Christmas Special Call the Midwife

CHATTER IN STREET

MAN CALLS OUT

It's on!

RATTLING

It's on! RATTLING

It's on!

CHILDREN LAUGH

VENDORS SHOUT THEIR WARES

Hurry up, you lot!

-Roast chestnuts!

-Come on!

Come and get 'em.

Decorations!

What's all this about?

I can't see!

I can't see through!

THEY LAUGH

SISTER MONICA JOAN LAUGHS

GIRL: What's that?

'My first Christmas in Poplar was unlike any other I had known.

'The streets, like all streets,

'were strung with coloured lights,

'and children drew up lists, like children everywhere.

'As the days ticked down,

'it seemed as though the district was fizzing with delight.

'But at Nonnatus House,

'a different magic was at work.

'The Sisters spent Advent in prayer and meditation,

'and the atmosphere was not one of excitement

'but of expectant, joyous calm.

'I wasn't entirely sure what I should make of it.

'I was young, and faith was still a mystery to me.'

TELEPHONE RINGS

Nonnatus House. Midwife speaking.

It's me neighbour, she's started having pains.

Name, please.

Hilda Levons, Lisbon Buildings.

You're meant to be sending her down the hospital.

She's already crying her eyes out.

BABY CRIES

'First one, she was in labour for three days.'

I'll come out and assess her.

Keep her tucked up and warm until I get there.

It's all right, baby. It's all right. Come here.

It's all right.

Mrs Levons was very anxious at the last appointment.

I'll come with you to reassure her and then go on to the mastitis case.

Oh, straw for the crib!

Well done, Sister Monica Joan.

I availed myself of the kindness of some costers in the market.

The...spirit of the season... would appear to be amongst us.

BICYCLE BELL RINGS

BABY CRIES IN DISTANCE

Nurse!

You've got to come quick, Nurse!

Please, quickly, she's in 'ere.

Come on.

She's through 'ere.

Please hurry up.

-Take that.

-Follow me.

Please. Hurry up.

WOMAN CRIES OUT IN PAIN

Hilda, it's all right. The Nonnatuns have come!

-You can stop pushing.

-I can't stop!

-Yes, you can.

-Let me through, please. I'm a midwife.

I need to go to the hospital!

I had to have forceps with the last one.

Second stage, Sister.

Don't distress yourself, Hilda. All is well.

HILDA MOANS

Please, will everybody stand right back so we can assist Mrs Levons?

It might help if you were dispersed elsewhere.

Begging your pardon, this is a communal toilet,

and I was in the queue!

Get yourself down the other bloody landing!

I can't do this on my own.

Yes, you can.

I want you to take nice, steady breaths in between each contraction.

It will help you to feel a lot calmer.

Good.

SIREN OUTSIDE Oh, thank God!

Thank God!

HILDA MOANS

Who sent for an ambulance?

It wasn't necessary at all.

If you really want to be of help, you will boil a kettle,

fill some hot-water bottles, fetch clean, dry towels, a basin

and...a blanket.

I'm going to need forceps again!

Thank you, gentlemen, for your attendance.

-All is in order, for the meanwhile.

-All right, Sister.

I want you to inch forward for me, Hilda. That's it. Good girl.

-Bit more.

-I can't have it 'ere!

I haven't had my enema!

Vertex is visible, Sister.

Shall I tell you something, Hilda?

You're doing splendidly.

Nurse Lee and I aren't going to leave your side.

Now, on this next contraction,

I want you to make as little noise as possible.

I want you to put all that energy

-inwards as you bear down.

-Thank you.

Hot-water bottles are on their way.

That's right.

That's wonderful. Well done.

-Well done.

-HILDA MOANS

Keep going.

Now, on this next contraction...

I think we're going to have the baby's head.

HILDA MOANS

Really good.

Really good!

-There!

-Really good.

Well done.

BABY CRIES

Oh, there!

There!

-Lovely girl, Hilda. Well done.

-I can't believe it!

I always cry when a baby's born!

I can't believe it.

I can't believe it.

'There were days and deliveries where I couldn't believe it either.

'Birth was and will always be the most commonplace of miracles,

'an event at once familiar and phenomenal, timeless and immediate,

'briefly making angels of us all.'

BABIES GRIZZLE

Over 18 pounds, bravo!

About the same size as a turkey.

All the children for vaccinations over this way, please.

And anyone who doesn't line up nicely

-will be reported to Father Christmas!

-Trixie!

And you needn't think I don't know where to find him!

Oh! Last year, he left his number in my stocking.

Lynette, take the boys over for their needles.

Mum, don't say "needles" in front of 'em.

You know they'll kick off!

If they're frightfully brave and well-behaved,

they'll get a jelly baby afterwards. You'd better hurry up,

otherwise all the black ones will be gone.

Ah! Watch out!

Come on, mind out me way!

I want a star on top of this, not somebody's eyeball.

Season's greetings to you too(!)

Do I have to undress him? It's on the nippy side in 'ere.

Down to his napkin, if you would, Mrs Duncan.

Hand-knits weigh rather heavy on the scales.

-Get off!

-Christmas tree!

-Get off!

-Got it!

Get off!

I'll see you at tea time. Better hurry.

BICYCLE BELL RINGS

There's a baby been born.

-Yes. There has.

-Is it thriving?

-Yes.

-Is it?

-Yes.

-And the mother?

Is she thriving too?

Mother and baby are both doing well.

I'm afraid you must let me pass, because I'm expected elsewhere.

Both doing well.

Thank God, Nurse.

Thank God.

Hmm. There's a bulb loose somewhere, I reckon.

Or a wire.

Go on, sonny.

Go and wiggle that plug for me.

The electric always slows down in the cold weather.

It's what you call atmospherics.

Don't tickle it! Clump it one!

All sat in the bloomin' dark at this rate.

And then how's the reindeers going to find their way, eh?

Ah!

-ELECTRICAL CRACKLE

-Ow!

THEY LAUGH

You won't be laughing come Cubs' Nativity.

How's Bethlehem going to look without a tree and lights, eh?

What-ho, Lynette!

Looking for the pamphlet on three-month colic.

Oh! Something caught your eye?

Not really.

Are you interested in coming into nursing?

You must be finishing school soon.

Easter. Then I start as a filing clerk down at Cousen's Wool.

My dad's their warehouse foreman.

Gosh.

Nothing like connections.

Must be rather jolly, seeing doors begin to open.

Big, wide world, all of that.

I s'pose.

Happy reading.

Stop mucking about with that plug now.

Ain't no-one told you plugs are dangerous?

You'd have had more success pulling her teeth out one by one.

One can't help having a sort of spasm of fellow-feeling.

Don't you remember what it felt like?

Feeling as though you'd never stop growing,

like Alice in Wonderland when she ate the cake.

Dreading being noticed...

and fearing you aren't visible at all.

Can't say I do.

Never seen anyone so decrepit.

I have to say, I've got a jolly robust nose,

but a meths drinker asked me for small change the other day.

It was all I could do to keep my bran flakes down.

I don't think she was a drinker.

And there was actually mildew on her coat.

-She was asking after the baby, you say?

-Yes.

Sounds like someone we used to see a lot of up Stepney borders.

Used to call her Mrs Jenkins. I don't think that was her real name.

Not quite the full picnic, if you ask me.

But she always knew if a birth was taking place.

Do you know, I wouldn't have thought Lisbon Buildings

would've been her stamping ground.

Do you know, I think I saw her the other day.

I'm sorry to say it,

but the poor old thing was widdling in the gutter.

Oh, well, that's definitely her, then.

Been a lot of demolition up Stepney way.

She may have moved her lodgings or lost 'em.

Righty-ho.

For the next two hours, I only answer to Akela.

The things you see when you haven't got a gun.

RAUCOUS SHOUTING

CHILDREN WHOOP

Pack! Pack! Pack!

SHOUTING AND WHOOPING CONTINUES

-Pack! Pack! Pack!

-Come here!

Shut up!

Thank you, Jack.

-BOY IMITATES AN AEROPLANE

-Stop pushing me!

Neil and Kenneth, we do not need any flags.

We're putting our semaphore to one side this week

and concentrating on our Nativity play.

-CHEERING

-Now, as you know,

we're going to perform it for our mothers and fathers

on the last Thursday before Christmas.

Everyone taking part will get their Entertainer badge,

apart from...Timothy Turner, who'll be getting his Musician badge

for playing the violin.

Now, calling all shepherds!

Jack, what about you? Aren't you supposed to be a shepherd?

-"O, what blazing light is this?"

-I've grown out me dressing gown.

You said we had to have dressing gowns.

CROOKS THWACK TOGETHER

-"SILENT NIGHT" PLAYS ON VIOLIN

-Well, why doesn't Gary take your part?

He can be a shepherd, you can play Balthazar.

Can I still have a crook?

-TOOTS WHISTLE

-Stop it, please.

-TOOTS WHISTLE

-Timothy.

Ooh, donkey's ears!

-BOY:

-Eee-aww!

Now, the Alice band has already perished,

so I want you to treat those as though they're made of porcelain.

What's porcelain?

-Not 'im again!

-Oh, bravo! Reinforcements!

Excuse my tardiness.

I've been making enquiries about a manger.

-..Christmas tree!

-Look, look!

Gosh! Move over, Prince Rainier of Monaco!

Do you suppose your mother will run you up a cape?

-Put those donkey's ears down. That's it.

-Yes, Akela.

Now, come on, boys. We haven't finished yet.

BOY: ..I don't know.

ANIMATED CHATTER CONTINUES BEHIND DOOR

You all right there?

I'm picking my brothers up.

My mum and dad don't like 'em running round unsupervised.

Good for them, that's what I say.

< Now, in a horseshoe, please.

ALL: Akela!

Cubs! Do your best!

ALL: We'll do our best!

(Letter for you, from the vicar.)

Get into bed, Camilla, and calm down.

Calm down? The vicar's invited the mayor of Poplar to the Nativity.

Oh, I know one shouldn't speak ill of a man of the cloth,

but it was bally cowardly of him to put it in a letter!

-It's only a bit of fun.

-It WAS only a bit of fun.

But if the mayor's intending to descend,

that's a different kettle of plaice entirely.

I can't just have a few Cubs in their nightwear

and Tiny Tears in swaddling!

Camilla, why are you getting so upset?

This is our district, Peter. All Saints is our church.

I feel proud of it.

I don't want anyone to feel as though we're somehow...lacking.

Into bed now, before you get pneumonia off the lino.

Whatever happened to "nil desperandum", eh?

You forget what you're capable of sometimes.

I know exactly what I'm capable of.

That's the problem.

BABIES GRIZZLE

Oh...

Oh!

Who's a lovely 'un, then?

Who's a lovely 'un?

Two little dickie birds, sitting on a wall.

One named Peter, one named Paul.

Fly away, Peter...

-Get away from my baby!

-..fly away, Paul...

D'you hear me? Get away!

I'd never take him.

I'm not accusing you of taking 'im.

I'm accusing you of touching 'im.

Mrs Jones, whatever's happening?

It's her, the filthy old crone.

I only nipped in to pick up me orange juice.

Shh.

-Get off!

-Mrs Jones, that's enough.

Now, go back in the clinic and ask them to replace your juice.

Nurse Lee, would you clear up this mess?

It's all right, my darling. Shh.

No-one can resist a baby, Mrs Jenkins.

But mothers can be fierce when they think their child is threatened.

-It was only dickie birds.

-I know.

Dickie birds.

Just little 'uns.

It's a hard time of year to spend too much time alone.

Can you tell me where you live?

We can send someone to look in on you, to make sure

you're being properly taken care of.

She doesn't look well.

Old age. Poverty.

Chronic malnourishment. And exhaustion, I suppose.

Why doesn't she accept help?

Who knows what brutality she knew when she was young?

Help then didn't mean what help means now.

Once more unto the breach and all of that!

It's simply a matter of scaling things up.

I just waylaid Brown Owl at the bus stop, and we're combining forces now.

So there'll be, um, eight angels, a female Mary,

a full complement of cattle and quite a sizeable flock of sheep.

Chummy...

it's the parish hall, not the London Palladium.

Well, that sort of attitude will get us nowhere.

CHUMMY SIGHS

TRAIN WHISTLE BLOWS

SHE SIGHS SOFTLY

-BICYCLE BELL RINGS

-Lynette!

-Oh, hello, Nurse Noakes.

By all means tell me I'm a frightful bore,

but would you consider doing me a kindness?

I'd be glad to, if my mum don't mind.

It's all connected to church affairs.

The Nativity play, to be precise.

We need a sort of capable senior angel,

to rule the little Brownies with a rod of iron.

I don't know, Nurse.

I might be needed at home. I might let you down.

And I'd hate to let you down.

I always think it best to travel hopefully.

-But, Nurse...

-We're not at home to Miss Pessimistic.

Now, we'll rig you out in the best crepe paper.

Shame. I haven't got my tape measure in my pocket.

You don't need it.

I'm a 40-inch hip.

Oh, bravo!

Splendid.

-MAN:

-Elsie in?

-WOMAN: Yeah, first door on the right.

-Excuse me.

-It's the first door.

LABOURED BREATHING

-Ta-ta, then!

-See you on pay day.

Yeah.

BREATHES WHEEZILY

Better check she's all right.

Greetings, Doctor.

I just called in to collect those instruments.

Of course. Nearly done.

No sign of that new autoclave?

The department said it would come this week,

but there's been no joy so far.

Are you staying for tea, Dr Turner?

Mrs B has made an absolute piece de resistance of yule log.

Thanks, but I've got Timothy outside in the car.

Oh, dear. Housekeeper's day off?

Well, I'm sure we can pop you something into a paper bag.

TELEPHONE RINGS

How is Timothy getting on?

-HE SIGHS

-It's been almost a year.

Nonnatus House. Midwife speaking.

-He's doing well enough.

-How may I help?

But it'll be our first Christmas since his mother died,

and I'm worried it might...

undo things.

-I see.

-I lost my mother when I was very young.

Children are more resilient than you think.

-He's here.

-Well...

he's made his opinion of my cooking rather clear.

Fish and chips for us tonight, I reckon.

Sorry, Doctor. There's been a message from the surgery.

Urgent home visit requested.

Lady called Mrs Jenkins.

I'm meant to be at a rehearsal now.

Stay there and don't talk to anyone.

You'll make me late!

Like you're always late.

Hello?

DOOR CREAKS

Mrs Jenkins?

I'm a doctor...here to help.

Don't you come near me!

SHE SCREAMS

-I won't be a moment.

-What? That's my dinner!

Who are you giving my dinner to?

It's a classic case of angina pectoris.

I've prescribed amyl nitrite,

for use in the event of any new collapse, and penicillin,

because there was evidence of urinary incontinence

-all over the place.

-Gangway!

Mrs Jenkins may very well have an infection,

which would contribute to her confusion.

It might be worth trying to collect a urine sample.

That shouldn't prove too challenging.

Just stick a gallipot in a convenient gutter. Huh!

She is also hard of hearing, jumping with fleas,

and her living conditions are calamitous.

If you could speak to the social services,

I'll put her on the list for daily visits in the meanwhile.

Hello?

Mrs Jenkins?

I'm Nurse Lee.

The doctor sent me to come and have a look at you.

I don't need no bleedin' looking at!

There's nothing to be afraid of.

We just want to see if we can make you a bit more comfortable.

Oh!

CAT MIAOWS

I thought you was Rosie for a minute.

She's got a face like yours.

Like Carnation milk, when you open up a tin.

Who's Rosie, Mrs Jenkins? Is she a relation?

She's sweet.

Sweet as a little flower, she is.

The doctor wanted me to do a few routine checks each time I visit.

I'll start by taking your pulse,

and then we'll move on to your temperature.

-Don't you touch me!

-Please, Mrs Jenkins...

-No!

Oh! And when do you see your patient again, Nurse Can't-Take-A-Pulse?

Look, it wasn't that I couldn't, Sister!

It was that she wouldn't let me.

Oh, no. It was because she didn't trust you.

And if you can't make your patients trust you,

you are no good as a nurse!

Now, answer my question.

She's on the list for this evening's rounds, Sister.

Oh. And shall I tell you what else is on this evening's rounds?

21 injections, 16 insulin, four penicillin,

an ear to syringe, a cannula to drain

-and three sets of haemorrhoids to compress!

-I'm sorry, Sister,

-but the problem was...

-No, no, I'll tell you what the problem is!

You young girls do too much book learning.

You sit for months in classrooms,

filling your heads with loads of codswallop,

when simple, practical tasks are beyond you.

INKWELL SMASHES

Now look what you've made me do!

SHE SIGHS

Oh...

Cynthia?

I'm modelling for Chummy.

She ended up with more children taking part than parts,

so she decided to personify the Wise Men's gifts.

And what's that supposed to be?

Myrrh. It's quite straightforward, compared to frankincense.

KNOCKING ON DOOR Nurses!

Well, now. Well, now, madam.

What's all this fuss about?

Doctor says you've got a problem with your ticker,

but I would lay bets that it's as hale as mine.

Hmm. Right.

Let's have a check of this pulse.

Oh!

Oh...

Pulse attempted.

SHE SIGHS

Patient...

..demonstrated strong right hook.

Right...

..you awkward old biddy,

let's see what you make of this.

SHE BREAKS WIND LOUDLY

And if that doesn't impress you, I can do it again,

in a different key.

SHE BREAKS WIND IN A LOWER KEY

Catch it, Nurse Lee. It's heading for the door.

Cat's got it now. It's underneath the chair.

Where'er you be, let your wind go free!

In church and chapel, let it rattle!

Good thing there's no naked flames about!

BOTH GIGGLE

Right...

Off on the insulin round,

and I'm under no illusions that it will be straightforward.

They'll all have been at the Quality Street,

every man jack of them.

If I was the Prime Minister, I would shut that factory down.

PLAINTIVE WAILING

WAILING

Is that Mrs Jenkins?

Yes.

I've never heard anything like it.

I have.

WAILING

SHE EXHALES

We used to call it "the workhouse howl".

What?

It's the sound of someone who's been at the bottom of the heap.

I would call it a cry of protest, except there's no fight left in it.

And no hope either.

WAILING

Should we go back?

Not now.

We couldn't reach her if we did.

WAILING GETS LOUDER

# Silent night

# Holy night

# All is calm... #

And don't forget to smile.

# ..All is bright... #

The mayor doesn't want to see a lot of gloomy faces.

# ..Round yon virgin Mother and child

# Holy infant

-# So tender and mild... #

-Go on!

# Sleep in heavenly peace... #

SINGING FADES

Sister Monica Joan, why don't you rest until it's time for compline?

SHE SIGHS

No.

I thought bright raiment was stored within this room.

But it's gone...

..and we do not know what forces are at work.

Chummy takes the costumes up to her old bedroom for safekeeping.

She doesn't want them getting in everybody's way.

I was accused of taking macaroons to my room by Sister Evangelina,

but it was not so.

Almonds are mercurial and likely to be consumed into the ether.

Would you hold the glue pot for me, Sister?

FOOTSTEPS IN BACKGROUND

DOOR OPENS IN BACKGROUND

Sister Monica Joan, have you heard of the workhouse howl?

I have heard the workhouse howl...

..itself.

One hears it less, now the infirmaries are closed

and the inmates are slowly...

..tidied into graves.

It speaks of an agony beyond all words.

This wasn't beyond all words.

Mrs Jenkins was calling someone's name.

SHE GASPS

SHE GROANS

Lynette, have you seen my kitchen scissors?

No, Mum.

I was putting the string on the Christmas pudding

and I couldn't lay hands on 'em.

What are you doing with your light still on?

I was just thinking.

You can think just as well in the dark.

Come on, you. Another busy day tomorrow.

Church in the morning...

and you've got rings round your eyes as black as the ace of spades.

Reckon my monthly's coming on.

No medals for that, I'm afraid.

You know where the aspirins and the you-know-whats are.

Good night, and God bless you.

BELL TOLLS IN THE DISTANCE

# Yea, with thine eyes shalt thou behold

# And see the reward of the ungodly

# For thou, Lord, art my hope

# Thou has set thine house of defence very high

# There shall no evil happen unto thee

# Neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling

# For he shall give his angels charge over thee... #

SHE GASPS

# To keep thee in all thy ways

# They shall bear thee in their hands

# That thou hurt not thy foot against a stone... #

SHE GASPS AND MOANS

# Because he hath set his love upon me

# Therefore will I deliver him

# I will set him up because he hath known my name

# With long life will I satisfy him

# And show him my salvation

# Glory be to the Father

# And to the Son

# And to the Holy Ghost

# As it was in the beginning

# Is now and ever shall be

# World without end

# Amen. #

THUNDER CRASHES

SHE SOBS Help me.

Baby, help me. SHE SOBS

SHE SCREAMS

SHE STRAINS AND SCREAMS

SHE WHIMPERS

BABY CRIES

I'm sorry.

I'm sorry. I'm so sorry.

SCISSORS SNIP

Fetch the milk, darling.

Let's hope it hasn't frozen solid, like the bathroom tap.

Oh, no.

No, no.

Trixie.

Trixie!

Whatever's the matter?

Oh, my goodness.

Get Sister Julienne.

It's all right.

BABY GURGLES

His breathing's shallow and his pulse is slow.

He was already turning blue.

I'll fetch the blanket and the paraffin heater.

When you've done that, call for the police.

KNOCK AT DOOR

< Lynette, time to get up.

I am up.

SHE GROANS

Pillowcase - candy-striped, winceyette material.

You'll find the same in any one of a hundred homes in Poplar.

We were able to snip about an inch of the thread

that was used to tie the cord.

Sister, it looks like ordinary kitchen string,

but the cord was cut quite neatly - sharp scissors or a knife.

Make sure to clean the cord properly.

Whatever implement was used, it was unlikely to be sterile.

Yes, Sister.

Our order has been here for over 60 years.

We've never had a single case of abandonment until now.

There's a paper bag here from Liston's,

that dry-cleaner's that shut down.

Sister...why d'you think somebody would do a thing like this?

SHE SIGHS

I've come to the conclusion there are only two reasons

for ever doing anything -

one is love...

and the other is fear.

It would appear that both were at work in this case.

I've put almost a whole layette together

from the things in the charity box.

Pink booties for a boy?

There weren't any blue ones.

One of the proper hue can be acquired...

One of the proper hue can be purchased.

Nurse Lee, take two shillings out of the petty cash

and see that Sister Monica Joan's properly equipped.

What are we going to call him, then?

I worry we should leave that to his mother.

I mean, she may come back,

especially if it's reported in the papers.

It is in fact customary to name an abandoned infant

after somebody closely connected with its rescue.

We can hardly call it Cynthia. It would be worse than pink booties.

Somebody closely connected

and of the same gender.

Nobody calls baby boys Fred any more.

You might as well give him a flat cap and a Woodbine.

There is surely only one appellation we can choose.

The child must be baptised in honour of our patron, St Raymond Nonnatus.

Sounds like a spiv.

BABY BREAKS WIND

Ooh, sounds like a digestive system in full working order.

Now, then, little Raymond, let's see if we've warmed you up.

It's not what I asked for, but it's a start.

I can't believe the council won't rehouse her.

The building's been condemned.

Elderly single people are supposed to go into nursing homes.

We can do better than that for Mrs Jenkins, can't we?

-I don't doubt it.

-CRASH

Call off the search! I've found the bath.

What's more, it's full of coal.

Right, I'll fill them up.

Oh, come on.

You move any slower, you'll grow moss.

Don't you take against my Rosie.

You come over here, dear.

I don't know who Rosie is, Mrs Jenkins, but she isn't me.

No...

She had a little girl's hands.

Yours are only small.

I'm not taking them off, I told you! I'm not!

You thieving besoms.

Please, Mrs Jenkins, we need you to take them off

so that we can get you into the bath.

-You can have them back afterwards.

-She'll burn 'em.

I am burning your clothes

because they are riddled with little visitors.

We don't want them infesting the clean, new bed.

I never takes them off.

(They won't come off.)

They're stuck to her skin...Sister.

You'll have to try Vaseline.

Here.

Argh!

SHE STRAINS

Mm...

You're hurting me.

BOTH STRAIN

No wonder you were lashing out.

You must have been in constant pain.

Well, we'll get you into the chiropodist's,

but Nurse Lee and I will give you the once-over for today.

They shame me.

No...not any more.

# O come O come, Emmanuel

# And ransom captive Israel

# That mourns in lonely exile here

# Until the Son of God appear

# Rejoice! Rejoice!

# Emmanuel

# Shall come to thee, O Israel. #

This placenta's less than 24 hours old.

And there's a piece missing.

What does that mean?

If the mother doesn't get medical help,

she will develop a uterine infection,

leading to high fever and possible septicaemia.

If untreated, it may be fatal.

I see.

We need to find her.

We may not have much time.

I reckon that's squirrel.

And it's not long dead.

-I'll keep it for best.

-No, you're to put it on now.

You've a busy day ahead.

Dentist first, then we're going to the doctor's.

Did you hear me, Mrs Jenkins?

I heard the word "dentist".

I'll go in the spring, when it's warmer.

If you can eat without discomfort, your general health will benefit.

My purse won't benefit.

There'll be no charge, Mrs Jenkins.

You're also entitled to free glasses and a walking stick,

should either take your fancy.

And you haven't eaten your meals on wheels.

I was saving it for Rosie.

She'll be hungry when she comes.

-What's that?

-It's a lamb chop.

# Walk hand in hand with me

# Through all eternity

# Have faith, believe in me... #

Be good now.

# Give me your hand

# Love is a symphony

# Of perfect harmony

# When lovers such as we

# Walk hand in hand

# Be not afraid

# For I am with you all the while

# So lift your head up high

# And look toward the sky

# Walk hand in hand with me

# This is our destiny

# No greater love could be... #

(Merry Christmas.)

# Walk hand in hand

# Walk with me

# Be not afraid

# For I am with you all the while

# So lift your head up high

# And look up to the sky... #

What are you doing with my paper, madam?

Reading about this.

Someone's been doing something they didn't ought to.

Police have issued an appeal. Quite right too.

Whoever she was, she wants horsewhipping.

Oh, I nearly forgot.

Friday night is sweetie-money night. Always has been, always will be.

Used to be a shilling, Dad. This is half a crown.

That's cos the things you do don't go unnoticed.

You're a good girl, Lyn.

You don't have to look after me, Mrs Jenkins.

I should be looking after you.

Besides, if I sit too close to the fire, I'll get chilblains.

Oh, not the chilblains!

My Rosie got chilblains.

She cried.

One night, the wardress, she let her come to me...

..on account of the others being kept awake.

I wrapped her in my petticoat.

Her bones was like birds' bones.

Was Rosie your daughter, Mrs Jenkins?

All night, she stayed.

And when morning come, she was put back with my others.

There were others?

How many?

Too many.

Did they go into the workhouse with you?

Yes.

They didn't thrive.

What happened to Rosie?

After the night with the chilblains?

I never saw her again.

Never saw none of them.

Never saw them fly.

I just knew they wasn't singing any more.

How could Mrs Jenkins not have been told?

I believe once you walked into one of those appalling places,

you gave up everything you were and every right you ever had.

Even your children?

Especially the children. The kiddies were kept in separate quarters.

BABY CRIES

SHE MURMURS REASSURANCE

Oh, sweet pea.

Social worker's going to come for him on Friday.

Heard Sister Julienne on the telephone.

First he'll be fostered

and then adopted and lost to his mother for ever.

Don't say that!

All the facts will be filed away in some sort of beastly cabinet.

We just have to hope that one day, they go looking for each other.

I'm looking for some information about that baby...

A baby?

Around here?

KNOCKING ON DOOR

SHE GASPS

KNOCKING ON DOOR

TELEPHONE RINGS

Public records office?

-Just upstairs.

-Thank you.

All Saints Parish - baptismal roll.

Thank you.

All Saints Parish - deaths.

Poplar workhouse, 1888 to 1934.

'And there it was.

'In neat, indifferent copperplate.

'3rd of April 1906, Jenkins, Mary-Ann.

'Widow.

'Admitted destitute.

'And underneath, the desolate roll call of her only possessions.

'Alice, George, May, Percy -

'aged five, aged three, aged two, aged seven months.

'And Rose.

'There was a Rose.

'Aged eight upon admittance to the children's ward.

'The cause of death was given as "failure to thrive".'

She was in there from 1906 to 1935.

Put to work in the sewing shed.

-Enough to drive anyone doolally.

-When the workhouse closed,

she was discharged with the gift of a sewing machine

so that she could earn her own living.

And what do you propose to do, Nurse Lee?

Now you have garnered these unedifying facts.

I don't know, Sister.

Then if I may crave my sisters' indulgence

for a quote from the Apocrypha -

you have been curious in unnecessary matters.

The past remains the past.

The present unamended.

Sister Monica Joan is right.

It's what happens in the here and now that counts.

Will it matter one day where baby Raymond was found,

blue with cold and wrapped in a pillowcase?

No, because that will be his past. And his present

will be safe and filled with love.

Mrs Jenkins' present isn't safe or filled with love.

-Nurse Lee.

-Forgive me, Sister,

but her life is completely wretched.

She waits every day for a child.

For children that are never coming home.

Then you should turn your mind to that.

Pass me a mince pie.

Public burial ground, Poplar,

1900 to 1910.

Now, I want Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh

and the three kings to stand at the back of the line

for the parade of the shepherds and the sheep. Come on.

That's it, there we go.

Sorry!

We'll be starting that as soon as Nurse Lee takes her gloves off.

And don't forget to line up nicely down the central aisle.

You'll be walking past the mayor,

and I will not have him knocked by any elbows.

Timothy Turner, where is your tea towel?

-My dad couldn't find one.

-Very well.

Now, are you ready, sheep?

ALL: Baa!

Right, now. Angels.

I don't want any angels trying to flap their wings.

Arms outstretched but perfectly still.

That's it.

Lynette, you're drooping a little.

Sorry.

Bravo. Nurse Lee.

CHILDREN GIGGLE AND MUSIC STARTS

CHILDREN BAA

No baaing. Absolutely no baaing

until you get to the manger and see the newborn King.

Gary Schofield!

Any more poking with that crook and I'll demote you to a bullock.

Right.

-BOY:

-Lynette!

-Lynette!

-BOY:

-Is she all right?

-Lynette!

-I think she's just fainted.

-Shall I call Doctor?

Ambulance.

Sorry. I'm really sorry.

What for?

I haven't told no-one.

Do you think you can tell me?

She wants a clip round the ear hole, not chrysanthemums.

Mrs Duncan.

Margate.

Easter week.

Some lad she met queueing up for the waltzers.

He was staying in the boarding house across the way from us.

Should have kept me eye on her.

But I was three months gone myself, sick as a dog most days.

I should have noticed.

-I should have noticed.

-I'm her mother.

If I didn't notice, there's no hope for you,

and if you didn't, there's no hope for anyone.

Mr Duncan.

You know I'm a church warden.

Of course.

And she's a pillar of the Mothers' Union.

Our daughter comes from a respectable home.

Nobody's doubting that, Mr Duncan.

-But baby Raymond...

-Who called him that?

We did. It's only temporary.

He's a bonny little thing.

-Quite the bruiser, in fact.

-When are the adoption people coming?

Friday.

Lynette's not signing any papers unless we're there.

She ain't well.

No.

What are you bringing me to a church for?

I'm not bringing you to a church, Mrs Jenkins.

I'm bringing you to a churchyard.

I've no objection to a constitutional.

Mrs Jenkins, I don't know if you realise this...

..but we're standing by a public grave.

Was there many put in 'ere?

Yes.

This is where they buried the workhouse inmates.

I had too many.

And they're all here.

Together?

I was able to get plans of the cemetery and the graves,

from the public records.

It's all written down.

Percy and May are lying next to each other, just over there.

Alice is to the right.

I think, in the summer, that tree must cast some shade there.

And George is by the cross.

And Rosie?

She's right here, Mrs Jenkins.

Almost underneath your feet.

Will you help me to kneel down?

Of course.

I'd have liked her in with me.

To warm her feet.

But I can see she's tucked up safe.

BABY GURGLES

If Lynette signs the papers...

..little baby Raymond will just be whisked away.

Camilla, it's the family's decision and none of our business.

It's Lynette's decision.

Or it ought to be.

I grew up with Pa and Mater on a separate continent,

brothers at Winchester, which was miles away,

but one always had an address.

We were given stamps at the beginning of every term.

But poor little Raymond won't even have that.

You've got your all-in look about you now.

-Are you sure you can't come home?

-Peter, I'm on call.

I'll be quite all right once I've had my Horlicks.

Besides, I rather enjoy the odd night in my old quarters.

Young Raymond's rooming in with Cynthia,

and I'll have an entire crepe-paper menagerie to keep me company.

I shan't have any problem counting sheep.

Someone trying to keep you out?

Possibly. Or been locked in.

WATER GUSHES

Oh, my giddy aunt!

-No!

-Pipe must have burst.

The costumes! Everything's utterly ruined.

It wouldn't happen in bally Bethlehem.

Morning.

DOORBELL RINGS

I could die of shame.

Come in.

The social worker's waiting with Sister Julienne in the dining room,

so you won't be disturbed.

BABY GURGLES

He isn't sleeping.

You can pick him up, Lynette.

I'm scared to.

Why?

Because they'll make me put him down again, and I've done that once.

This is cruel.

She's not old enough to be a mother.

She's not mature enough to be a mother.

It's flying in the face of everything God ever wrote.

It's making milk come out of me.

I have no quarrel with our Lord in the general way, Mrs Duncan,

but I think you'll find Mother Nature wrote these rules.

Pick him up.

Come on, Ivy.

You're a mother too.

I'm sorry.

I'm sorry, I'm so sorry.

SHE SOBS

It's a bit late for that now.

She ain't saying it to us, love.

She's saying it to him.

(Thank you.)

'Like all of the things in life that are truly meaningful,

'Christmas is never about perfection.

'In Bethlehem, 2,000 years ago, accommodation was makeshift,

'the Wise Men followed somewhat confused directions,

'and the shepherds gave the nearest gifts that came to hand.

'That year in Poplar, things were similarly compromised.'

-DOORBELL RINGS

-'But hope prevailed,

'and help came from unexpected sources.'

Just the person we wanted to see!

Reinforcements! How perfectly wizard!

'Baby Raymond was not lost, nor was his mother.

'Their family made the best of it

'and gave their thanks in kind.'

All right?

There you go.

All right, fella?

Got it?

Hello, dear.

Morning.

(Hi, Dad.)

HUBBUB

Anyone who does not line up nicely now

will not get their Entertainer badge!

CHILDREN QUIETEN DOWN

Thank you.

-Baaa!

-Shh!

Please.

Right.

MUSIC BEGINS

# O holy night

# O holy night

# Mmm...

# O holy night

# The stars are brightly shining

# It is the night of the dear Saviour's birth

# Long lay the world

# In sin and error pining

# Till he appeared and the soul felt its worth

# A thrill of hope

# The weary world rejoices

# For yonder breaks

# A new and glorious morn

# Fall on your knees... #

Many years ago in a town named Nazareth,

there lived a beautiful young lady called Mary.

God has chosen you to be the mother of a very special child.

You will have a baby, and his name will be Jesus.

How can that be? I have no husband.

It is a miracle from the Holy Spirit,

and the child will be a Son of God.

'It was a Christmas as unique as any other,

'for every year, the mystery unfolds itself anew.

'In later life, I came to see that faith, like hope,

'is a rope and anchor in a shifting world.

'Faith cannot be questioned, only lived.

'And if I could not grasp it then, I felt its heartbeat,

'which was love.'

# ..Divine...

# O night divine

# O night

# O night divine... #