♪ I see the stars
♪ I hear the... ♪
Most of life's pleasures must be earned.
They come our way because we work for them,
because we dare to strive, have faith and play the game.
♪ Sings my soul
♪ My Saviour God to Thee... ♪
There are rules of engagement and there are rewards.
There is endeavour, there is effort, there is hope.
But can any joy surpass the thrill of winning?
The sudden leaping up, the smash
of happiness as truth dawns,
when we know in an instant that victory is ours?
Our trials and our tests are all forgotten,
as is the notion that there may be more to come.
With respect, Mrs Turner,
if these pupil midwives are to derive maximum benefit from their
time with us, we must prioritise their practical work at all times!
I don't disagree!
But they're also going to have to sit some extremely stiff
written examinations at the end of this year,
and we need to timetable their study sessions!
Hospital training records for all new students,
with Miss Higgins' compliments.
I don't know why they were sent there!
I imagine because the covering letter is in fact addressed
to me as the scheme's co-ordinator.
She needs a desk lamp and an alarm clock.
Who does?
Pupil Midwife Corrigan - the one who's going to be living in.
I'll use my initiative
and go and look in the charity cupboard.
Baines...
All just wait before you start eating, now.
Pastor Robinson has had some exciting news,
and he's too modest and too retiring to share it himself!
Lord be praised, this young man, this upstanding young man,
has passed his latest civil engineering exam to such
a standard of excellence
that he's been awarded a prize of 25 guineas!
Yes, hallelujah!
Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord!
I couldn't have done it without a place to study,
a place to pray, a home and a church to call my own.
Praise God!
Thank you, Mrs Wallace, and to all of you.
Well done!
We have had the best Sunday morning since we've opened, Vi!
Everyone wants to read up on the World Cup
and that's going to carry on now we're in the quarterfinals.
Some people buy two papers.
Am I too late?
I've got my Michael coming home and I need to get his treats in.
Oh, come on through, Rita.
It's a joy, isn't it, when they fly back to the nest for a visit?
We've got our Reggie with us at the moment.
Oh! Oh, hello!
I'll have a quarter of pineapple chunks, a quarter of pear drops,
The Hotspur, The Beano and The Dandy, please, Fred.
Hotspur, Beano and Dandy, Reggie, jump to it!
Well, at least Michael hasn't lost his taste for the simple
things now that he's living up west.
He sent me a new photo this week, of him in his uniform.
He's got more gold braid on him than General Montgomery!
He's still officially a bell boy.
They've just given him ever such a big pay rise.
And his manager says the sky's the limit for him in the hotel trade.
Come along, Anne, dear.
We don't want you late on your first day.
Tomorrow's my first day! I'm actually 16 hours early.
Can we please just ring on the bell, go inside,
have tea and hand her over?
Anne is one of our great success stories, Sister Julienne.
She's been living at our Ealing branch house
while she's been doing her nurse's training and her part one midwifery.
But she first came to us at Cork after her mother passed away.
How old were you, then, Nurse Corrigan?
I was seven, Sister.
She was brought up in our orphanage and she attended our convent school.
We've been on quite the journey together, haven't we, Anne?
Yes, Sister Philomena.
Of course, when Anne arrived, we were still in our traditional garb.
Whereas now, we feel exceedingly approachable and, dare I say,
rather with it!
Have you not entertained modernising your own habits, Sister Julienne?
Yes, we have, as it so happens.
And upon reflection, we considered it unnecessary.
Nonnatus House, midwife speaking.
Would it be possible to speak with Nurse Franklin?
This is Nurse Franklin speaking.
Oh. Good.
This is Matthew Aylward.
You cared for my...
...my late wife, Fiona, when she gave birth to our son.
How are you, Mr Aylward? And how's baby Jonathan?
He's actually thriving.
On my mother's advice,
I hired the same nanny that she had for me when I was born. And...
Well, things appear to be running on oiled wheels in that department.
I'm so pleased.
He's a splendid fellow, he really is.
I kept rather putting off the christening.
But we're going to have him done in a couple of weeks' time on a Saturday. And...
...my mother and I wondered, would you like to come?
Oh, I'd consider it to be an honour!
Your wife was a lovely, lovely woman, Mr Aylward.
Thank you.
Do please join us on his big day.
I'll put an invitation in the post to you.
Goodbye.
It is lovely having you home, son.
It's lovely being home.
I don't care if the Parthenon's the best hotel in London.
It's not a patch on this.
If I leave these shoes outside my bedroom door tonight,
will you clean them?
I'll have you know I'm renowned for the shine I can bring up on black leather!
Perks of having an undertaker for a dad.
You're sitting ever so awkwardly, Michael.
Have you hurt your back?
Yeah, it's lumping all that luggage up and down.
Well, you have a good rest while you're here.
I've never taken part in a sweepstake, Sister Hilda.
Is it actually gambling? No, no, no!
It's simply a little bit of fun relating to the World Cup, Nurse Anderson.
Fun! F-U-N.
I'll sign up. We might as well be in the swim.
Am I late? Have I missed grace?
Oh, we don't say grace till Sister Julienne sits down.
I think she's on the phone.
Nurse Corrigan, may I introduce Nurse Anderson, Nurse Franklin
and, of course, Nurse Crane,
who keeps us all on the straight and narrow?
Do you never use each other's Christian names?
Of course we do. I'm Trixie.
And I'm Lucille.
Oh, that's grand - makes you sound French!
I like out-of-the-ordinary names. I'm Anne when I'm filling out forms,
but everyone in real life calls me Nancy.
Like Nancy Sinatra.
Nancy Sinatra, as in These Boots Are Made For Walking?
Yes!
I wear a lot of boots, so it sort of fits.
Thank you for your patience, ladies.
You may sit down, Nurse Corrigan.
We don't stand on too much ceremony at Nonnatus House.
This one's no good at all, Fred.
My feet can scarcely reach the pedals.
Shall I see if I can lower the saddle?
Either that, or I'll have to put blocks on the pedals.
Nurse Crane and Sister Frances have been assigned to the district
roster for the next two weeks.
Oh, Nurse Franklin, I've given you Nancy Corrigan today.
Meanwhile, Mrs Turner is charged with
Pupil Midwife Georgette Baines, Nurse Anderson is with
Alison Hopkiss, and Sister Hilda's paired with Janice Cowan.
What's going to happen when I go away on my refresher course?
From tomorrow onwards,
the pupils' bags will be their own responsibility.
But we can't be having them in here this morning,
not knowing which way is up and all underfoot like a lot of puppies.
- Good morning! - We're all to sign that register,
sit down and await our instructions for the day.
Are you the one that's living in?
For my sins.
And, Jesus, am I glad to have some reinforcements!
Your dad rang the hotel and said you're not well enough to go back today.
I've got to go back.
They've got every room booked out cos of the World Cup.
Michael, I can feel the heat coming off you from here!
Argh!
I'm ringing the doctor.
Everybody say babies!
Babies!
Ladies, we have lift-off!
♪ Now, I'm gonna try and find a girl
♪ Who will make me feel so good
♪ And when I do I'll sing this song
♪ And I know I'll love her like I should... ♪
♪ La, la, la, la, la... ♪
♪ La, la, la, la... ♪
You said the pain was at the bottom of the spine.
Can you roll on to your front for me?
I think I may know what the problem is.
Michael has got something called a pilonidal cyst -
an ingrowing hair at the very bottom of his spine has caused
a cyst the size of a hardboiled egg.
It's not rare, but it's nasty and badly infected.
I'm sending him to the hospital.
There's a phone here.
My husband's work had it put in for him
for when people die in the night.
The cyst will need to be drained, cut out and packed.
A surgeon will need to do it under general anaesthetic.
You're an absolute model, Mrs Greaney! It's spot on!
Are you sure?
Ah, don't fret, I may be a student,
but I can read this thing like I can read a magazine.
Mrs Greaney had pre-eclampsia with her first baby,
Pupil Midwife Corrigan.
Ah, you never did! You poor thing, you!
It's on her co-op card.
Seven weeks in St Cuthbert's! You'd get less for murder!
They did look after me well.
But I want to have this one at home.
You've had a textbook pregnancy this time.
I think you've made the right decision.
Babies come out the way they want to.
It's all a bit swings and roundabouts, if you ask me.
Hospital's cleaner, you get more rest.
Home, you're in your own bed but sure,
you have to wash your own sheets afterwards!
- Do I? - No!
We have an arrangement with the council laundry.
I never knew that! It's one revelation after another!
Beryl Greaney is quite a nervous patient, Nancy.
I should have read her notes, shouldn't I?
Yes. But you should have listened to her.
Let her talk about her fears and then offered up encouragement.
It was rush, rush, rush in the hospital.
It's like I only had one switch.
And even now, I'm stuck on high-speed mode.
Race you to the bike shed!
I popped in at Buckle's and brought you the papers.
There's a lot of information about the football.
How long have you been my mum, Mum?
17 years, one month and 11 days.
In which case, you ought to know by now that I don't follow the footy.
Well, it's not really footy, is it? It's the World Cup.
I thought it might take your mind off your problem.
I don't want to talk about my problem.
I've had the operation now - they're going to let me out soon.
In the district, urine samples often arrive in unclean jars.
What can you see here?
Strawberry jam? Or maybe raspberry.
Either way, you aren't going to get an accurate reading with regard to sugar.
Afternoon, Nurse Anderson.
What are you doing here? You brought me a sample to analyse?
I brought you good news.
My boss, Mr Andrews, is closing down the garage.
How is this good news?
He's buying a new one over in Stepney Green.
And it's three times the size of his lock-up,
and he's asked if I would join him as a partner.
He offered you a partnership?
Mm-hm. I'd have to buy my way in.
Is it out of the question?
Not with my prize and my savings,
and if the bank will advance me a small loan.
My mum sent this.
Oh, I can't test your mother's urine if she's not here.
I'm going to write you a note to take back to her.
Let me talk to you later.
And don't forget, as well as general monitoring, we're looking out
for rapid weight gain, particularly with our second trimester ladies.
As a potential indication for pre-eclampsia or polyhydramnios?
That's correct, yes.
Right, the scales are open for business.
We'll see who's been at the cream buns this week!
Let's have a squint at your notes.
25 guineas feels like the most money I ever had
since I was born
because I didn't have to work till my body ached to get it.
You worked hard enough at those examinations here.
And if you invest it in the garage,
it might be the beginning of a different kind of life.
I'd have to borrow to make up the money I need.
And Lucille, debt doesn't feel like progress.
Debt doesn't feel like the thing I came here for.
Come along, Nurse Franklin, wriggle the old hand round in that bag!
It would appear I'm going to be supporting Argentina!
Lovely colour scheme for you. Take a flag.
Sister Monica Joan, are you going to join us?
I cannot excite myself about cohorts of men from assorted climes
careering around a field in pursuit of a bladder filled with air.
They play with leather footballs nowadays.
Chop, chop! You might win a tin of Tea Time Assortment.
North Korea.
Hey! Don't forget your flag.
I painted them all by hand.
Last one for you, Nurse Nancy.
- England! - Yay!
A word, if you please, Nurse Corrigan, in the telephone room.
I've just taken a telephone call from Mrs Beryl Greaney, who
is now at term and did not turn up to her clinic appointment yesterday.
Is she in labour?
Nurse Corrigan and I are down to do her home delivery.
She is not in labour and there will be no home delivery.
Subsequent to our most recent visit, starring Nurse Corrigan, Mrs Greaney
has decided to transfer her care to St Cuthbert's.
In my opinion, Beryl Greaney was already wavering.
She specifically said, "That student made me nervous."
She had complications last time and she was nervous anyway.
Be that as it may,
the fact remains that, within days of the pupil midwife starting on
the district, the district has lost one of its patients to the hospital.
How is that going to look when the scheme is reviewed?
I'm sorry. I should have intervened at that visit
when I saw things were going the wrong way.
If you'd done that, would I be any the wiser?
I never seem to learn from just learning.
I always have to learn from my mistakes.
Well, there's no pus and the tissue's granulating very nicely.
I shall be calling in daily to repack the wound
and change the dressing.
Is it going to leave a scar?
It's right at the top of your buttock cleft,
nobody's going to see it.
Did the hospital give you your antibiotics?
- Three days' worth. - You'll need a full course.
I expect the prescription's in here.
Yes, all present and correct, along with your discharge letter.
I'll take this with me.
I imagine Dr Turner will be paying you a call.
Pupil Midwife Corrigan's general examination results were
certainly uneven.
There were two distinctions,
but several where she barely scraped a pass.
I wonder if that's why the Roman Catholic sisters felt
she should stay at Nonnatus House - a stable environment
where she can concentrate on studying.
They seem more concerned with her general welfare
and are genuinely fond of her.
I think perhaps it's their way of not quite letting go.
Meanwhile, Pupil Midwife Baines has written a most meticulous
report of yesterday's delivery, and I note Pupil Midwife Hopkiss
has never actually attended a twin birth.
There's something of a gap in her experience.
I'll involve her in the Mrs Watson case.
We brought her into the maternity home for bed rest yesterday.
Perfect.
I'm sure we can weather the loss of Beryl Greaney, one way or another.
So, we're in the quarterfinals, right?
That means England plays Argentina.
If we beat Argentina, we're in the semifinals
and we play whoever wins out of Portugal and North Korea.
Who do England play in the final?
We can't think that far ahead.
Time to place your bets, Fred!
All transactions managed with speed
and convenience by your favourite bookie's runner.
- Lower your voice, Barney. - Gambling's been legalised.
Yeah, but Violet doesn't approve of me going into betting shops.
Now, I'm planning an accumulator.
Keep any winnings rolling forward.
My projected bets are extremely specific.
Reginald, a pencil.
Upon examination, the patient was found to have extensive
papilloma on the penis and around the anus.
In other words, genital warts.
Given the fact his anus is affected,
should we surmise that Michael is homosexual?
Yes, we should.
And he's barely 17.
That's probably why that cyst got out of hand.
He was too scared to ask for help, in case
it was linked in some way to his sexual activities.
Which of course it wasn't,
but he's clearly a young man with a lot of secrets.
Don't wash my school uniform, Mum! Just burn it.
I've finished my A Levels and I've left.
What's this in your trouser pocket?
Book token.
I won it for an essay I wrote about haemophilia
and the role it played in the Russian Revolution.
Oh, I'm glad all those years of reading The Lancet
while you were still in short trousers weren't wasted!
I really, really want to get into medical school, Mum.
You've been offered the place - all you need to do is get the results.
I know.
We're going to have to arrange some treatment for your other
problem, Michael.
Which other problem?
I had a letter from the hospital,
when you were discharged, about your genital warts.
Can't you just give me a prescription?
You've been referred to the Venereal Disease Clinic.
It could take up to six weeks, but I could try and speed things up,
if you want.
Thanks.
I don't know what I want.
I know I don't want to be like this.
I don't want to want the things that attract me and drag me in.
I don't want the pictures that live in me head,
the things I wake up having dreamed about.
Why not?
Because I don't want to want men! It makes me...
...one of them.
There is nothing wrong with being homosexual, Michael!
It's the way you're wired.
The way you're made.
So why is it against the law?
Why could I end up doing time if I get caught?
Because the law needs to change.
And if things go as they should, it will.
Yeah, but I do it for money, Dr Turner.
That's always going to be a crime.
I'll take these rompers, Violet.
The hand smocking is exquisite.
It's absolutely heart-rending,
the thought of a baby at its christening without its mother!
I mean, you hardly ever hear about it happening any more.
And poor Nurse Franklin was there at the deathbed.
She's going to be like the skeleton at the feast.
Oh, hello, Beryl! Still a lady-in-waiting?
I just took the delivery pack back to Nonnatus House.
I won't be needing all that stuff now that I'm having it at St Cuthbert's.
That's very thoughtful. Thank you.
It was just my nerves and that Irish girl.
We quite understand.
It seems to me that
the Parthenon Hotel is little better than a knocking shop!
If you'll excuse the term.
I asked Michael if he was forced into sexual situations,
and he said no.
It seems he was offered certain opportunities
and, in his innocence or ignorance, or both, or neither, he took them.
There'd be no help from the police, then, would there?
Involving the police isn't going to help anyone in any way.
Doctor, I see you're referring Michael Leeks to the Venereal Disease Clinic?
Yes, I am.
What a very unsavoury state of affairs!
I will type up the letter myself, if you prefer.
No, I shall furnish the forms for gonorrhoea
and syphilis testing, as requested.
What will I do if the blood and the swabs say I've got a dose?
There are treatments you can have.
But Michael, I'm going to be frank with you.
Whatever the test results show, you are putting yourself in grave
danger by selling your body to God knows who.
I strongly suggest you leave that hotel,
for the sake of your own safety!
I couldn't disappoint my mum and dad.
They wanted me to get out of the East End,
see all the bright lights,
rub shoulders with the blue bloods. And I am!
When I opened a car door for Sophia Loren, in their minds,
it was like I'd become Sophia Loren.
They love that I work there.
Only because they don't know the half of it.
And they never will.
Your mother and father want the best for you.
Good parents do.
But don't for one minute think they want you leading a dangerous
life just so they can boast you're working at the Parthenon.
They think the world of you, Michael.
They think the world of the boy they think I am.
And I'm not even a boy any more.
No, lad, you're not.
Cyril?
I brought you a duster and some Windolene for cleaning that glass fish.
I got a surprise for you.
You never broke the glass fish? It's Mrs Wallace's favourite ornament!
No.
A radiogram? You can't put the fish on top of that!
You'll have to move it every time you open the lid to put a record on!
The fish can go on the mantelpiece!
Look! It plays three speeds for all types of records.
45rpm, that's for singles, 78rpm to play the religious music
for the ladies after church, and 33 and a third for you and me when
we're just having a bit of quiet time in the evenings on our own.
Cyril, where did you get this from?
It was bought.
By me.
With my prize money.
What about the share they offered you in the garage?
I decided against it.
But I'm still going to work for Mr Andrews.
But I won a prize for civil engineering
and I take that as a sign that I should stick to my planned way.
Not go getting into debt in order to make money.
I see.
Do you disagree?
There's no point, if you already make up your mind
and already spend the money.
Pass me that fish.
My arms are going numb.
I once had to hold it for the whole of the Black And White Minstrels.
The trick is to think of other things.
Ah, will you look at you, all rigged out in the Argentine colours?
Thank you, Nancy, for appreciating the extent to which
I'm engaging with the spirit of this tournament.
I thought that, if the Sisters were arranging TV snacks to evoke
the spirit of the tango and the pampas,
a symbolic ensemble was the least I could do.
It's corned beef in little vol-au-vents!
60 minutes played and it's still level between England and Argentina.
It's a shame, in a way, you're not going back till after the final.
I imagine the Parthenon will be awash with dignitaries.
I'm thinking of not going back at all.
You mean, handing your notice in? What's brought this on?
You've got prospects there, Michael! Prospects and people's good opinion!
I'm not going back because there's things about it...
...that don't suit me.
And I need to get away.
Maybe make a fresh start.
You've not got a girl into trouble, have you?
If he has, I'm not going to sanction him going on his toes.
You stay put, stay in work and put it right with her, whoever she is.
Mum, Dad...
...of all the things I've done wrong, all the things I'm trying to
get away from, a pregnant girlfriend is not one of them.
And it's never going to be.
And it's still 0-0 between England
and Argentina after 76 minutes.
Peters.
And it's a goal to Geoff Hurst!
- A header to the bottom-right corner of the goal. - Oh, no!
And it's 1-0 to England!
What?
No!
No, you're my son!
Yes, I am.
You be careful, lad.
You say something, even once, you can never take it back.
Foul by Perfumo. And that will be another free kick to England.
I'm one of them.
- Evening. - Oh, you run ahead, Reg.
Get yourself in the queue for the chip van.
Blimey, that match was boring!
I'd have been better off taking me library book back.
Still, semifinals now, though, eh? Keep the accumulator rolling over!
Yeah, well, they've given you good odds on it, but you're sticking your neck out.
I mean, England v Germany in a World Cup Final?
We shall fight them on the beaches!
And every rolled over penny on Germany to win.
Well, I reckon they're the better team.
They'd have had you in the tower for treason once!
That's between you, me and the bookie, mate.
You've got it wrong, Michael! You've got it wrong!
You are not one of those deviants!
They're sick!
And you're not sick! You're beautiful!
You're beautiful, you're just...
...confused! Dad! Take her away!
Make it stop!
It's such a novel feeling,
knowing all four of them are tucked up under one roof for a change.
When Tim was away boarding,
it was as though I could never fully batten down the hatches.
I could never quite say, "All are safely gathered in"
because I was always imagining him in that appalling dormitory.
I suppose we have to make the most of it.
If Tim does get into medical school,
he'll never really live at home again.
He will get in.
And no, he won't, will he?
I'll be the one imagining him, then.
Swotting all the hours God sends, dissecting his first corpse.
Oh, he's chosen such a hard profession.
Did you hear that? You used the verb "to choose".
Pick, select, prefer, decide.
It's what he wants.
Nursing's just as hard, in its own way, and you chose that.
Let's hope Angela and May don't want to go down that route!
It's probably the one thing that would make me love them
- more than I do already. - Oh!
Tim will be all right, you know.
I hope so.
Another lovely morning!
Sister Hilda's already looking up exotic recipes.
Portugal got through to the semifinal too, and that's her team.
We are not at home to Mistress Gloat.
I'm sorry about North Korea.
I'd offer to swap, but I had Uruguay and they got knocked out as well.
There is such a superfluity of continents,
one becomes almost confused.
We missed you at Lord's this morning.
My collapse of faith is now so established,
it has become the landscape of my life.
There are times when I recall another country and its uplands.
But they are few and the distance untraversable.
Are you absolutely sure he didn't go back to the hotel?
I rang, but they said they hadn't seen him.
I hope I'm not speaking out of turn, Nurse.
But were you aware of his proclivities?
Only in as much as the details were medically relevant.
We waited ten years for him and he's our only child.
I keep imagining the oven in the kitchen
and I keep saying to myself, "It's only ten paces to the gas."
Please, don't think like that.
What if my son's thinking like that?
Because if he is, we're the ones to blame!
Rita!
I don't want to put my head in the oven
because my son's not the marrying kind.
I want to do it because I let him down!
A mother is supposed to love her child, no matter what.
Even if they steal or kill or lie!
Michael's not a criminal, Rita.
That's not what the law of the land says!
But if I'm his mother, if I'm worthy of the word mother...
...I have to do better than the law.
I have to do better than I did last night.
Show her the note.
- Oh, no. - Read it out to her, then.
Um...
"Mum and Dad."
"You brought me up to be truthful and honest, and I'm grateful."
"But last night, it backfired."
"I'm sorry."
"I'm sorry for being as I am."
"And I'm sorry for telling you."
"If I can't make myself into the son you love..."
"..remember me as the son you thought you had
because it was great...
"..and we were so happy."
We rang the hotel and asked them to forward his things.
It might be all we ever see of him again.
As Mrs Turner is at the maternity home with Nurse Hopkiss,
delivering twins,
I will be teaching this afternoon's class.
We will be concentrating
on common complications in domiciliary midwifery.
"Postpartum haemorrhage". Now, if a patient suffered a postpartum
haemorrhage in a home setting, what would be your first response?
Would it be appropriate to establish the criterion for haemorrhage
before answering?
A very thoughtful response, Nurse Cowan.
How do we define a haemorrhage, Nurse Baines?
The loss of more than 500ml or 20oz of blood within
six hours of the birth, even if the patient shows no systemic signs.
Nurse Baines?
Isn't it the effect of blood loss rather than the amount, that matters?
If a woman is anaemic,
she could become very unwell with a loss of less than 20oz.
That's correct.
We learn most when we listen to others.
When you're ready, I'll need to strip the bed.
- Come on! Come on! - Charlton shoots.
Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes!
England! England! England! England!
England!
- How much will we win? - Well, nothing yet.
But if the final goes the right way, £1,000!
Wahey!
Godfrey?
Have you seen this?
"Queer Doctor".
Operator, would you kindly connect me to
Nonnatus House, Wick Street, Poplar?
The person I wish to speak with is a Nurse Crane.
Many thanks.
Should a consultation with Mr Leadmead be required,
you will be informed.
Is it as I thought?
It is very much as you thought.
Lakewood Grange is a private psychiatric clinic that
specialises in -
and I quote - "the correction of all phobias and obsessional
"behaviour with particular regard to sexual disorders and perversion".
We need to collate all this
and give it to Dr Turner.
Well, at least the tests for syphilis
and gonorrhoea were negative - a crumb of comfort
in the scheme of things, if only a very small one.
What sickens me most about this Leadmead's qualifications is
they're extensive and perfectly in order!
How can he call himself a doctor, never mind a psychiatrist,
if these are the methods he uses?
Aversion therapy is one of the most brutal blunt instruments there is!
If Michael is in that clinic, he's submitting himself to imprisonment,
torture and abuse in an attempt to erase his own essential nature!
He can't be cured!
He's going to be maimed.
Patrick, what can you do?
We're so lucky to have the Nonnatus television.
Sister Julienne is kind.
Get it straight through up onto the platform
and then everyone will be able to see.
On a screen this size?
You'll have to tell them all to bring binoculars.
Thank you for this, Nurse Crane.
Did you collect the medication from the chemist?
I also have my own Motorist's Atlas, since you'll be requiring me to navigate.
The television is the property of Nonnatus -
it is not a community facility!
We are religious Sisters, we have no property.
Ah, Nurse Corrigan.
If you would be so kind as to change into your uniform, I have
been obliged to alter the roster and I need you to stay here, on call.
I can't deliver babies unsupervised! I'm not qualified.
If a patient in labour telephones, ring the Institute
and someone will return to accompany you within five minutes.
She's just got a cob on because I got England in the sweepstake
and she has to support West Germany!
We can be companions in neglect.
Since Nurse Franklin is also to be entertained elsewhere.
I'm actually going to a christening, ill-timed though it might be.
My mind is going to be on much higher things than the football.
He clearly isn't being treated on the National Health.
The National Health would chemically castrate him.
It would be no better.
He just wouldn't have to pay.
Before the match begins, a big round of applause, please, for our mascots,
May, Angela and Teddy Turner, who've come dressed as Britannia,
the Jules Rimet Trophy and Willie, the World Cup lion, respectively!
And may we also have a round of applause for their clever mum?
I can confirm Michael Leeks is here.
But he entered into a signed agreement
with Dr Leadmead when he was admitted.
He's not to see any member of his family and no friends
until treatment is complete.
I am not a relative and I am not a social acquaintance.
I am Michael's GP!
And I am a district nurse responsible for the daily
treatment and dressing of a significant surgical
wound at the base of his spine.
He should also be under a stringent antibiotic regime,
without which he runs the risk of relapse, infection and septicaemia!
May I see his notes, to put my mind at ease?
His notes are confidential.
Dr Leadmead insists on it.
Whereas an inquest would be held in public
and reported in the newspapers!
I don't want to end up giving evidence before the coroner.
And I shouldn't think Dr Leadmead wants that either.
It's not very often the star
of any show disappears for a nap in the middle of proceedings!
If everything unfolds the way it should,
there will be a great many red letter days in my son's life.
But there will always be an unseen guest at every party.
Someone we can't quite catch a glimpse of, cheering him on.
So I say to you, my darling Fiona, we are an excellent team,
your boy and I.
And somehow we are winning.
To Jonathan.
- To Jonathan. - To Jonathan.
And to England, of course.
If you would leave us alone with our patient,
we will provide the care required.
What have you been giving him? Apomorphine?
Three milligrams, four-hourly, subcutaneous.
- I'm going to give him the antiemetic. - It's all right, Michael.
Doctor's going to give you something to stop this sickness.
Come on, lad.
Get these down you.
They made me look at stuff.
If you would like to remove this pornography
and bring Mr Leeks his clothes?
Are my mum and dad here?
No, lad. They're at home, waiting for you.
If that is what you want.
I don't want this.
Oh! Baby's made himself a little overtired.
Come along, proud father, pick up your baby and comfort him.
Nanny says he's just as stubborn as I was when I was a child,
and that when he cries like this, he just wants attention.
Well, yes, clearly!
Oh, someone definitely thinks it's playtime!
Nanny won't approve of that.
Nanny doesn't have to. You're Jonathan's father.
And everything you give him and want for him
carries twice the weight it would if Fiona was still here.
I still have the letter that she wrote for me
the day before she died.
There was so much she wanted to say to you.
And she said it with so much love.
I haven't opened it yet.
Oh?
It's here.
I wanted her close by, today of all days.
I keep waiting until I feel brave enough to hear her voice again.
And the moment just hasn't come.
It will.
And it can wait, like all of the most important things in life.
Thank you.
I'm afraid my bus beckons and I must answer the call.
Of course.
There are some very good books I can recommend,
if you need to read up on baby management.
Do you know of any on nanny management?!
I think you'll find it all comes to the same thing.
Please.
Give us the sandwiches, Beryl, they might calm our nerves.
Al, I think it's time for me to go to hospital.
Now?
- Mm. I'm having pains. - It's halftime.
I'll take you when the final whistle blows.
...Final be going to extra time?
Hurst passes into the box.
And a goal from Peters makes it 2-1 to England!
A well-taken goal by Peters.
He controlled it brilliantly and showed great composure
when it mattered most!
2-1! 2-1! 2-1! 2-1!
Al? Al!
There's only 12 minutes left!
And the pains are coming every five minutes.
I'm going to go and get a cab.
Only 60 seconds remain.
Can West Germany take us to extra time with a last-minute equaliser?
Emmerich.
- And Weber scores! - Yes!
West Germany have equalised.
- In the dying moments of the match... - Can you believe that?
...Weber has managed to snatch a last-minute equaliser,
which will surely mean this match will be taken to extra time!
Awful!
And it's a free kick to England.
Taxi!
There's Bobby Charlton,
looking serious as extra time kicks off.
Two halves of 15 minutes.
And Germany pile on early pressure.
Schnellinger with the ball.
He can hardly move.
Both teams will have to show great composure and pace themselves.
We're five minutes into extra time.
Passes to Bobby Charlton.
Could this be a goal for England?
Hits the post!
Holy Mary, mother of God! Mrs Greaney?
Are there any midwives in? No offence.
None taken. Let's get you inside.
Hurst - will he score? Yes, he does!
It didn't cross the line! It bounced back off it!
Oh, sit down! Whose side are you on, Fred Buckle?
It's a goal! The crowd are going wild!
The goal is given to England.
Stir your stumps! I'm afraid you're going to have to move.
I spend the afternoons in repose!
You can repose in the armchair.
It'll feel the same - you'll just be vertical.
I hear a woman in travail.
I know the intensity of her cry.
I heard it every day of my life, when I was practising my vocation.
The birth is near!
Would you go to the clinical room
and get my bag from by the autoclave?
Beryl, you've had a baby before.
I've delivered a baby before.
As a matter of fact, I've actually delivered several babies,
but right now, we can't be getting sidetracked by the details.
Beryl, Beryl!
We're so nearly there! I can see the top of the baby's head.
It's the pain!
- The pain! - Come on.
We're going to breathe this baby out! No gas now, just push.
The pain!
Keep it coming, keep it coming!
Keep giving it everything you've got!
It's like I can only get it so far!
It's got its hand by its face!
Then you must intervene.
You must seek to push back the appendage
as the mother bears down and the head advances.
Have you seen this happen?
Child, I've seen everything.
The head's coming! The head's coming, Beryl! That's it, girl!
That's it!
We have restitution of the shoulders!
- See what you've done, Beryl? - See what you've done.
...On the pitch! They think it's all over!
It is now!
Geoff Hurst makes it four for England,
to win England the World Cup!
What a moment in English sporting history!
Three for Hurst...
You're missing the conga line.
Yeah, just catching me breath, Reg.
How much money will you get?
None.
Nothing. Nil. Zero.
Cos I was stupid enough to think I could be clever.
It's understandable that your notes begin somewhat abruptly.
Nevertheless, they are precise and informative.
And I'm impressed
that you dealt with a compound presentation single-handed.
No pun intended.
I can't take all the credit.
I listened to others.
One other, anyway.
Beryl's husband has arrived.
He wants to call the baby after Geoff Hurst.
I thought Nurse Corrigan had checked that?
I have examined placenta in all kinds of light - gas jets,
candle flames,
torch beams as bombs fell.
I never cease to marvel at its beauty when exposed.
This, the least visible of all the body's organs,
laid before us for our scrutiny.
This was one of a thousand things that made midwifery a privilege.
I'm usually concentrating so hard on making sure none of it's missing,
I don't even stop to think how beautiful it is.
Yet it looks like lace or tree roots.
It grows with us.
It fires us, it sustains the very beating of our blood.
When I see this, with all its lines and traceries,
I see the miracle of God himself.
Do you?
I see His handiwork and I see His love.
I see where I began, what fed me, and what feeds me now.
It is complete.
And so, within His love, am I.
Can you believe that now?
I witnessed a new life beginning.
And my darkness died.
Michael... son?
If you stay the way you are...
I will stay the way I am, Dad. I can't change.
I tried. And it would have killed me.
Michael...
...if you stay the way you are, you will never be a father.
And that only makes me sad for one reason.
Because you'll never know how proud you can end up
being of someone you held in your arms when they weighed 7lbs.
How? How can you be proud of me, Dad?
Who came first in the 100-yard backstroke at the Dock Road baths?
Who helped the Scouts win that microscope in the science quiz?
Who opened a limousine door for Sophia Loren?
- Me? - You.
The same boy.
The same man who was brave enough to say "enough" and face the truth.
That's who Michael Leeks is.
He's my son.
And I'm your mother.
So whatever you get up to behind closed doors
is none of my business and never will be.
But your happiness is my business.
And that means I'm going to worry about you and look out for you until you...
...until you find someone who's going to love you for a very long time.
Longer than 17 years, 3 months and 23 days?
I hope so.
Or he'll have me to answer to.
Cyril!
Bought you a present!
It's a Lord Tanamo LP.
What happened to the radiogram?
Last week, when I bought it,
I made a decision - I did not discuss it with you.
And I'm sorry.
It was only a radiogram.
It was all tied up with things about the future.
And if I can't imagine a future without you in it,
I need to ask you about the things I'm planning.
What sort of things?
From the minute I set eyes on you, there was no past any more.
There was only the now.
And where the now might lead me.
We would never have met, would we, if we'd both stayed on our islands?
And I would never know what it is to have my feet on solid ground.
What are you doing, Cyril?
This is what happened to the radiogram,
and this is where I place my heart, all that it ever was
and all that it will ever be.
Will you marry me, Nurse Anderson?
Yes.
Smile, everybody!
There is so much that money cannot buy.
And so many rewards for which there can be no competition.
And the best of these is love.
Love is not a gamble, but a gift.
It is not to be fought for, but simply given and received.
And not to be judged
nor measured, but embraced
and celebrated as the greatest prize of all.
Sorry!
Thank you, Miss Higgins. You've been so helpful.
Everybody's been helpful.
You'll be done with all this in a couple of weeks.
The last month is always hard going.
I'm calling for professional advice.
How do you sack a nanny?
Actually, Dr Turner is about to come and see Mrs Sands.
Could you tell him we're ready?