Blood Upon the Rose Doctors

Judge not and you shall not be judged.

Condemn not and you shall not be condemned.

Forgive and you shall be forgiven.

Give...

THUNDERCLAP

..and it shall be given unto you.

I'm staying over at Layla's tonight.

-Oh, yeah?

-Huh.

Yeah. I thought I'd give you a bit of space with your mum around.

Really? SHE CLEARS HER THROAT

-Are you going to tell her?

-What?

About Nadia?

-Why should I?

-Because she's your sister.

My half-sister. No, I'm not going to say anything.

-But don't you think you should..?

-Look, it would really upset Mum.

I'm trying not to think about it myself.

Please...

Go away.

'I see his blood upon the rose

'and in the stars the glory of his eyes

'His body gleams amid eternal snow His tears fall from the skies'

I see his face in every flower

The thunder and the singing of the birds

Are but his voice and carven by his power

His crown of thorns is twined with every thorn

His cross is every tree.

A beautiful poem. I wish I'd written it.

Joseph Mary Plunkett. Poet. Journalist. Freedom Fighter.

Born 21st November 1887.

Died 4th May 1916,

executed by a British Army firing squad.

For me, at least for many years,

it has told of the presence of the departed,

the mourned-for dead,

the life of the world reminding us of the lives that have gone.

"I see his face in every flower."

I'm afraid that time has caught up with us.

I'd like to thank Mr McGlinn for attending the seminar

and hope that we see you all

at his reading of his own - very fine - poems, this evening.

As an incentive, there will be free coffee.

Thank you.

-They really liked you.

-Well, no-one threw anything.

Seasonal blend.

I tried the canteen and I've had worse in prison.

I always meet my husband for coffee after communion.

-Regular celebrant, is he?

-He's the chaplain.

Oh. Then I won't be arguing. His boss is more influential.

Thank you so much for offering to come.

I really wanted to.

Oi! Was that your Secret Santa?

Well, Valerie's not here, any more.

-I don't see why...

-She put a big effort into this.

She put a big effort into everything.

Yeah, OK, she could be a bit over-enthusiastic sometimes,

-but it's still a good idea.

-OK, then - why don't we swap?

-Swap?

-You have Howard.

Ugh. But I've got Karen. Karen's easy to buy for. Bubble bath.

Exactly. I've no idea what to give Howard

and we can't disappoint our practice manager.

Seeing as it's Christmas...

Hey, hey! I thought the rule was no swapsies?

-Mandy's doing me a special favour - Karen!

-That's easy!

What you are you going to buy for your Secret Santa?

I'm opting out on that one.

Uh, no - everyone's included otherwise it won't work.

-Then let me swap!

-No!

Padre. Ham and cheese, please, mate.

Roddy?

Oh, sorry. Miles away.

-Waiting for Jane?

-Yeah, she had an early seminar.

Eamon McGlinn? Sounds familiar.

-Keep up with poetry, do you?

-Keats done much lately?

Then you might know him from somewhere else.

He was IRA.

Commanded an active service unit.

Served time for the murder of a British officer.

And now he's earning his coin on the lecture circuit. Nice.

He wrote to Jane and asked if he could come.

You think he shouldn't be here.

Depends if you want the students taught by somebody of his kind.

-Hi.

-Jane.

Hey. How did it go?

Really well. Eamon's great with the students.

Serving his stuff up tonight, is he?

He's a fantastic poet. You should come.

No, thanks. Not really my thing.

I'll take anyone else. Even Howard.

Howard? Deal.

Whoa, hang on - I thought you said you were sticking to the rules.

Er, I am the rules.

OK, Mrs Rules, fine - let me have another go.

Or I'll tell everyone you've been doing favours.

-Fine!

-Hold on...

-Tst!

You had your turn, let me.

Oh, man.

If you've got Heston, it serves you right.

-Kevin.

-What's wrong with Kevin?

I can't buy Kevin anything for seven quid.

Now you know how I felt.

McGlinn was convicted of murder.

-If you'd read Eamon's poetry...

-I have.

Well, then you know he talks about redemption.

But does that wipe out the deeds?

Excuse what he did?

You never said you had a problem with Eamon coming.

-I had reservations.

-You didn't tell me.

No, I didn't.

But I do know where Howard is coming from.

A British soldier who fought the IRA.

Is this about something that Howard did?

Come in.

Mandy.

I have got your inventory.

Two days early. Take a star.

And there's also this.

That would clash with my tie.

Secret Santa. Valerie's legacy.

You haven't chosen.

Go on, then. If I get Heston, I'm leaving the country.

-Mrs Tembe.

-It's not Heston.

No, but I still don't know what to buy her.

-Can I swap?

-No swapping.

Practice nurse budget up for review in January...

-Emma.

-Sure you're going to know what to buy her?

I'll give it a go.

So you don't know anything about Howard's service record?

We didn't discuss those kind of things.

But if you found he'd done something, something awful...

would you be able to forgive him?

Depends if he was seeking forgiveness.

And what about Eamon?

-ECHOING:

-Roddy?

Roddy!

Roddy, what is it?

Angina can be exacerbated by stress.

Anything causing you added stress, anxiety?

I... I haven't been sleeping well, lately.

Things on your mind?

Yes.

Relaxation techniques can help. I've got a colleague...

Do you have a faith?

-A faith?

-A religious faith?

No, not really. Should I?

No, I mean... it's a universal question.

What is?

Is it always possible to forgive?

-What for?

-Things done in the past.

Suppose it depends what they are.

Funny how we say things are buried in the past,

or consigned to the past...

..when it's our past that comes to find us.

'..for the day of their calamity is at hand'

And the things that come upon them make haste.

I do not want Dr Haskey.

That's the draw.

I would not know what to get him.

-Socks?

-Immediately, there is a dilemma.

Now, do I get him plain socks

or those ones with the days of the week?

I think Doctor Haskey would wear Thursday on Wednesday and vice-versa.

I would prefer someone with a sense of order.

I would like Mr Bellamy. Now, for Mr Bellamy,

Wednesday will always be Wednesday.

And that is exactly why you should stick with Al.

Why?

The element of the unexpected. That's the joy of Secret Santa.

-But what if I would like to swap?

-No, no swapping.

You are leaving?

Yeah, I'm working at home this avo. Admin. It's booked in.

Goodbye.

-Roddy?

-Just...routine.

You got time for a quick word?

-Mum!

-My baby! Aw!

Sorry I'm late.

Plenty going round to keep you doctors busy.

Let me look at you... You look...a bit peaky.

You been surviving on takeaways?

-The odd pizza. But we mostly cook.

-"We?"

-Yeah, I've got a lodger.

And would that be a lady lodger?

She's just a friend. Actually, Mum, there is something...

Something juicy you want to tell me about?

It can wait, why don't we put the kettle on first?

I thought you'd never ask.

McGlinn hasn't come here to just read poetry, has he?

-He's here for me.

-To do what?

Kill me.

You were just infantry before you were ordained.

I was.

But on my second tour of Ulster I was seconded to headquarters.

-So that's when the company was formed.

-The Jackals?

11 Special Field Intelligence Company.

It was the Provos that gave us the nickname.

Yeah, I've heard of them.

So you were there when Eamon McGlinn's brother

died under interrogation?

I was the company commander.

I ordered the interrogation.

-So her name's Jas?

-Short for Jasmine.

She must be pretty, cos you certainly haven't taken her on for her cleaning skills!

Ah, that's kind of my responsibility, this week.

-So she is pretty, then?

-I suppose.

You ought to know, you've had enough girlfriends.

I'm changing the subject, Mum.

What to? That juicy thing you wanted to tell me about?

That can wait till we've been shopping.

I know you're itching to buy up the town.

-Might not be buying as much this Christmas.

-Why's that?

-I'm not quite as...flush as I'd like to be.

-You never said.

-It doesn't matter, I can...

-I can help.

-Kevin.

It's Christmas. And look at everything you've done for me.

I really want to.

There were three devices.

Two had already been detonated, the first at a police station.

Three were killed instantly,

many more casualties.

The second came ten minutes after.

The gate of one of our bases.

A patrol was coming in as it was detonated.

Didn't have the exact number of casualties at the time,

but no-one walked away.

Intelligence from the ground told us that there was a third device.

By that time, we had detained a suspect...

..Stephen McGlinn.

And what about Eamon?

He was a commander of the active service unit

that planted the bombs.

And did his brother know where the other devices were?

We had reason to believe he did.

And that the third device was the largest...

..and potentially most deadly.

It was up to me to find that device.

Where's the bomb, Stephen? Where's the bomb?

'He was swearing that he had no idea.

-'That he didn't know where it was.'

-Where's the bomb, Stephen?

'There were people killed. Our soldiers killed.

'Scattered over the streets like bin rags.'

And he knew.

I knew he knew where that device was.

Did he tell you?

He died without revealing anything.

How did he die?

Heart attack. He had an undiagnosed congenital heart condition.

The stress of the interrogation proved too much.

And what about the third device?

Failed to detonate.

If it had, it would have killed even more of our personnel,

maybe civilians.

So why has it taken McGlinn so long to look for revenge?

He started almost immediately.

My second-in-command, James Dewar, was taken to a field,

abducted on operations, beaten and killed with two shots to the head.

And it was McGlinn that killed him?

He was arrested the next day. Received a life sentence.

Was released as part of the peace process.

But that was a while back.

There were four of us present at that interrogation.

Dewar was killed, as I said.

Sergeant Ross retired, was found dead five years ago, gunshot wounds.

Corporal McClean also left the army.

Died in a house fire two years ago.

The circumstances were...

..mysterious.

So it looks like he's been leaving me till last.

'So where's McGlinn lying up now?

'He's staying at a hotel and might be preparing for his reading.

'With Jane?'

Possibly.

Roddy, what if he wants to take revenge in kind?

PHONE RINGS

Thought I'd find you here.

No answer.

Come on.

Eh, found a picture of you with your BMX bike the other day.

-I loved that bike!

-Just a bit!

All the other kids used to leave theirs covered in mud.

You'd spend hours cleaning yours.

If you've got a hot ride, it needs to be clean.

Remember showing off on it, too, with Charlie Bennett from next door?

What was it his dad used to call you?

-Imran.

-Why'd he call you that?

After Imran Khan?

He used to captain the Pakistani cricket team.

Oh.

You were really good at cricket.

He called me that cos I'm brown, Mum.

We'll find her.

Step away from her, McGlinn!

And who are you, to be giving me orders?

-I said get away from her!

-Please, don't harm her!

Why would he want to harm me?

It's something I did.

Is that an admission... or a confession?

-I'm calling the police.

-I wouldn't.

I've got the guilty party here.

The Reverend Roddy McAllister.

Or, in a previous life,

Major Roderick McAllister.

What's this about?

He murdered my brother.

It wasn't murder.

Another Brit soldier. I can tell by the arrogance.

-And I know you're a killer.

-And what about you? You killed anyone?

-That's for me to...

-In Ireland? Killed anyone there?

The British Army doesn't conduct operations

in the Republic of Ireland.

My country IS Ireland

and that includes the six counties of the North.

Is what he's saying about you true?

I ordered...

and took part in...

..the interrogation that led to the death of Stephen McGlinn.

And now I finally have you...

..face to face.

I was the only kid on the estate who wasn't white.

It never made a difference.

Maybe not to you, but I was made to feel it every day.

In the street. On the bus. At school.

I know you were bullied, love.

I got sick and tired of hearing that word.

They never called you that?

Mum, someone called me that every day.

"There's a little man from Pakistan."

Used to hear that every time you sent me out for chips.

Wanted to say, "I'm from round here. It's my...dad who's from Pakistan."

I didn't know they called you that.

I didn't want to worry you.

It's toughened me up. I've never apologised for who I am.

You should be proud of who you are. I bloody am!

I was on a lecture tour in the States when Andrew Ross was killed.

I know there was mystery surrounding his death...

..and it was from gunshot wounds.

But I didn't kill him.

And I didn't kill your Corporal McClean.

That was a fire.

And I didn't start it.

I left all that killing behind me, in that prison.

And what about those you did kill? Their families?

I try to work that through.

Guilt?

I reconciled the man I was with the man I am.

What about you, Roddy?

What does your god have to say about it?

I didn't become a priest to assuage my guilt.

-But you feel guilt?

-I feel...

anguish at what I had to do.

You didn't have to kill him.

-Stephen.

-I had no intention of killing him.

But I wouldn't have had to interrogate him,

if you hadn't planted those devices.

And your second-in-command would have survived,

had you not ordered the interrogation.

But you did kill him?

I was present when James Dewar was...killed.

But I didn't pull the trigger.

I didn't fire the shots.

But I hear them...most nights.

And I see the muzzle of the gun being placed on his head...

..and a voice inside me says...

"..Don't!"

But I was silent at that time...

..and so, since then...

..I see him fall.

You see Stephen.

I wanted to kill you.

That was my waking thought for years.

You killed my brother so I wanted to kill you.

But I'm followed enough by death as it is.

And I left all that killing behind me in that prison...

..but that man is me and I am him.

I sought you out

cos I wanted to know what it was like for him, in the end.

-For Stephen.

-He told us nothing.

Despite what was done to him.

He was...

..steadfast.

Likewise Dewar.

He died a soldier.

I can't offer you forgiveness.

If you want forgiveness for yourself...

..accept that the man who killed was you.

It won't take away the burden.

It won't restore the dead to life.

But it will mean your life can go on.

Go on, say you hate it.

-I don't hate it!

-I tried following the recipe.

-From those lairy bikers.

-Hairy Bikers, Mum.

-It looked nice in the picture.

-Better than they do.

Never been a one for beards.

Was my dad clean-shaven, then?

Do we have to talk about this?

Well, we never do. I just thought it was time.

He was very smart. Liked suits.

Like me?

You've got the same slim build.

Was he wearing a suit when you met him?

Yes. At a dance.

Was he married?

I would never have gone off with a married man.

But that's what I thought, that you two couldn't be together,

-because he was with someone else.

-He wasn't.

-Then why didn't he want to be with us?

-It was a cultural thing.

"Cultural?" What, like religious?

He didn't want to be with a white woman.

But you had a kid together. Didn't he want to see me, make contact?

No.

Oh, look - we've been all right together, the two of us.

(Yeah. But...)

We've had such a fantastic day.

Let's have some of that lovely pudding

and enjoy the rest of the night, eh?

Sure.

It is clear he's been living rough somewhere.

He'd rather live out of bins than come home to me.

I've spent my entire life getting grief

for being the only brown kid in a white neighbourhood

and it turns out that I'm just too white for my dad.

I'll let nature take its course.

I wouldn't recommend it. Anyway, I didn't come all this way

-just for you to die on me now.

-Why did you come?

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