Familiarity need not breed contempt.
A new adventure or a special dress
can render the mundane bright and the accustomed novel.
Sometimes, we simply see each other through fresh eyes...
and there's joy in it.
I cannot comprehend how you can fail to build on your experience.
You've been here for over six months.
You should have delivered numberless babies in that time
without any supervision.
Well, I think Nurse Crane just wanted me to be sure of everything.
One can never be sure of everything in childbirth.
It doesn't matter whether you're in Poplar or Peking.
There may be only so many ways a baby can emerge into the world,
but they have a peerless ability to surprise us.
Nurse Crane says that I'm not really...
Until Nurse Crane says she's coming home from hospital,
I think you'll find that I'm in charge of the rota.
From tomorrow morning, your name will be on the call board.
I'm going to put it there myself.
Goodness me! We weren't expecting a mannequin parade.
Well, we thought we ought to make an effort.
Mrs Turner's been planning her canapes for weeks.
She's doing hard-boiled eggs
stuffed with kipper mousse and cheese and pineapple on sticks.
That all sounds very modern.
The Brook Advisory Centre's very modern,
and if a range of canapes helps to rally support for a branch
in our borough, I happen to think that's all to the good.
Well, I hope you all have a very pleasant evening,
and that you'll listen to other points of view.
But of course, Sister.
No, I don't think so. Thank you.
I see someone's up after their bedtime.
They insisted on saying hello before bed,
but I think they just wanted a chance to be nosy.
Hello, young lady.
Have you got even bigger since I saw you last?
In fact, you're all positively gigantic!
I suggest you stop feeding them immediately.
You might be right. You can have a handful of peanuts each
and then it's up the wooden hill to Bedfordshire.
Violet, I am so pleased that you could come.
I think I'd better be Councillor Buckle this evening,
- all things considered. - Of course.
Can I tempt you to a glass of wine?
Oh, just a small dry sherry, thank you,
as I'm on official business.
- Please. - Thank you.
We believe that a Brook Advisory Centre would be a boon to Poplar.
The central London branch already gives access to contraception
and confidential advice to anyone who requires it,
including, very importantly, unmarried women.
But the reality is that single women are most in need of those services.
They're the ones whose lives are turned upside down
by unwanted pregnancies.
And, unfortunately, those women often take desperate measures
when they find themselves in that predicament.
How much would all this cost?
The Brook Foundation would fund it at the outset,
but we would need the council to provide the running costs.
It will be money well spent for the women of Poplar.
The problem is, we don't just look after women.
We have to think about everyone -
men, women, children, handicapped.
If we give you money,
then we have to take it away from someone else,
and that can't be right.
Can it, Mother Mildred?
I have yet to form an opinion.
I came here tonight to listen, mark, learn and inwardly digest.
I mean, information and not canapes.
And so these swimmers steady for the start
of this 100-metre freestyle.
And they're away beautifully.
An excellent start there from McGregor,
the "Falkirk Flyer” as he's known...
The harvest cross was the first corn dolly I learned to make.
I've made one every harvest festival since.
It's certainly very intricate.
Well, they're supposed to be potent fertility symbols.
Then perhaps we should prepare for busy times.
Swim, plough the waters, like Poseidon's hippocampi!
Gold shall be your reward!
- The finals of the men's 100-metre swim. - This young man
carries Olympic hopes for our nation.
So far, gold has evaded our British team...
But as he heads there,
it's gold for Schollander, quite easily, silver for Bob McGregor...
and evades us yet again.
He got the silver.
It's still a medal.
It'll have to suffice.
If I were a betting woman,
I'd put a shilling on your having your first solo delivery
- before the week is out. - You sound very convinced.
I said a shilling, not a half-crown!
Babies come along when they feel inclined.
We can only prepare, we can never predict.
Thank you very much, Mrs Jones.
Hello. Would you like to come with me?
Are those for Nurse Crane?
Yes.
Would you mind passing this on to her as well?
It would seem that Nurse Crane has quite the fan club.
I'll deliver them this evening.
I'm sure she'll appreciate that.
That came from your boots. You sound like
you've got the weight of the world on your shoulders.
That's what it feels like.
Is this about last night?
I stood for the council because I considered myself
to be one of life's problem-solvers.
I'd agree with that.
I knew I'd be taking responsibility for potholes
and dicky streetlights,
but not the moral wellbeing of the young women of Poplar.
They were right - Dr Turner and Trixie. They could do a lot of good.
- I just wish that... - They could do it a bit cheaper?
Exactly.
- Mrs Pugh? - Mrs Blakemore?
Allright. Oh.
Thank you. So...
When's this little beggar going to put in an appearance, then?
Not long, Mrs Blakemore.
That's... That's music to my ears.
I've had everything ready at home for, well, for weeks.
And you seem very calm about it.
I worried myself silly over the first one. My sisters didn't help.
Full of horror stories they were about their babies,
but come my big day...
Oh, as simple as that.
Well, Eric said I made a right racket last time.
Could hear me down the docks, apparently!
If you just come around this way...
The first few months were a trial.
If it hadn't been for my neighbour, Connie...
I didn't know a soul when I moved here with my Vince.
- It must have been pretty lonely. -Hm.
I'm so relieved to have my get-up-and-go back,
cos things were getting a bit desperate.
And my Vince is not at all domesticated,
and with him spending all his time down the dog track...
Oh, he's a bookie. He's not a gambler.
He just takes their money.
Well, I'm glad to hear you're feeling better.
Was there something else, Mrs Pugh?
It's my waterworks.
When I go for a wee, and I've been needing to go a lot, and...
Anyway, it burns,
and this morning I noticed a smell, like, down there.
And not a nice one.
It's probably nothing to worry about, but let's make absolutely sure.
We'll start with a urine sample, shall we?
This is a serious matter.
The pride of the nation is at stake.
Is it?
The future will be upon us,
measured in increments of four years.
His proportions were far from ideal for track and field anyway.
Athletes must be ectomorphs.
Slender, and bred for speed, like a whippet.
Elizabeth, these children are not dogs.
Perhaps a little young to be considering the Olympics.
Our Antipodean friends encourage athleticism at a very young age,
and the Soviets seemingly from conception.
Yes, but I'm not sure you should be taking childcare advice from the gulags.
Let them play, Sister.
Stand by your beds.
They reckon it could be any minute.
You'd better get some dinner on, then.
Or me and the lad could take a walk down the chippy.
Hey?
Yes! Hey?
I'll go and do some bread and butter. Do you want some chips, love?
No, thanks, I've already got something special planned.
Oh...
I do wish Councillor Buckle had been more forthcoming about funds.
If you think she's wrong then you must change her mind.
Iintend to. I just simply don't know how.
Use your initiative!
Use your resources, use Sister Julienne.
She knows more about this district and its travails
than anyone else in this room.
Whilst I admire the enthusiasm being shown for this project,
I don't necessarily share it.
And nordo I.
But you told Nurse Franklin that she should listen
to opposing points of view,
and so should we.
May I leave the table early, Mother Mildred?
My gran's expecting me this evening.
Very nice.
Tell me, what do you think your grandmother would have thought
of a proposal like Brook?
- Uh... - When she was about
the age you are now.
I should think she'd have danced in the streets.
She once told me her first memory was being held up
to kiss her mother in her coffin.
She'd died giving birth to her ninth child.
And her second memory...
was of her dad taking his belt to her older sister, who'd come home
in the family way and wasn't married.
When he hit her in the face, the buckle broke her tooth.
I'm sorry.
But it was the way things were where I come from.
And where we work now.
Oh, Miss Higgins? I wasn't expecting visitors this evening.
Nurse Crane.
I trust you're well?
I understand my progress is quite satisfactory.
I'll pass that on to your well-wishers.
We've had quite a volume of enquiries about you at the surgery.
Even Sergeant Woolf has been enquiring.
Has he now?
Oh, I've put a little something in here, too.
It's a book of verses by Patience Strong.
Her simple words have brought me great comfort over the years,
although knowing that so many people have you in their thoughts
must be quite gladdening.
Itis.
Thank you, Miss Higgins.
Oh, give over! You make me crazy.
I thought you were feeling better.
Yeah, I am.
I've even made us a special dinner.
Corned beef pie.
Oh, you're spoiling me.
Then I thought we might have an early night.
I didn't think you were working tonight, Vince.
There's a couple of tasty races on tonight.
Big crowds with loose pockets,
and a little one on the way.
I'L wait up.
It'll be late.
I'L wait up.
I'm not nicking it, I'm just keeping it ticking over
until Nurse Crane gets back.
Do we know when that might be?
Well, you'd best ask the fount of all wisdom.
Ah, Mother Mildred! I was just enquiring after Nurse Crane.
Wondering whether a visit might be welcome.
- From whom? - Well, from me.
Nurse Crane requires complete rest.
I expect she'll receive you when she returns.
In the meantime, might you be able to forward her this?
It's a written report detailing the activities of the Cub Scouts
undertaken in her absence.
I said complete rest.
She's a one-woman Siegfried Line.
I'll make sure she gets it.
Thank you.
Ah, Nurse Franklin!
- Can I help you with anything, Dr Turner? - Yes.
I've had Heather Pugh's results back.
I wonder if you're able to come on a home visit.
Yes, of course.
Mrs Pugh, I'm afraid you've tested positive for gonorrhoea.
You mean the clap?
Is it serious?
It's perfectly treatable,
but the problem is with how the disease is contracted.
It's sexually transmitted.
Then your tests are wrong.
My Vince is the only man I've ever been with.
And I made him wait till our wedding night.
He will also need to be tested.
What? Vince?
No, he wouldn't. We love each other.
Right now your baby is our priority.
Gonorrhoea can cause a serious eye infection in newborns.
There is a risk of permanent damage.
But we're also worried about you going into labour early,
so we'd like to look after you at the maternity home
and start your treatment.
I don't understand.
Maybe I could help you pack some things.
Evening, Doctor, Nurse.
Everything all right?
Vince, you have to hear this.
- They've got it so wrong. - What is it?
Well, they think that you've given me the clap.
That can't be right, can it?
Cos you'd never go with another woman, would you?
Vince?
You all right, darling?
She ain't started already, has she? Bit early.
We're just going to keep an eye on her.
It's lovely to see you, kid.
Brought you some clean things.
Good girl.
And this... from Sergeant Woolf.
He seems very worried about you.
There's no need to be drawing any fanciful conclusions from that.
He's your secret admirer, isn't he?
- The one you told me about. - Now, what have I just said?
I had hoped it would be a case of out of sight, out of mind.
Haven't you heard?
Absence makes the heart grow fonder.
Please tell your wife, Mr Eden, that a midwife is on her way,
and please don't panic.
Mrs Eden is having contractions in the street.
I'm first on call. On my way.
Meaning the next call is yours.
Yes, Sister, so I am aware.
You're more than ready.
I take it that this is not your first infection?
It's the clap. We've all had a dose.
I can assure you that's not the case.
I will be treating you with penicillin.
You need to abstain from sexual contact
until the infection is completely gone or, at very least, use a sheath.
Understood.
I am eager to prevent the infection spreading any further,
and whilst I appreciate that speaking to someone with whom
you've had an extramarital affair might be difficult...
No, it wasn't an affair!
I love my wife.
Whatever the nature of the romantic liaison...
It wasn't that, either. It wasn't romantic, it was...
It was business.
I paid for it.
I will still need to speak with the woman in question.
Once you're able to work unaided,
I am rendered surplus to requirements.
I will go home to the mother house
when you're able to prove yourself as a member of staff.
Nonnatus House, midwife speaking.
Go home to your wife and tell her help is on the way.
Mrs Constance Blakemore, second baby,
no complications noted.
Just the job for you.
I hope so.
- Well, chop chop, child! - Ohhh...
Don't forget your most essential instruments...
courage and humility.
If you leaven one with the other, you cannot fail.
Can you manage, Sister?
I'm managing perfectly well, thank you.
Why are you telling me this? It's disgusting!
Because I need you to understand it's got nothing to do with you!
I thought we had a good time together.
It was only for a couple of months when I wasn't feeling me best.
I don't think you're meant to be in here,
- are you? - Please, Sister, just get him out.
- If you'd kindly leave... - I'L never do it again, I swear.
I love you, Heather.
Please speak to her!
Mr Pugh, I'm asking you to leave.
She's waiting for you.
Good.
That's good.
I suppose I'd better go up.
I've taken the lad over to my mother's.
I'll just go and make sure he's all right.
Connie made a right racket last time. I didn‘t want him scared.
No, no, we definitely don't want that.
Don't worry, I'll be straight back to boil the kettle and all that.
You make yourself at home.
I had hoped we'd get a little more warning.
A week's notice isn't very much to prepare May and the children.
And ourselves.
We'll just play a couple of games, and I'll buy you some chips
- on the way home. - What's this?
- Bribery and corruption? - Bingo with my gran.
I'm just trying to drum up some support.
I'm sorry, Val, but I do have a previous engagement this evening.
That would explain why Cyril is in the hall.
Already?
How do I look?
Too good for bingo.
So, what are you doing tonight, Trix?
When the master of ceremonies in the bingo hall calls out,
"The Lord is my Shepherd”, he is in fact referring to the number 23.
Miss Anderson!
May I say you're looking especially elegant this evening?
Thank you, Cyril.
You look very nice too.
You'll have to excuse us now, Sister.
We don't want to be late for Cliff Richard.
Oh, actually, we can't be late, because the cinema is closed tonight.
I just walked past and there's a sign up saying
that the projector's broken.
Oh, no! And we're all dressed up.
Hmm. I could fetch the bike and take us to the social club.
No, I don't think so.
An evening replete with delights awaits you,
should you choose to join your companions at the bingo.
I hadn't thought of that. We can wait for the others and go with them.
Wouldn't you rather a nice walk by the river?
I think he fears the element of mathematics.
You are an engineer.
Numbers should not daunt you.
The phrase "legs eleven” is almost self-explanatory.
Right, so that's done.
Um, next?
Well, I'm going to shave you, Mrs Blackmore,
- if that's all right with you? - You're in charge, Sister.
Yes, I suppose I am, really.
Good.
Um, now shave, and then I'L prepare you an enema.
Oh, no need for that.
Mother Nature's beaten you to it.
Oh!
Right.
Who's got room for some raspberry ripple?
It's a good job I bought two blocks.
Um, before we have pudding, we need to talk to you all.
- We have had some news today. - Good news.
May is finally going to be joining her new family.
When?
Soon.
The Tunnocks have been waiting a long time for May to join them.
And how's that good news?
Timothy, I know that makes us all a little sad,
but we should be happy that May is going to be with her new mummy and daddy
- and her sister in her new home. - She's already got a new home!
You knew that May was only staying with us
until Mr Tunnock was feeling better.
So, what about that raspberry-ripple ice cream?
Oh, gosh! I'm not sure I've got the concentration for this.
Eyes down for your first game, ladies... and gentlemen.
Starting with... buckle my shoe, 32.
Oh! Perfect.
She's a natural.
I think she just heard the word "shoe", Gran.
And now we have legs eleven.
Oh, I know that one!
Give me your pen.
- Gran, what's wrong? - Oh, these chairs!
Hope's more forgiving.
I had to bring in a cushion.
- And it's Burlington Bertie... - Is it your boil again?
- Shh! - ...number 30.
- Shh. - Eyes down.
Well, that was the quietest bedtime we've had in a while.
They didn't even want a story.
Have you been called out?
I'm going to see Mr Pugh's "preferred establishment”,
and I thought I'd better visit during business hours.
Will we ever see her again?
May?
I don't know.
That will depend on her new family, I suppose.
But if they say we can?
Then of course we will.
Oh, Timothy!
Being a foster family is about showing children
how a normal family life can be until they move on
to their permanent families.
May's turned into such a happy and confident little girl
- since living with us. - I know, Mum.
I just worry about Angela.
She won't understand.
Young children are more robust than we give them credit for.
Is there something wrong?
Oh, I'm sorry.
No, nothing's amiss. I just want to make sure everything goes swimmingly for you,
like with your son.
You're all right, love.
Go on, you do whatever you have to do.
Oh, here we go again!
Oh...
The thing is, it's not about what I need to do.
It's about making sure that you can do what you need to do.
I don't catch your drift.
Well, you did say you were quite loud during your last delivery.
It's just that, last time, Eric said I put the fear of Go... God into him.
Well, I've already got that.
That's it, Mrs Blakemore. Give it all you've got!
5and 8 - 58.
5and 6... Was she worth it?
76.
House!
Beginner's luck!
Tell him winners get the teas.
Three sugars in mine, and I'll have a ginger nut.
Oh, Gran.
Can't take these - you won them fair and square.
I'm not sure Valerie's grandmother would agree.
True.
Winning the raffle did add insult to injury.
- She had her heart set on that cake. - Mm-hm!
My luck was in.
It has been for a couple of weeks.
It'll be boiled in a minute.
There's biscuits in the tin, though I would have preferred a slice of Madeira.
Oh, Gran!
Only joking.
You've got lovely friends...
That's it, you're going to see Dr Turner in the morning.
It's nothing a warm flannel won't sort out.
Oh, if it'll make you happy.
You always were a bossy little madam, weren't you?
Yeah. I wonder who I got that from!
Dr Turner! I wasn't expecting a house call.
I'm here in a professional capacity.
I think it's best I come in.
They say you forget the pain, don't they?
But I'm sure it hurts more than last time.
It's not just round the front this time.
Oh, my backside!
You've got pain in your rectum?
Yeah, I'd say!
It's not the usual pain, either.
Oh, it's sharp!
I see.
I think perhaps we should get you on your hands and knees.
All right, but first
I think you need to turn a knob on that thing to get it started.
So I do. Silly me!
You'll need to come to the surgery tomorrow for your second injection,
and in the meantime...
Closed for business? I know.
And please think about what I said.
- There are ways to protect yourself. - The customers just won't wear ‘em.
Sorry, love, not working tonight.
Mr Pugh! I think we should talk!
Yeah, well, I don't, so leave me alone.
Not until you understand how damaging this behaviour can be, and not just to you.
Of course I flamin' understand! I'm not stupid.
- Then tell me why you're here. - I don't know!
Look, I didn't even mean to!
I didn't know what else to do with myself, not with my Heather gone.
This is exactly the behaviour that caused your separation in the first place!
Don't you think I know that?
Mrs Blakemore, I think I've found the problem.
We have what's called a compound presentation here.
What does that mean?
Baby's trying to come out elbow first, which explains the pain
and why things are taking a little bit longer than expected.
- It's very unusual. - But you have seen it before?
I've read about them a lot,
but I've never seen one in real life.
But don't worry, Mrs Blakemore,
I'm going to ask your husband to telephone for another midwife.
Let's not mess about, love! You've got me this far.
A second pair of hands will come in useful.
I think you're going to need a little bit of extra help to get Baby out.
It's not long now, Mrs Blakemore. Little breaths again.
I'm just making a little cut to help Baby out.
Here we go.
Push... Push!
Here comes Baby. Gentle, gentle!
Here comes the little one. Oh, Mrs Blakemore!
Here's Baby.
A little girl!
Is she all right? Have I hurt her?
She's absolutely perfect.
Well done, Mum!
You took your time, my girl, didn't you?
Well done, you, Sister!
We don't need back-up.
We did it on our own.
Just the three of us.
Warmest congratulations, Sister Frances.
You have earned an extra egg and an additional slice of bacon.
You must be exhausted. Come and sit down.
I can't. I've not finished my work yet.
Thank you, God, for not leaving me alone
when I was on my own.
Thank you.
Amen.
Time for your injection, sweetie.
- Back to bed, ladies! - Talk of the ward, am I?
Not at all.
I know what it's like around here for gossip.
What do you think me and Connie talk about all day? The price of cheese?
Maybe it's just my turn.
Maybe I'm getting what I deserve.
I don't think that's true, not for a second.
I thought I was doing everything I was supposed to,
in the house and in bed.
"Worth the wait." That's what he said to me
when I wouldn't, before we were married.
Obviously, I wasn't worth the wait.
I wasn't worth anything at all,
because he had me at home but still he'd rather pay.
You must have really been in pain with this, Mrs Dyer.
I've had worse.
Only a boil.
It's actually a cluster of several boils,
commonly known as a carbuncle.
Even the name sounds horrible.
A course of antibiotics ought to see it off,
but... am going to take a quick swab...
and test to see if it's been caused
by Staphylococcus aureus or Streptococcus pyogenes,
or anything else.
I'd rather tell people I had something like that
than a carbuncle.
I like medical names -
they're more elegant.
Well, whatever the cause, you'll need to keep this area
and your hands scrupulously clean.
I'll arrange for you to have your dressing changed every day
when you have your penicillin injection.
My Val can do all of that.
It's best you come here.
I need to make sure you're behaving yourself!
Here she is!
The woman of the hour! Come in, Sister. Have a drink.
Not whilst I'm on duty, Mr Blakemore.
It really is a little too soon for Mrs Blakemore to be having visitors.
Oh, Connie doesn't mind. She's having a lie-down.
Could sleep through a hurricane, that one.
Sorry, I'm going to need this little one.
Mrs Blakemore, whatever is the matter?
I wish I knew.
Oh, no!
Oh, not now!
Nurse!
I've never been one for tears.
Once I started, I couldn't stop.
I'm so tired.
I can't settle her.
She's still bruised because of the way she was born.
But not as bruised as you, Mrs Blakemore.
Remember, you've had stitches.
You shouldn't even have been out of bed.
It's time for everyone to leave.
Auntie Jean's only just got here!
Mr Blakemore, your wife's just been through a difficult birth!
Connie loves having her house full.
Then why is she crying in the bedroom?
Now, please, everybody,
Connie needs to be left in peace.
Thank you.
If the baby's decided it's time, there's not a lot we can do about it,
which is why we brought you here,
where you and the baby will get the best care.
What about Vince?
What about him, sweetie?
Do you think he should know?
That it's happening?
Only if it's what you want.
I don't know what I want.
We talked about what today would be like,
the day we became parents, and it wasn't like this.
We'll see if we can get word to him.
How's Heather doing?
She's still at the maternity home.
Um... Oh, would you...?
Would you see that she gets these?
We take it in turn to buy ‘em.
She likes the recipes.
May I say this feels like quite an honour, Sister?
I thought I was going to get one of the junior nurses.
The privilege is all mine, Mrs Dyer.
Did the doctor find out what germ caused this?
According to your notes, it seems to be Streptococcus pyogenes.
We used to dread these infections before antibiotics.
If they were picked up by women after childbirth,
they would die.
That's all finished. You can adjust your clothing.
Oh.
You've got a superior touch.
Hardly felt a thing.
I hope my Val turns out to be as good as you.
Valerie is an excellent midwife
and a thoroughly nice young woman.
You can't go wrong when you've got a sharp brain and warm heart.
She's got both.
When she said about going off to nursing,
I said to myself, "You watch her go, Else.
"She'll do everything you never did."
Did you have aspirations to be a nurse?
It weren't for the likes of me in them days.
Being a nurse was something ladies did.
Anyway, I left school at 12.
I'd never have had the learning.
Mr Pugh, your wife is in labour, and she's asking for you,
so if you'd like to put on a shirt...
No, I'm the last thing she needs.
The last thing anybody needs.
You saw that for yourself the other night.
What I saw is a man who needs help.
It started when I was on national service.
They sent me to Berlin.
I'd barely been past the end of my street before.
I was miserable.
I took it out on everyone else.
I kept getting in fights.
The next time I threw a punch,
it was going to be the glasshouse for me.
Luckily, I had a sergeant who knew I just needed to, er...
let off some steam.
He took you to a brothel?
It worked.
I settled down and I did my time.
But when I came home... I couldn't stop.
Until I met Heather.
So what changed?
It started when she got pregnant.
Self-destructive behaviour is not an unusual reaction
to high-stress situations.
Drink, gambling, narcotics,
I've seen them all used in that manner.
I think your visits to prostitutes are the same.
I've everything a man could want.
I've got a beautiful wife and a baby on the way.
Becoming a father is wonderful,
but it's also the biggest responsibility you will ever have to shoulder.
And I've buckled under the pressure before it's even born.
That may be, but you have got the chance to rebuild.
Is he here?
He's right outside, Mrs Pugh, and that's where he'll stay,
unless you say otherwise.
Let's concentrate on the job in hand, shall we?
That's good, Mrs Pugh.
Now slow down a little.
Gently does it.
And just breathe for me.
Baby's head's been born. Very nearly there.
That's it.
Now just another push, Mrs Pugh.
There we go.
A little girl.
Well done, sweetie.
How are her eyes?
Has she caught it from me?
Let's find out.
No obvious signs of infection.
I still think we should start treatment.
Shh.
Quick, it's the Ann Packer race.
Run, Miss Packer.
You are Artemis, goddess of the chase.
Give it some welly, love!
Oh, she's got herself boxed in!
Come on, Ann!
Nonnatus House, midwife speaking.
Hello, I need to speak to Nurse Dyer.
Tell her it's Auntie Flo.
Valerie!
It's your Aunt Flo. It sounds urgent.
- Flo? - Val?
I need you down the pub.
Bring your nurse's bag...
and come round the back.
Your gran's here with me.
Well, either someone's gone into labour in between two kegs of mild or...
I don't know. It sounds like there's been some sort of accident.
Hm. Perhaps I should come with you.
She might just do it.
Look at her go! Go on, darling! Ha-ha!
Yes!
Auntie Flo, what's happened?
I didn't send for two of you, I sent for her.
It sounded urgent - we thought you might need reinforcements.
You'd better get upstairs. Go on!
There you are, darling. Itold you it was on its way.
What sort of help does she need, Gran?
Help stopping the bleeding, help cleaning her up.
Help if the baby comes away.
I take it that that was in fact the object of this enterprise?
Yes. It was... Gran.
Gran, has someone been doing an abortion?
Yes.
Me.
You know it goes on all over,
just like everybody else does.
She ain't never had this happen before, not once.
You wanted towels.
Don't you dare bring these filthy articles anywhere near my patient.
Throw them on the floor, please, so I don't slip in this mess.
Thank you.
Can you put some gloves on, Nurse Dyer,
in case I need you to prepare some ergometrine?
Sweetheart, can you tell me your name?
It's Teresa.
I'm just going to take a little look down below, Teresa.
I send them home to bed usually.
They lose it at night, or the next day.
Move your knees apart for me.
- I've never seen anything like this. - Good girl.
We're going to sort this out.
I reckon there was already something wrong with her.
It's the haemorrhage she's having now that concerns me. Did you use instruments?
Yes.
Thank you.
Nurse Dyer, I need sterile pads
and I need you to call for an ambulance.
I can't do that.
You know I can't. It's why we sent for her.
You can and you will,
because if either Nurse Dyer or I have to leave this poor girl's side to do it,
we'll be coming back here with a police officer, won't we?
Yes.
I don't want my mum and dad to know.
I promise, Teresa, right now
nobody in this room is thinking about anyone but you.
Oh, Mother Mildred.
Can I help you?
I'm struggling with a recalcitrant shoelace.
You may assist me, if you wish.
Is that your suitcase, Mother?
I arrived without fanfare,
I leave the same way.
But why now?
Remember what I told you, child.
Because now I can.
Still no signs of infection.
But we will continue the drops
just to be on the safe side.
Infection's not always obvious so soon after birth.
Is Vince still here?
He is.
Would you like to see him?
I don't know.
I thought I did, but I can't just forget what he did,
and I can't pretend it didn't happen.
And neither should you, Mrs Pugh.
Maybe it would help to talk about it.
And how are we supposed to do that?
I'd be happy to refer you to the National Marriage Guidance Council.
It's a service where you and your husband
can discuss your relationship with a counsellor -
someone who can help you talk about what happened...
if you're both ready to be honest with each other.
And do you think Vince is ready?
Ido.
I'm cold.
There will be another blanket in the ambulance, sweetie.
It's Pullman service all the way now.
I'm not leaving her. I think she might miscarry en route.
Back stairs, if you'd oblige me.
Why did you send for me?
You've had training, and we was in trouble.
Well, you're in worse trouble now!
What you did in here was criminal.
And I don't just mean because it was against the law.
Mrs Pugh, may we?
Oh, my God, look at her.
She's perfect.
Heather, I'm sorry. Please.
So, here's how it's going to be when we come home.
No more doing nights.
I want you home at a decent hour from now on.
I'L have to stop working at the dogs.
I want you where I can see you, Vincent Pugh.
Every single night. And if I ever hear of you...
Oh, you won't, I promise.
Because the doctor says that there are people that we can talk to about it.
He says it might help.
What? Us? Talk about...
the thing we don't talk about?
Yes, Vince, that.
And the other thing that we don't talk about, which is us.
I'll do whatever it takes.
And I want to call her Agnes - after my mum.
What are you all gawping at?
Did it not occur to you I might get into trouble, Gran?
That I could even lose my job because you dragged me into this?
No-one's going to tell on you. Not me, not Flo.
- You're family. - Oh!
Even if you do forget where you're from
and whose side you ought to be on.
You haven't seen the things I've seen.
You haven't seen little boys left motherless.
Young women shaking with fever,
passing clots of rotten matter into a toilet bowl.
You're in my way.
You haven't seen patients crying in my clinic
because they're married now.
They're married and it's safe,
but they can't hang on to a pregnancy
cos they have been so badly lacerated
by something someone like you keeps in her sideboard drawer
or underneath her sink.
Are you saying that what I see don't matter?
I see ‘em crying. I see it all the time.
The girls who are trying to feed five kids on a tin of corned beef.
The wives with black eyes covered in panstick,
and a husband who drinks a skinful every night.
I bet I can match you tear for bloody tear!
And you know what, Nurse Dyer?
I send them home smiling.
You hurt people, Gran.
You hurt them.
You put things inside them,
inside parts of the body that you can't even name.
But I do it because they ask me to,
beg me to.
Pay you to.
I don't charge as much as others.
Most ask £10.
Even Guinness gives it a whiff of Harley Street.
Oh. This is not Harley Street, Gran. Look at it.
Look at this room! It's filthy.
Look at your hands!
I know what's clean and what's not clean.
You are covered in boils. I wouldn't give you a job making flamin' sandwiches!
You don't really need low-paid work, do you?
With your oven full of banknotes.
£7 is what I charge.
And that's how much it matters.
Now do you believe me?
I believe you're burning the evidence before the police get here.
The police won't come unless someone calls ‘em.
People go to prison for what you've done.
There's abortionists in Holloway serving eight years.
I know.
And so Ann Packer of Great Britain
receives the gold medal for the 800...
We can never foretell
when our fortunes will turn or when the story will change.
Sometimes we see each other through fresh eyes,
and there's no joy at all.
We see what was concealed
and what is shameful.
We see what is true.
And nothing familiar remains.
We're going to have to report what happened.
It's the sort of thing that makes your blood run cold.
I'm launching a fundraising drive,
and the first event is going to be the Ballroom of Hope.
There's a new patient for the district round.
They said that the treatment hadn't worked.
Reggie's not himself.
It's normally so lovely when he's at home.