The Silent Land Doctors

Hello.

I've been for a walk.

What are you doing?

Preparing my lecture.

The lecture isn't today.

Isn't it?

No, but you've done the work now.

-Yes, I have.

-Perhaps it's time to go to bed.

It's morning.

You've been up most of the night.

Really?

I think you should get some rest.

Ta for the lift.

I'm praying they don't find anything wrong in the service.

Garages always seem to find something.

-Catch you at lunch, maybe?

-Oh, actually, I'm having lunch with Lena.

-We're going to go to the Botanical Gardens.

-Oh, nice.

Planning on meeting up for the long weekend?

That's already planned, but we are having a spa day tomorrow.

-Ooh, get you, becoming BFFs.

-What?

-Best friends forever.

-It's just nice having a friend my own age.

-I'm only messing.

I'm just jealous, to be honest. I could murder a spa day.

-Actually, would you apologise for me?

-What for?

-Getting boozed up and ruining the other night.

-Don't be silly.

Lena's not the kind that judges. Right, I'll see you later.

See you.

-Is she escaping?

-Wish I was.

-And be deprived of working with me?

Oh, if you put it that way...

-Christian?

-It's Maria.

Go.

So often, the interpretation of Rossetti's imagery is not...

Isn't...

Is not so much..

In terms of... In terms of the mythic...

DOOR OPENS

Christian.

-Hello, Maria.

-I'm teaching.

-This isn't your class.

-STIFLED LAUGHTER

Then, what have they done with mine?

(Tomorrow. Yours is tomorrow.)

But I can still teach them something.

LAUGHTER

-I know a lot.

-You do, but not for this class.

LAUGHTER

Four years ago, she was the Chair of English,

and still holds the title of Emeritus Professor.

Show some respect.

-OK getting home?

-Yes, thank you.

Nice to get a break. Been nonstop since surgery started.

Well, blame religion.

Eh?

Jimothy deserted us so he could go and commune with the metaphysical.

Or should that be metaphorical?

I think it's quite brave, actually.

You what?

You know, to investigate one's spirituality. It's admirable.

No, it's not brave.

Bravery is wearing a kilt without any underpants.

Bravery is being a proctologist.

Bravery is running into a burning building to save some screaming kid.

Bravery is not walking up and down the high street,

banging a drum and chanting.

I don't think he's gone to join the Krishnas.

No, he's gone to join the Buddhists. And next week, it'll be the Quakers.

And the week after that, it'll be the Zoroastrians.

And then, this time next year, he'll have founded his own religion, call

it the I Used To Be A Welsh Doctor But Now I Wear Sandals religion.

Yeah, well, if that's his choice, then...

-HE SIGHS

-Were it were so simple, Sidney.

We all know who the chief religion whisperer is around here.

Corner office.

I suspect she wears wigs.

So, Maria's headed over to the English Faculty before?

Oh, it's been her life, since she came here to do her post-doc.

And met you.

Yeah.

She still has that urge to teach,

share knowledge.

We used to talk about her work, read together.

Now I can see her slipping away.

It's impossible to know how quickly the Alzheimer's will progress.

It's already quicker than I thought.

The lucid moments...

are getting fewer.

When caring for someone, it's very easy to forget about yourself.

I don't mind caring for her. And Anne's here in the day.

No, I mean, to forget to do things for yourself.

And not feel bad about it.

For example, it's been an awfully long time since I've seen you

on the course.

I'm sure those trees next to the fifth fairway will be missing me!

You know, there is a really good Alzheimer's support...

I don't need a support group.

Sorry, I didn't mean...

-I'm just not one for groups.

-OK.

Maria's always been...

company enough.

-KNOCK AT DOOR

-Hello.

Dr Haskey, I wonder if you could assist.

I'm trying to locate an important document on the shared server.

What is it? The Magna Carta? Kant's Critique of Pure Reason?

Or is it next week's biscuits rota?

It is a budgetary response for the CCG.

It needs to be submitted by the end of the day.

Bad news. Today, I'm a little busy being a GP.

Is this about the shared drive?

I am asking for Dr Haskey's assistance,

-but he's not being very cooperative.

-Well, that would mean being a team player.

And what about our colleague from Cardiff?

-What's Jimmi got to do with this?

-He's not here!

-We're used to covering absences.

Just not for people who've gone off to hang out with the Dalai Lama.

-We need to be operational.

-You can still access patient records.

But not reports.

A call out for an IT expert is like a mere 130 quid.

Not if it is for the shared server. For that, they want £300.

That is extortion!

Oh, come on, Haskey! You're hardly covert about your abilities.

-Why don't you just save us the money?

-And what do I get in return?

One day, I'll be lying in a ditch, hoping that you're going to

come along and rescue me on your broomstick? Notice I said "hoping", not "praying".

Some of us think it is the same thing.

Some of us are exceptionally naive.

"Unless the giddy heaven fall

"And earth some new convulsion tear.

"And, us to join, the world should all

"Be cramp'd into a planisphere.

"As lines, so love's oblique, may well

"Themselves in every angle greet

"But ours, so truly parallel

"Though infinite, can never meet.

"Therefore the love which us doth bind

"But Fate so enviously debars,

"Is the conjunction of the mind

-MOBILE RINGS

-"And opposition..."

I told you not to call me!

I...

You can't.

You can't do that.

If you do this, I...

Meet you?

All right, where?

Yeah, that'd be great if you could reorder those.

I just got back, actually.

Yeah. Thank you.

Ah, a flyer. Letherbridge quiz night.

Ha! I'll be back in a minute, OK. Cheers.

-That's blackmail!

-It isn't blackmail, Mr Glover.

-That's exactly what it is! You're blackmailing me!

-Christian?

-Daniel...

-Everything OK?

-Why don't you ask him?

Hi! I thought I was early.

Not as early as me.

Who's being competitive?

I brought a picnic from the nice deli.

Oh, what, you mean like this one?

Great minds...

-Powered by olives and ciabatta.

-And cheeky macaroons.

I got those too.

-Shall we have a look round first?

-Yeah.

-I haven't been here in ages.

Yeah, that'd be nice.

So, this girl - is it some kind of relationship?

I don't mean to pry.

And your life is your own, of course.

But I did hear you say blackmail.

-And if something's gone wrong and she's...

-It's prostitution.

I was arrested for kerb crawling.

-So, are the league being prosecuted?

-It's too early to say,

but they have been suspended from Letherbridge University.

And I know that the VC has employed an independent body to do the

-inquiry, so...

-We geed her up a bit, didn't we?

Yes, we certainly did!

Her and her self-generated statistics.

Yeah. Lies, damn lies, and shiny covering her backside lies.

Maybe we should roll out the programme across all universities.

Yeah, and colleges, institutes of higher learning, businesses.

The only experience a female intern needs is work experience!

I didn't want to be unfaithful.

I made my vows 25 years ago and I intended to keep them,

-but I... I mean, I'm not old and...

-Of course.

-Of course.

-I thought a transaction would be different.

No relationship, no emotions.

I mean, there are other... I won't say reputable.

There are other places to go to.

I was thinking about it and it was spur of the moment and then

the police appeared.

They were conducting an operation.

Have you been charged?

I've been made to sign an Acceptable Behaviour Contract.

-OK, so it's not going to court.

-No.

-And what about this um...?

-Sarah Powell.

-Yes.

She's a student. She edits the university's newspaper.

OK. And she's found out?

And that I haven't disclosed it to the university authorities.

Are you contractually obligated to do that?

Well, you're obliged to disclose convictions, but morally,

ethically, I...

I suppose I should have.

So the decision lies with you?

I work with women. I teach women.

Yeah, but you haven't committed a sexual crime.

But I tried to buy sex.

Sarah Powell thinks that puts me in the same bracket.

She wants to hear my side of the story.

So, that's what you were describing as blackmail.

-I'll lose my job.

-Well, you don't know that.

But I'll at least have to resign.

I need the money for Maria's care.

And then there's her reputation.

She's an Emeritus Professor of English. She's part of this place.

So? Don't give this...Sarah Powell what she wants.

She's printing the article anyway.

The online edition goes out at five.

Cheers. I'm starving. Oh, by the way, have you seen this?

They're handing them out at the campus.

Another quiz! Geeks and anoraks of the world unite!

It strikes me that we need a bit of unity around here.

Yeah, we should enter a team!

Remember the last time me and you entered a quiz?

Well, yeah, but I reckon we'd do all right. No?

What do you think?

Peaceful, isn't it?

Mm. Not how I remember it with the kids.

Used to be mortified at how much noise they used to make.

Chris used to love going to parks.

I tried to do a bit of gardening with him at home, you know,

give him his own little patch.

Kids will just sit there, won't they?

Expecting seeds to sprout immediately.

-I'm a bit like that. I still can't make anything grow.

-Oh, me neither.

I can buy perfectly healthy plants and kill them stone dead just

by looking at them.

I miss the kids being little though.

They say time goes too fast with them. They're not wrong.

I was pregnant not so long ago.

With Howard.

I had a miscarriage.

Oh, Emma.

I suppose it just wasn't meant to be.

I can't help wondering though what the baby would have been like

and what it would have been like maybe bringing them here.

It would have been beautiful.

And loved.

I don't know how I'd cope.

You know, with a little one.

Having to go back to being tied and... Selfish really.

Don't take away my freedom!

No, but freedom is having a choice, isn't it?

I mean, doing what you want.

You've had your kids, you've done the corporate thing, so...

The world is my lobster!

Yeah.

You had enough?

Macaroons nearly finished me off!

Lovely though.

KNOCKS ON DOOR Hi. Sarah Powell?

-Is this about Christian Glover?

-Um... Yeah. I'd like to talk.

Privately, if we could.

It's about the article.

-And you are?

-I'm a doctor from the campus surgery.

-And are you a friend of his?

-Yes. I know him.

-I've known him for some time.

-So, you know what he's done?

-He told me.

-But he hasn't told the university.

As I understand it, he doesn't have to.

-It's a sexual crime.

-Actually, it isn't and he hasn't been convicted.

-So, you condone what he's done?

-Er... No. Not the act, no, I don't.

But you think it's fine for him to go on working with and

teaching women?

He hasn't committed a crime against a woman.

But you think it's fine for him to use one for a sexual service?

Look, erm...

-Do you know who his wife is?

-Yes.

And you know that she's not well?

Are you trying to use that to blackmail

me into not writing the article?

Blackmail's a very strong word.

Christian Glover used it about me earlier.

If you're trying to intervene or influence the narrative,

I'm going to cite that in the article.

OK, look, all I'm trying to say is that there are private issues

-at play here.

-There are also public issues.

Issues that would be a concern to the university,

his colleagues and the people he teaches.

Do you have any idea what's been happening to women on campus lately?

Yes, I do.

They have been subjected to all sorts of crime and men can't

be allowed to get away with this sort of thing any more.

-Come on, this is different.

-Is it?

So you really don't think the women here deserve to know what

kind of a man Christian Glover is?

I know what kind of a man he is.

Oh, do you?

Look, I'm just trying to appeal...

Don't make this about versions of decency.

I have asked him, many times, to give his side of things.

But the story has to be told and the article will be going online

at five, with or without his input.

-KNOCK ON DOOR

-Dr Haskey...

-I will not be blackmailed!

-Into what?

Fiddling with your systems.

-I am not here to ask you to...fiddle with anything.

-Good.

I am here to ask you to cover for the ante-natal next week.

-What?

-No-one else is available in Dr Clay's absence.

What about the midwife that you've got on the payroll?

-Sister Hanif is engaged elsewhere.

-Oh, for...

-We can get a shaman in to do it.

-Excuse me?

I'm saying that this building is so full of religious mumbo jumbo

of late that you should get a shaman who can try and read the

expectant mother's chakras or something!

-Will you stop being so childish?

-I'm not childish.

-And unreasonable.

No wonder Dr Clay did not want to share his spiritual needs with you!

Well, maybe Dr Clay didn't feel that he needed to, as his

spiritual fires were already being stoked by a religious crackpot!

-Are you referring to me?

-Well...

-How dare you call me a crackpot!

Right, and what if I call you a zealot?

Constantly proselytising!

And as for that cross, which you continue to have on display!

It is not always on display!

And yes, it is a symbol of my Lord.

And what is so wrong with Christian virtue?

The fact that you think it's an exclusively Christian thing!

-I do not!

-This is what gets me,

how someone can go on and on about their religion because this

is my religion, this is my creed, and I am going to hound you with it!

Hi, it's Daniel.

Look, I saw Sarah Powell earlier and I tried to dissuade her from

running the article.

Compassionate grounds. But she's not budging, all right?

So, she's going to put the article online at five, she said.

And I think it's probably best if you do give your side,

so please give me a call.

OK.

-I do not dictate to people.

-I said proselytise.

Your religion is a proselytising religion.

I spread the word. It is part of my duty. But I do not impose on people.

Really?

Of course, if people choose to listen, then I am pleased.

Oh, right, so Jimmi had a choice, did he?

You think that people who choose to believe, you think they are false.

You think that belief is a choice, belief comes upon you.

Belief discovers you.

Dr Clay's experiencing this and, as a friend, you should understand.

-And as a friend, I should be able to tell him he's wrong!

-No!

No, you are wrong!

Not because you do not believe in what others believe, but because

of your cynicism and criticism and mocking people's faith!

You mock them because they do not agree with you!

Perhaps you are the one who is a crackpot!

-I resent that.

-No. No, I resent you mocking my faith!

I resent you criticising my personal beliefs and that is why I am

going to ask the partners to bring a case of religious

discrimination in the workplace against you, Dr Haskey!

'It might be best if you give her your side.

'OK? So, please, call me.'

Love shall be our token.

Can you remember?

Love shall be our token?

-BOTH:

-"Love shall be yours. And love be mine.

"Love to God and to all men.

"Love for plea and gift and sign."

Oh, Maria!

Maria?

-How's Rosie getting on with her counselling?

-Good, I hear.

That's a relief.

-We're a good team, aren't we?

-You and me?

-Yeah.

Just think about what we've achieved.

-We mounted a Christmas production in a matter of weeks.

-True.

And dealt with a couple of despots and a cast full of crazy people!

Exactly.

-But the best thing was sticking it to the university.

-Mm.

We should fight crime. Baker and Reid, PIs!

-Oh, can we wear trench coats?

-Yeah! And trilbies.

-I hear they're very in this year.

-EMMA LAUGHS

Maria, we need to go for a little drive. Is that all right?

Yes.

Let's get you a coat. Come on.

This is fun.

What? The Botanical Gardens in February?

No, you know, just hanging out. No office politics, no hidden agenda.

It's been a while since I've had a mate, you know.

Well, one my own age.

Well, I've got them but it's all

kids and Round Table and shopping.

With you, things are a little bit more adventurous.

Yeah, they have been, haven't they?

It's funny, you forget how important friendships are.

And then you miss them when they're gone.

I had a really intense friendship at uni. Rachel.

-Really lived in each other's pockets.

-Ah, the good old days.

Actually, it was a little bit toxic.

Oh.

Do you still see her?

No, didn't end well.

-I'm sorry if I've hit a nerve.

-Oh, it was a long time ago.

-I'm really looking forward to going to the spa tomorrow.

-Mm.

Deep tissue massage. Bliss!

-How about a record of our lunch?

-Good idea.

-We don't look so bad!

-We are gorgeous!

I got the message, thank you.

From Christian.

"Remember me when I am gone away

"Gone far away into the silent land

"Where you can no more hold me by the hand

"Nor I half turn to go, yet turning stay

"Remember me when no more day by day

"You tell me of our future that we planned... #

Christian is saying he's put his affairs in order and there's

also instructions for what happens to Maria.

"Only remember me, you understand

"It will be late to counsel then or pray

"Yet, if you should forget me for a while

"And afterwards remember, do not grieve...

"If the darkness and corruption leave

"A vestige of the thoughts that once I had

"Better by far that you should forget and smile

"Than that you should remember and be sad."

Christian?

Oh.

There you are.

I'll join you as soon as I can, OK?

-Happy now, are you?

-What?

-Christian Glover's dead.

-Dead?

-Yeah.

Took his own life, just after your article was published.

So, were you still right to do it now?

-Yes.

-Oh, you were? OK, why?

For whose benefit?

-Society's.

-Society's? Oh, I see.

Or was it because even though he wasn't convicted,

you wanted to play the judge?

-I just wanted people to know the truth.

-Did you?

Well, they know now.

CAR ENGINE STARTS

KNOCK AT DOOR

Here we are again.

I didn't mean to criticise your beliefs.

But it is something that you make a point of doing on many,

many occasions, Dr Haskey!

I suppose I have, but on this occasion, I'm sorry, OK?

You have the right to believe whatever you want to believe in.

No, we all do! Including Dr Clay!

And I did not put undue pressure on him!

Perhaps if I had done, he would not be following Buddhism.

I cannot say that I am happy with his decision,

but it was his decision!

And if he thinks I am a good example

of faith then I am proud of that.

And I will support him in whatever way I can. We all should.

Including you.

All right, agreed.

If you still want to make a charge against me,

you're more than welcome.

Ugh!

-All right?

-I cannot retrieve this document.

Everybody is using the wrong pathway to access the shared drive.

It's the...D drive.

Well done.

You know, Dr Haskey?

Finding the right path is not always easy.

Oh, I see what you did there. Very nice.

-Come on.

-Why do I always have to do what you want? They're my ears.

I should be allowed to decide.

-Head back.

-Ah!

-Straighten. That's it!

-Argh!

-You're floating!

-I am!

I didn't come here to do donkey work.

I'm supposed to be learning how to be a doctor.

-I'm not sure that's actually...

-I was warned about this.

People exploiting work experience candidates,

using them for cheap labour!