Nurse.
40:27My wife is on the second floor.
40:29I will take you to her.
40:31That's okay, honey.
40:32Let us park these bicycles and we'll head straight out.
40:35This is young Dr. Turner, by the way.
40:38Uh, doctor, yes?
40:39He'll be working under my supervision.
40:52Do you have running water, Mr. Das?
40:54We have only one room.
40:55We use this stack.
40:58Oh, that's Ireland.
41:06It's Mrs. O'Day, isn't it?
41:08I remember you're from the clinic.
41:10You couldn't come and look at my little Barry, could you?
41:12He don't seem right.
41:13I'm on my way to a lady in labour.
41:16What's the matter with him?
41:17It's like a cold and a bit of a cough.
41:19Please.
41:20I can hear crying out.
41:22Have you taken him to the surgery?
41:24I haven't got the bus fare.
41:26I don't get my money to you tomorrow.
41:27Please.
41:29I'll pop down later, honey, when I get a chance.
41:37I'll have to run or the chippy will be closed.
41:39Do you want cod or haddock?
41:41Cod.
41:42And get haddock for Dad.
41:43He's hungry when he comes in from picking up dead bodies.
41:47I'll be back in ten.
41:51Perry!
41:51My Jackie magazine's still in the bedroom!
42:22My husband cannot touch me now, even though he wishes to.
42:28Are you Hindu, Mrs. Das?
42:30Yes.
42:32And we are Bengali.
42:34We could not stay in our own country anymore.
42:37Don't worry about where you've come from.
42:38The only thing that matters tonight is what's going to happen in this room.
42:42I should not be here.
42:44No man should be here.
42:46Unless he is a doctor.
42:48But I have nowhere else to go and I do not want to leave her.
42:52We could rig up a screen.
42:54I can go out onto the landing and requisition a bit of washing line.
42:58You'll get cracking.
42:59But I need you back quickly.
43:01Or this won't come towards your rotation.
43:02Let's go ahead and stay in your room.
43:03Let's go.
43:09Shan?
43:17Shan?
43:18Shan?
43:18Shan?
43:19Shan?
43:19Shan?
43:19Shan?
43:19Shan?
43:20Shan?
43:21Shan?
43:26Shan?
43:35What's your pain?
43:37What's your pain?
43:38What's your pain?
43:38What's your pain?
43:39What's your pain?
43:41What's your pain?
43:42What's your pain?
43:45What's your pain?
43:49Now, with this next pain,
43:51you're going to need a really long,
43:53strong push from you, Renjani.
43:55I am too tired.
43:56You're stronger than you know, and you've come further than you think already.
44:01This one talks a good talk.
44:03Let's see if we can prove him right.
44:11Help! Help!
44:13It's excellent, Ranjini. It's excellent.
44:16I'll check for it to send it to the head.
44:23It's running.
44:27The baby's head has been born, Ranjini.
44:31It's resting right here in my hand.
44:35Help! We need the nurse!
44:41Do you mind? A lady is having a baby in here.
44:44I can't stop breathing!
44:54Help!
44:58Just rest, Ranjini. Just rest.
45:04And I'll talk you through the next bit.
45:06Help! I'm sorry!
45:10What's all this, young man?
45:13You can...
45:14What happened?
45:16Did he choke on something?
45:18It was just like he was just choking on the air and then he just stopped!
45:22Look!
45:23What has he got blue?
45:25What's...
45:25Somebody call an ambulance!
45:37This is just your baby turning, Ranjini.
45:40Everything's okay.
45:49You said he was to go through.
45:53You said he was to be defending him.
45:56He's not working!
45:59He's got him the Kitchen.utors
46:00Finn! were you
46:02not working! Did somebody
46:02call an ambulance.
46:06You're almost there.
46:08This is it, Ranjani.
46:18And you have a little girl.
46:35I'm not going to stop until the ambulance gets here.
46:50Where is the midwife?
47:09Ranjani, I'm going to have to give you an injection.
47:37He'll need to go to the hospital and be checked.
47:59I suppose many health schools end up with two ambulances arriving.
48:03No.
48:04The baby seems to have had croup.
48:07And they do bounce back from that.
48:09And Ranjani will be alright after a blood transfusion.
48:12I froze for a moment.
48:15But then it was like my heart rate shot up.
48:18And my brain kicked in.
48:20That would be the adrenaline.
48:23I wonder if anyone's ever done blood tests on doctors immediately after a crisis situation.
48:28That might make an interesting research paper.
48:30Yes.
48:55I'm sorry.
48:59I'm sorry.
49:00Not as much as us.
49:03There are essentially two ways of approaching makeup.
49:06One can purely use it to disguise nature's shortcomings or push things a little further and deploy it as a
49:12sort of costume.
49:13You mean like a disguise?
49:14No.
49:15People hide behind disguises.
49:18Bold lips and defined eyes can bring out our inner confidence.
49:23Try putting this on by yourself this time.
49:27And then I'll show you how to blot.
49:40Do you ever have to bring out your inner confidence?
49:43More frequently than you might imagine.
49:49It's jolly hot in here.
49:51Bear with me a moment.
49:53It's the excitement of seeing yourself transformed perhaps.
49:56No.
49:57No.
49:57I suspect it's something else.
50:00It's past now.
50:02Let's get on with your nails.
50:07And before we turn our attention to the riveting recent investigation into unlicensed butchery operations, we have item five on
50:17the agenda.
50:18The closure of Kenilworth Road Maternity Home.
50:21Which counts as unlicensed butchery all on its own.
50:25Thank you, Turner.
50:27Any comments from the wider committee?
50:30Yes.
50:30From me, Dr Threatford.
50:36This is what midwifery looks like in your district.
50:41And this is what local people think about your proposal.
50:45The women of Poplar know how vital and how valuable the sisters are.
50:51And you're closing them down too.
50:53This is the direction of travel dictated by the National Health.
50:59Meanwhile, Turner, rest assured that even as you progress to this next phase, we continue to learn from you.
51:06Will you be watching to see what goes wrong?
51:09Because there'll be plenty.
51:12May we move on now to item six.
51:21I will pray for you when I say the offices.
51:24You will not be as alone in the chapel as you imagine.
51:27Oh, keep the home fires burning and all of that.
51:32I will telephone from the mother house if there is anything to report.
51:38Mother phone!
51:45I'm ready, I'm ready!
51:46I'm ready, I'm ready!
51:49I'm ready!
51:49Come on, you!
51:58Yes, I'm ready!
52:03Are you happy to take your diuretics with just water?
52:06Or would you like me to make some hot blackcurrant?
52:10I require no beverages, for I will take no pills.
52:21But the treatment is working.
52:24It is not treatment.
52:26It is merely postponing all that is to come.
52:31You would have me out in nature, but I would sooner admit nature into this room and let it take
52:42its course.
52:47Sister, I'm speaking to you nurse to nurse now.
52:52If you refuse your medication, you will progress from chronic kidney disease to end-stage renal failure very rapidly.
53:04And what if that is what the Lord intends?
53:25Sister Catherine, what's this?
53:30I chose this life because I wanted certainty.
53:36There was work, and a rule of life, and there was faith to knit all together.
53:46But now nobody is where they ought to be, and we don't know what's coming next.
53:55Sister, are you doubting your vocation?
53:58No.
53:59I have made my vows, and those vows are indivisible from my soul.
54:06But if I felt I could leave, I would leave.
54:13Because right now it would be easier.
54:15It would not. I can promise you that.
54:21I'm sorry, but just now, just today, I feel so alone.
54:34I'm almost at the end of Harry's new jumper.
54:37I suppose I'll be casting on for Rosalyn's baby after this.
54:41There is going to be a baby, isn't there?
54:43Of course there is.
54:45The girl's been locked in the bathroom every morning.
54:54There's so much change afoot.
55:01Phyllis, I often find people speak of change as if they're speaking about rats.
55:08As if change is something hiding underneath the house,
55:13attempting to get in and gnaw at all that we hold precious.
55:18Perhaps it would be better to compare change to the birds.
55:24The birds, enlighten me.
55:26Well, birds do what birds will.
55:29They carry twigs in their beaks and seeds.
55:33So they build nests and sow flowers.
55:38However accidentally.
55:41Maybe you should put that to the poem.
55:50Good things can come from birds.
55:53And it's the same with change.
55:58Oh, it's Mrs Turner.
56:05Is that Belinda?
56:07Oh, hello, darling.
56:08Hello.
56:10Hi.
56:11Welcome home, love.
56:20Is that what I think it is?
56:23I'm eight months gone.
56:25I managed to hide it over the summer holidays.
56:28And then once I went back, I thought I'd be safe.
56:30I thought I wouldn't have to tell you.
56:33And then I had to come home because of Susan.
56:35Susan.
56:43I'm sorry.
56:44I'm sorry.
56:47I'm sorry.
56:54I'm sorry.
57:03I'm sorry.
57:04outgunned, and love expressed becomes love doubled and ignited, whether we light the
57:13fire through words or deeds. There is always a way ahead, a route through the
57:25woods, a path that leads us to the place we need to be.
57:34We listen always for the voice that calls us, but sometimes love speaks loudest as we let
57:46it go. I have news to impart. Would you consider entering into partnership with me? I'll never
57:53finish with God. Thank you for your patience, ladies. May I present the bride? I would like
57:58you to summon someone from this establishment. Albion and Sons is an undertaker. And every
58:03bed, kidney bowl, and set of clamps is staying on these premises until the last mother and
58:07baby go out of those doors.
58:13Judged is a new podcast on sounds, exploring what happens when a mother's love is pushed
58:17to the limit. And featuring real crimes and real clues, can you crack the case? The new
58:22series of forensics, The Real CSI, now on BBC Two.
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