0:00:28 > 0:00:31JENNIFER: 'Why do we give presents at Christmas?
0:00:31 > 0:00:33'Because once upon a time
0:00:33 > 0:00:34'a child lay in a manger,
0:00:34 > 0:00:39'asking for nothing yet needing so much?
0:00:39 > 0:00:40'And because three kings
0:00:40 > 0:00:43'paid tribute in the only way they could?
0:00:43 > 0:00:45'Perhaps the reason does not matter.
0:00:45 > 0:00:50'The smiles of those we love mean more than any ribboned box,
0:00:50 > 0:00:52'whether it is offered or received.
0:00:54 > 0:00:59'And the most precious gifts cost nothing whatsoever.'
0:01:01 > 0:01:03Merry Christmas, Fred.
0:01:03 > 0:01:07Shh! Less of the "Fred". I'm Father Christmas's helper.
0:01:07 > 0:01:11You can come in as long as you don't ring that wretched bell.
0:01:11 > 0:01:14We've half a dozen newborns trying to get their beauty sleep,
0:01:14 > 0:01:17including Master Rutherford, who's just arrived by Caesarean section,
0:01:17 > 0:01:20and I assisted in his delivery.
0:01:20 > 0:01:22Oh-hoo, look at you, you little bruiser!
0:01:22 > 0:01:25Now, you been naughty or nice? Nice, I reckon.
0:01:26 > 0:01:27Merry Christmas!
0:01:30 > 0:01:31Merry Christmas.
0:01:34 > 0:01:35HUM OF LAUGHTER AND CONVERSATION
0:01:42 > 0:01:44Two fully assembled Christmas dinners plated up,
0:01:44 > 0:01:46in the oven and put on a low light -
0:01:46 > 0:01:48one for Nurse Franklin and one for Nurse Mount.
0:01:48 > 0:01:50To absent friends!
0:01:50 > 0:01:51ALL: Absent friends.
0:01:54 > 0:01:56Merry Christmas, everybody.
0:02:00 > 0:02:01PHONE RINGS
0:02:01 > 0:02:03That may be the Mother House calling early.
0:02:03 > 0:02:06Come with me, we'll take the call together.
0:02:09 > 0:02:11Here's Sister Monica Joan.
0:02:12 > 0:02:15Happy Christmas, Mother Jesu Emmanuel.
0:02:16 > 0:02:20I hope you've had the most blessed and peaceful day.
0:02:23 > 0:02:25Oh. I see.
0:02:27 > 0:02:32As you all doubtless know, our Order supports Hope Clinic,
0:02:32 > 0:02:35a tiny mission hospital in South Africa.
0:02:36 > 0:02:39For some years, there has been one doctor there
0:02:39 > 0:02:43and a handful of nuns under Mother Felicity.
0:02:43 > 0:02:45Mother Felicity has just died.
0:02:45 > 0:02:48May she rest in peace and rise in glory.
0:02:48 > 0:02:52The clinic is now so understaffed it may have to close altogether.
0:02:52 > 0:02:54That would be disastrous.
0:02:54 > 0:02:57Hope Clinic is the only medical facility for 100 miles.
0:02:57 > 0:02:59And that is why we have been asked to send
0:02:59 > 0:03:03a small working party out there...for four weeks.
0:03:03 > 0:03:05Four weeks in South Africa?
0:03:05 > 0:03:11We would be nursing and running an urgent polio vaccination programme.
0:03:11 > 0:03:16Meanwhile, a cleric of our choice would disburse a small
0:03:16 > 0:03:19but very welcome grant from a mission society,
0:03:19 > 0:03:23and assess the future viability of the clinic.
0:03:23 > 0:03:27I would like Mr Hereward to take on this role.
0:03:27 > 0:03:28If you would consider it?
0:03:28 > 0:03:30Of course.
0:03:30 > 0:03:32You would have to be scrupulously honest
0:03:32 > 0:03:36and yet the survival of Hope Clinic will depend on your findings.
0:03:36 > 0:03:39When were you planning on setting sail?
0:03:40 > 0:03:41In a fortnight.
0:03:45 > 0:03:50Nurse Mount is doing sterling work. Forceps won't be needed after all.
0:03:50 > 0:03:53Now, I've been researching some logistics.
0:03:53 > 0:03:56Most people spend their Christmas Day afternoon watching
0:03:56 > 0:03:59Billy Smart's Circus and eating Quality Street!
0:03:59 > 0:04:02How have we ended up discussing a mission to South Africa?
0:04:02 > 0:04:05Because God moves in a mysterious manner,
0:04:05 > 0:04:07even on major public holidays.
0:04:07 > 0:04:10I have work to do here, Shelagh, in Poplar.
0:04:10 > 0:04:12Patrick, London is full of locums
0:04:12 > 0:04:16and that vaccination programme needs a doctor.
0:04:16 > 0:04:18Our own son had polio once.
0:04:19 > 0:04:23Also, if we cut down our time away by flying instead of sailing...
0:04:23 > 0:04:24By flying?
0:04:24 > 0:04:26..then Granny Parker can mind the children.
0:04:26 > 0:04:29Well, she's been begging to have them and they adore her.
0:04:29 > 0:04:31You really want to go, don't you?
0:04:31 > 0:04:33I want us both to go, Patrick,
0:04:33 > 0:04:36because we need to be somewhere where we know the medicine
0:04:36 > 0:04:38we're giving out is doing good, not harm.
0:04:38 > 0:04:43Shelagh, you didn't prescribe thalidomide to anyone.
0:04:43 > 0:04:48What you did, I did. Where you go, I go.
0:04:48 > 0:04:50And I think we should go to South Africa.
0:04:52 > 0:04:55Don't you want me to stay here, keep an eye on things?
0:04:55 > 0:04:57What about Sister Monica Joan?
0:04:57 > 0:05:00Sister Mary Cynthia will take exemplary care of her
0:05:00 > 0:05:04and Nurse Mount will run Nonnatus very efficiently in my absence.
0:05:04 > 0:05:06But I haven't done sanitary engineering since
0:05:06 > 0:05:08El Alamein, Sister.
0:05:08 > 0:05:11Wouldn't you rather take an actual missionary?
0:05:11 > 0:05:15Fred, the Army Pioneer Corps has given you skills that
0:05:15 > 0:05:16no missionary could match -
0:05:16 > 0:05:19logistics, plumbing, mechanics...
0:05:19 > 0:05:21and drains.
0:05:21 > 0:05:23I'd hazard a guess there's not much in the way
0:05:23 > 0:05:25of drains where we're going.
0:05:25 > 0:05:26Quite.
0:05:26 > 0:05:30# Everybody's doing a brand-new dance now
0:05:30 > 0:05:33# Come on, baby, do the loco-motion
0:05:33 > 0:05:38# I know you'll get to like it if you give it a chance now
0:05:38 > 0:05:41# Come on, baby, do the loco-motion
0:05:41 > 0:05:44# My little baby sister can do it with me
0:05:44 > 0:05:48# It's easy as a line in your ABC
0:05:48 > 0:05:50# So come on, come on... #
0:05:50 > 0:05:51You next.
0:05:52 > 0:05:55Mr Hereward's waiting outside.
0:05:55 > 0:05:56I shall see to him.
0:05:56 > 0:05:57Oh, I can do his, too.
0:05:57 > 0:06:00You must observe boundaries whilst we're away -
0:06:00 > 0:06:02I think it's best you put them in place now.
0:06:08 > 0:06:10The parcel from my sister came.
0:06:10 > 0:06:14Oh, I'm so glad I didn't splash out on a new swimming costume!
0:06:14 > 0:06:15Hers will do me just fine.
0:06:15 > 0:06:18No-one's wearing ruched one-pieces
0:06:18 > 0:06:21with modesty panels anymore, Barbara.
0:06:21 > 0:06:24It's a good job I packed you an extra boned playsuit.
0:06:27 > 0:06:31And, last but not least, medical supplies box number seven.
0:06:31 > 0:06:33Containing 20 gross of sugar lumps for the administration
0:06:33 > 0:06:35of the oral vaccine.
0:06:35 > 0:06:40This contains more fruit than any commercial confectioner's item
0:06:40 > 0:06:44and furthermore it is steeped in such a richness of alcohol
0:06:44 > 0:06:48that it will not fester should you transfer it through the hemisphere.
0:06:48 > 0:06:52They can't give out Christmas cake in an African vaccination queue.
0:06:52 > 0:06:55The marzipan would take a tremendous amount of explaining.
0:06:59 > 0:07:01- Travel safe.- Bye.
0:07:02 > 0:07:05- Bye.- Bye.
0:07:05 > 0:07:09- Let us know when you get there safely. Bye.- Bye.
0:07:09 > 0:07:12- Safe trip.- Have a safe journey.- Bye.
0:07:26 > 0:07:28Hey, look at that! Goats in the road!
0:07:28 > 0:07:30You wouldn't see that down Chrisp Street.
0:07:30 > 0:07:35Oh, look at you, Barbara. Brussel-sprout green all over again.
0:07:35 > 0:07:37I thought looking at my Xhosa phrase book might help
0:07:37 > 0:07:39me take my mind off it.
0:07:39 > 0:07:42You just have to suck on a barley sugar, like you did onboard ship.
0:07:42 > 0:07:43Are there any left?
0:07:43 > 0:07:47I've all manner of aids to wellbeing in my bag of tricks.
0:07:47 > 0:07:50I daren't ask if you've got anything to stop my mascara from running.
0:07:50 > 0:07:53I've some petroleum jelly you can take it off with.
0:08:00 > 0:08:01Why are we stopping?
0:08:03 > 0:08:04I'll deal with this.
0:08:11 > 0:08:12Passport and visa.
0:08:17 > 0:08:18How many are on the bus?
0:08:18 > 0:08:21Six more passengers and the driver.
0:08:21 > 0:08:23I'm not interested in the driver.
0:08:26 > 0:08:27Why've we stopped?
0:08:32 > 0:08:34Passports and visas, please.
0:08:40 > 0:08:42Sunglasses off, please.
0:08:43 > 0:08:46- Don't smile.- Oh.
0:08:50 > 0:08:52Thank you very much. Welcome to South Africa.
0:09:18 > 0:09:21You are so very welcome, Sisters.
0:09:22 > 0:09:26I'm so sorry to have missed Mother Felicity.
0:09:26 > 0:09:28I do hope her passing was a peaceful one.
0:09:30 > 0:09:34Amoebic dysentery. Better ways to go, even in this country.
0:09:34 > 0:09:38But she died in harness, which I suspect would please her mightily.
0:09:39 > 0:09:41Dr Fitzsimmonds?
0:09:41 > 0:09:43It's a long time since anyone called me that.
0:09:43 > 0:09:46The locals can't seem to get their tongues round it.
0:09:46 > 0:09:48You can do as they do, call me Dr Myra.
0:09:48 > 0:09:50Did you bring the things we asked for?
0:09:50 > 0:09:53Everything from penicillin to rubber gloves.
0:09:53 > 0:09:56It shouldn't be easier to ship things from London than it is
0:09:56 > 0:09:59to get them out of one's Administrative Health Board,
0:09:59 > 0:10:02but that's another story, and we're grateful for what we can get.
0:10:04 > 0:10:07I can see the caption now...
0:10:07 > 0:10:10"English roses - African Skies, exclamation mark."
0:10:10 > 0:10:12My jaw's starting to ache, Phyllis.
0:10:12 > 0:10:14Well, this is a new camera.
0:10:19 > 0:10:23Well, all I can say is thank goodness the Dansette runs on
0:10:23 > 0:10:27batteries because I don't know what's worse - this or
0:10:27 > 0:10:29the fact that our complexions are
0:10:29 > 0:10:32going to turn to pudding in this climate.
0:10:32 > 0:10:34We're going to have to find a shop that sells cucumbers,
0:10:34 > 0:10:37so we can make ourselves a cooling masque.
0:10:37 > 0:10:40Food? As a beauty aid?
0:10:40 > 0:10:43It might be a bit tactless, Trixie. People here are really poor.
0:10:43 > 0:10:46Can anyone smell anything slightly musky?
0:10:46 > 0:10:48It isn't me, is it?
0:10:48 > 0:10:52You're not usually challenged in the personal daintiness department, Barbara.
0:10:54 > 0:10:57Well, circumstances are rather exceptional.
0:10:58 > 0:11:01You shall have to set to with the Lifebouy.
0:11:01 > 0:11:03But I was three feet away from Tom on the bus.
0:11:03 > 0:11:07Bad enough I got that bit of sick on his trousers in the Bay of Biscay.
0:11:07 > 0:11:10There are some memories even Lifebouy can't erase.
0:11:10 > 0:11:14Whichever soap you choose, I suggest you apply it with a bit of backbone.
0:11:14 > 0:11:17I'm sorry, lass, but you've had enough barley sugar and sympathy.
0:11:17 > 0:11:20It's time to pull yourself together.
0:11:20 > 0:11:24Meanwhile, I shall have to sneak some surgical spirit from supplies,
0:11:24 > 0:11:26or else blisters will beckon.
0:11:27 > 0:11:29- Argh!- What?
0:11:29 > 0:11:30Spider.
0:11:30 > 0:11:32Argh!
0:11:32 > 0:11:33As big as a wireless knob
0:11:33 > 0:11:35and it looks to be heading this way at speed!
0:11:39 > 0:11:41Dead.
0:11:41 > 0:11:42Was it poisonous?
0:11:42 > 0:11:44I can't tell. But it's crushed to a pulp -
0:11:44 > 0:11:45I can tell that.
0:11:47 > 0:11:48I'd give your shoe a rinse.
0:11:48 > 0:11:50It may have some venom on it...
0:11:50 > 0:11:51or some backbone.
0:12:03 > 0:12:04FLIES BUZZ
0:12:04 > 0:12:06Let's rest it here.
0:12:06 > 0:12:07Yes.
0:12:13 > 0:12:16Instruments being sterilised by boiling.
0:12:16 > 0:12:19A perfectly efficient method. We all knew the facilities would be humble.
0:12:19 > 0:12:23I didn't expect an autoclave, but this is an oil stove.
0:12:23 > 0:12:26I don't actually think they've got any electricity.
0:12:26 > 0:12:28Is there no refrigerator?
0:12:28 > 0:12:29It's over there.
0:12:33 > 0:12:35It smells as though it's powered by paraffin.
0:12:36 > 0:12:38It's at times like this that I say to myself,
0:12:38 > 0:12:40"What would Sister Evangelina do?"
0:12:40 > 0:12:43Well, first of all, she'd mention the war
0:12:43 > 0:12:48and then she'd remind us we're here for our patients.
0:12:48 > 0:12:49Yes.
0:12:55 > 0:12:59Sinayo ibhedi kunye namayeza akho.
0:12:59 > 0:13:03Zizophela intlungu, kungekudala.
0:13:10 > 0:13:12Soon you will have no more pain.
0:13:19 > 0:13:20SHE GROANS
0:13:20 > 0:13:22Put her in the general ward,
0:13:22 > 0:13:25the end bed, so she can feel the sun coming in through the window.
0:13:30 > 0:13:32I suspect she has leukaemia.
0:13:32 > 0:13:36She presented four months ago with joint pain and exhaustion.
0:13:36 > 0:13:39Did you consider sending her somewhere larger,
0:13:39 > 0:13:42perhaps for radium treatment?
0:13:42 > 0:13:43No, I did not.
0:13:43 > 0:13:46She hasn't the money to pay for it and, if she had,
0:13:46 > 0:13:48she'd run the risk of dying far from home.
0:13:49 > 0:13:53And who would take that final comfort from her, hmm?
0:13:56 > 0:13:59I see someone's made himself at home.
0:13:59 > 0:14:01You speak in jest, kind Reverend,
0:14:01 > 0:14:04but by performing my ablutions in our new abode,
0:14:04 > 0:14:07- I'm in fact marking my territory. - I see.
0:14:07 > 0:14:10You see, wild animals, like wolves
0:14:10 > 0:14:12and those little spotty humpy black dog things, er...
0:14:12 > 0:14:15- Hyenas?- That's the fellas.
0:14:15 > 0:14:19Wolves and hyenas mark their territory by leaving their scent.
0:14:19 > 0:14:23Soldiers and Englishmen have a shave and visit the khazi.
0:14:23 > 0:14:26I've just had a visit to the khazi.
0:14:26 > 0:14:28I thought you was looking a bit pale.
0:14:28 > 0:14:32I thought national service had prepared me for most things,
0:14:32 > 0:14:35but not long-drop loos over an open trench.
0:14:35 > 0:14:37I also thought that conducting worship
0:14:37 > 0:14:39would be my biggest contribution...
0:14:40 > 0:14:41..but these people have nothing.
0:14:43 > 0:14:47Tomorrow morning, say your prayers and write your report,
0:14:47 > 0:14:50and I will wage war on the long drops.
0:14:52 > 0:14:53In the meantime, have a shave.
0:14:57 > 0:14:58We'll have to arrange
0:14:58 > 0:15:01for deliveries of extra vaccine from Cape Town,
0:15:01 > 0:15:06with the only phone a mile away in the village Post Office.
0:15:06 > 0:15:08I actually shuddered when she said that.
0:15:08 > 0:15:12How does anyone run a hospital without access to telephone?
0:15:12 > 0:15:13What's all this?
0:15:13 > 0:15:16It's made of a new material called Bri-Nylon.
0:15:16 > 0:15:20You can rinse it through and just leave it to drip dry.
0:15:20 > 0:15:23Perfect for a colonial climate.
0:15:23 > 0:15:24Absolutely.
0:15:31 > 0:15:33Honestly, Trixie, I promise you,
0:15:33 > 0:15:36nobody will know you haven't been able to set your hair.
0:15:36 > 0:15:38That hat covers a multitude of sins.
0:15:38 > 0:15:41It's the first time I've ever wished I had a wimple.
0:15:41 > 0:15:45No-one who comes to Hope Clinic is ever refused our help
0:15:45 > 0:15:48and, if they can't get here, we will fetch them.
0:15:48 > 0:15:53And if they arrive at night, we rise and light the lamps.
0:15:54 > 0:15:56And if their only ailment is starvation,
0:15:56 > 0:15:58we'll ensure that they're fed.
0:15:58 > 0:16:02But the bedrock of it all is our open clinic,
0:16:02 > 0:16:04which we hold every morning of the week.
0:16:04 > 0:16:07And how do you organise your appointments systems, Doctor?
0:16:07 > 0:16:09I don't have one.
0:16:10 > 0:16:14I'd be delighted to introduce you to my Rolodexing systems.
0:16:14 > 0:16:17The people I take care of know when they're ill
0:16:17 > 0:16:21and I know that disease cannot be diarised.
0:16:26 > 0:16:27What about the maternity patients?
0:16:27 > 0:16:29Are they given regular checks?
0:16:29 > 0:16:32If they want them, they can have them, and many do.
0:16:32 > 0:16:34Other women choose to give birth at home, in their rondavels,
0:16:34 > 0:16:37with only their families around them...
0:16:37 > 0:16:40and the village witch doctor chanting just outside.
0:16:41 > 0:16:42Really?
0:16:42 > 0:16:44I've no objection on religious grounds.
0:16:44 > 0:16:47But too many of our mothers were malnourished as children,
0:16:47 > 0:16:50so we see a lot of very narrow pelvises
0:16:50 > 0:16:53and, in that case, the witch doctor can't save them...
0:16:53 > 0:16:54But we can.
0:16:54 > 0:16:56With forceps?
0:16:56 > 0:16:58Yeah, with forceps or a Caesarean.
0:16:58 > 0:17:01It's why I asked you to bring the lignocaine.
0:17:01 > 0:17:03But lignocaine is a local anaesthetic...
0:17:03 > 0:17:08Yes, we can't and don't do any operations that require a general.
0:17:08 > 0:17:11We have our own methods and we get good results
0:17:11 > 0:17:13for both mother and child.
0:17:15 > 0:17:16Babies are precious here.
0:17:16 > 0:17:18Well, babies are precious everywhere.
0:17:18 > 0:17:22Nevertheless, I expect half your patients come to you asking
0:17:22 > 0:17:23you to prevent conception.
0:17:23 > 0:17:26Since they licensed the pill, yes, although...
0:17:26 > 0:17:31Well, these women are poor and they are black,
0:17:31 > 0:17:34and they live in a society that is gradually stripping them of
0:17:34 > 0:17:37any dignities or freedoms that they ever had,
0:17:37 > 0:17:43so motherhood is everything. It's status, purpose, life itself
0:17:43 > 0:17:45and we have to help it to happen.
0:17:45 > 0:17:47It isn't always easy.
0:17:47 > 0:17:48No.
0:17:49 > 0:17:52But medicine's never about doing what's easy -
0:17:52 > 0:17:54it's about doing what's essential.
0:17:54 > 0:17:56That's why we came - to help.
0:17:57 > 0:18:01I'm grateful for your help with the vaccination programme.
0:18:01 > 0:18:03Everything else, you can leave to me.
0:18:03 > 0:18:06These people and I understand each other.
0:18:15 > 0:18:16GRINDING
0:18:16 > 0:18:18So this is the hospital truck.
0:18:18 > 0:18:19GRINDING CONTINUES
0:18:20 > 0:18:22Well, that doesn't sound too healthy, Fred.
0:18:22 > 0:18:27Well, it's working. I just don't know how it's working.
0:18:27 > 0:18:31I can see at least three component parts that come from other vehicles.
0:18:31 > 0:18:34How far are you planning to travel in this tomorrow?
0:18:34 > 0:18:38Well, the first village on tomorrow's list is called Elbaai -
0:18:38 > 0:18:40it's about 30 miles away.
0:18:42 > 0:18:43Right.
0:18:46 > 0:18:48I was working in the kitchen at home.
0:18:48 > 0:18:52It was just a cut, but now it hurts all the way up as far as my elbow.
0:18:53 > 0:18:59That is a nasty infection, but there's plenty we can do.
0:18:59 > 0:19:01- A healthy mother makes for a healthy baby.- Yes.
0:19:01 > 0:19:04Nurse Franklin, could you spare a moment?
0:19:04 > 0:19:07I'll need to lance this hand, then you can dress it.
0:19:07 > 0:19:08Of course, Doctor.
0:19:10 > 0:19:12WOMAN CALLS OUT
0:19:13 > 0:19:14Please help.
0:19:14 > 0:19:16Ezikalini. Scales.
0:19:16 > 0:19:17Uyagula lomntana.
0:19:17 > 0:19:19Sick. Is sick.
0:19:19 > 0:19:20Oh.
0:19:22 > 0:19:24If Baby is sick, we will ask Doctor to look.
0:19:27 > 0:19:28Oh, molo!
0:19:44 > 0:19:46Is everything all right, Nurse Gilbert?
0:19:46 > 0:19:47I don't know.
0:19:52 > 0:19:53There we go. Sh, sh.
0:19:58 > 0:19:59Baby has a very high fever.
0:20:01 > 0:20:02102.
0:20:05 > 0:20:06ENGINE RASPS
0:20:11 > 0:20:12Doctor!
0:20:12 > 0:20:14Dr Myra! Dr Myra!
0:20:14 > 0:20:16What is it, Innocent?
0:20:16 > 0:20:18Running a marathon's never a good idea when you've got TB.
0:20:20 > 0:20:21Is it your wife?
0:20:21 > 0:20:25Undon. The baby's coming! And she has failed to walk.
0:20:25 > 0:20:26Where is she?
0:20:26 > 0:20:28Two to three miles away. She couldn't walk, so I ran.
0:20:28 > 0:20:30Did you leave her by the side of the road?
0:20:31 > 0:20:33He's fitting!
0:20:34 > 0:20:35Febrile convulsions!
0:20:35 > 0:20:39Baby aged five months, dehydrated, temperature of 102.
0:20:39 > 0:20:41You, come with me to the children's ward.
0:20:42 > 0:20:46And, you, get the truck, see to this man's wife.
0:20:47 > 0:20:48Come.
0:20:52 > 0:20:56- Hiya pha.- You can't drive this, look, it's misfiring and it's got
0:20:56 > 0:20:59a really nasty hissing sound coming from the manifold.
0:20:59 > 0:21:01May I remind you
0:21:01 > 0:21:03that I am a member of the Institute of Advanced Motorists
0:21:03 > 0:21:08and a young first-time mother has been left labouring in a ditch?
0:21:08 > 0:21:11Her fear is greater than mine. Give me the keys.
0:21:11 > 0:21:12No.
0:21:12 > 0:21:14If the swelling's gone down tomorrow morning,
0:21:14 > 0:21:15doctor will let you go home.
0:21:15 > 0:21:18But this will need regular dressing changes.
0:21:18 > 0:21:21Is there someone who can do that?
0:21:21 > 0:21:22Oh, yes.
0:21:22 > 0:21:25There's my mother, and my mother-in-law and my mother's mother
0:21:25 > 0:21:28and my two younger sisters and all the aunties.
0:21:28 > 0:21:31They'll take good care of me because we've waited many years
0:21:31 > 0:21:33for this baby.
0:21:33 > 0:21:34All of us.
0:21:34 > 0:21:36But you most of all?
0:21:36 > 0:21:39Ten years of marriage and ten years of prayer.
0:21:40 > 0:21:43Well, I'm all for persistence in the face of adversity.
0:21:43 > 0:21:45You look like a modern young woman.
0:21:45 > 0:21:48You know, I used to work in Cape Town -
0:21:48 > 0:21:50not as a servant but as a secretary.
0:21:50 > 0:21:53I had a good education here at the Missionary School
0:21:53 > 0:21:55and I got to work for a coloured lawyer.
0:21:55 > 0:21:59Oh! It was the happiest two years of my life.
0:21:59 > 0:22:02I always think it's terribly unfair when women have to give up
0:22:02 > 0:22:04their jobs just because they're expecting.
0:22:04 > 0:22:07I gave up work years ago.
0:22:07 > 0:22:09They changed the law so that you had to carry
0:22:09 > 0:22:13a pass to go to the city and to stay there and to work,
0:22:13 > 0:22:14but I never got one.
0:22:14 > 0:22:16Why not?
0:22:16 > 0:22:17It's just the way things are.
0:22:19 > 0:22:24But my mother always says we have to bloom where we are planted...
0:22:25 > 0:22:26..and I'm blooming now.
0:22:34 > 0:22:36Any landmarks spring to mind?
0:22:36 > 0:22:38I left her under the shade of a tree.
0:22:38 > 0:22:40Mm, that was thoughtful of you.
0:22:41 > 0:22:44I recommend that you take deep breaths, Mr Muzungulu.
0:22:47 > 0:22:48Ooh!
0:22:53 > 0:22:55Shame you haven't got your new camera.
0:22:55 > 0:22:58Let's keep our minds on our patient, shall we?
0:22:58 > 0:23:01I take it any jokes about "zebra crossings" would fall on deaf ears?
0:23:04 > 0:23:05GEARS GRIND
0:23:18 > 0:23:21Your grandson has a gut infection and he's starving!
0:23:21 > 0:23:24Ulambile! Umtyisa ntoni?
0:23:24 > 0:23:26What have you been feeding him on?
0:23:26 > 0:23:28Isidudu sikamili mili.
0:23:28 > 0:23:31Oh, he's too young for mielie pop!
0:23:31 > 0:23:34Andinayo eye into endinomnika yona.
0:23:34 > 0:23:36If you have nothing else to give him, you can bring him here.
0:23:37 > 0:23:39Doctor, she DID bring him here.
0:23:42 > 0:23:46Ungabinaxhala. I'll take care of him.
0:23:46 > 0:23:48This is the second time she's come here with
0:23:48 > 0:23:50a desperately sick grandchild.
0:23:50 > 0:23:52Her daughters are both in domestic service, miles away.
0:23:52 > 0:23:55It's not just feeding them meal and water that does this -
0:23:55 > 0:23:57it's the utter lack of hygiene.
0:23:57 > 0:23:59Let ME take the baby.
0:24:06 > 0:24:08He needs glucose and water.
0:24:16 > 0:24:19Ndiyambona! I see her, I see her!
0:24:19 > 0:24:20I see her over there!
0:24:28 > 0:24:30SHE BREATHES HEAVILY
0:24:32 > 0:24:33SHE MOANS
0:24:35 > 0:24:37Good morning, Mrs Muzungulu!
0:24:37 > 0:24:39Or perhaps I should say Molo!
0:24:40 > 0:24:42I'm Nurse Crane.
0:24:42 > 0:24:44Baby... Baby coming...
0:24:44 > 0:24:48Un-ga-bin-axhala. All is well.
0:24:50 > 0:24:53We'll have some privacy for Mother, please, gentlemen.
0:24:53 > 0:24:56Keep your distance until instructed to do otherwise.
0:24:58 > 0:25:01You poor lass. You must be petrified, out here all alone.
0:25:01 > 0:25:03You're not alone now.
0:25:04 > 0:25:09Nurse Crane, I can see something moving in those bushes over there!
0:25:09 > 0:25:12I don't know what it is, but it looks like it might charge...
0:25:13 > 0:25:14..or pounce.
0:25:14 > 0:25:16And do you have the means with which to defend
0:25:16 > 0:25:18this labouring mother and myself?
0:25:18 > 0:25:20- What? What do you mean? A rifle? - Yes.
0:25:20 > 0:25:21No.
0:25:21 > 0:25:24Then I don't wish to hear any more about it.
0:25:25 > 0:25:28That's it. Legs nice and wide apart.
0:25:30 > 0:25:33Just bend your knees a little, if you can manage it.
0:25:33 > 0:25:36There we go...there...
0:25:46 > 0:25:47Hello.
0:25:48 > 0:25:49Hello.
0:25:49 > 0:25:52I'm just checking on the water situation in here.
0:25:52 > 0:25:54There's a bucket in the corner.
0:25:54 > 0:25:56It has a lid, which does seem to keep the flies out.
0:25:58 > 0:26:00This the little chap that had the fit?
0:26:00 > 0:26:04Yes. He's already picking up, thanks to the glucose solution.
0:26:04 > 0:26:07Dr Myra thinks we should be able to avoid putting him on a drip.
0:26:07 > 0:26:09Well, that's good, isn't it?
0:26:09 > 0:26:12His grandmother went home in tears, Tom.
0:26:12 > 0:26:15I didn't come here to make people feel ashamed.
0:26:15 > 0:26:17I came here to make people feel better!
0:26:17 > 0:26:19I thought it would be easy.
0:26:19 > 0:26:21So did I.
0:26:24 > 0:26:26In my mind, I'm kissing you very gently.
0:26:27 > 0:26:29And I'm kissing you back.
0:26:37 > 0:26:39FEZEKA CRIES OUT
0:26:42 > 0:26:46Well done, lass. Well done... Fred?
0:26:46 > 0:26:49Put the stretcher down and escort Mr Muzungulu back to the truck,
0:26:49 > 0:26:52where he can wait till we're done.
0:26:52 > 0:26:55Then come back here. I shall be requiring some assistance.
0:26:58 > 0:27:01When my two were born, I went down the Hand And Shears.
0:27:01 > 0:27:04And if there was a bar in sight, I'd recommend you do the same.
0:27:04 > 0:27:05And I'll come with ya!
0:27:05 > 0:27:07Fred!
0:27:10 > 0:27:13You may not win many medals for sprinting, Fred,
0:27:13 > 0:27:16but you've got two hands at the ends of your arms.
0:27:16 > 0:27:22Get my bag, get the Dettol, and give them a good sluicing.
0:27:24 > 0:27:28Then empty my instruments into the smaller of the two kidney
0:27:28 > 0:27:33dishes and put them there, where I can reach them.
0:27:33 > 0:27:35FEZEKA MOANS
0:27:35 > 0:27:38It's all right, lass. It's all right.
0:27:38 > 0:27:40Baby's well on the way...
0:27:43 > 0:27:45..and the head is born.
0:27:45 > 0:27:46You clever girl.
0:27:48 > 0:27:49Not yet.
0:27:52 > 0:27:57Now, Fezeka, can you give me a really big, strong push?
0:27:57 > 0:27:59FEZEKA GROANS
0:28:05 > 0:28:08Fezeka, baby needs a bit more room to get out.
0:28:08 > 0:28:10We're going to have to get you kneeling down.
0:28:10 > 0:28:12Kneel down?
0:28:12 > 0:28:14And, Fred, I need your shirt.
0:28:18 > 0:28:20It's all right.
0:28:21 > 0:28:24That's the way. Now kneel down for me.
0:28:24 > 0:28:29You grab hold of me, girl, that's it.
0:28:29 > 0:28:32You see? Men can come in handy on occasion.
0:28:33 > 0:28:36All right, Fezeka, push now! Push!
0:28:36 > 0:28:38FEZEKA GROANS
0:28:39 > 0:28:40I can't...
0:28:40 > 0:28:43You CAN, Fezeka, you can!
0:28:43 > 0:28:46Now, you listen to Nurse Crane and do what she says.
0:28:46 > 0:28:48Take some of our strength.
0:28:48 > 0:28:51That's it, girl, you use us. We've got plenty.
0:28:51 > 0:28:53We're in this together.
0:28:53 > 0:28:55Come on! That's it!
0:28:56 > 0:28:58It's all right.
0:29:07 > 0:29:08BABY CRIES
0:29:14 > 0:29:18You clever, brave girl! You have a daughter.
0:29:21 > 0:29:22FRED CHUCKLES
0:29:22 > 0:29:24See?
0:29:24 > 0:29:27I see her! I see her!
0:29:35 > 0:29:38You can have your cuddle in a minute, Nurse Buckle.
0:29:50 > 0:29:52What do you reckon they're going to do with this?
0:29:52 > 0:29:56What, the afterbirth? Fezeka said her family wants it.
0:29:56 > 0:29:58They carry out rituals, apparently.
0:29:58 > 0:30:00What sort of rituals?
0:30:00 > 0:30:01I didn't enquire.
0:30:02 > 0:30:05They send them off to the allotments in Poplar -
0:30:05 > 0:30:07I don't enquire about that either...
0:30:07 > 0:30:11being vegetarian and fond of a tomato.
0:30:12 > 0:30:14ENGINE GRINDS AND STALLS
0:30:14 > 0:30:15Oh!
0:30:17 > 0:30:19Come on!
0:30:19 > 0:30:22Oh, hell's teeth.
0:30:22 > 0:30:25Could it not have hung on for another quarter of a mile?
0:30:27 > 0:30:29No, looks like we're walking.
0:30:29 > 0:30:30MUSIC PLAYING
0:30:30 > 0:30:34I have to say, basic facilities or not,
0:30:34 > 0:30:38the way Dr Myra does a Caesarean is quite an education.
0:30:38 > 0:30:42A much smaller incision and very little blood loss. I was amazed.
0:30:42 > 0:30:44I've been bitten by an insect again.
0:30:44 > 0:30:47Cigarette smoke's supposed to repel them. Do you want one?
0:30:47 > 0:30:50I've never smoked, Trixie, you know that.
0:30:50 > 0:30:52Well, I'm perfectly willing to teach you.
0:30:52 > 0:30:54Phyllis, too, if you're in the mood.
0:30:54 > 0:30:56No, thank you, Trixie.
0:30:56 > 0:30:59They aren't good for you and the pair of you should know that.
0:30:59 > 0:31:01Besides, even when I was young and ignorant,
0:31:01 > 0:31:04I had a distaste for silky paper.
0:31:04 > 0:31:08Hold it out, like this, taking care to extend the arm to create
0:31:08 > 0:31:11a graceful line from the wrist to the shoulder.
0:31:11 > 0:31:13You sound like you're teaching a keep fit class!
0:31:13 > 0:31:15It's not a dissimilar approach.
0:31:15 > 0:31:18Keep fit and smoking both require discipline and poise.
0:31:18 > 0:31:22I'm awfully sorry. But has anybody got anything for sunburn?
0:31:22 > 0:31:24I think my forehead's starting to blister.
0:31:24 > 0:31:25Oh, surely it wasn't that hot?
0:31:25 > 0:31:32No. But...underneath all of this, I'm...a redhead.
0:31:32 > 0:31:36Your eyebrows had given rise to speculation.
0:31:36 > 0:31:38I've got some Pond's Cold Cream.
0:31:38 > 0:31:42In a minute, Barbara! Concentrate on your smoking for a moment.
0:31:48 > 0:31:51I think you need to exhale through your nose before you open your mouth again.
0:31:51 > 0:31:54Can't I just wave it around and frighten off
0:31:54 > 0:31:56- the mosquitoes that way?- Oh.
0:31:56 > 0:31:59It seems we have company.
0:31:59 > 0:32:02Hello, Rosa, come and join us.
0:32:05 > 0:32:08The most pressing problem is the need to repair that truck.
0:32:08 > 0:32:12Without it, we can't get out to the villages to start the vaccinations.
0:32:12 > 0:32:15I'm worried about the sheer lack of records
0:32:15 > 0:32:17and our inability to predict how many people will actually
0:32:17 > 0:32:19turn up to be vaccinated.
0:32:19 > 0:32:23I don't know how things here function as efficiently as they do.
0:32:23 > 0:32:25I'm not sure they function efficiently at all.
0:32:25 > 0:32:28The sisters do their best but, without electricity,
0:32:28 > 0:32:30they're struggling to sterilise equipment
0:32:30 > 0:32:33and keep their premature new-borns warm.
0:32:33 > 0:32:36And the lamps aren't bright enough to work by after dark.
0:32:36 > 0:32:38Would it help if they had a generator?
0:32:38 > 0:32:40We made our decision about that long ago.
0:32:40 > 0:32:44It was a choice between a generator and the truck.
0:32:44 > 0:32:47We had other means of making heat and light,
0:32:47 > 0:32:50but no other way of travelling.
0:32:50 > 0:32:53I'm sorry, Doctor. We shouldn't have started without you.
0:32:53 > 0:32:57I was with my leukaemia patient.
0:32:57 > 0:32:58Is that tea?
0:32:58 > 0:33:01Yes, Ty-phoo. We brought it with us.
0:33:01 > 0:33:02I thought so.
0:33:02 > 0:33:06I caught a faint scent of my mother's parlour from it.
0:33:06 > 0:33:07Circa 1919.
0:33:10 > 0:33:12What else have you put in your report?
0:33:12 > 0:33:14I'm planning to mention that the water in your tank is at
0:33:14 > 0:33:16a very low level and...
0:33:16 > 0:33:19Yes, it's unfortunate, but we make the best of it.
0:33:19 > 0:33:23There's a better source not far away,
0:33:23 > 0:33:26but we would have had to lay pipes across somebody else's land
0:33:26 > 0:33:29and "somebody else" wouldn't give us their permission.
0:33:30 > 0:33:32I smoked when I worked in an office in Cape Town -
0:33:32 > 0:33:34it's what you did.
0:33:34 > 0:33:37It was like learning to type or use carbon paper -
0:33:37 > 0:33:40it was part of being smart.
0:33:40 > 0:33:45I worked in a bakery. It wasn't thought smart there.
0:33:45 > 0:33:48Nobody wants to get ash on their bread or in it.
0:33:50 > 0:33:52Where does your husband work?
0:33:52 > 0:33:54In a coal mine in Witbank.
0:33:54 > 0:33:56Mine also.
0:33:56 > 0:33:58They all come home for two months every year,
0:33:58 > 0:34:01to help with the ploughing and the sowing.
0:34:01 > 0:34:03Three times now,
0:34:03 > 0:34:07mine has ploughed and sowed a little bit more than maize and peppers.
0:34:11 > 0:34:15But my first child and my second child both died.
0:34:16 > 0:34:19One in my belly and one in my arms.
0:34:20 > 0:34:21I'm sorry.
0:34:21 > 0:34:23Why are you sorry?
0:34:23 > 0:34:26Oh, i..it's something we say in England,
0:34:26 > 0:34:28when someone says something bad has happened.
0:34:30 > 0:34:35It is in the past now. This baby's in the future,
0:34:35 > 0:34:38which is why you should never be sorry, just be glad.
0:34:44 > 0:34:45MUSIC STARTS
0:34:47 > 0:34:52# While I'm far away from you, my baby
0:34:54 > 0:34:58# I know it's hard for you, my baby
0:35:00 > 0:35:05# Because it's hard for me, my baby
0:35:06 > 0:35:08# And the darkest hour... #
0:35:08 > 0:35:11I ought to go and put my veil on - ready for compline.
0:35:12 > 0:35:14Oh, don't dash off.
0:35:14 > 0:35:15If you listen to the lyrics,
0:35:15 > 0:35:17they mention the word "prayer" quite a few times.
0:35:20 > 0:35:23# A little prayer for me, my baby... #
0:35:23 > 0:35:25I suppose it is a bit like a hymn.
0:35:25 > 0:35:30# And tell all the stars above
0:35:30 > 0:35:35# This is dedicated to the one I love
0:35:39 > 0:35:43# Life can never be
0:35:43 > 0:35:45# Exactly like we want it to be
0:35:45 > 0:35:48# I could be satisfied
0:35:48 > 0:35:50# Knowing you love... #
0:35:50 > 0:35:51Enough!
0:35:51 > 0:35:55This is a prohibited gathering. We request that you disperse.
0:35:55 > 0:36:00What do you mean, disperse? We're nurses and these are our patients.
0:36:00 > 0:36:04You know the law, and you, even if they don't. You're Bantu.
0:36:05 > 0:36:07They're white. You don't mix.
0:36:07 > 0:36:10Get back to your beds, or your sleeping mats, wherever you belong.
0:36:12 > 0:36:16We'll escort these ladies to their wards, thank you, Sergeant,
0:36:16 > 0:36:18and leave you to get on with your business.
0:36:21 > 0:36:24Your truck is abandoned in the lane.
0:36:24 > 0:36:25It's obstructing traffic.
0:36:25 > 0:36:29Really, Sergeant. It's half past ten at night -
0:36:29 > 0:36:30there is no traffic.
0:36:30 > 0:36:34There will be traffic after daybreak - it will obstruct it then.
0:36:42 > 0:36:45Makes me just want to get it started so I can run him over.
0:36:45 > 0:36:48I'm here on a missionary basis and therefore trying not to think
0:36:48 > 0:36:50uncharitable thoughts.
0:36:50 > 0:36:53I'm perfectly happy to think them for you.
0:36:53 > 0:36:54That's my girl.
0:37:00 > 0:37:01Ow!
0:37:03 > 0:37:06Can I bring anything over to your quarters, Doctor?
0:37:06 > 0:37:08No, thank you.
0:37:08 > 0:37:12Tempting though your Ty-phoo is, I fear any more may keep me awake.
0:37:12 > 0:37:15I was thinking perhaps some pain relief?
0:37:18 > 0:37:20Sorry, I...didn't mean to pry.
0:37:23 > 0:37:27I was in fine fettle until Sister Felicity shuffled off
0:37:27 > 0:37:29this mortal coil.
0:37:29 > 0:37:33But every institution has its crumbling old dear
0:37:33 > 0:37:37and it would seem that, now she's gone, falls to me to fill the void.
0:37:38 > 0:37:40I will keep you in my prayers.
0:37:40 > 0:37:42Oh, I don't believe in any of that.
0:37:42 > 0:37:46Not quite what you expect to hear in a mission hospital, is it?
0:37:47 > 0:37:50I've been here so long I can hardly recall
0:37:50 > 0:37:52my state of faith when I arrived.
0:37:53 > 0:37:56I'm driven by people's need, now, not by my own beliefs.
0:37:58 > 0:37:59Don't tell anyone.
0:38:04 > 0:38:05THEY SING
0:38:10 > 0:38:12SINGING CONTINUES
0:38:31 > 0:38:33Good morning!
0:38:33 > 0:38:35Good morning, Constance!
0:38:35 > 0:38:36Good morning, Sister.
0:38:36 > 0:38:40I'm just popping in to look you over before we set out for the day.
0:38:40 > 0:38:43Oh! Where's Roza?
0:38:43 > 0:38:46She has gone home. The man doctor said her hand was better.
0:38:46 > 0:38:50Yes, but he asked me to see to her maternity checks before she left.
0:38:50 > 0:38:53Her mother came for her, so she went.
0:38:53 > 0:38:57Oh. Still, she seemed fit and well.
0:38:57 > 0:38:58Mm.
0:39:00 > 0:39:03Sister, you are an excellent dancer.
0:39:03 > 0:39:04Shh!
0:39:07 > 0:39:08RATTLING
0:39:10 > 0:39:11ENGINE STARTS
0:39:11 > 0:39:13ALL CHEER
0:39:19 > 0:39:20MUSIC: Pata Pata by Miriam Makeba
0:39:55 > 0:39:56MUSIC DROWNS SPEECH
0:40:13 > 0:40:14MUSIC FADES
0:40:28 > 0:40:29KNOCKING ECHOES
0:40:30 > 0:40:32Fred, come and look at this.
0:40:32 > 0:40:34I'd better stand upwind of you.
0:40:34 > 0:40:37I've been digging trenches for them long drops.
0:40:37 > 0:40:39Inch of maggots in the old ones.
0:40:39 > 0:40:41The water's even lower than it was before.
0:40:43 > 0:40:44Did that come out of the tank?
0:40:46 > 0:40:48Looks like it's full of clay.
0:40:51 > 0:40:52We need to put it right...
0:40:53 > 0:40:55..but first we have to find the source.
0:41:00 > 0:41:02Yeah.
0:41:03 > 0:41:05These old pipes ain't too bad.
0:41:13 > 0:41:15Here's the source.
0:41:17 > 0:41:20I told ya! Clay. You can make dinner plates with that lot.
0:41:22 > 0:41:25What you want is a new source, full stop.
0:41:25 > 0:41:27Well, there's a potential one here
0:41:27 > 0:41:29but it's not going to be straightforward.
0:41:29 > 0:41:32If we can clean and re-lay these pipes,
0:41:32 > 0:41:36then the SPG grant might just stretch to cover the labour.
0:41:36 > 0:41:38But we'd be disconnecting what little supply there is.
0:41:38 > 0:41:41Well, that's going to run out in days anyway without rain.
0:41:41 > 0:41:43So, tomorrow, I'll go and get permission.
0:41:46 > 0:41:47MUSIC: Pata Pata by Miriam Makeba
0:41:50 > 0:41:52MUSIC DROWNS SPEECH
0:41:58 > 0:41:59Look, through there.
0:42:02 > 0:42:04# Hoo, every Friday and Saturday night
0:42:04 > 0:42:07# It's Pata Pata time
0:42:10 > 0:42:13# The dance keeps going all night long
0:42:13 > 0:42:16# Till the morning sun begins to shine... #
0:42:24 > 0:42:27Thank you, Mrs Nonesi. Next, please.
0:42:27 > 0:42:28Good afternoon, boys!
0:42:28 > 0:42:31My name is Abel. We've come for the polio vaccination.
0:42:31 > 0:42:33I have money.
0:42:33 > 0:42:34If I don't have enough for both,
0:42:34 > 0:42:36I want my brother to have the injection.
0:42:36 > 0:42:37There's no injection, Abel,
0:42:37 > 0:42:40it's medicine you swallow on a sugar lump.
0:42:40 > 0:42:41And there's no charge.
0:42:41 > 0:42:43Although we do have to add you to our records,
0:42:43 > 0:42:45if you aren't already on our list.
0:42:45 > 0:42:47We are not from this place. I walk eight miles.
0:42:47 > 0:42:49No wonder your brother's legs got tired.
0:42:49 > 0:42:52Matthias cannot walk - he has had polio -
0:42:52 > 0:42:54that's why I want HIM to have the vaccination.
0:42:59 > 0:43:02How long ago did Matthias have polio, Abel?
0:43:02 > 0:43:03Two years ago.
0:43:06 > 0:43:08Did you learn to speak English at school?
0:43:08 > 0:43:10We learn only handicrafts at school.
0:43:10 > 0:43:13Our mother taught me before she died.
0:43:18 > 0:43:19Can you feel that?
0:43:21 > 0:43:24He feels but he can't move.
0:43:24 > 0:43:26That is why we want him to have the vaccination,
0:43:26 > 0:43:29to cure the polio, like it says on the posters.
0:43:31 > 0:43:34You can have the vaccination, Abel,
0:43:34 > 0:43:38and there's no harm in giving Matthias one, too.
0:43:39 > 0:43:42But there is something that you need to understand.
0:43:42 > 0:43:45I'm going to tell it to you, man to man.
0:43:46 > 0:43:50And neither I, nor anyone else, is going to take a penny of your money.
0:43:50 > 0:43:51Thank you, Doctor, sir.
0:43:52 > 0:43:59Abel, vaccination is to prevent polio, to stop it from happening.
0:43:59 > 0:44:01It is good medicine.
0:44:01 > 0:44:02All medicine is good...
0:44:04 > 0:44:05..usually.
0:44:06 > 0:44:10But vaccination can't make you better when you've already
0:44:10 > 0:44:12had the disease.
0:44:12 > 0:44:14Can't it help him to walk?
0:44:14 > 0:44:16He was a good walker before he had polio.
0:44:17 > 0:44:18No.
0:44:25 > 0:44:29They were kids, the pair of them,
0:44:29 > 0:44:32and I had to take away the only thing they had -
0:44:32 > 0:44:35the belief that somehow things might get better.
0:44:37 > 0:44:39At least Abel's been vaccinated.
0:44:39 > 0:44:42Well, that's no comfort to either of us, Shelagh, and you know it...
0:44:42 > 0:44:44and even less comfort to them.
0:44:55 > 0:44:58- Look! Oh, wait. - Please, Sister Gertrude!
0:45:00 > 0:45:02Please! Please come! Doctor Myra's very, very sick.
0:45:11 > 0:45:13I don't need you to examine me.
0:45:13 > 0:45:14I'm not playing that game.
0:45:16 > 0:45:19When you've been the only doctor within a 30-mile radius
0:45:19 > 0:45:24for 27 years, you develop an impressive diagnostic prowess.
0:45:24 > 0:45:28I don't doubt that and I don't doubt you.
0:45:28 > 0:45:29Oh, yes, you do.
0:45:29 > 0:45:33Won't you even let me look at you, just to be sure?
0:45:33 > 0:45:36I have jaundice, nausea, weight loss.
0:45:36 > 0:45:40Upper right quadrant pain referring through to the upper back.
0:45:42 > 0:45:45Liver cancer's a sordid business, I know what I'm in for.
0:45:47 > 0:45:50Do you think it's primary or metastatic?
0:45:50 > 0:45:54The former. End of story.
0:45:56 > 0:46:00I don't know what's worse, hope, like those little boys had,
0:46:00 > 0:46:02or no hope at all.
0:46:04 > 0:46:08There's never no hope at all, Patrick. It's 1962!
0:46:23 > 0:46:25Oh, disgusting!
0:46:29 > 0:46:30I've just changed Doctor Myra's sheets.
0:46:30 > 0:46:33Apart from being helped to drink a little fluid,
0:46:33 > 0:46:35it's the only attention she'll accept.
0:46:35 > 0:46:38Put them in the basket over there.
0:46:38 > 0:46:41The lady from the village who helps with the washing went home
0:46:41 > 0:46:43sick yesterday and hasn't been seen since.
0:46:43 > 0:46:45Sister Edith says two of the patients in general ward have
0:46:45 > 0:46:47developed vomiting and diarrhoea.
0:46:47 > 0:46:50Well, I wish I was surprised.
0:46:55 > 0:46:58Excuse me. Is this the Starke farmhouse?
0:46:58 > 0:46:59Yes, sir.
0:47:02 > 0:47:08Every five years, I have to mount these all over again.
0:47:11 > 0:47:17The glue disintegrates and, when I open the album,
0:47:17 > 0:47:21all the photographs fall out like a deck of cards.
0:47:21 > 0:47:25I'm afraid I've called at an inconvenient time, Mr Starke.
0:47:25 > 0:47:32If you're thinking about running a water pipeline across my land, from
0:47:32 > 0:47:38the spring to that hospital, there will never be a convenient time.
0:47:39 > 0:47:42The new stream isn't on your land and there is just
0:47:42 > 0:47:44no other route to the hospital.
0:47:44 > 0:47:45Then work it out.
0:47:47 > 0:47:50Find another spring or find another way.
0:47:51 > 0:47:54Mr Starke, our tank is almost empty. There is no other way.
0:47:54 > 0:47:56Our water's running out.
0:48:01 > 0:48:03GOATS BLEAT
0:48:07 > 0:48:09Nice goat....nice goat...
0:48:17 > 0:48:18GOAT BLEAT
0:48:25 > 0:48:26You're connected.
0:48:27 > 0:48:29Hello?
0:48:29 > 0:48:31This is Nonnatus House.
0:48:31 > 0:48:33'Sister Monica Joan?'
0:48:33 > 0:48:37It's Shelagh. I'm calling from South Africa.
0:48:37 > 0:48:41'I left a key at Nonnatus House before we came away,
0:48:41 > 0:48:44'so someone could go to our flat and water the plants.'
0:48:44 > 0:48:47The parlour palm thrives.
0:48:47 > 0:48:52Honesty dictates a poor report on the begonias.
0:48:52 > 0:48:55'I'm not worried about the begonias.'
0:48:55 > 0:48:56I need your help.
0:48:56 > 0:49:00'Could someone go to the flat and look in one of the cupboards for me?'
0:49:00 > 0:49:02MUSIC: Rubber Ball by Bobby Vee
0:49:06 > 0:49:08# Bouncy bouncy
0:49:08 > 0:49:10# Bouncy bouncy
0:49:10 > 0:49:11# Bouncy bouncy
0:49:11 > 0:49:15# Ee-ee-ee... #
0:49:16 > 0:49:19Yonke into ihamba kakuhle. Perfect.
0:49:20 > 0:49:24With your increasing command of Xhosa and my unerring ability
0:49:24 > 0:49:27to draw a crowd through the deployment of popular music,
0:49:27 > 0:49:29we're becoming an indispensable double act.
0:49:30 > 0:49:33- Please! Please come very fast. - Is somebody ill?
0:49:33 > 0:49:34Yes, my daughter's baby's coming.
0:49:34 > 0:49:36It's been three days since she had pains.
0:49:36 > 0:49:39- Three days? - Yes, please come, please.
0:49:41 > 0:49:44Sibiza izinyanya zakwa uMthimkulu, uMthimkulu kwakona, umPafane,
0:49:44 > 0:49:46uGabatha, nezinyanya zakwa Gadebe...
0:49:47 > 0:49:49Has your daughter seen the doctor?
0:49:49 > 0:49:52No, not for the labour, only for the bad cut in her head.
0:49:57 > 0:49:59Midwives calling.
0:50:01 > 0:50:04Hello, Roza. Remember me?
0:50:07 > 0:50:10I want to do this the old way,
0:50:10 > 0:50:11in my home.
0:50:11 > 0:50:13There's no reason to suppose you can't.
0:50:13 > 0:50:16Let's see if we can get you onto the bed, sweetie.
0:50:21 > 0:50:26I'm tired of waiting and sick with bearing down.
0:50:26 > 0:50:28First, we'll take a look at you
0:50:28 > 0:50:30and then we'll get you a cup of sweet tea.
0:50:40 > 0:50:42And how often are the pains?
0:50:43 > 0:50:46Yesterday, four or five times an hour.
0:50:47 > 0:50:49And now, just two or three.
0:50:54 > 0:50:56You'll be able to have that cup of tea in a minute.
0:50:56 > 0:51:00I just want to give you an internal examination, Roza.
0:51:00 > 0:51:02I know you won't have had one before,
0:51:02 > 0:51:04but it shouldn't be too un-comfy.
0:51:04 > 0:51:07Heels up to your bottom and knees nice and wide apart.
0:51:09 > 0:51:10That's it.
0:51:23 > 0:51:24SHE GROANS
0:51:26 > 0:51:28Is that a pain?
0:51:31 > 0:51:33It's all right, sweetie.
0:51:37 > 0:51:40I'm just popping outside for a moment.
0:51:54 > 0:51:55Here.
0:52:00 > 0:52:03There's no heartbeat, is there?
0:52:03 > 0:52:06It's worse than that, Barbara.
0:52:06 > 0:52:07There's no baby.
0:52:07 > 0:52:09What?
0:52:10 > 0:52:15The cervix is hard, the uterus isn't palpable
0:52:15 > 0:52:17and, despite her waves of pain, she isn't even contracting.
0:52:19 > 0:52:20Do you think it's a phantom pregnancy?
0:52:22 > 0:52:23I know it is.
0:52:24 > 0:52:29I've only seen one once before, years ago, but you don't forget it.
0:52:29 > 0:52:30Trixie.
0:52:30 > 0:52:32Don't you see why this has happened?
0:52:33 > 0:52:37It's because she's been forced into a wretched, filthy, narrow life,
0:52:37 > 0:52:41where her only worth comes from what she can grow in her womb.
0:52:43 > 0:52:46She wanted that baby so badly that her body started lying to her
0:52:46 > 0:52:48and she believed it.
0:52:50 > 0:52:53The baby may be imaginary but her pains are real.
0:52:56 > 0:52:58And now she has to be told the truth.
0:52:58 > 0:52:59I know.
0:53:03 > 0:53:04I'll do it.
0:53:06 > 0:53:07ROZA SOBS
0:53:07 > 0:53:11I'm sorry, Roza. I'm so sorry.
0:53:11 > 0:53:13Words aren't enough,
0:53:13 > 0:53:15I know they aren't enough,
0:53:15 > 0:53:18but they're all I have, and I can't just sit here and offer you nothing.
0:53:22 > 0:53:25You speak of "nothing".
0:53:26 > 0:53:29- I- am nothing.
0:53:30 > 0:53:35I am hollow because I am empty!
0:53:35 > 0:53:40You are not empty, Roza. You are full of love,
0:53:40 > 0:53:44for the man you never see, for the mother you try to please,
0:53:44 > 0:53:48for the child some idiot law of biology won't allow you to
0:53:48 > 0:53:54conceive, that your soul spilled over and your body told you lies.
0:53:57 > 0:54:05Biology might be the idiot, but I, I am the fool.
0:54:06 > 0:54:08No. No, Roza.
0:54:08 > 0:54:11It takes a lot of wisdom to love as much as you do...
0:54:12 > 0:54:16..and that's why I know you'll find a reason to go on.
0:54:18 > 0:54:20It just won't be today.
0:54:42 > 0:54:45Would anyone like to try some of this local sausage?
0:54:45 > 0:54:49It smells quite spicy, but the kitchen ladies were so kind
0:54:49 > 0:54:50and I don't want to hurt their feelings.
0:54:50 > 0:54:52Hand it over. It'll fill a hole.
0:54:52 > 0:54:55I might walk back up that lane, to that little shop we saw,
0:54:55 > 0:54:57see if I can buy us all an ice cream.
0:54:57 > 0:54:58Whoo!
0:54:58 > 0:55:00We are on holiday, after all.
0:55:00 > 0:55:02Well, we're on holiday for an hour or two.
0:55:02 > 0:55:05We're here to do mission work, Tom,
0:55:05 > 0:55:09and I'm not sure it's possible, or right, to take a holiday from that.
0:55:09 > 0:55:12Barbara, the work here is hard cos our patients' lives are hard.
0:55:12 > 0:55:15We'll all do it better if we can just put it out of our minds for a little while!
0:55:15 > 0:55:19We can put it out of our minds for good when we go home
0:55:19 > 0:55:21and we may well want to,
0:55:21 > 0:55:24because I'm not sure we'll leave anything worth remembering behind
0:55:24 > 0:55:28or take anything away beyond insect bites and a few photos.
0:55:28 > 0:55:29Listen, lass.
0:55:29 > 0:55:30If that clinic closes,
0:55:30 > 0:55:33it won't be for the want of us putting the effort in -
0:55:33 > 0:55:35it'll because there's no running water
0:55:35 > 0:55:38and no doctor left at the helm.
0:55:39 > 0:55:44I'm working on that, but it isn't looking hopeful.
0:55:44 > 0:55:47I want to believe that Doctor Myra's diagnosis is wrong.
0:55:52 > 0:55:55I've learned a great deal over the past couple of years, Tom,
0:55:55 > 0:55:57mostly by going to my AA meetings.
0:55:58 > 0:56:01One was never to judge a book by its cover.
0:56:03 > 0:56:06Barbara seemed so squeaky clean when she first arrived.
0:56:06 > 0:56:10She still does, if you just look at her on the surface.
0:56:10 > 0:56:13I don't just look at her on the surface.
0:56:13 > 0:56:14I know.
0:56:15 > 0:56:18Perhaps we should all be as wise as you or Barbara.
0:56:20 > 0:56:22She is wise, isn't she?
0:56:22 > 0:56:26She's angry and she's not afraid to say so.
0:56:27 > 0:56:31In fact, Barbara's afraid of much less than you'd think.
0:56:32 > 0:56:35But you don't expect it from her, so you just don't see it.
0:56:35 > 0:56:37I see it.
0:56:37 > 0:56:40And that's why Barbara's the person you should spend
0:56:40 > 0:56:41your whole life with.
0:56:41 > 0:56:44She's funny, she's strong and she's clever.
0:56:45 > 0:56:49We simply have to overlook her incompetence at racquet sports.
0:56:52 > 0:56:54"Whole life", Trixie?
0:56:54 > 0:56:58I've known it for a long time, possibly longer than you.
0:57:00 > 0:57:02But promise me one thing.
0:57:02 > 0:57:06If you propose to her, or even when,
0:57:06 > 0:57:09don't give her that ring that you once gave me.
0:57:09 > 0:57:12That ring was your granny's before it was mine
0:57:12 > 0:57:16and Barbara's had so many second-hand things over the years...
0:57:17 > 0:57:21..that atrocious swimsuit being merely the tip of a very dismal iceberg.
0:57:22 > 0:57:25I think she looks lovely in it.
0:57:25 > 0:57:29Be that as it may, no hand-me-down rings, Tom.
0:57:29 > 0:57:33Get her something brand-new - she deserves it.
0:57:44 > 0:57:45Hello, you.
0:57:45 > 0:57:49Hello, you. I'm sorry I lost my temper.
0:57:49 > 0:57:52I'm sorry you felt the only way to make your voice heard was to shout.
0:57:52 > 0:57:54Did I shout?
0:57:54 > 0:57:56- Not really.- Oh.
0:57:58 > 0:58:02I was too easily defeated by the landowner,
0:58:02 > 0:58:04too dependent on him giving his permission.
0:58:04 > 0:58:07I'm going to strip out, repair, and move the whole pipeline,
0:58:07 > 0:58:09round Starke's land if I have to.
0:58:09 > 0:58:13In the meantime, we can fetch water from the new spring in barrels.
0:58:13 > 0:58:16If the old spring's drying up, we're going to have to do that anyway.
0:58:16 > 0:58:18We're going to have to see what faith can do.
0:58:22 > 0:58:26Sister Edith has gone down with vomiting and diarrhoea.
0:58:26 > 0:58:27Her, too?
0:58:28 > 0:58:31And I've quarantined Sister Gertrude,
0:58:31 > 0:58:34so that she's only working on the affected ward.
0:58:34 > 0:58:38I'd say it's going to be all hands to the pump,
0:58:38 > 0:58:42but under the circumstances that's just a really tactless pun.
0:58:42 > 0:58:45We'll have to ration the amount of water that's used on laundry
0:58:45 > 0:58:49and, with enteric fever going round, that's going to be difficult.
0:58:49 > 0:58:53The best thing we could leave behind is something that goes on
0:58:53 > 0:58:55working after we're gone
0:58:55 > 0:58:59and that means Hope Clinic, which means Doctor Myra.
0:59:01 > 0:59:03I might have found a different diagnosis.
0:59:03 > 0:59:06If I'm right, she's in with a chance.
0:59:06 > 0:59:07A good chance?
0:59:07 > 0:59:08A slim one.
0:59:10 > 0:59:13But if she won't let me near her, it means no chance at all.
0:59:25 > 0:59:28Oh, I've witnessed several phantom pregnancies.
0:59:30 > 0:59:34The women become deranged by the simple yearning to conceive
0:59:34 > 0:59:36and bear a child.
0:59:36 > 0:59:37I knew that yearning once.
0:59:38 > 0:59:42I was lucky because it left me when we adopted our daughter.
0:59:42 > 0:59:46But more than once, I clung to the slightest signs and convinced
0:59:46 > 0:59:48myself I was carrying a child.
0:59:52 > 0:59:55Our bodies aren't very reliable witnesses,
0:59:55 > 0:59:57even when we're in the medical profession.
0:59:57 > 0:59:59I'm not imagining I have liver cancer.
0:59:59 > 1:00:03You're not imagining you have liver disease - that's different.
1:00:05 > 1:00:06Why?
1:00:06 > 1:00:08Because some liver diseases are curable -
1:00:08 > 1:00:11if you would just let Dr Turner examine you.
1:00:12 > 1:00:15You think I'm arrogant, don't you?
1:00:15 > 1:00:18No. But I think you're scared.
1:00:20 > 1:00:25And you've been so brave for so long, and so alone for so long,
1:00:25 > 1:00:28that it's going to take a lot of courage to admit that.
1:00:36 > 1:00:40Right, we'll be starting by dismantling the current water pipe
1:00:40 > 1:00:43and clearing the tubes of any clay residue,
1:00:43 > 1:00:45then we'll relay the pipes all the way from the new,
1:00:45 > 1:00:48clean spring to the Hope Clinic.
1:00:48 > 1:00:50Everyone working will be paid a daily wage.
1:00:50 > 1:00:55If you have any difficulties, you're to come to me, Mr Buckle,
1:00:55 > 1:00:57or Mr Muzungulu, who's been appointed foreman.
1:00:57 > 1:00:59Right!
1:01:01 > 1:01:04If you're feeling unwell, or if your cough plays up, you let me know.
1:01:04 > 1:01:06MUSIC: Pata Pata by Miriam Makeba
1:01:15 > 1:01:16And out.
1:01:17 > 1:01:19SHE GASPS
1:01:30 > 1:01:32I don't think it's a tumour.
1:01:32 > 1:01:35I think it's a hepatic abscess,
1:01:35 > 1:01:37but it's sizeable.
1:01:38 > 1:01:41We need to get you to the general hospital in Port Elizabeth.
1:01:41 > 1:01:47No. Not three hours in an un-sprung truck.
1:01:47 > 1:01:49If it bursts, I won't survive the journey.
1:01:49 > 1:01:52I may be stubborn, but I'm not a fool.
1:01:52 > 1:01:54And you're a doctor,
1:01:54 > 1:01:57which means I'm listening to what you have to say.
1:01:57 > 1:01:59Likewise.
1:02:01 > 1:02:04Medicine is never about doing what's easy -
1:02:04 > 1:02:06it's about doing what's essential.
1:02:07 > 1:02:09So what do we do next?
1:02:09 > 1:02:14With your permission, I'll drain the abscess and give you emetine
1:02:14 > 1:02:16to tackle the infection.
1:02:17 > 1:02:18Very well.
1:02:18 > 1:02:21A bit of local anaesthetic, it'll be drained before you know it.
1:02:21 > 1:02:24No. No anaesthetic.
1:02:24 > 1:02:26We've only got what you brought
1:02:26 > 1:02:29and I'm saving that for my Caesarean ladies.
1:02:29 > 1:02:32Those are my terms, Doctor.
1:02:33 > 1:02:35Patients first
1:02:35 > 1:02:38and, in this case, I mean mine, not yours.
1:02:49 > 1:02:51May the Lord bless you and keep you.
1:02:51 > 1:02:54I appreciate the sentiment.
1:02:54 > 1:02:57Now, back to bed, all of you.
1:02:59 > 1:03:00Can't keep my doctor waiting.
1:03:24 > 1:03:25Aspirating.
1:03:33 > 1:03:34Dish.
1:04:15 > 1:04:18How much water do we have left?
1:04:18 > 1:04:20If you really want to be a good patient,
1:04:20 > 1:04:21you'll leave all of that to us.
1:04:23 > 1:04:26Do you know why Mr Starke won't let the pipe pass over his land?
1:04:26 > 1:04:29I assumed it was...because...
1:04:30 > 1:04:31Because he hates blacks?
1:04:31 > 1:04:35- Yes. - No. It's because he loved his wife.
1:04:37 > 1:04:39She was younger than him
1:04:39 > 1:04:43and you never saw a girl look so pretty on her pedestal.
1:04:44 > 1:04:48And when their first-born came along, she went into labour early
1:04:48 > 1:04:52and they had no time for a transfer to a private nursing home,
1:04:52 > 1:04:53so they sent for me.
1:04:53 > 1:04:59I delivered her of a four-pound boy that lived for six days.
1:05:00 > 1:05:05She was too ill to realise what she'd lost, but Mr Starke wasn't.
1:05:06 > 1:05:10And she survived only 24 hours more - puerperal fever.
1:05:10 > 1:05:15Has Mr Starke held a grudge against Hope Clinic all this time?
1:05:15 > 1:05:17In his eyes, I...
1:05:17 > 1:05:22I transmitted the disease from my patients to his wife.
1:05:23 > 1:05:27When people have no love to live for,
1:05:27 > 1:05:32it's so very easy to fill that void with hate.
1:05:34 > 1:05:36Yes.
1:05:44 > 1:05:47Water is now officially on the ration.
1:05:48 > 1:05:51No more washing, it's for consumption and sterilisation only.
1:05:51 > 1:05:53All right.
1:05:53 > 1:05:54HE SIGHS
1:05:55 > 1:05:59Is that the aspirate from Doctor Myra's abscess?
1:05:59 > 1:06:01It's definitely amoebic
1:06:01 > 1:06:04and that means the drugs we're using should be working,
1:06:04 > 1:06:06but she's getting worse.
1:06:06 > 1:06:09Could you be bold and try a different treatment?
1:06:09 > 1:06:13I'm not sure there is one and I've been bold already.
1:06:13 > 1:06:17I stuck my neck out draining the abscess and look where we ended up.
1:06:17 > 1:06:21We haven't ended up anywhere yet, Patrick.
1:06:21 > 1:06:23There's a time and a place for caution,
1:06:23 > 1:06:25but not here and not now.
1:06:26 > 1:06:28And I'm not going to say anything else,
1:06:28 > 1:06:30because I'm afraid I might speak sharply
1:06:30 > 1:06:33and, no matter how high the stakes, you don't deserve that.
1:06:37 > 1:06:38Good morning, ladies.
1:06:38 > 1:06:40Good morning!
1:06:40 > 1:06:43And the Hotel Hope Clinic is once again open for business.
1:06:45 > 1:06:47All right, Constance?
1:06:49 > 1:06:54I think maybe yes...maybe no?
1:06:54 > 1:06:56Today I think something might happen.
1:06:57 > 1:07:00Well, if it does, you're in the right place.
1:07:08 > 1:07:10Sustenance for the workers,
1:07:10 > 1:07:13after which we're collecting water from the stream to take back
1:07:13 > 1:07:14to the hospital.
1:07:14 > 1:07:16Why didn't you bring the truck?
1:07:16 > 1:07:18Nurse Crane said we shouldn't waste fuel.
1:07:18 > 1:07:19We won't have to do it for long,
1:07:19 > 1:07:21just until the new pipeline's connected.
1:07:28 > 1:07:31That's it, Constance, that's it.
1:07:31 > 1:07:34How much longer? One hour?
1:07:34 > 1:07:35Or two?
1:07:35 > 1:07:36A few.
1:07:36 > 1:07:40Come on. Think how long you've waited for this baby.
1:07:44 > 1:07:45Oh, no.
1:07:51 > 1:07:52Excuse me!
1:07:55 > 1:07:56You were right, Shelagh.
1:07:56 > 1:07:58If we act now, there's one last thing that we can try.
1:07:58 > 1:08:00Oh, Patrick, I hope so.
1:08:02 > 1:08:03She's coming round.
1:08:05 > 1:08:07It's all right, Myra. We're going to help you.
1:08:07 > 1:08:09I promise.
1:08:09 > 1:08:10I came as quickly as I could.
1:08:10 > 1:08:13We need to get her to a hospital, preferably in Port Elizabeth,
1:08:13 > 1:08:17and persuade them to give her a drug called metronidazole.
1:08:17 > 1:08:19It's new. It's still experimental,
1:08:19 > 1:08:22but I've read reports on it and I'm prepared to beg.
1:08:33 > 1:08:35She deserves better than this.
1:08:35 > 1:08:38Don't worry. She'll get the very best that we can give her.
1:09:09 > 1:09:11Not long now, Constance.
1:09:16 > 1:09:19Mr Hereward?
1:09:19 > 1:09:22The situation at the clinic is becoming desperate.
1:09:22 > 1:09:24We're working as fast as we can, Sister.
1:09:24 > 1:09:27When will the pipeline be connected to the tank?
1:09:27 > 1:09:29It could take as long as two months.
1:09:29 > 1:09:33Two months? We've barely enough water for two days.
1:09:33 > 1:09:37Without Mr Starke's permission to put the pipe across his land,
1:09:37 > 1:09:41we have to lay it around his boundary - which runs for miles.
1:09:41 > 1:09:43And he won't give you that permission?
1:09:43 > 1:09:45No. He just refuses.
1:10:00 > 1:10:02Well done, Constance.
1:10:02 > 1:10:04Now let's see if we can get you a bit more comfortable.
1:10:04 > 1:10:06How are we getting on?
1:10:06 > 1:10:08She's still not fully dilated.
1:10:08 > 1:10:10The cervix is oedematous and the head's very high.
1:10:10 > 1:10:12Narrow pelvis?
1:10:12 > 1:10:15Very. And she's lost two babies before.
1:10:15 > 1:10:16SHE MOANS
1:10:19 > 1:10:22It's all right, sweetie. It's all right.
1:10:27 > 1:10:29I will fetch Mr Starke.
1:10:49 > 1:10:50Oh...
1:10:52 > 1:10:54Thought you were Mother Felicity.
1:10:54 > 1:10:58If you had been, would've thrown you straight out.
1:10:58 > 1:11:02Mother Felicity has died, Mr Starke, of dysentery.
1:11:02 > 1:11:06- She lived to a considerable age, but...- Lucky her.
1:11:09 > 1:11:13I have spoken with Dr Myra and I do understand why your feelings
1:11:13 > 1:11:17towards Hope Clinic are...less than warm.
1:11:17 > 1:11:21Good. Then leave my house and leave me alone.
1:11:24 > 1:11:27I have generally been quite a fortunate woman, Mr Starke.
1:11:27 > 1:11:31I've experienced little in the way of loss,
1:11:31 > 1:11:33but I know what it is to have nothing but
1:11:33 > 1:11:36a photograph or two to look at and to love.
1:11:38 > 1:11:40They fade...
1:11:41 > 1:11:43..people don't tell you that.
1:11:43 > 1:11:47The photographs fade and the glue disintegrates.
1:11:49 > 1:11:54Now, I never took any photographs of Celeste in her last days...
1:11:56 > 1:12:00..because her face was so swollen and discoloured.
1:12:00 > 1:12:02I can imagine.
1:12:02 > 1:12:07And I never took any photographs of the child at all.
1:12:10 > 1:12:12I can't answer for what happened then.
1:12:14 > 1:12:16But will you let me say I am sorry?
1:12:16 > 1:12:19Why? Why should you feel guilt? Hmm?
1:12:20 > 1:12:24I don't, but I feel so much sorrow.
1:12:25 > 1:12:29I feel it every time a child is lost, every time a mother is lost.
1:12:29 > 1:12:32I feel it every time I see somebody weeping,
1:12:32 > 1:12:34even if they don't allow the tears to fall.
1:12:41 > 1:12:46# Each night before you go to bed, my baby
1:12:46 > 1:12:49# Spare a little...
1:12:49 > 1:12:52ROZA JOINS IN: # ..prayer for me, my baby...
1:12:52 > 1:12:57# And tell all the stars above
1:12:59 > 1:13:03# This is dedicated to the one I love... #
1:13:05 > 1:13:08I think now we should send for a doctor.
1:13:08 > 1:13:11She doesn't need a doctor, does she, Nurse Franklin?
1:13:11 > 1:13:13Of course not. She's got us.
1:13:13 > 1:13:14ROZA GROANS
1:13:15 > 1:13:16That's it.
1:13:17 > 1:13:19Mr Starke,
1:13:19 > 1:13:22if your wife did die because of bacterial infection,
1:13:22 > 1:13:24you could help prevent that happening to any other mother.
1:13:24 > 1:13:28All you have to do is to stop blaming Doctor Myra
1:13:28 > 1:13:32and her black patients for the death of your wife and baby.
1:13:32 > 1:13:36You ask a great deal of a man who has nothing.
1:13:36 > 1:13:39You have land, Mr Starke, land that could be traversed with
1:13:39 > 1:13:42a water pipeline in a matter of just a few days.
1:13:42 > 1:13:46Believe me, a clean water supply to the hospital would be
1:13:46 > 1:13:50a better memorial to your wife than any photograph,
1:13:50 > 1:13:53even if the smiling faces are not her face
1:13:53 > 1:13:56and the children saved are not your child.
1:14:06 > 1:14:09I have asked a great deal, Mr Starke, I know.
1:14:09 > 1:14:12But I will not ask your permission to pray for you,
1:14:12 > 1:14:13I will do that anyway,
1:14:13 > 1:14:18because I cannot bear the thought of leaving you alone in such pain.
1:14:29 > 1:14:30SHE GROANS
1:14:33 > 1:14:34GROANS CONTINUE
1:14:38 > 1:14:40She's making no progress.
1:14:40 > 1:14:41She can't pass urine
1:14:41 > 1:14:44and there's a ridge in the muscle in the lower part of the uterus.
1:14:45 > 1:14:47Would you examine her, Sister?
1:14:50 > 1:14:51This?
1:15:00 > 1:15:01You're right, Nurse Franklin.
1:15:01 > 1:15:04If we don't intervene, the uterus will rupture.
1:15:06 > 1:15:08The heartbeat's still slow.
1:15:21 > 1:15:22Sister?
1:15:23 > 1:15:25Constance needs a Caesarean section -
1:15:25 > 1:15:28without one, neither she nor the child can survive -
1:15:28 > 1:15:31and there's no-one here that can do that for her.
1:15:31 > 1:15:34Then we have no choice - we have to operate ourselves.
1:15:34 > 1:15:38We're midwives, Nurse Franklin.
1:15:38 > 1:15:42I don't normally wish we were doctors, too, but I do today.
1:15:44 > 1:15:49Sister, I've seen so many Caesareans at close quarters,
1:15:49 > 1:15:51I've even assisted in stitching.
1:15:51 > 1:15:53We have the instruments we need,
1:15:53 > 1:15:56we're skilled enough and desperate enough.
1:15:57 > 1:15:59Please don't plead with me.
1:15:59 > 1:16:03I'm not pleading. I'm saying again that we have no choice
1:16:03 > 1:16:06and I want that to be a powerful thing,
1:16:06 > 1:16:09a thing that makes survival possible.
1:16:09 > 1:16:12Not a miserable, grinding version of "no choice",
1:16:12 > 1:16:15which means we'll have two bodies to bury in one coffin in the morning!
1:16:15 > 1:16:18That may be the situation anyway, Nurse Franklin,
1:16:18 > 1:16:21even if we do as you suggest.
1:16:22 > 1:16:24But at least we will have tried.
1:16:31 > 1:16:33Trixie's already scrubbing up.
1:16:33 > 1:16:35Nurse Crane sent me to collect the instruments and the drugs.
1:16:35 > 1:16:39It's all in hand, including a strong sedative and plenty of lignocaine.
1:16:39 > 1:16:42Sister Gertrude says Nurse Franklin will need to inject it into
1:16:42 > 1:16:44each layer of muscle as she proceeds.
1:16:44 > 1:16:45Are the instruments ready?
1:16:47 > 1:16:50Erm, they need another 50 seconds.
1:17:04 > 1:17:05ROZA'S GROANS CONTINUE
1:17:12 > 1:17:13Extra Tilley lamp.
1:17:13 > 1:17:15Thank you, Fred.
1:17:15 > 1:17:17Can I do anything else?
1:17:17 > 1:17:18Not this time.
1:17:38 > 1:17:40Has the anaesthesia taken?
1:17:43 > 1:17:45Scalpel.
1:17:54 > 1:17:56That's it, Constance, that's it.
1:18:13 > 1:18:14She needs more gas.
1:18:20 > 1:18:22Uterus exposed.
1:18:44 > 1:18:46I'm going to pull the baby out now.
1:18:46 > 1:18:47Ready to receive.
1:18:53 > 1:18:55It's stuck, I can't move it.
1:18:57 > 1:19:01I need...I need someone to put their hand into the birth canal
1:19:01 > 1:19:03and push the baby back upwards.
1:19:05 > 1:19:07Barbara, will you do it?
1:19:08 > 1:19:10Yes.
1:19:18 > 1:19:19Applying pressure.
1:19:26 > 1:19:27Barbara!
1:19:30 > 1:19:32Again, Barbara!
1:19:44 > 1:19:47BABY CRIES
1:19:47 > 1:19:50Come on, come on, open your eyes, Mummy!
1:20:21 > 1:20:26Well done, Trixie. I couldn't be more proud of you.
1:20:27 > 1:20:29Well done.
1:20:29 > 1:20:31Well done.
1:20:34 > 1:20:37I can't really think of anything else to say,
1:20:37 > 1:20:39except I'm so glad you taught me to smoke
1:20:39 > 1:20:42because right now there's nothing I want more than a cigarette.
1:20:42 > 1:20:44THEY BOTH CHUCKLE
1:21:14 > 1:21:17I've come to speak to you, Sister.
1:21:17 > 1:21:19I'm afraid I can't oblige you now, Mr Starke.
1:21:19 > 1:21:24This baby's mother required surgery and I need to get back to her.
1:21:25 > 1:21:28Don't you bath a baby when it's just been born?
1:21:28 > 1:21:32Mother Felicity bathed my little girl when she was born,
1:21:32 > 1:21:33I remember it clearly.
1:21:35 > 1:21:37We don't have sufficient water, Mr Starke
1:21:37 > 1:21:42and, as I said, I can't oblige you now.
1:21:47 > 1:21:48I'm sorry.
1:21:49 > 1:21:50Truly sorry.
1:21:57 > 1:21:58And I want to make amends.
1:22:27 > 1:22:29CHATTER AND LAUGHTER
1:22:44 > 1:22:45They're back.
1:22:47 > 1:22:49What news of Dr Myra?
1:22:49 > 1:22:52She's been admitted to hospital in Port Elizabeth.
1:22:52 > 1:22:54Dr Turner persuaded them to try metronidazole.
1:22:54 > 1:22:57It remains to be seen if it will work.
1:22:57 > 1:23:00Meanwhile, we stopped off at the airport and collected this,
1:23:00 > 1:23:02fresh from Nonnatus House.
1:23:02 > 1:23:03Oh!
1:23:03 > 1:23:08Then...we stopped off in a certain village and picked up these.
1:23:13 > 1:23:14Molo.
1:23:17 > 1:23:19Come on, lads. We've got work to do.
1:23:23 > 1:23:24What is this cake?
1:23:24 > 1:23:25It's Christmas cake.
1:23:25 > 1:23:27It's a bit late.
1:23:27 > 1:23:28No. It's a bit early.
1:23:34 > 1:23:35Ah. Ooh.
1:23:45 > 1:23:47Phyllis seems to have got her camera working.
1:23:47 > 1:23:51I thought that, when the water comes through, we could get a picture.
1:23:51 > 1:23:54That way we'll have proof we left something behind.
1:23:54 > 1:23:57We don't need proof. We'll always know it's here.
1:23:57 > 1:24:00In the meantime, tuck into this.
1:24:00 > 1:24:02I don't fancy looking at it in the Bay of Biscay.
1:24:08 > 1:24:10Barbara.
1:24:12 > 1:24:14I want you to have this.
1:24:14 > 1:24:16No-one's hand ever touched it but mine
1:24:16 > 1:24:19and it's as though it was just growing here,
1:24:19 > 1:24:21waiting for this moment.
1:24:21 > 1:24:23Oh, Tom.
1:24:23 > 1:24:26There'll be a gold ring, there'll be a diamond if you want one,
1:24:26 > 1:24:30but...for now - you beautiful girl -
1:24:30 > 1:24:33will you just let me love you
1:24:33 > 1:24:35and accept this blade of grass?
1:24:36 > 1:24:37Yes, I will.
1:24:37 > 1:24:41Barbara Gilbert, will you marry me?
1:24:50 > 1:24:52Doesn't your boy need these anymore?
1:24:52 > 1:24:53No.
1:24:55 > 1:24:57Our boy - Timothy - got stronger.
1:24:57 > 1:24:59These are yours now.
1:24:59 > 1:25:00Yeah.
1:25:02 > 1:25:04HUM OF CHATTER
1:25:09 > 1:25:10Thank you all for coming.
1:25:10 > 1:25:11CHATTER SUBSIDES
1:25:13 > 1:25:15Now it's time to see if the new spring works.
1:25:20 > 1:25:21There you go, chap.
1:25:25 > 1:25:26Oh, bless him.
1:25:31 > 1:25:32Three, two, one...
1:25:40 > 1:25:43JENNIFER: 'Not all gifts come tied in ribbons
1:25:43 > 1:25:45'or at a special time of year.
1:25:45 > 1:25:49'Some blessings surprise us, arriving unlabelled,
1:25:49 > 1:25:52'and we embrace them in a blaze of joy.'
1:25:55 > 1:25:59Good afternoon, Nurse Gilbert. Mrs Turner.
1:25:59 > 1:26:00Roza. You look so smart.
1:26:01 > 1:26:05Once a secretary, always a secretary.
1:26:05 > 1:26:10'Roza Mphaphane was appointed clinic administrator, which gave her
1:26:10 > 1:26:14'dignity and purpose, and the hospital the chance to thrive.
1:26:14 > 1:26:17'Clean water and renewed and increased funding from
1:26:17 > 1:26:21'the mission made Hope Clinic viable again.
1:26:21 > 1:26:25'It could at last look to the future with the woman who served it
1:26:25 > 1:26:30'for so many years restored to her place as its beating heart.'
1:26:30 > 1:26:33I hope you're going to behave yourself
1:26:33 > 1:26:37because, until you're fully recovered, Dr Myra, I'm in charge.
1:26:37 > 1:26:38Ooh.
1:26:44 > 1:26:46Go on, off you go, go on...
1:26:47 > 1:26:49Right.
1:26:50 > 1:26:53Oh, that's nice. Now just get a bit closer.
1:26:53 > 1:26:54Smile!
1:27:01 > 1:27:07'The once frail hospital flourished long after the visitors from
1:27:07 > 1:27:10'Nonnatus said goodbye.
1:27:10 > 1:27:13'But though they had given their labour and their love,
1:27:13 > 1:27:16'they also took and they learned...
1:27:16 > 1:27:20'and they went home wiser, enriched,
1:27:20 > 1:27:22'in ways that they could not count.'
1:27:22 > 1:27:24Ready!
1:27:26 > 1:27:27CAMERA WHIRS
1:27:31 > 1:27:33Cheese!