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00:26Which flavor lives online?
00:29Longest in the memory. Is it the bitter or the sweet? The sour surprise of a thing we did not
00:36ask for? Or the warmth of expectations met? The pattern of the years embraces both, the honeyed and the harsh.
00:46I've passed!
00:48In the dark days before the spring begins, we can't foretell what will distinguish the summer when it comes, or
00:57who we will be when the snows return.
01:01For now, we cling to ritual. This is where we once were. This is where we are now. This is
01:08where, if the fates are willing, we will be again.
01:12I can't tell you what a joy it is to have a pancake with sugar and lemon again.
01:17What do they eat them with in America?
01:19Maple syrup. And sometimes, bacon.
01:23That continent is a cauldron of all perversities.
01:27I think it sounds quite delicious.
01:30We could experiment with spam and treacle we have both in the cupboard.
01:34If that is how you would like to celebrate passing your exams, you have only to say.
01:40It's wonderful news, lass.
01:42Welcome to our profession.
01:50Wonderful work. That's wonderful work, Mancine.
01:54You forget how much it ruddy has.
01:56Oh, Steve. Steve.
01:59Stevenson!
02:01I'm leaving.
02:03When you do the solicitor's office, they don't like the pine disinfectant in the toilet.
02:08You have to use the lemon!
02:10I'm supposed to be doing her cleaning shift fire.
02:12Do you have to leave now, Mr. Drummond?
02:15This baby's about to be born.
02:23Oh, Reggie, love, you've even sliced the lemons.
02:26Aren't you good?
02:27I thought it would speed things up.
02:29Well, no-one ought to be kept waiting on pancake day.
02:33Oh, good on you.
02:35You've been practising your new money.
02:38It's easier than old money.
02:40Now, that is what the government told us when they said that we were going decimal.
02:45Although, two weeks in, I don't think they've convinced a single shopkeeper.
03:06You have a little girl, Maxine.
03:09Another girl?
03:10We got another girl.
03:12I thought you wanted a boy.
03:13What?
03:15Never.
03:16Never, ever.
03:22Oh.
03:31Can I kiss her?
03:34Go on.
03:37I'll kiss you first.
03:54Razzleine!
03:55Oh, I didn't knock.
03:57I thought it was too late.
03:58The pancake batter's been standing all evening.
04:01I was listening for the sound of your bike wheel.
04:05Cyril, I'm in my uniform.
04:07And you're in your slippers.
04:11Good delivery.
04:12Actually, it was inspiring.
04:17Oh, good girls.
04:20Bang on time.
04:22Oh, that's nice, isn't it, Christopher?
04:25Lovely kisses to start the day.
04:30He's getting better from having his kidney removed, isn't he?
04:33Yes.
04:34And we'll find out when he starts his chemotherapy soon.
04:38Girls, don't forget the rota for wiping round the sink in the downstairs bathroom.
04:43We need to be extra careful of germs.
04:47All Teddy ever does is feed the rabbit.
04:50That's...
04:50Because chores need to be assigned to people I can trust.
04:54Patrick, are you up yet?
04:57The coffee's on.
05:00I'm on district duty for the rest of the week.
05:02We need a thorough review of all our diabetic patients.
05:06Sister Catherine, in honour of your first day as a fully qualified midwife,
05:11I have assigned you the antenatal round.
05:15Entirely solo, unsupervised and independent.
05:19I hope you've eaten a hearty breakfast, honey.
05:22You'll be riding that bike for miles.
05:24I've just added Thelma Cutler 8 Loman Street to your list.
05:28That poor lady who was sick on the floor in clinic.
05:31Six months are long and her nausea is intractable.
05:34It's rare, but I think the poor lass might be stuck with it for the duration.
06:00District nurse!
06:02Sir, Mr Kingsley, I found this little scamp halfway down the stairs to the street.
06:10Come here.
06:11Oh, Terrence!
06:13Ha, ha, ha!
06:14If you keep doing this, I'm going to get you a collar and lead, huh?
06:17Mr Kingsley, it's February.
06:20It's cold.
06:21He needs more on than one sock and a vest.
06:26What is that child doing up at the window?
06:30Ah, she likes looking down, seeing what's going on.
06:34Edna!
06:36I actually came from Dr Turner's practice
06:40to make sure that everything was up to date with your diabetes medication.
06:44We haven't seen you for a while.
06:46No, I'm under the hospital.
06:47I'm a serious case.
06:48Edna!
06:53Hello, nurse.
06:54Mrs Kingsley, I didn't know you were expecting a gun.
06:59Do you have any clothes for these children?
07:02Loads.
07:04Just need to sort the washing out.
07:18Hello, midwife's calling.
07:20It's on the latch.
07:27Poor love.
07:29There's nothing to bring up.
07:30It's just bile.
07:32Oh, I'm not crying.
07:33It's just...
07:34Oh, it's watering.
07:38I'm not crying.
07:40You don't have to be brave all the time, Thelma.
07:44Sometimes it's all right to say this is hard.
07:47And it is hard.
07:48I remember flushing my contraceptive pills down the toilet
07:51when we decided to start trying for a baby.
07:56I feel like I've done nothing but stare down that toilet ever since.
08:01Bed and a washing-up bowl are probably better.
08:12I've got another three bags of this.
08:18Lus, you need to attend clinic, and you need to get your home ready for the new arrival.
08:24Got it ready for the last arrival.
08:26Still got the cotton bottles and everything.
08:30hair.
08:32Hair.
08:33Hair brushed.
08:33Lippy on.
08:35That better?
08:38Sometimes getting dressed and ready to face the day is half the battle.
08:42It felt like a battle since we lost our oldest.
08:47You've had a lot to come back from, Edna.
08:49What I would advise is...
08:51I don't need advice from someone at the Ark.
08:58The father's not doing his daily urine tests, and that flap reeks to high heaven.
09:04An army of lice on all four kiddies, and the eldest should have been in school.
09:09Faye Marie, born November 1965, and there was that little boy who died when they were at
09:16a different practice.
09:17I'm afraid we've missed St Cuthbert's Diabetic Clinic for this week, Doctor.
09:20Would you like to assess Mr Kingsley yourself?
09:22Yes, as soon as possible.
09:24I haven't seen Faye or Nicky for two years, and there were gaps in their record before
09:30that.
09:31We'd better tell social services.
09:34Go on through.
09:35They're all in there.
09:36Oh, come on in, nurse.
09:38We're just having a women's lib meeting.
09:39You don't mind me getting on with things while I'm feeding, do you?
09:42Oh, no, not at all.
09:44But once baby's finished on the breast, I will need to examine you.
09:46Fair enough.
09:47Take a pew.
09:49Go on.
09:50You can join us.
09:52It doesn't matter if we're supported or derided on the Women's March through London.
09:56The most important thing is that we are seen and we are heard.
10:00Does derided mean made fun of?
10:02Yes, but it can also mean dismissed or belittled.
10:05Women have been put down since time immemorial and we aren't going to put up with it anymore.
10:09We want to get that on a placard.
10:12You might have to make it a bit shorter.
10:14And the point me and all the other women on the Cleaners Association want to make, placards
10:19or no placards, is that we want equal rights, equal status and equal pay.
10:25Which is why we are all going to be marching shoulder to shoulder through London.
10:32Thelma seems to be living on bits of toast and boiled sweets, Doctor.
10:37And she can scarcely keep those down.
10:39If she ends up clinically dehydrated, we'll send her to St Cuthbert's.
10:44I've not seen many cases of true hyperemesis.
10:48But every time, it's the lowest I've ever seen a pregnant woman brought.
10:53Mentally as well as physically.
10:55There's not really any medication for it, is there?
10:58Not after thalidomide.
11:00There will never be any medication for it after thalidomide.
11:05A political meeting at the bedside of a newly delivered mother.
11:09I'm amazed she had the energy.
11:11It was as though all the women were getting energy from each other.
11:14I've never seen anything like it.
11:16They even gave us some homework.
11:18Show them your book, child.
11:20The Female Eunuch by Germaine Greer.
11:24What a very striking cover.
11:26What I want to know is, where do they come from?
11:30All these educated ladies campaigning side by side with cleaners from the East End.
11:35I think mostly hamstered.
11:37Although there's no doubt the movement's spreading.
11:39Women of all classes have always been involved in women's advancement.
11:43My granny used to finish a factory shift in Paisley and go out campaigning.
11:50Will you come on the march with Joyce and I, Phyllis?
11:55Perhaps I should come to the meeting.
11:58I've no objection to finding out more.
12:01I think that's extremely public-spirited.
12:03The sisters and I look forward to hearing all about it.
12:21You forgot the knit lotion.
12:23I'm sorry.
12:24I must have got distracted putting a new diabetes kit together for Mr Kingsley.
12:27I deal with him myself, but I've two new cases of Venus also.
12:31And I think the family as a whole might respond better to a younger person.
12:41So, the projected budget details are in the blue folder.
12:45But we're still missing the sign returns from the Board of Health.
12:47I'm afraid you've drawn a dreadfully short straw.
12:50I've assigned myself nursery duties in the maternity home.
12:53Four delicious little newborns, including twins.
12:58I'll be down at feeding time.
12:59And we agreed that secular staff make better inroads with the council.
13:03Go.
13:04Lead me to get on.
13:08Asking you to fill in the 1971 census.
13:11An army of men and women with light blue satchel.
13:14Honey?
13:15I'm the nurse.
13:16Are your mom and dad at home?
13:18The form is secret.
13:19There is nothing to fear from completing it.
13:22What are you doing with those pills?
13:25These are saccharine tablets.
13:27Have you put them in your tea?
13:29What are you doing with them, child?
13:37Is that all you have to eat?
13:49Your daughter should be at school.
13:51And all of your children are hungry.
13:53They need to be deloused, but first, they need to be fed.
13:56Who gave you leave to come in here and start shouting odds, eh?
14:00My wife has been diagnosed with depression.
14:03I'm going to go to the corner shop and buy a loaf, some margarine and some jam.
14:07And when I get back, we're going to discuss a plan of action.
14:14I'm calling on behalf of Nunata's house, Hendy Street,
14:17with regard to our projected budget from June of this year.
14:20Please hold for a moment.
14:22Of course.
14:24Would that be my friend, Lady Aylward?
14:27Yes.
14:29I wasn't expecting to be put through to you, Dr Thrapwood.
14:32I asked to be connected directly, should you call.
14:35I feel I should forewarn you of certain developments.
14:39Now?
14:40It would be expedient to meet within the week.
14:46Come on.
14:47Nurse Hyland.
14:50Mr. Kingsley refused to cooperate with their diabetes protocols.
14:54And I'm taking the children to the cleansing station.
14:57There's no way of heating water in that flat.
15:00And I think the youngest has scabies.
15:02As well as lice.
15:03I'd better take a look at them.
15:05Come on.
15:06Where?
15:08I know.
15:14This belly aches worse than the sickness, sister.
15:16If I could just go.
15:18Go properly.
15:20You know what I mean.
15:21If you're dehydrated, that might well lead to constipation.
15:24I'll have a feel of your tummy, just to make sure things are as they should be.
15:28I'll be back.
15:36I am putting in a complaint as soon as I get back to the surgery.
15:40That cleansing station needs to be open at all times, not on request or by appointment.
15:45I've never seen a family in a worse state than this.
15:47I've thought that so many times.
15:53May I come in?
15:55Yeah.
16:00Have your bowels moved at all, Thelma?
16:08I'm going to get you back to bed with a hot water bottle.
16:12Then I'm calling Dr Turner.
16:15There's nothing you can give me.
16:17Don't waste his time.
16:18The surgery's three minutes walk away.
16:20And we won't be wasting his time if we ask him to pop round and rule out early labour.
16:26We need to take care of you, Thelma.
16:28And your baby.
16:33I wish there was no baby sometimes.
16:50We're going to have to get them taken into care.
16:53It may take a few days to implement, but this is a clear case of neglect.
16:58I think it's worse than neglect.
17:00There's bruises on the back to the children.
17:04And I need you to look between Nicky's toes.
17:07I think there's a cigarette burn there.
17:19The baby.
17:24I know her face.
17:25It could never hurt.
17:25We're going to take a few days later.
17:27I know her face.
17:28No.
17:34No, no.
17:35You're...
17:37No.
17:42Don't look.
17:48Sweetheart, we need to get you up.
18:00It's all right, Thelma.
18:01I'm with you.
18:05I'm going to leave you, but only for a moment.
18:07I need to fetch my bag.
18:23I'm going to leave you, but only for a moment.
18:26I'm going to leave you, but only for a moment.
18:38All I could do was arrange to meet him at his office next week.
18:43Baby, 28 weeks gestation delivered into the toilet.
18:46Still breathing.
18:47Dr. Turner.
18:49Dr. Turner.
18:50He was breathing.
18:51What's happened?
18:53Premature baby, six months gestation.
18:55Get the flying squad.
18:57Sweetie, whose baby is it?
18:59Thelma Cutler, 8 Lawman Street.
19:02Colonel Wathrow.
19:03Yes.
19:04The infant is still showing signs of life.
19:08The center is still searched.
19:11The skin.
19:13The skin is like tissue paper.
19:16We've lost respiration.
19:20Come on.
19:21Come on, little warrior.
19:29It's all right, Thelma.
19:31Everything's going to be all right.
19:33Where did this gathering go?
19:35She took your baby to the maternity home, Thelma.
19:39Because he was dead?
19:40No.
19:42Because it's alive.
19:45Is it a boy or a girl?
19:48I don't know.
19:51We're taking it to Imperial Hospital.
19:53It's the only place in London with any expertise when they're this early.
19:57And this small.
19:58We haven't weighed him.
20:00Weight was the least of our consent.
20:02Fingers crossed it survives the journey across town.
20:05Blue lights all the way.
20:07It...
20:08is a little boy.
20:19Three, four...
20:27I wouldn't generally advise taking the bull by the horns in such a way in Nurse Highland.
20:32But in this case, it's as well you did.
20:35It's the indifference that angers me.
20:38The indifference and the laziness.
20:40As well as the cruelty.
20:41You see, life is more of a struggle for some people than it is for others.
20:46We're fortunate.
20:48Our struggle is only with our feelings.
21:03Good afternoon, Mr. Kingsley.
21:04Have you got my kids?
21:05Your children are all here.
21:07They have been receiving hygiene treatment.
21:09We're taking them home.
21:10I suggest you come inside and speak to Sister Veronica.
21:14As a health visitor, she is the best person to advise.
21:16As her father, I'm best placed to advise the lot of you.
21:20You do not have the right to enter private premises in this manner.
21:24And you do not have the right to abduct my children.
21:28Edna.
21:30Edna.
21:31Now, Nurse Highland brought your children here because they were in desperate need of bathing.
21:36And now we have found bruises that will have to be explained.
21:39You'll have to prove they weren't inflicted here.
21:42Huh?
21:42I know the way your sort operate and we know our rights.
21:47Edna.
21:56Come on.
21:59Ed.
22:01Come.
22:11And thank you, Eleanor, for reminding us that women are not just discriminated against in
22:16the professional field, they are also discriminated against at home.
22:22The time has come for us to declare our self-respect and to claim a full identity and to get
22:28equal
22:29pay for equal work.
22:35Before we move on to discussing the logistics of the march, Maxine will highlight the things
22:40we're going to do to publicise it.
22:42Namely, the one-day strike on Saturday and the exhibition of bra burning.
22:46First, I'd like to open the meeting to the floor, in case anyone has anything to say.
22:50I would like to say two things.
22:53Thank you very much to the Women's Liberation Movement and it's high time.
23:03I would like to say thank you to the women who welcomed me around this table tonight,
23:08to the women who showed me that this fight is necessary, and to the women who I will stand
23:13with when we shout this from the rooftops.
23:29Enter.
23:30Father, you need not concern yourself with your attire.
23:36The Lord gave you those dresses, and if they are his delight, they do not offend me.
23:56I have prepared you a beverage out of concern for the day you have endured, but I find I
24:06have left it in the kitchen.
24:07I'm happy just to have your company.
24:12It was a terrible day.
24:15I have seen its like many times.
24:20An infant lost or maimed or not shaped well.
24:29I keep turning it over and over again in my mind.
24:35Did I do all I should have done?
24:39Did I do anything to make things worse?
24:41I recall that unabating voice.
24:46The doubt that pursues you home and seeks to be your bedfiller.
24:53But say this to yourself.
24:57Tonight, a child breathes.
25:01Tonight, a mother lives.
25:06Tomorrow, you will resume your tasks.
25:10But what is my task now?
25:14The child is born.
25:16Then, it has arrived.
25:20But the mother is still on the journey, and you must bring her home.
25:29I have never once doubted the importance of female solidarity.
25:33But for women of my age, it went unspoken.
25:37If we had a motto, it would have been deeds, not words.
25:40But we had a war to be getting on with.
25:42But even in the war, too many women were forced into limiting roles because of damaging stereotypes.
25:49That's why burning bras is so important.
25:51It's about the rejection of frivolity.
25:54A good bra is a very practical item, and not frivolous at all.
26:01Trixie, tell me you're not going to be joining in with all that carry-on.
26:04Well, perhaps not with my current bras.
26:05I bought them at a New York lingerie department.
26:08But definitely something from my back catalogue.
26:13You were quite quiet in the meeting, Joyce.
26:16Didn't you enjoy it?
26:18I go quiet when I think.
26:19And I was doing a lot of thinking.
26:22So was I.
26:23I kept thinking, my husband had the power to run our finances into the ground without telling me.
26:30My husband beat me so badly, I left him without telling him.
26:33But what I learned tonight is that it's not what men have done to us that matters.
26:39It's what we do as women going forward.
26:53And that's it.
26:55We're ready for your outing.
26:56Shoes on.
26:57Coats at the ready.
26:59And I've got your washing up bowl.
27:01I don't need to give.
27:02I haven't been sick since yesterday.
27:05I keep trying to picture the baby.
27:08I never even saw his face.
27:10The sooner we get you to the hospital, the sooner you can have a proper look.
27:14You'll feel better then, I promise you.
27:22I can't believe the ideas women's live are coming up with.
27:26A one day strike.
27:28We'll draw attention to the march at a local level and give women who can't attend the chance to demonstrate
27:33their views.
27:33They tried it last year in America.
27:35Women withdrew their labour right across the country.
27:38No cooking.
27:38No ironing.
27:39No childcare.
27:40And there were no reports of any deaths.
27:45Prescriptions signed by Dr. Turner.
27:47All present and correct.
27:48Oh, thank you.
27:49We're very low on pethidine.
27:51And Mrs. Kumar's penicillin was becoming urgent.
27:53It's good of you when you're so busy.
27:56Well, I might be a lady of leisure tomorrow if I join him with this strike.
28:00Will you be participating?
28:02No, Mrs. Turner, I've decided to forego the pleasure.
28:06Why is that?
28:08Because I come from a generation of women that got on with it.
28:12No histrionics, no sloganeering, and our foundation garments stayed intact.
28:24Baby weighed in at exactly two pounds and a half an hour.
28:27We've had a couple of two-pounders do very well this past year.
28:29The doctors here are very skilled, learning all the time.
28:34What's with the blade paint?
28:36I think those are the transistorised monitors.
28:39There's one attached to every incubator.
28:41If a baby stops breathing, or there's a problem with the heartbeat, an alarm goes off.
28:46That's correct.
28:48Here he is.
28:49Baby Cutler.
28:51We can update the labels once you've picked a Christian name.
28:55We liked James, didn't we?
28:57James Kevin or James Paul.
29:01Look at him, Thelma. He's beautiful.
29:04He's gorgeous.
29:07Baby Smith has collapsed.
29:12She needs a chair.
29:15I can't look at him. Sorry.
29:17It's all right, Thelma.
29:19You only gave birth yesterday.
29:21When did I give birth?
29:24It was nothing that felt like a contraction.
29:27I didn't even realise that I pushed.
29:30My body just...
29:33...let go of him.
29:36I failed.
29:37You didn't fail.
29:40You were valiant throughout your whole pregnancy.
29:43It wasn't even a whole pregnancy.
29:47It doesn't even look like a baby.
29:51It's my fault.
29:54It's my fault because I said that I wished that there was one.
29:58But baby James is doing well.
30:04Oh, Lady Aylwood.
30:06What an unexpected pleasure.
30:08Are you looking for anything in particular?
30:10Yes.
30:11Support for the Women's Liberation March on March the 6th.
30:15Women's lib?
30:16Would you want me as Violet Buckle haberdasher
30:19or me in my mayoral robes?
30:22Either or both.
30:24Violet Buckle haberdasher is a highly successful businesswoman
30:28and the mayor of Tower Hamlets
30:30is a trailblazing female politician.
30:33But I never thought of myself as liberated.
30:37Probably because you've been too busy.
30:39It's not necessarily men holding women back, Violet.
30:43But if we don't stand shoulder to shoulder with each other,
30:45we're never going to realise just how strong we are.
30:48I'll come, but only as myself.
30:51The alderman might object if I wear the mayoral chain.
31:03What happened to your moped?
31:04It fell foul of budgetary cuts.
31:07Do you need to brief me on anything before we head in?
31:11The gap in their records is because they were out of the area
31:14when their son died.
31:16I've telephoned Gwynedge, but we still don't know what happened.
31:21It's nice to see the children eating a cooked meal at lunchtime, Edna.
31:25Well, Faye gets a hot dinner at school
31:27and I want you to see I'm not incompetent.
31:29Social services are not your enemy.
31:31We're here to help.
31:33Especially with the children.
31:35You were meant to help when Martin died.
31:37Hm?
31:38Fat lot of you she were then.
31:41Ian, do you want to tell us what happened to Martin?
31:43He had a fit.
31:45That's all. Babies have fits all the time.
31:47Martin wasn't a baby.
31:49He was four and a half.
31:51You're just setting a trap.
31:52Nobody's setting a trap.
31:53But we do need to understand why there are injuries on your children.
31:57Then look at how we can help you get back on your feet as a family.
32:00We've heard that before.
32:02When they took the kids away from us.
32:03After Martin died.
32:05Took us six months to get them back.
32:08You...
32:09I'm not having them this time.
32:17Blessed are the midnight riders
32:21For in the shadow of God they sleep
32:30Blessed are the huddled hikers
32:35Staring out of falling rain
32:40Wondering at the retribution
32:43In their personal acquaintance with pain
32:54Blessed are the blood relations
32:57Of the young ones who have died
33:03Who had not the time or patience
33:07Who carry on this earthly life
33:17Rain will come and winds will blow
33:20Wild deer die in the mountain snow
33:26Birds will beat a castle
33:30Ticking away like a little clock.
33:32Just the way I like to hear it.
33:34You have obviously been doing everything right.
33:37Not many people say that sort of thing to me.
33:40Edna.
33:41Doctor and I were wondering
33:42If you'd like to come and have a look at the ward
33:44And deliver your own work.
33:45We thought you'd like to mull over having the baby with us
33:48Instead of at St Cuthbert's.
33:49I've decided against St Cuthbert's now.
33:52I'm having a home birth.
33:54This is your sixth pregnancy Edna.
33:56And you just tell me I've been doing everything right.
33:59I'm not spending one night away from our kids.
34:01This will be a home birth so you best get that in your reds.
34:13I used to work as a paediatric nurse, sister.
34:16And I know the quest to heal can cause terrible suffering.
34:20Baby James was born at 28 weeks.
34:22He is considered viable.
34:24But what does viable mean?
34:27Does it mean he'll go home as a happy, healthy baby?
34:30Or could he be brain damaged and blind?
34:33We're working to regulate the amount of oxygen these babies receive.
34:37Now we know too much can affect their eyesight.
34:40Sister Wilmot, do you share that information with the parents?
34:44We tell the parents what they need to know when they have to make decisions.
34:49James.
34:50James' mother is in no fit state to make any decision.
34:54She struggles to even believe he is her child.
34:57And without that bond, how can she choose what's right?
35:02Sometimes the parents don't choose.
35:04Sometimes the problems overwhelm the babies and they simply declare themselves.
35:08We can't help them all.
35:11But you can help the mothers.
35:13Or at least you could help me to help this one.
35:19I'm sorry, Mr. Robinson. Sister Veronica has left for her district visits.
35:24The Kingsley family's case notes have come through.
35:27I have more details on the death of Martin.
35:29Good. I don't like having a child merely marked as deceased in our records.
35:34It seems to speak of want of care.
35:38Martin died of oxygen deprivation from a seizure that was only witnessed by his parents.
35:45The post-mortem noted old bruises on his upper arms and back.
35:50And a cigarette burn was found between his toes.
35:53Were the parents ever charged?
35:54No, they were not.
35:56There was thought to be insufficient evidence of child battery or neglect.
36:00And the police fell back on a compassionate approach.
36:02Will surveillance of the family increase now?
36:05It's ten past five on a Friday.
36:08But yes, it will.
36:11Hands through the portholes.
36:13Like that.
36:14Excellent.
36:16And then just clean his little face with the damp cotton wool.
36:20I worry if you're sore with that big plaster on it.
36:24I swear he's smiling.
36:26It's like his lips just turned up a little bit at the corners.
36:31Stand back.
36:32He's stopped breathing.
36:42That's the three of us, often ready for our big adventure.
36:46Sister Veronica will collect Christopher.
36:48She's going to read to him from some Cantonese story books.
36:51Oh, that's great.
36:53Teddy and me are going to do an air fix model.
36:55But we're on strike, Patrick.
36:57In preparation for the Women's March next Saturday.
37:00And I'm all for it.
37:01Some of the newspaper coverage has been really thought-provoking.
37:05But, Daddy, you need to do the ironing and washing.
37:09I was in the army.
37:11Ironing holds no fears.
37:13Have you left us a casserole or something?
37:16That's not how women's strike works.
37:18Yes.
37:24What's this, Viya?
37:25It's Hurst.
37:26It's a list of everything that I usually do on a Saturday and Sunday
37:29in order to keep this household on the straight and narrow.
37:32But it starts with, run a haberdasher shop.
37:35And then it says, batch bake.
37:37And then it says, clean all the shoes.
37:40And then it says, and my handbags.
37:43I mean, how do you fit all this in an afternoon?
37:45You've got more handbags than the Queen Mum.
37:48I do your shoes.
37:50Then I do my shoes and my bags while the batch bake's in the oven.
37:54Why do you think I close the shop at four o'clock at weekends?
37:58A home and a family do not run themselves, Fred Buckle.
38:02But I can't run the haberdasheries.
38:05I don't know the names of all the different types of elastic.
38:08And people come in and ask for, um, female things.
38:13I'll stick with the paper shop.
38:15Cyril's running the paper shop.
38:17He's strongly in support of feminist ideals.
38:27I'm sorry we're having to do this here.
38:30I do need to ask you a few questions about bleeding.
38:33And what goes on in the bathroom.
38:36But we can do that before Kevin gets back with the tea.
38:41Kevin keeps pushing me to agree to give James a tracheotomy.
38:45Have 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?
38:56A tracheotomy will prevent James from suffering so many collapses, Thilma.
39:02They'll cut into his throat from the outside and stick a plastic nozzle in.
39:07They'll have to breathe through his neck.
39:10How's that better?
39:13Why is it better to just keep him surviving?
39:17Even if he may never see.
39:19Even if his brain is going to be damaged.
39:21We don't know any of those things are going to happen, Thilma.
39:24And we don't know that they won't.
39:28You know more than me, Sister Catherine.
39:30But when it comes to a baby like James,
39:34nobody knows anything.
39:45Hey, keep it up.
39:47There's probably a cub badge for potato peeling.
39:51It's taking you an hour to do two shirts.
40:04Oh, Trixie!
40:05You made it!
40:06Yes.
40:08Jaunty's nanny said she'd go on strike next week instead.
40:10We worked out between us.
40:12Compromise is power.
40:13Are you sure that's right?
40:14When I have arguments, I like to win them.
40:17Oh, Mrs Turner, you are quite the dark horse.
40:24You've never invented new pence once hanging.
40:28I've had to charge people in decimal for things that I'm measuring in yards
40:31and that's before you start talking about two-ply wool and press studs.
40:36Oh, flaming Nora!
40:45Flaming scones!
40:46Who is doing?
40:48Being a man is terrible.
41:01What happened?
41:03She fell out the window!
41:05Where are parents?
41:07I don't know.
41:08Do you know it's the child, sir?
41:10Yes.
41:11I'm a social worker.
41:15Excuse me, love.
41:17You 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.
41:24I suppose not.
41:26I've got five minutes before a photographer arrives.
41:28Me and my Nina are going to be in the papers.
41:31We're taking her home.
41:3314 months we've been in here.
41:3514 months?
41:37She must have been in the wars.
41:38Not half.
41:39Born at 28 weeks.
41:41Bowel surgery, tracheotomy.
41:43They thought she had a brain bleed.
41:46Now all we're waiting for is a set of ankle splints and we're off.
41:49Is my lippy all right?
41:51For the photograph.
41:53It's a bit smudged.
41:54Here.
41:57Tal, I owe you a favour.
42:05I told the consultant you'll need a statement.
42:07But he confirmed that Faye has a fractured femur and collarbone and concussion.
42:14The police wouldn't have copied too.
42:15They also found she had catastrophically low blood sugar.
42:20She seems to have swallowed prescription drugs or been fed them.
42:24Why would anyone feed a child prescription drugs?
42:26Because low blood sugar makes a child dozy and compliant.
42:31I don't know, is the honest answer.
42:34Just as I don't know how anyone blessed, blessed with such beautiful children could treat them with such hideous contempt.
42:51Millicent, do you think I'm barking up the wrong tree, resisting all this women's lib talk?
42:58Well, not everyone is in support.
43:02I've heard quite a number of ladies saying I'm not a feminist, but...
43:06I just don't like the gimmicky way it's all been put together.
43:09I would always counsel against objecting to a book because of its cover.
43:15Oh!
43:16Innocent, you're reading the female eunuch.
43:19The authoress makes a series of very sensible points.
43:23Notably, regarding female sexuality.
43:28It's a thing.
43:29I spent much of my life being ashamed of.
43:35I never did, oddly enough.
43:39It's like being a vegetarian, as though I was wired to run counter to the general view.
43:48But 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?
44:04Well, two weeks ago, I was standing outside the Draper's on Inkeman Street,
44:08and there was a blouse in the window with a psychedelic pattern.
44:13Dual 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.
44:26Why?
44:27There's no harm in breaking out a bit, fashion-wise.
44:31Phyllis, there is no harm in breaking out.
44:37And if we don't, we'll be left behind.
44:40You're not wrong.
44:43Psychedelic pattern or no psychedelic pattern.
44:51Police?
44:54Don't answer it.
44:56Mr. Kingsley?
44:58Mrs. Kingsley?
45:00Because of concerns about the welfare of your children,
45:03a place of safety order has been issued.
45:06We have come to remove them.
45:08Don't let them take them, Ian.
45:09They're our kids.
45:11They're not going anywhere.
45:12They're terrified.
45:14Mr. Kingsley will force entry if you do not cooperate.
45:16As well as the police, I have Sister Veronica with me.
45:19The children will be well taken care of.
45:22Mr. Kingsley?
45:25Mrs. Kingsley?
45:27This is uncultful.
45:29I ain't, Kingsley.
45:30And to marry Kingsley.
45:32I'm arresting you on suspicion of child neglect and cruelty.
45:35This is what they wanted all along.
45:38We've already lost one of our children.
45:41Doesn't that mean anything to you?
45:44It means a very great deal, Mrs. Kingsley.
45:48And I wish that we didn't have to do this.
46:19I wish that we didn't have to do this.
46:24Honestly, love, you wouldn't have given a tuppence apenny
46:26for her chances in the first few weeks
46:28in old money or new money.
46:29She's as bonny as anything now.
46:31Look at her chubby little cheeks, Phil.
46:33Mm-hm.
46:35How's she with normal food?
46:37After all those months with the cheap up her nose.
46:39Oh, she's great with chocolate pudding.
46:41Not so good with her greens, though,
46:43but as long as it's all mushed up,
46:45she's just like any other baby, really.
46:47Do you ever feel like any other mum, Bernice?
46:50I feel like her mum.
46:53It's not so different from having any other child.
46:56You can't turn your back on them.
46:58You can't work out what they're thinking.
47:00You can't picture the future.
47:03The doctors never gave us any guarantees.
47:07No baby gets a guarantee, really.
47:10Guarantees are the things you buy in shops.
47:12And we're lucky.
47:13We get to call our babies miracles.
47:15Close.
47:22Hi!
47:23Yes?
47:24My waters are broken.
47:26And I'm not going to hospital!
47:30Edna Kingsley is in labour, screaming blue murder and refusing to get into the ambulance.
47:36Police said she wants one of us to attend and I'm first on the court board.
47:42Whatever's gone on in the past, or is yet to come, she is still a mother.
47:51Let me know if it's a boy or a girl, and I shall add it to my notes.
48:04I'll get my back.
48:24I'm afraid this isn't good news, Lady Edward. And it can't be countermanded, even with all the womanly wiles at
48:31your disposal.
48:32A simple statement of facts will suffice, Dr Threatwood.
48:36Very well. By 1974, all medical service provision across the country will be taken out of council hands and given
48:44direct to the National Health.
48:46But the Order have worked hand in glove with the National Health since its inception.
48:49And this council has been the go-between. Without our future involvement, there can be no more cajolery. No more
48:57persuasion. It is over.
49:00A great deal could happen between now and 1974.
49:02The new rules will be facing from this year. And there is one I know the sisters won't accept.
49:13I know it's Edna, lass. Save your strength.
49:17I want it to be alright, nurse.
49:20You're on the home straight, I promise. There's no reason to suppose anything will be amiss.
49:25But don't be with the baby. I'm in with everything.
49:28Come on. So come up, Barley Sugar. And concentrate on what's happening here and now.
49:35They can't take a newborn off you, can they?
49:38Edna.
49:42Save your energy for this last big push.
49:46Come on now. Steady push. Steady, steady push.
49:56You have a beautiful little daughter, Edna.
50:07Hey.
50:22What, he looked just like that when he was born?
50:25Don't you forget when we haven't got a photo of him?
50:29We never had a camera.
50:34I'm gonna give you the best life.
50:38Do you hear that?
50:40The best life.
50:47Hello, you.
50:51Oh, Mr. Franklin, it's so good of you to go out of your way.
50:56What sort of friend would I be if I didn't tip up with a cup of Rosie and the chips
51:01are down?
51:03Dr. Threepwood is right. We will not accept that diktat.
51:08But it is a diktat, Sister Julianne. You aren't going to be allowed to wear the habit anymore.
51:13My sisters and I have dressed like this since the inception of the Order.
51:15It is the outward expression of the reason why we do this.
51:20The powers that be don't give two hoots why you do this.
51:24They just want it done.
51:26If Nanata's house is to survive at all, we are all going to be national health employees.
51:31And the new rules state that we will have to dress as such or leave the system.
51:36We have never been a part of the system. We have rejoiced in that.
51:41Dr. Threepwood said he'd like your response by the end of this month.
51:45I think it ties in with the end of the financial year.
51:51Who is this man to lay down the law in this way?
51:57This decision will be driven by prayer, not by the fiscal calendar.
52:02Therefore, I will choose the appropriate date.
52:06We will tell him what we are going to do on August 31st, which happens to be the feast day
52:13of St. Raymond Nanatus.
52:17People think I talk too much.
52:20I don't.
52:21I know.
52:23And I know you listen.
52:24I've never seen here she goes again writ large on your face.
52:31But the thing I think people don't understand about the life I chose is so much of it is silence.
52:45I understand.
52:47It isn't about when we can't speak. It's about what we can never say.
52:56What we can never name because that might expose us.
53:02Lay us bare.
53:05Yes.
53:07And we can't afford that, can we?
53:09No.
53:11Because really, who wants the whole wide world to hear them howling?
53:18I don't think I can silence the howling anymore.
53:25What is it you want, Veronica?
53:31If we're going to drop the sister bit, I think you'd better call me Beryl, my real name.
53:42You can call me Geoffrey if it's not too much of a stretch.
53:48What is it you want?
53:54I want a child.
53:58I want a child of my own to hold in my arms and keep safe and cherish always.
54:11I want a child before it becomes impossible.
54:20I feel like he ought to have a special little night even if he's dad had an operation.
54:25I feel like his dad should have had the day off work.
54:29Well, James' first year is going to be a long haul, Thelma.
54:33Keeping up a normal routine is going to be good for everyone.
54:36I'm good at routines.
54:38Before I fell pregnant, I used to dream I'd have all the nappies on the line every Monday.
54:44Dreams are a lovely thing to have.
54:47Sometimes we just have to dream for longer than we thought.
54:51He'll be a baby for longer too.
54:53I think I might like that.
55:04Have you come to St. James for his tracheotomy?
55:07I'm his mother.
55:20What's this?
55:24Something to wear on Saturday, perhaps?
55:37I'm your marks. Get set.
55:40You want a sausage roll?
55:41I'll have one.
55:45I'll tell you what, pal.
55:48I love our lady folk. All of them.
55:50But it's liberation, Mark.
55:53It's hard work.
56:04I went for cotton. I thought it would burn longer.
56:08I bought this one from discounted stock.
56:11Nobody's buying long line these days.
56:13I relented. Bergdorf Goodman's finest.
56:19Girls! Where did you get that from?
56:21The charity cupboard.
56:24Provenance? Uncertain.
56:26Sisterhood takes many forms.
56:28I think we should celebrate them all.
56:38There will always be things that we cannot change, even when there is the will and the belief that we
56:46should try.
56:49Change chooses its own seeds, sows them in its own selected soil.
56:57Our task is to alter them and not trample green shoots underfoot.
57:05In the spring of 1971, there was so much that was altered.
57:12There were endings and there were beginnings.
57:16There was uncertainty and there was confidence.
57:20There was rage and there was love.
57:24And so we marched together into all the things we did not know.
57:31Hoping and also fearing things would never be the same.
57:38You may begin!
57:40I started out in Bombay and then I worked my way right up to Ladakh.
57:44Find a way to make a living.
57:45I can't see any gas.
57:47It'll be in the delivery room, won't it?
57:48So many mothers looking after him.
57:51I'm telling you, nurse, the one thing this baby isn't is a Protestant.
57:54More tea, Mrs Clifford.
57:56Yes, please.
57:57And expect Earl Grey.
58:02Before then, celebrate the sisterhood with access all areas.
58:05Call the midwife.
58:06Press red to watch on iPlayer now.
58:08Here next, shadows from the past continue to haunt the night manager.
58:12But just how dangerous are they?
58:14And for mystery with your drama, meet an iconic mismatched duo in Lindley.
58:18Watch the entire first series now on iPlayer.
58:27We'll see you next time.
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