AN EDUCATION
Come on, girls.
Anybody?
Anybody else?
Jenny. Again.
Isn't it because Mr Rochester's blind?
Yes, Jenny.
I've got an English essay to do by tomorrow morning.
Right.
So the only sound I want to hear coming through the ceiling...
...is the sound of sweat dripping onto textbooks.
- Cello? - No. No cello.
I thought we agreed that cello was my interest or hobby?
But it's already is your interest or hobby.
So when they ask you at the Oxford interview...
"What is your interest or hobby?"
...you can say, "the Cello". And you won't be lying.
Look, you don't have to practise a hobby.
A hobby is a hobby.
Can I stop going to the youth orchestra, then?
No!
No. No. The youth orchestra is a good thing.
- That shows you're a joiner-inner. - Yes.
But, I've already joined in.
So now I can stop.
No!
No. Well, that just shows the opposite, don't you see?
No, that shows you're a rebel.
They don't want that at Oxford.
No. They don't want people who think for themselves.
No, of course they don't.
Jenny.
Should I wear like, Sunday best?
You'd better, I'm afraid.
Just to show my father you're a serious young man...
...not a teddy boy.
Oh, God!
I need to go. It'll bucket down in a minute.
- Alright... - I'll see you at the weekend.
- Bye, then. - Bye.
- Sorry. - Sorry.
Goodbye, my love.
Come on. Come on.
Stop it, now! Stop it!
Oh no, look what you've done.
- The nice man is waiting for us. - It fell off.
Hello.
Look...
If you had any sense, you wouldn't take a lift from a strange man.
But I'm a music lover, and I'm worried about your cello. So...
...what I propose is, you put it in my car and walk alongside me.
How do I know you won't just drive off with the cello?
Good point.
How much does a new cello cost?
Ten? Fifteen pounds? I don't know.
Let's say... fifteen.
No? Alright.
Up to you.
And that.
I'm David, by the way.
- Jenny. - Very good.
How did the concert go?
It was a rehearsal. The concert's next Thursday.
- What are you playing? - Elgar.
I think it's a shame he spent so much time in Worcester, don't you?
Worcester's too near Birmingham. And you can hear that in the music.
There's a terrible Brummy accent in there, if you listen hard enough.
Anyway, Elgar and the Jews don't mix very well.
I'm not a Jew!
- No. I am. - Oh!
I wasn't accusing you.
Can I sit in the car with my cello?
Jump in.
I've never seen a car like this before.
- It's very chic. - It's a Bristol.
Not many of them made.
Where to, madam?
Jenny live round the corner.
- Worst luck! - I'll see what I can do.
I suppose cellists must go to a lot of concerts.
We don't go to any concerts.
- We don't believe in them. - Oh, they're real.
So people say.
- Smoke? - I'd better not.
I live just up there.
Why don't we believe in them?
He'd say there's no point in them.
- Your father, this is? - Oh, yes.
They're just for fun.
Apart from school concerts, which are no fun at all,
...so we go to those.
They don't help you get on.
Which of course is what is so wonderful about them.
Anyway, you'll go one day.
I know. I will.
If I get to University...
I'm going to read what I want...
...and listen to what I want.
And I'm going to look at paintings and watch French films...
...and I'm gonna talk to people who know lots about lots.
- Good for you. - Yes.
- Which University? - Oxford. If I'm lucky.
Did you go anywhere?
I studied at what I believe they call the University of Life.
I didn't get a very good degree there.
Well, thank you for driving me home.
- You alright? You got it? - Yes, it's fine.
- Thank you. - My pleasure.
Sous le ciel de Paris performed by Juliette Greco
I don't want to hear any French singing.
French singing wasn't on the syllabus, last time I looked.
- Battenberg? - Oh, thank you.
So where are you applying, Graham?
I'm not sure yet.
When will you be sure?
You can't let the grass grow under your feet, young man.
- I might take a year off. - What for?
I don't know yet.
Maybe do some travelling, yeah, that sort of thing.
Travelling?
What are you, a teddy boy?
You know she's going to Oxford, don't you?
If we can get her Latin up to scratch.
So while she's studying English at Oxford...
...you'll be the wandering Jew.
Mr Mellor, I'm not a teddy boy.
I'm... I'm a, uh, serious man. Young.
No... yeah.
A young man serious... man.
- They're for me! - Who are they from?
- Gosh! Him. - What's this?
Jack, I'm afraid Jenny's been sent some flowers from a chap.
- A chap? What kind of chap? - He's wishing me luck for tonight.
Are you sure that's all he's wishing you?
Where did he get the money from?
- He earns it, I expect. - Earns it? Why isn't he in school?
I don't... can we just go?
Otherwise the good-luck flowers will actually be responsible for me...
...actually missing the concert.
Which would be ironic, isn't it?
- I... I don't like it - Objection noted.
- Jenny? - Noted.
Yeah, well... it's gotta be ten bob's worth of luck here, I mean...
That's a bit much for a schoolgirl, isn't it?
Oh, we can't leave it here.
I mean, I'd burgle a house with flowers left outside.
They'll think we're made of money.
Thank you, Marjorie.
Camus doesn't want you to like him.
Feeling is bourgeois.
Being engagee is bourgeois.
He kills someone and he doesn't feel anything.
His mother dies and he doesn't feel anything.
I wouldn't feel anything if my mother dies.
Does that make me an existentialist?
No. That just makes you a cow.
A cow.
Well...
After I've been to the university...
I'm going to be French.
And I'm going to Paris...
...and I'm going to smoke and wear black and listen to Jacques Brel.
And I won't speak. Ever.
- Oh, cranky! - What?
Wait, here.
Hello?
Hello!
Hello. Thank you.
How did it go?
Fine. I think.
Well, I didn't mess my bit up.
Nobody got thrown out of the orchestra afterwards.
Always the mark of a cultural triumph.
Listen. I'm glad I ran into you. What are you doing on Friday?
- Going to school. - I meant the evening.
Oh, of course. Nothing.
Because I'm going to listen to some Ravel in St. John's Smith Square.
My friends Danny and Helen would be coming too,
...so it wouldn't be, uh...
I tell you what.
I'll come and pick you up...
...and if your mother and father disapprove,
...then you can have the tickets and go with one of them.
- How does that sound? - Thank you.
And I'd like to go with you.
Seven?
Okay, fine.
And probably go for a spot of supper afterwards.
- Supper? - Hm, if you want to.
Well, the thing is that... we probably would have eaten.
Well, if you'd like supper, then perhaps on friday...
...you could, uh, not eat?
Yes. Of course.
A spot of supper? - You've heard of supper?
We've heard of it. But we've never eaten it.
So, you're gonna have to tell us everything.
Otherwise, it's not fair.
I won't allow it! - Fine.
He's more than happy for you to take me.
Fine. I will.
- Good. - Well, where is it?
- St. John's Smith Square. - Where's that?
I don't know. I'm sure we could find out.
It's in Westminster. Right next to the Abbey.
How did you know that?
I had a life before we were married, you know?
- He soon put a stop to that. - Well, there we are.
- Where are we? - We're near Westminster Abbey.
I'm not going all the way over there.
The trouble is, that's where St. John's Smith Square is.
There must be something on locally. Where's the paper?
She wants to see someone who can play.
She doesn't want to see Sheila Kirkland scratching away.
I'll take her.
And how do you propose to get there? RAF helicopter?
- That's him. - Oh, bloody hell.
Jack!
By the way, David's a Jew. A wandering Jew.
So watch yourself.
What did she mean by that?
I've never said anything like that! It's just an expression!
Look, I got nothing against the Jews...
I'm glad to hear it. Hello.
No, I didn't mean that I got against you..
- No, of course I do mean that. - Dad!
No, it's that... sorry, it's just that...
You're not the sort of person that I'd be against,
But I wouldn't because...
I'm not the kind of person who would be against...
...people.
I'm Jack, and this is my wife Marjorie.
You didn't tell me you had a sister, Jenny.
Please.
You're a lucky man, Jack.
Yes, I suppose I'm.
This is lovely. - Thank you.
I'm sorry. David, would you like a drink?
I'd love one, Jack, but we're running a little late.
If Jenny's ready, perhaps we'll shoot off.
Actually, David, Dad has something he has to tell you.
No, no, really...
It... It was just a question.
Point of reference.
What's the best way to get to St. John's Smith square from here?
It's a pretty straight run, really.
Up to Hammersmith, take the A4 through Kensington and you're there.
- Simple as that? - Simple as that.
- Shall I book us some tickets? - No.
But... have her back by ten, David.
I was hoping she might come with me afterwards...
...for a spot of supper with my aunt Helen.
Oh, well...
No... no, no. She's usually in bed by then.
What if I promise to have her back by eleven thirty?
Well, it's Friday night.
And you're going all the way to the West End...
Thanks, Jack. I appreciate it.
Alright.
- Bye. - Bye.
Have a nice time.
Hello. Hello.
Are we late?
No, I thought we're going to miss the beginning,
...and then it wouldn't be worth going in,
...and we could go off dancing or something.
Helen is one of the more reluctant members of tonight's audience.
Hello.
Jenny, these are my friends Helen and Danny.
Shall we?
Fine.
I'm sorry.
- That's alright. It's nice, isn't it? - It's beautiful.
- Where did you get it from? - Oh, in Chelsea somewhere.
Oh, yours is...
Well, it's good for this sort of concert, isn't it?
Thank you.
We should go shopping together one day, you and I, if you want.
That would be nice.
But Chelsea... C'est beaucoup trop cher pour moi.
Sorry?
I just said, um, it's too expensive for me.
No, you didn't.
You said something completely different.
No, well... I said it in French.
In French? Why?
I don't know.
Well, Chelsea is too expensive for me too, really.
But, we don't have to worry about that.
If you want something in Chelsea, just get David to take you shopping.
Why would David want to take me shopping?
I've booked a table at Juliette's.
Will that kill the mood, do you think?
Oh, I hope so.
God, I always think I'm going to my own funeral...
...when I listen to classical music.
- That was classical, wasn't it? - Yes. Very classical.
- As classical as you can get. - Juliette's it is, then.
Heaven forbid that we'd end the evening reflecting on our own mortality.
¶ I want a Sunday kind of love ¶
¶ A love to last past Saturday night ¶
Extraordinary woman right there, just like you, Helen.
What about "Chante Francoise Sagan"? Have you heard that one?
- It's wonderful - I've only got...
Well, I think it's just called "Juliette Greco".
The one with the eyes on the sleeve.
I saved up and got my French conversation teacher...
...to bring it back after Christmas.
You've got a French conversation teacher?
- Yes. - Is that why you suddenly speak French...
...for no reason?
You never heard her sing?
She's marvellous. You'd see her in Paris then, not here.
David will take you.
I'd love to. You'd fit right in.
Better than here, really.
Isn't it wonderful to find a young person who wants to know things?
There's so much I want you to see.
Are you alright to come and have a look at that...
...Pembroke Villas place with me on Friday, Danny?
Oh, no. I can't.
There's a Burne-Jones coming up at Christie's on Friday.
Desperate to get my hands on it.
You're thinking of buying a Burne-Jones?
A real one?
I just had a feeling that the pre-Raphaelites are going to take off.
I love the pre-Raphaelites.
- Do you? - Yes, of course.
Um, Rossetti and Burne-Jones, anyway.
Not Holman Hunt, so much. He's so garish.
Oh, absolutely!
Well, why don't we all go to the auction together?
Auction? Gosh! How exciting!
Next Friday morning.
Friday, oh.
You're busy?
- Yes. - Too bad.
What a pity! It's no problem.
- Are you sure you're busy? - No.
I'm sure I could re-arrange.
That would be lovely.
¶ You got me wrapped around your little finger ¶
¶ If this is love, it's everything I hoped it would be ¶
¶ When we kiss, it's as if our lips agree ¶
¶ That we were meant to be ¶
¶ When we touch, it's too much ¶
What are you doing?
I can't get this casserole dish clean.
It's all burnt round...
It's twenty-five to twelve.
- We finish tea at seven. - I know what the time is.
How was your evening?
The best night of my life.
Good night, Mom.
I can think of two violins, one cello,
...two violas, a harp.
I don't want to hear about Ravel.
I want to know what else was on the program.
Oh, there was nothing like that. He was a perfect gentleman.
He just said he wanted to take me places and show me things.
- Things? - Plural? My God!
I knew that "Jane Eyre" would eventually work its magic upon you.
I'm assuming that's what you're so animated about.
Of course.
- "Jane Eyre" and Jenny's new boyfriend. - He's not my "new boyfriend".
Oh, sorry. He's more a man-friend actually.
- He's got a sports car, Ms. Stubbs. - It's maroon.
So could we call him, uh, Mr. Rochester figure?
I think he must be as blind as Mr. Rochester.
You may or may not have noticed, I'm trying to stir the subject away...
...from Jenny's lurid love-life and into the matter in hand.
And it's clear from this evidence...
...that most of you know far too much about the former...
...and next to nothing about the latter.
Reluctantly, I have to admit that Jenny is clearly an expert on both.
Excellent as always, Jenny.
Hello. - Hello.
- Hello.
Any further bids?
Sold them for 60 guineas.
- Hello. - You're late.
We now turn to lot 41.
"The Tree of Forgiveness" by Sir Edward Burne-Jones.
This is a rare opportunity to purchase a key work of the Pre-Raphaelite movement.
- Who will start me off at 100 guineas? - Is it that one?
Yes, that's the one.
Fifty guineas?
Twenty guineas?
Thank you.
Forty?
Thank you.
Do I hear sixty?
Eighty guineas?
Thank you, sir.
Another one, one hundred guineas?
One hundred and twenty?
No further bids?
Your turn.
- What? - Any further bids?
- Any more? - Quick!
One hundred and twenty guineas from the very eager new bidder.
One hundred and forty, madam? Thank you.
One hundred and sixty.
One hundred and eighty. Thank you.
Two hundred guineas?
Two hundred and twenty?
Another one, madam?
Sold for two hundred guineas. Thank you.
Your name, please?
Mellor.
Now we move on to lot 42.
Thank you very much.
I couldn't have possibly bought it without you.
Just a couple of years ago, you'd pick one of them for fifty quid.
- No one was interested. - Oh, I'd have been so interested.
As you can see, I just love things.
That's not a Lockey-Hill!
There aren't many people who come in here and say that.
- Certainly not me. - Oh, it's beautiful.
- Do you play? - I used to.
I vowed to myself that one day I'd own one of these.
And now I do, I want to never touch it.
It's vulgar really, putting it on display.
- Give it to Jenny. - Huh?
- I think that would be even more vulgar. - Play for us, Jenny.
No. I mean, one day. When I'm good enough.
- Oh, she's good enough now. - David, you've never seen me play.
I can come and hear you in Oxford, when you get there.
We should all go and spend a weekend in Oxford.
Straw boaters...
- punting, cream teas, anti... - Boats?
...quarian bookshops.
Bit of business, if we can find it.
What about next weekend?
Yes.
I wouldn't be allowed to do that.
I'll talk to them.
You're going to ask my father...
...if you can take me away for the weekend?
- He'd have you arrested. - We'll see.
- I bet you can't. - How much?
I'd be careful, if I were you, Jenny.
You don't know who you're dealing with.
Half-a-crown.
You're on.
How do you know Danny?
Oh, you know.
We kept bumping into each other,
...and we became pals,
...ended up doing a bit of business together, when it suits us.
What kind of business?
Property. A bit of art dealing.
Some buying and selling. This and that...
Alright, just be two ticks. - Okay.
Mr. Goldman, good to see you.
Madam. Alright.
- Alright, I got this one. And, um... - Put me down.
Go on, then.
Sorry about that.
- How do you know those Negro people? - They're clients.
Clients?
Schwarzers have to live somewhere.
It's not as if they can rent off their own kind, is it?
Test results for the Virgil translation.
We'll start from the bottom...
Patricia.
Absent.
Margaret.
48%.
Jenny.
52%.
That would just about scrape a pass in the exam proper.
Not good enough for Oxford candidates.
It's her Latin, isn't it?
Everyone's doing their best, Jack.
But what if everyone's best isn't good enough?
What do we do then? Hm?
Well, perhaps the whole thing's been a waste of money anyway.
You don't mean that.
Well, what's she going to do with an English degree?
And if she's going to spend three years playing that bloody cello...
...talking in French to a bunch of... beatniks,
Well, I'm... I'm just throwing good money after bad.
I wish she might meet a nice lawyer.
But she could do that at a dinner dance tomorrow.
Oh, that's the point of an Oxford education. Isn't it, Dad?
It's the expensive alternative to a dinner dance.
What about private tuition?
Can anybody hear me? How much this is going to cost me?
Five shillings an hour. Maybe a little more for A-level.
Five bob! We'll spend five bob here, we'll spend five bob there,
...and next thing we know that's our savings down the drain.
And what else are we spending five bob on?
What else are we spending six pence on?
Oh, nothing? No, nothing! All of this is free.
This vase... is free.
It was, actually. It was a present from Auntie Vi.
That chair, this sofa... it's all free.
We don't have to pay for any of it.
You see, that's the beauty of life, Jenny.
You don't have to pay for anything.
You know, there's a lovely Oxford tree growing in the garden.
Lucky for you, because that's Oxford taken care of.
And there's a whole orchard of school trees.
So that school is free.
And I think there's even a private tuition tree in there.
- I'll just go and check, shall I? - Jack?
Oh, that's alright, Marjorie. Don't worry, I'll be in a second.
Because I think there's a whole clump of them...
...surrounding the pocket money tree.
I'll just go and make sure they're all nice and safe, shall I?
Oh, by the way, you might be lucky.
There might be a man with deep pockets growing out there.
Because God know you gonna need one.
Well, you can always go to secretarial college with Hattie.
- Oh, thanks. - Charming!
- Oh, God, no. - Hello.
Hello... Graham.
I haven't seen you in ages.
It all went wrong, didn't it? The, uh...
The tea-party, I mean.
Was it because of the year off thing?
- Because I... - No.
I just have so much work to do...
...if I'm gonna get the grades I need.
Yeah. She doesn't have time for boys.
- Bye, Graham. - Bye.
- Oh, he does all the Goons. - No, my Eccles is no good.
- Oh, no, you've got him. - No, no...
Hello?
Oh, Jenny...
...David does the most fantastic Bluebottle.
You came to see my parents?
Oh, why is that so hard to imagine?
Why are you drinking?
It's not Christmas!
Well, there's a lot you don't know about us, young lady.
- We had a life before you came along. - Hm, that's true.
I'm only going on what I've seen over the last sixteen years.
I'm trying to think what you missed. Nothing much comes to mind.
Anyway, I've got a huge pile of Latin translation to do.
You didn't tell us David went to Oxford.
No... I didn't.
For all the good it did me.
- Isn't that funny? - Extraordinary!
I was just telling Jack that I'm going back next weekend.
I go and visit my old English professor every now and again.
See, that's what you need, Jenny. Someone on the inside track.
It's not always what you know, is it, David?
Too true.
- Have you ever come across Clive Lewis? - Dad's never come across anyone.
He wrote a children's book called...
"The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe" that did very well, I believe.
C. S. Lewis?
Well, to us he was just the old codger who taught Medieval literature.
But I came to know him very well.
We just... got along.
Jenny used to devour those books.
I'd love to meet him.
I'm sorry. Am I being slow on the uptake?
Would Jenny like to come with me at the weekend?
No, not this weekend. But sometimes, perhaps.
Yes.
How often do you see him?
Not very often, every couple of years.
- Maybe next time. - Huh...
Well, I suppose...
Would she have to stay the night?
I wouldn't recommend driving home after one of those Oxford dinners.
Clive could get her a room at the college. That's easy enough.
Seems like too good an opportunity to pass up.
It wouldn't be a bother, would it, David?
¶ We walk along hand in hand ¶
Come on!
Just putting a few things into the bag. Don't worry.
¶ Yeah, we both understand ¶
¶ Ummm, Sweet Nothin's ¶
Come on!
We're nearly ready. Be there in two ticks.
How can they only be nearly ready?
I wouldn't be surprised if three of them come out there.
That's the only explanation. They're making themselves a friend.
Ladies! Come on, let's go!
There. Have a look in the corner. Open the door.
You should keep that one if you want to.
I can only wear so many on one day.
Thank you.
What about tonight? We got to put on a nightie.
Would David share the room with you?
Oh, you haven't slept with him?
No.
Good for you.
- Really? Do you think so? - Yes.
Well, you're only sixteen. You don't want to get pregnant, do you?
No, I wouldn't... I wouldn't let that happen.
I want to wait till I'm seventeen.
On my seventeenth birthday, hopefully.
With David?
Oh Golly, it will be with David, won't it?
If that's what you want.
Anyway, I'll find you a nightie.
Ta-da!
Should we make a move?
¶ You got me wrapped around your little finger ¶
¶ If this is love, it's everything I hoped it would be ¶
Can we get off and have a look around?
Later. If we have time.
- Imagine spending three years here. - Oh, I know.
Why university girls are strange-looking?
They can't all have started off that way, can they?
Well, most girls aren't born ugly,
...but most girl students seems to be. So...
...there must be something about those places that make you...
...fat, or spotty, or short-sighted.
Well, if you look at it like that, I mean...
...that's proper scientific analysis. You can't argue with science.
I still don't quite understand what you want to do when you get here.
I want to read English.
Books?
- Sorry? - You want to read English books?
Reading English is just another way of saying...
Don't worry, Jenny. You're wasting your breath.
Tomorrow we'll get more of a feel for the place.
Absolutely.
This place would be good for a little business.
- All those little old ladies wandering around. - Old ladies?
- I'll bet this place is rife with stats. - Please explain what stats are.
You're always going on about them.
- It isn't very interesting. - But you two are interested.
Because we are not very interesting either.
- Oh, no. They're not, really. - True.
So we have an idiot here, to save us from ourselves.
Yeah, to put some intelligence and culture to our brutal lives.
Sing to us! Sing to us!
Please don't make me sing to you.
Please don't make us talk about work.
So...
Now, is he Clive, do you think? Or CS?
I'm confused now. I thought you'd made him up?
No, we...
Never mind.
"To dear Jenny. "
"With the pleasure of meeting you. "
"Come and see me again soon. Clive. "
Dirty old man.
Bad girl.
We've got these exact same curtains at home.
Let's not talk about curtains.
You look beautiful.
- David... - Hm?
There's something you should know.
I'm a virgin.
And I want to stay that way until I'm seventeen.
I think that's good.
I think that's right.
We can still be romantic, can't we?
Yes, of course.
- As long as it's not actually... - Minnie.
Is that me?
Yes.
You're my Minnie Mouse...
...and I'm your bubbalub.
Okay... if that's what you want to do.
- Minnie. - Yes, David?
Bubbalub.
May I have a look?
Just a peek.
You just want to see them?
Thank you.
I think there's a house for sale around here.
Really?
- Might be worth a look. - Hm-hmm.
Jenny?
- Aren't you coming? - We don't go in.
What are you talking about?
Why don't you go and get a nice cup of tea somewhere?
Helen will look after you.
I don't need looking after, thank you very much.
- David? - I'm not gonna tell you a second time.
Run along.
Oh, they won't be long. Either way.
Either way?
Well, sometimes they find something, sometimes they don't.
And when they do find something,
...we often have to leave quite quickly.
They can be quite naughty, sometimes.
Thank you. - Bye.
- See you around. - Catch!
Careful! Careful! Careful!
Come on.
- Helen. - Pass the ball.
Good.
Jenny!
- What? - You can stand there if you like,
...but I won't recommend it.
Cooee!
Jenny?
Sorry about being a little brisk back there, Jenny.
It's just the way we do things.
Silly, really.
Hey, don't forget your case.
Who's coming up for a drink?
- Jenny? - No.
You go. I'll make my own way home.
Jenny?
Jenny!
It's an old map. A speed.
Poor dear didn't even know what it was.
It's a waste. It shouldn't spend its life...
...on a wall in wherever the hell we were.
It should be with us. We have to to look after it properly.
- We liberated it. - Liberated!
That's one word for it.
Don't be bourgeois, Jenny. You're better than that.
You drink everything I put in front of you down in one...
...and you slam your glass down on the bar and ask for more.
It's wonderful.
We're not clever like you, so we've to be clever in other ways,
...because if we weren't, there would be no fun.
We have to be clever with maps, and... and...
You want to know what stats are?
Stats are old ladies who are scared of coloured people.
So we move the coloureds in and the old ladies move out...
...and I buy their flats cheap. That's what I do.
So now you know.
And...
...if you don't like it,
I will understand,
...and you can go back to Twickenham...
...and listen to the Home Service...
...and do your Latin homework.
But these weekends, and the restaurants and the concerts...
They don't grow on trees.
This is who we are, Jenny.
That's nice.
- Come on, you two. - Come on, up!
You can have my olive.
Come on.
I suppose you have homework to do.
You've no idea how boring everything was before I met you.
Action is character, our English teacher says.
I think it means that if we never did anything,
...we wouldn't be anybody.
And I never did anything before I met you.
And sometimes I think no one's ever done anything in this whole stupid country,
...apart from you.
- Okay. - Alright.
There you go.
Good night.
Marjorie, look at this.
"Clive"... lucky girl.
Never a dull moment with David, eh?
Better than that young man you brought home for tea.
David's a lot older than Graham.
Graham could live to be two hundred years old,
...you'll never see him swanning around with famous authors.
Hasn't got it in him.
Graham might become a famous author, for all you know.
Becoming one isn't the same as knowing one.
That shows you're well connected.
Very impressive young man, your David.
I must admit, life's a little brighter with him around.
What the hell are those?
Russian Sobranies.
Where did they come from?
She probably bought them from the Savoy, or Claridges...
...or the opera, or some fancy nightclub.
Who knows, with Jenny?
Paris. You can't buy them here.
- You never bought them yourself? - No. I never.
Shut up, you stuck-up cow!
But I'll bring you some back, if you like?
- You're joking? - No.
- He's taking you to Paris? - Yes.
- This term? - May be.
Wait.
Isn't it your birthday next Thursday?
Might be.
Oh, my God! Your birthday!
I would not like to be you.
All those supper's you've had off him.
Ouch!
You've such a Victorian attitude to sex, you two.
Your parents wouldn't let you swan off like that, would they?
Well, he haven't told them yet.
But David will come up with some story, he usually does.
Yeah, I've noticed that.
Chanel perfume, Chanel perfume.
Chanel lipstick, Chanel lipstick.
Those funny cigarettes you were smoking. Sobranies.
Ten packets each.
How much is that Chanel perfume?
Are you the girl going to Paris or are you not? Because...
Tina, top button.
Jenny, the headmistress wants a word with you.
The, uh, legend Mr. Rochester may have travelled further than you intended.
Come.
Ms. Mellor.
We're all very excited about...
...your forthcoming trip to Paris.
Our excitement, indeed, knows no bounds.
Some of us can talk of little else.
An older man, I understand.
A word of warning, Ms. Mellor.
There may well have been the odd...
...sixth-form girl who has lost...
...an important part of herself, perhaps the best part.
while under our supervision. These things happen, regrettably.
If, however, we are made aware of that loss, then...
...of course the young lady in question...
...would have to continue her studies elsewhere,
...if she still has any use for A-levels.
Do I make myself clear?
- Can I go now? - If you want.
What are you doing in there?
Well, I imagine she's lighting the candles on my cake.
You're seventeen not two hundred and fifty.
- Thanks for inviting me. - Oh, it was Marjorie's idea, not mine.
- Not even Jenny's for that matter. - Dad!
Well, blow them out, before the house burns down.
Wait up! Okay, don't wait.
Bravo.
- Who'd like a piece? - Me, please.
Come on. Come on. Presents.
What's that?
It's a new Latin dictionary.
Thank you. I needed a new one.
Oh dear.
Snap!
Oh, good grief!
- Jenny, you'd see this. - It's a special day.
- She's a special girl. - I know it.
Bit of help?
Makes your dictionary look a bit feeble, eh, Graham?
Gosh!
These are for you.
- Hello, young man. - Oh, David...
- David, would you like a drink? - I'd love one.
I'd better be going because...
...I have a stack of homework to do, so...
Thank you.
- Bye. - See you.
- Goodbye, Mr. Mellor. - See you, young man.
Thank you.
Wonderful to see you, Graham.
- Goodbye, Jenny. - Bye, Graham.
- Little something warming? - You know me so well.
- Can I open anything yet? - Wait for me.
Before you open that lot, I got a surprise.
Next weekend, we're all going to Cafe de Flore...
...to celebrate Jenny's birthday.
Lovely.
Cafe de Flore is in the Boulevard St. Germain, in Paris.
- What do you mean Paris? - You know the one, Dad.
No! No! No, no, no...
No, we don't have any French money. And besides, it's...
Well, I don't think he would agree with me.
Dad?
The French don't like us, Jenny. You know that.
John Sutton from work, he went there last year.
They were very rude to him.
I don't want to spoil anyone's fun,
...but it's just not for me, Europe.
- You'll have to go another time. - You've just said you don't like Europe.
So what's going to change? It'll have to be Europe, won't it?
Because it certainly won't be you.
- I'll take her. - To the continent?
- Why not? - And leave me here on my own?
Oh, for God's sake!
What do you think?
You know, what Jenny's like about France, Jack?
French films and books and music.
- Of course, I do. - Sorry.
Yes, because without saying, she's your daughter.
Jenny likes to joke about...
...how you're a stick in the mud and all the rest of it.
But I know that's not who you are.
Otherwise, she wouldn't be, who she is.
No.
But I can also see that, I've acted out of turn and...
...I'm sorry.
What about your aunt Helen?
An hour late! - We'll make it, I promise.
Okay, there's a flight at eight in the morning.
Good.
There's no bed!
I pushed the boat out and got us a suite.
- A suite? - Yeah.
Well, if work stops us from getting to Paris until tomorrow, then...
...work can buy us a nice hotel room.
Anyway, it's a special occasion, isn't it?
I'd have thought that tonight of all nights we only need a bed.
Hold on... one second. I've got something.
I thought...
I thought we might practice with this.
With a banana?
I thought we might get the messy bit over with first.
What?
David!
I don't want to lose my virginity to a piece of fruit.
I'm sorry.
Oh, I think the moment might have gone.
- I think we should wait until Paris. - I'm sorry, um...
Minnie.
I'm an idiot. I'm sorry.
David...
...if tomorrow night does happen, it's only ever going to happen once.
Why? Why it only ever happen once?
Because the first time can only ever happen once.
So...
No, baby talk.
No Minnie.
Just... treat me like a grown-up.
Okay?
I know. Let's go and sit in our sitting room.
Alright.
I'll order us some champagne.
Room service!
Sur Les Quais Du Vieux Paris performed by Juliette Greco
Do you still feel like a schoolgirl?
And it wasn't too uncomfortable?
Not after the... first bit.
It's funny, though, isn't it?
All that poetry, and all those songs...
...about something that lasts no time at all?
Yeah.
All your exercise books on my desk in a pile, please.
I bought this for you.
That's very kind of you.
But I can't accept it.
Why not?
It's because of people like you...
...that I plough through illiterate essays by Sandra Lovell about her pony.
But I know where this came from, Jenny.
And if I took it...
...I'll feel I would be betraying both of us.
Jenny.
You can do anything you want. You know that.
You're clever and you're pretty...
Is your boyfriend interested in clever, Jenny?
I'm not quite sure what you're trying to tell me.
I'm telling you to go to Oxford, no matter what.
Because if you don't, you'll break my heart.
- Where did you go? - Cambridge.
Well, you're clever and you're pretty.
So presumably, Clever Miss Stubbs won.
And here you are with your pony essays.
I don't know. These last few months...
I've eaten in wonderful restaurants, and went to jazz clubs,
...and watched wonderful films,
...heard beautiful music.
- Jenny, are you taking precautions? - It's nothing to do with that.
Isn't it?
Maybe all our lives are going to end up with pony essays.
Or housework.
And yes, maybe we'll go up to Oxford.
But if we're all going to die the moment we graduate,
...isn't it what we do before that counts?
I'm sorry, you think I'm dead.
I don't think you're dead. I just, uh...
I think, you'd better get to your next class.
Well done, Jenny.
I've never won anything before. Not even at the raffle.
...the sweetest looking one of yours always comes last.
- Let's go. - Can we do it again? I'm feeling lucky!
Come on, let's go. I don't want to miss him.
- Pick up your 10 bob on your way out. - I won 10 shillings!
Who is this man, anyway?
- Peter Rachman. - A complete bastard.
Why do we've to see him here?
Because he's not a sort of chap with an office.
Alright.
Ladies...
A bottle of your finest champagne, please.
There he is.
Come on, Jenny.
Tell them your good news. Don't be bashful.
No. Be sneezy.
Jenny got two A's and a B in her mock-A levels.
Like everyone else in this sophisticated establishment.
- The B was in Latin. - Well, seriously, congratulations.
Excuse us.
Don't worry too much.
About what?
Someone told me that in about 50 yrs no one will speak Latin, probably.
Not even Latin people.
So don't worry about your B.
He's even more of a bastard, than I thought.
You don't want him to marry your sister.
Or want to talk to him in a club, come to that.
You do know what you're doing, old chap?
With Jenny?
- This is the one, Danny. - Right.
You can see, she's different.
I just don't want to see her hurt.
Have you bought any more paintings recently?
Have I?
Yes. Picked up a little Piper.
A good one, I think.
I'm still trying to work out what makes good things good.
- It's hard, isn't it? - Well, the thing is, Jenny...
...you know,
...without necessarily being able to explain why.
See, you've taste.
That's not half the battle.
That's the whole war.
Jenny, we should go. It's late.
- Really? - Yeah.
Alas. One day, school will be over forever,
...and we can talk about art all night.
You're alright in a taxi, aren't you?
- Yeah. I'm fine. - Yeah?
Let's go. Come on.
Good night.
Wait here.
David, what are you looking for?
It's just...
What are you doing?
Will you marry me?
What were you looking for?
I... I thought I had a ring.
It wouldn't have been the right one. But it would have done for tonight.
Oh, David.
I'm serious.
You're very sweet.
What do you think?
- Take me home. - Alright.
They do need some looking after,
...but nothing that will require too much work.
Just leave them in your potting shed for a couple of weeks,
...and they'll look after themselves.
Fine, the potting shed.
Who does he think I am? Prince Rainier of Monaco?
What if I got married instead of going to college?
- Married? - Married.
Well, it would depend who it was, of course.
Would it?
- That's interesting. - Of course it would.
I wouldn't want you married off just for the sake of it.
Thanks.
- Has somebody asked you? - Yes.
Who?
David?
No. A man I just met walking his dog.
- What did you tell him? - Nothing yet.
Do you have a choice? Or is it too late?
Of course, she's got a choice.
An interesting choice too, eh?
This is where you're supposed to say,
"But what about Oxford?"
Well, looked at it another way,
...you wouldn't really need to go now, would you?
I wouldn't need to go.
- Would you like to expand on that? - You'd be looked after.
All that Latin! All those essays!
What was the point?
Why didn't you just send me prowling round nightclubs?
It would have been less trouble. And I might have had more fun.
I don't know about nightclubs, I know about education.
Anyway, looks like it might have turned out for the best.
How?
He wouldn't want you if you were thick, now, would he?
May not an ass know when the cart draws the horse?
Sings whoop jug, I love thee.
And when it says "Sings",
...it means, you sing the line.
Never mind. Right. Leer?
Does any here know me?
This is not Lear. Does Lear walk thus?
Speak thus?
Where are his eyes?
Waking? Who is it that can tell me who I am?
Oh, Miss, me. I can.
Oh, Jenny.
What?
Take it off.
Oh, my God!
Is that what I think it is?
I'm going to be a bridemaid!
You know the school rule on jewelry.
Half the girls in this room are wearing jewelry.
Yes. But none of it is going to ruin their lives.
We have a difference of opinion about that.
How far advanced are these ridiculous plans?
Have you set a date? Have you decided on a church?
We won't be getting married in a church.
David's Jewish.
Jewish?
He's a Jew?
You're aware, I take it, that the Jews killed our Lord?
And you're aware, I suppose, that our Lord was Jewish?
I suppose he told you that.
We're all very sorry about what happened at during the War.
But that's absolutely no excuse for that sort of...
...malicious and untruthful propaganda.
Anyway, I can see, you're far more in need of responsible advice...
...than I realised.
Nobody does anything worth doing without a degree.
Nobody does anything worth doing with a degree.
No woman, anyway.
So what I do isn't worth doing?
Or what Ms. Stubbs does, or Mrs. Wilson, or any of us here?
Because none of us would be here without our degree,
...you do realise that, don't you?
And yes, of course studying is hard, and boring...
- Boring! - I'm sorry?
Studying is hard and boring.
Teaching is hard and boring.
So you're telling me to be bored, and then bored,
...and finally bored again, but this time for the rest of my life.
This whole stupid country is bored.
There's no life in it, or colour, or fun.
It's probably just as well, the Russians are gonna drop...
...a nuclear bomb on us any day now. So...
...my choice is to do something hard and boring,
...or to marry my Jew.
And go to Paris and Rome and listen to jazz...
...and read and eat good food in nice restaurants...
...and have fun.
It's not enough to educate us any more, Ms. Walters.
You've got to tell us, why you're doing it.
It doesn't have to be teaching, you know?
There's the Civil Service.
I don't wish to be impertinent, Ms. Walters.
But it is an argument worth rehearsing.
You never know.
Someone else might want to know the point of it all, one day.
Where did you find him?
I can't tell you that.
- Why? - I think he likes you.
Do you like her? "I thought you would like her. "
You... you don't? What?
You don't remember? It's Jenny!
You remember her from last time. "No, I don't. "
Yes, you do!
You naughty! You're pardoned?
Stick to your own species.
He wants to kiss you, I think.
Isn't that naughty?
We are engaged.
No!
- Really? - Yeah.
- Engaged? - Show her.
Yes, look!
Gosh! That's fantastic news.
Thank you.
Congratulations.
I knew you'd see sense about university.
You'll stay pretty now.
Can I still read?
Of course, but it doesn't have to be books, does it?
And magazines will do just as well.
And you learn more from them anyway.
Oh, Helen.
Oh, you won't be laughing, David,
...when she gets all speccy and spotty.
Danny didn't seem very pleased about our engagement.
I noticed that, too! Thought he might be a bit jealous.
Jealous?
We're going to keep him away from you.
I mean, what I'm supposed to order for starter, anyway?
And how will I know what is a starter and what isn't?
We've been through this, Dad.
It'll be quite clearly marked on the menu.
Oh, can't the three of you just go on your own?
Leave me here. I'll be perfectly happy with a tin of salmon.
Hello. - Hello.
Ready?
I think you'll like this place, Jack.
Their wine list is as good as anything I've seen in London.
Yes, someone told me that.
David, probably. Who else would it have been?
Madam.
I was hoping you'd take us in this.
Hey, you won't want to drive in anything else after tonight.
- Mind you, it drinks petrol. - Yes.
I'm afraid we'll have to stop on the way into town.
- I feel like Eamonn Andrews. - Is that a good thing?
Eamonn Andrews is the poshest person that Jack can imagine being.
How are you tonight, sir? - Very well.
You might as well fill her up.
I'm gonna make a quick call. I'll be two ticks.
Do you think I should offer to help, pay for the petrol?
Would he feel insulted, what do you think?
I know, he said tonight was his treat.
But, does that apply to the petrol, what do you think?
I'm quite sure it does, Jack.
- Jack! - Come on, it just came off.
- Filled my bill? Huh? - Thank you, sir.
Take this.
Jenny! Jenny...
- Take us home. - What's wrong?
I'm afraid there's been...
- Jenny's in bit of a shock. - What's happened?
It's just another one of David's little muddles and misunderstandings.
I don't want to hear another word from anybody.
- Take us home. Now! - Fine.
You can take care of this, can't you, David?
Go inside, Dad.
Mr. and Mrs. David Goldman,
Mr. and Mrs. David...
You're married!
Legally, yes, but I...
When were you going to tell me?
Soon.
It just never seemed like the right time.
You seemed so happy, and I was happy...
You were living with your wife! All this time!
Around the corner! Byron Avenue!
It's no wonder we kept bumping into each other, is it?
- What number? - Thrity four.
Don't be like this. Come on.
I have nothing.
I didn't take my exams.
I do... I left school.
Where's it all gone, now?
I can get a divorce.
Everything will turn out for the best.
Go and tell them.
Go and tell them, then go and tell your wife.
They won't listen now. Alright?
I'll come round tomorrow. When...
...everyone's a bit calmer.
Please don't leave me...
Please don't leave me to tell them on my own.
You owe me that much. You owe them that much.
I owe them much more than that.
Two minutes. And then I'll come out and drag you in.
What's going on?
He's helping himself to some Dutch courage before facing you.
Stolen Dutch courage, from the look of it.
He has something he has to tell you.
He just drove off.
Can you tell us?
Jenny, please?
I wouldn't worry about it too much.
- When I found out... - Not now, Helen.
I tried to tell him.
I'm not speaking to him now,
...if that's any consolation.
It's a funny world you people live in.
You both watched me carrying on with a married man,
...and you did't think it's worth saying anything about.
If you want that conversation...
You watched David and I help ourselves to a map,
...and you didn't say much either.
Come on, you. Let's go.
Good boy.
Hello.
Sorry, I think I have the wrong number.
I was looking for my... I wanted number for my cello lesson.
Oh, no. Don't tell me.
Good God!
You're a child.
You didn't know about any of this.
Presumably.
No. They never do.
You're not in the family way, are you?
Because that's happened before.
Thank God for that.
No. No. You stay here.
Did you see her? - Yes, I saw her.
I didn't talk to her. There wasn't any need.
We've to have this out.
Well, if you won't do it, I will.
- I'm still your father. - You're my father again, are you?
What were you when you encouraged me to throw my life away?
Silly schoolgirls are always getting seduced by glamorous older men.
What about you two?
Jenny?
Jenny, I'm sorry.
I know... I know I've made a mess of everything.
All my life I've been scared,
I didn't want you to be scared.
That's why I wanted you to go to Oxford.
And then along came David, and...
...he knew famous writers,
...he knew how to get to classical music concerts.
But he wasn't who he said he was.
He wasn't who you said he was, either.
The other day, your mother and I were listening to a...
...a program on the radio about C.S. Lewis and they said...
...that he moved to Cambridge in 1954.
I... I said... well, they've got that wrong.
Our Jenny wouldn't have his name in her book...
...if he'd moved to Cambridge.
There's a cup of tea and some biscuits out here.
How do you think we can help?
I want to repeat my last year at school.
And take my exams.
I got the impression the last time we spoke...
...that you didn't see the point of school.
Or of me, or of any of us here.
I know. I was stupid.
The life I want... there's no shortcut.
I know now that I need to go to university.
It gives me absolutely no pleasure whatsoever to see...
...our young schoolgirls throwing their lives away.
Although, of course, you're not one of our schoolgirls any more.
Through your own volition.
I suppose you think I'm a ruined woman.
You're not a woman.
No, I'm afraid, I think that the offer of a place at this school...
...would be wasted on you.
Come in.
I didn't expect to see you again.
This is lovely.
All your books and pictures and...
Paperbacks and postcards, Jenny.
That's all you need, isn't it?
Just somewhere to...
I'm sorry I said those silly things.
I didn't understand them.
Let's forget about it.
A Burne-Jones.
- Do you like him? - I do.
Still.
Still?
You sound very old and wise.
I feel old.
But not very wise.
Ms. Stubbs, I need your help.
I was so hoping that's what you were gonna say.
Thank you, Marjorie.
It's from Oxford.
It is my pleasure, to inform you that...
...your application to read English at Oxford has been accepted.
On behalf of the Faculty of Arts, staff of the University...
So I went to read English books.
And did my best to avoid the speccy-spotty fate that Helen had predicted for me.
I probably look as wide-eyed, fresh and artless...
...as any other student.
But I wasn't.
One of the boys I went out with, and they really were boys,
...once asked me to go to Paris with him.
And I told him, I'd love to.
I was dying to see Paris.
As if I'd never been!
Subtitle by silentFØX