(THEME MUSIC)
MATURE JENNIFER: Dreams are delicate things...
born out of hope, and desire, and air.
They are vulnerable to daylight...
as fragile as a moth's wing.
The brush of a hand can crush them.
Dreams also have the power
to fuel our journey to the future.
They drive us forth like engines.
Dreams are the bricks with which
we build a life we cannot touch.
They are signposts, and signals.
Dreams are the promise (DOORBELL RINGS)
we make to ourselves.
Morning. Oh, good morning. Thank you.
How does it look now?
This? Like it came free with a copy of the Jackie.
As soon as the Aylward family tiara can be retrieved
from the bank, we'll have the real thing!
And I'll also have my something old, because it's Edwardian
and my something blue, because of the sapphires.
Not to mention something borrowed, because you've got to give it back.
Have Morning Orders slipped your minds?
Your brother telephoned.
Geoffrey?! I thought he was still in Malta!
He's just landed at Heathrow.
Highly excited about giving you away and craving details
about the week's itinerary.
I'm sorry. He can be rather chatty.
JULIENNE: You must try to eat just a little more.
You won't recover from your illness without nourishment.
My illness was...
..months ago!
It was weeks ago.
Sometimes, things become a little...confused.
But that's to be expected.
Now, Sister Veronica thinks it's time we started to rehearse
your reading for the wedding.
Why can you not protect me from her schemes?
Because we both think that reading the Lesson
will give you something to aim for.
# ..good fellow #
# For she's a jolly good fellow...
# And so say all of us #
# For she's a jolly good fellow #
# And so say all of us! #
(APPLAUSE)
Mm, that is a lovely bit of buttercream.
Mind you, I hope you're having proper fruit and marzipan
for your actual wedding cake,
I don't think you can beat that!
Absolutely! Four tiers, too.
Oh, don't forget to keep the top one,
for when there's a christening!
Is that what you did?
Hmm, for the eldest.
Number three's just gonna have to make do with a Swiss roll
from the corner shop.
(DISTANT SINGING)
Whatever's that?
(JOVIAL SINGING)
Is this a clinic,
or Trafalgar Square on New Year's Eve?
Good afternoon Miss Butler, have you brought your co-op card?
I think you might have to change my name to Yu, now!
We've come straight from the Registry!
Oh! Beat you to it, Nurse Franklin!
So, I see! Congratulations!
If you've brought a card for Nurse Franklin,
please put it in the celebratory post-box provided.
I was terrified we weren't going to be in time!
Arnold's mum wanted us to wait
till she got back
from seeing family in Hong Kong.
And the Chinese,
they do what their parents say.
We fostered a little girl from Hong Kong.
I've seen her round and about. Oh, she's ever so pretty!
We love her more than I can say.
I can't wait to see what mine looks like.
I want it to look like Arnold!
Loads of black hair and eyes like pennies.
Lizzie, they'll be wondering where we are
down the Hand and Shears.
We'll be done and dusted shortly, Mrs Butler.
If you'd just wait outside.
Yeah, we're only meant to be in the pub for an hour.
Then we've got to get to Arnold's uncle's restaurant
for the sit down.
Mum! Do as the nurse says!
She made us promise there'd be chicken and chips.
Some people have got no sense of adventure.
I've just found a box of apostle spoons
in the clinical room.
With love from Uncle Ted and Auntie Sybil?
They can go on the table over there.
This is chaos I've lost all track of who,
or what needs to be where, by when.
Or even by what means of transport.
I did suggest the purchase of a Rolodex.
The advice was not taken.
(DOORBELL RINGS)
Is that my brother?
It certainly is!
Bearing the most opulent, elegant and I have to say,
the heaviest wedding dress of all time.
Matthew isn't supposed to see it, Geoffrey!
What, even in its box?
Oh!
There's also a bag with some spare buttons,
thread and a remnant of the fabric.
I said to the couturier,
what is she supposed to do with that,
make a matching pyjama case?
I think it's absolutely wonderful that you've travelled
all this way to walk your sister up the aisle.
Sister Julienne, I would have crossed the Mediterranean
in a canoe!
I've been in training for this for 20 years!
Thank you, Geoffrey!
When I wrote and told him I was engaged to be married,
he sent me a telegram, saying, "Perfect timing.
Stop. Superb modes for the mature bride these days."
I'm sorry I'm late!
I had to call the surgery about an appointment for Colette.
She keeps getting nosebleeds.
Oh, how ghastly!
I've never been able to bear the sight of blood,
it's why I became an osteopath
instead of a heart surgeon.
Mm... aah... mm.
Lah!
I thought I was going to read this. Not sing it.
A few simple, vocal exercises will open out your lungs.
It'll do you good generally, after being in bed for so long.
Mm. Ah.
Hmm. Now...
A reading from the first letter of Paul to the Corinthians.
Oh, I hope this is not going to be Chapter Thirteen.
It is.
You were asked to choose it, but you became unwell.
Is it too late for me to make a new selection?
The Orders of Service have been printed.
So, yes!
You come for Lizzie?
Oh, I have. Just a routine call.
She upstairs. Thank you.
Tea?
You want tea?
Oh, I would love some tea!
Arnold, tell your mother, the nurse will want a proper cuppa,
with milk in.
I'm not being funny, that jasmine stuff smells beautiful,
but it's like you're meant to splash it behind your ears,
not drink it!
Actually, a jasmine tea would be quite a treat, thank you.
Does your little girl like Chinese food?
We have been to the Peking Fountain once or twice, as a family.
She really enjoys it, as do we.
Arnold's Uncle Li's place is much better.
Mingmei, my mother-in-law, gets him to make me pork bone soup.
Is it any wonder she's got heartburn.
What you two really need to do is sort out names.
Baby second name Chinese. Baby first name Chinese too!
You've got to think of it going to school, Mrs Yu!
It needs something English, like Gillian or Ian.
Even Arnold calls himself Arnold!
Arnold name Ka Lun! Name mean "build the kinship".
It's the first grandchild for both sides, Nurse.
I think they're getting a bit wound up.
Lizzie, I actually called to say your urine is showing an infection.
I've brought you a course of antibiotics.
Doctor wants you to start taking them at once.
I told her wearing tights every day of the week would do this!
However, he also wants to see you at the surgery.
I shall make you an appointment for a few days' time.
I think we're over the finish line, in terms of packing the things
the bride is taking to the hotel the night before.
She's moved onto the lingerie part of the trousseau now.
I was surplus to requirements.
Can we tempt you to a Bournvita before you leave?
Oh yeah! Go on!
I'm sure they'll have nothing so luxurious at The Ormonde Hotel.
Dare I enquire
about the hen night plans?
She doesn't want to go out dancing up West.
She doesn't want to go to one of those new wine bars.
I can't even interest her in a meal out at the Napoli!
Trixie doesn't drink alcohol, Nancy!
Nurse Corrigan. Would you come to my office for a moment, please?
Of course, Sister Julienne.
I believe Sir Matthew is having a dinner
for all his gentleman friends, at his club.
Yes. I've been invited.
So has our other sibling, Ronald.
Trixie must do something to celebrate!
Even if it's just a trip to the pictures.
The last time I looked, it was a choice of Planet of the Apes
or Brides of Dracula.
We can do better than that.
In this afternoon's post, I received a request for references
from Netherditch Hospital, in Surrey.
Because you applied for a position there.
That was months ago!
Well, weeks ago.
But I never heard anything from them.
So I suppose I sort of... forgot.
Are you unhappy here, Nurse Corrigan?
I'm as happy as I've ever been anywhere in my life!
But this job...
oh when I saw it advertised, I saw it was full of all these things
that might make me even happier.
Netherditch used to be a cottage hospital,
so it's in the country.
And it comes with a house, two-bedrooms,
so me and Colette could live together...
..rent-free.
If you are offered the position, you must make the decision
that you think is best.
Thank you.
Because really, you might not be here much longer anyway.
Nonnatus House is either gonna be knocked down or shut down.
And what would happen to me then...
..what would happen to my daughter?
FRED: Ruddy leaking roof.
(DOOR OPENS)
I thought I heard my hairdryer!
What do you think you're playing at?
I'm drying out these fireworks!
Or they'll just be fit for the bin, otherwise.
And then you'd accuse me of thinking we've got money to burn.
Or not burn.
Catherine wheels on the draining board!
I want all this cleared away.
And then when you've done your lollipop duties,
you're to go to the gentlemen's outfitters
and collect the morning suits.
Ascot grey, you're all wearing the same.
And then go and fetch Reggie off the coach,
so that I can concentrate on the bridesmaids dresses.
My nerves are like Shredded Wheat!
I thought women liked weddings.
No, no. Women run weddings.
It's not the same at all.
MATTHEW: Trixie!
I spent the entire evening with Nancy just a few days ago
and she did not breathe one word of this!
She assures me she had forgotten all about her application.
One can't really challenge her logic in wanting to move on,
in the face of all the changes in the Health Service.
Minnows like Nonnatus House are going to suffer.
There's a strong tide out there and we can't swim fast enough.
Can't we?
TRIXIE: But why didn't you tell the truth, Matthew?
Why did you say that the tiara was in the bank!
I told you what my mother told me!
Which is that the executor needed to deal with the paperwork!
She thought she could get hold of it.
Because when she sold it, she sold it to a friend.
I just don't understand why she sold it but didn't say!
After my father was first ill,
she wanted to take him on a cruise.
And the tiara was just languishing there.
I mean no...nobody really wears them anymore.
But I was going to wear it!
It was going to be my something old, something borrowed,
and something blue!
And it was my father's six weeks on the Queen Mary,
trying to get his health back!
Well, couldn't he have had that anyway?
Perhaps things weren't as liquid as they might have been,
in their personal accounts.
What? Why?
Because contrary to what you appear to believe,
money doesn't grow on trees.
I don't know where you're planning to flounce off to.
But don't you dare follow me in here! Ugh!
I have telephoned every Health Farm in the Home Counties.
But not one has a vacancy on the bride's only day off.
Oh, I'm sorry, but we really can't change the roster.
It's hanging by a thread as it is.
(DOOR OPENS)
Oh, whatever is the matter?
Matthew's mother's sold the family tiara!
No!
Why didn't she say so? I had the option of a pill box hat
in matching ivory satin!
But now it's too late!
What am I supposed to secure the veil with, Kirbigrips?
Oh, come here, it's alright.
If we can't get this girl to a health farm,
the health farm is going to have to come to her.
I'll be making some tea in a minute.
I just need to make a start on digging up these carrots.
I didn't know you were a gardener.
Oh, these are Fred's.
He said I could have them for making soup, down at the hostel.
Are you taking a little time out from all your preparations?
Yes.
And giving myself a bit of a talking to.
Are your nerves kicking in?
No, no. Not at all.
It's...
On the day, it will be a beautiful thing.
And the thing I always say is,
never lose sight of the love.
Love got you this far and it will carry you all the way.
Wherever you are going.
VIOLET: Shall I get a pencil?
Only I read that if you put a pencil in sideways and,
and bite down on it,
it makes it stop.
I...I'm pinching the bridge of the nose.
That should make a clot form.
Well, Colette isn't to come anywhere near
this bridesmaid's dress until that's stopped.
And neither are you!
(DOORBELL RINGS)
Good afternoon, Nurse Crane. We're closed.
Is this an emergency?
Yes. Oh.
MATTHEW: I'm sorry.
I'm sorry.
I'm nervous, Trixie.
Nervous about getting married?
Nervous about the wedding.
Which is... of course,
the point at which one does
actually get married, legally.
So, punctiliously speaking, yes.
The aftermath.
The being together always,
I am entirely happy about.
Ecstatic about.
I'm very glad to hear it.
Matthew...
The wedding only lasts one day.
One hour, punctiliously speaking.
And I'd be lying if I said I wasn't every bit as on edge as you are.
But a marriage lasts for years, decades.
If the fates are on your side.
Yeah.
And we're on each other's side.
And there's no need for nerves.
Because we will be doing this, together.
Rest has escaped you also.
Yes, it has.
My mind is thronged with fragments of Bible verse.
I think from the Letter to the Corinthians.
It is as tedious as it is irritating.
That will be your reading, for Nurse Franklin's wedding.
I cannot keep all these weddings
aligned and documented in my mind.
The rate with which these women marry is absurd.
The rate at which women marry or indeed do not marry,
has kept us in business in Poplar for a hundred years.
Perhaps we should thank God for that,
instead of railing at his works.
The antibiotics certainly seem to be doing the trick.
Just make sure you finish the course.
I need to nip to reception, to make a phone call.
I'll leave you with Mrs Turner.
Lizzie. You can put me in my place if you see fit.
But you develop a fine nose for
warring mothers-in-law in this job.
They mean well.
And they didn't choose who their kids were going to marry.
Well, they will adjust. Or, they won't adjust.
And either way, the most important thing is your peace of mind
as a new mother.
Nobody's ever said that. Not even Arnold.
He's like piggy in the middle too, the same as I am.
My mum even wants to be there when it's born
and if his mum finds out, she'll be tipping up and all.
It's gonna be like Sunday Night At the London Palladium
in the delivery room.
Oh no, it's not. Because I am not going to allow it.
The minute you think you're in labour,
even just the first twinges,
I want you to come straight to the maternity home.
You can settle in and have some quiet time,
away from all these family pressures.
The Principal Nursing Officer will see you now, Sister.
Morning.
Midwife calling.
Well, you certainly seem to be nesting, Estelle.
Perhaps Baby isn't that far away.
Nesting, is that what they call it?
I'm always big on cleaning,
it comes of being married to a chimney sweep.
It's been the family business for a long time, hasn't it?
Oh yeah, Tony's great-grandad started it when Queen Victoria
was on the throne.
Mind you, since the Clean Air Act, we'll be telling our kids
to train up as gas fitters.
That's where the money is these days, gas fires.
Money is tight, I don't mind telling you.
Oh, you will get a bit more Family Allowance.
Tony is gonna start a side line, turning up at weddings
to bring luck to the bride and groom.
I'd forgotten about that! I do love a good superstition.
Oh, it's not long till your big day, is it?
I'm sure he'd offer you a reduced rate,
he's got this lovely old-fashioned coat and hat.
That sounds glorious. But I'm afraid I'm getting married in Chelsea.
It would be too far for him to come.
I hope we're not barking up the wrong tree with all of this.
I was full of bright ideas when I was raking through
that charity cupboard.
Phyllis! Now is not the time to lose confidence.
You've already set to with the scissors.
(DOORBELL RINGS)
Oh, I think dinner has arrived.
Ooh, excuse me.
Evening! LIZZIE: Good evening doctor!
Oh.
My uncle sent the whole of Menu B, with a few extras -
some won ton and some xiaou long bao.
They're like dumplings. Ahh.
Uncle Li doesn't put them on the menu,
but he thought your little girl might like to try 'em.
I think we'd all like to try those!
Hm, off you go, over to the table.
I brought chopsticks. Can you eat with chopsticks?
I'll show you if you like.
I wouldn't mind a go. I'm always game for an adventure!
Lizzie, you really must let us pay you for this.
Uncle Li would have our guts for garters!
I wasn't sure how any of this would turn out.
What I was heading for.
But then I suddenly realised...
if you go where love is,
that's where life is.
I realised that, too, once.
It was the beginning of everything.
(CLATTERING)
Cyril?
Or perhaps that should be Mr Robinson,
since this is clearly a professional visitation.
I'm just looking at a couple of things,
for a Council structural audit.
Is it alright if we go out to the backyard?
Yeah, by all means.
(LIGHT MUSIC)
(GROANING)
What's this?
A little something from all of us,
to you, to mark your special day.
The thought of you pinning your veil on with Kirbigrips
was too much for us to bear!
Oh, Phyllis! Shelagh! It's perfect.
We made it from the remnant of your wedding dress.
And it was stitched with love.
What's this?
A lady is never without a handkerchief,
even on her wedding day.
And you will have to give it back to me!
My something borrowed.
Is this my something blue?
There's a bit of one of your old uniforms in there.
And a piece from one of the Sister's habits.
You can sew it inside the hem of your wedding gown,
or underneath the train.
Nobody will see it.
But you'll know you've got a piece of Nonnatus House with you.
And so will we.
Am I allowed to use the hankie now?
I think I'm going to cry.
Oh, good gracious, Mr Aylward. You're up with the lark.
I was hoping to see you, alone.
And then Nurse Franklin.
In that order.
Matthew! The tiara?
I thought, better late than never.
And it didn't take that much sleuthing,
just a bit of application.
And, I suppose, the knowledge that it would,
it would make you happy.
Does it make you happy?
It is certainly very er... opulent.
It reminds me of my Granny Maude.
And of course my mother, or at least,
my mother round about the time that the Queen was crowned.
Which was actually the last time I saw her wear it.
It might look better on a blonde.
I actually think it's bloody hideous! I hate it.
You would have worn it, wouldn't you?
Just because I went to the trouble of tracking it down.
Hmm. Probably.
But then I would have felt guilty, that my friends
went to so much trouble making me a replacement.
A replacement tiara?
No. Something simpler and better.
Something that doesn't distract me from the fact
that I'm marrying you for you.
Not a title, or a name,
or any of the things that go with it.
Am I allowed to say that I never doubted that?
NUN: Mother House, Order of St Raymond Nonnatus.
This is Sister Julienne, calling from Poplar.
Please may I speak to Mother Mildred?
Yes, of course.
Cards first!
When you've dealt with that, Mrs Estelle Hopkiss needs a visit.
Signs of early labour.
Netherditch Hospital?
"Dear Nurse Corrigan, we are delighted to inform you
that your job application... has been successful!"
I'm sorry. This is for you.
Obviously...
But they must be desperate!
They didn't even ask me for an interview!
I'll think about it.
And decide after the wedding.
I feel as though I'm letting myself down, Sister Julienne. But...
I've been hoping against hope that they wouldn't
offer her that position!
If Nurse Corrigan chooses to leave us,
she can be replaced.
But... she's become one of us.
We've brought her on, brought out the best in her.
Fretted over her.
And now she's heading off.
Like they all head off.
And it hurts, like it always hurts.
Do you suppose this is how people feel about their children?
I don't know. But I feel it, too.
Forgive me, Sister.
Perhaps it's just the wedding, bringing everything to a head.
Seeing Nurse Franklin's bags packed.
Nurse Franklin will still be working with us.
I know. But she'll be a married woman.
Young people look outward and upward.
When you've youngsters around you all the time, you do the same.
Nurse Crane.
What are you most afraid of?
Being left behind.
Becoming an irrelevance.
Having no work to do.
Nurse Crane. Listen to me. That is not going to happen.
Nonnatus House is not going to close.
But...
I think things may be tuning up, Estelle.
But I'm not sure Baby's absolutely imminent.
No chance of it coming while the kids are at school then?
Not as far as I can see.
Keep pottering about and try to eat a proper lunch.
You'll know when it's time to call us.
Yes. And Nurse? The offer of the lucky sweep still stands.
I have an inkling you and your husband may have other things
to worry about tomorrow.
There are two types of defence mode for animals in the wild.
They can curl up in a ball and make themselves as small as possible.
Or they can spread their wings, expand their chests
and make themselves seem far bigger than they are.
I'm not sure I'm catching your drift.
I am in negotiation with St Cuthbert's,
we are reinstating The Midwife Training Programme.
New students will start with us before the New Year.
I have signed a two-year agreement with the hospital.
But what about the rent?
The Council charge us so much, we could scarcely meet our bills
even when we had the students last time.
Mr Aylward - Sir Matthew - has just bought this building
from them, outright.
How much did he pay? The place is falling down!
And it's meant to be under threat of demolition.
The clearance programme has been delayed.
And there is life in this house yet.
As Mr Robinson confirmed when he inspected it.
When he was here the other day?
For now, we are safer than we have ever been in years.
And we will have young people underneath our roof.
(KNOCKING ON DOOR)
What's all this moping?
Everyone's downstairs, celebrating some sort of
stay of execution
and I'm about to sweep you away to a plush hotel in Chelsea.
Last night as a bachelor girl.
Some of us stay true to that particular calling all our lives.
You're gonna have so much fun, Sis.
The Queen Elizabeth.
The Waldorf Astoria. And a whole life with him.
And little him.
I wish I'd known.
Known what?
That so much happiness was waiting for me.
When we were children.
And Father was alive.
And ill.
And we always had to light up all the rooms with fun and laughter.
Did you find it hard, too?
Having a flair for something doesn't make it easy.
Lucky old Ronald wasn't cursed with charm at all,
he was all just bicycles, then golf.
Ugh. Real happiness really is quite something, isn't it?
When you find it. Or it finds you.
And suddenly, you don't have to pretend to be laughing anymore.
I'll take your word for it.
And you, most adored of all my sisters,
are to grab that happiness with both hands.
(SWEEPING MUSIC)
Come on. After you.
Bye!
(PHONE RINGS)
Nonnatus House, midwife speaking...
This is the best thing that's ever happened to Colette.
Belonging to a family.
Knowing there's somewhere she can go and where people are always
pleased to see her.
Best thing that's ever happened to me too.
It's not something to be surrendered lightly, Nancy.
It's why I won't leave my job.
And why I don't want to move from the East End.
The church is perfect for the wedding.
And this hotel will be...
..just right for the reception. But...
You'd rather have a hooley in Poplar?
Oh, it would be nice to have a little bit of that.
But no-one can have everything, not all at the same time.
And choosing one thing over another can be very, very hard.
Isn't that the truth?
(WAILING)
Is that it? Promise me that's it!
That most certainly is it.
Baby's head is resting in my hand.
Oh, thank god for that!
Are you sure that's a baby?
It looks more like a turnip, covered in jam.
Oh god.
The little one's turning now, Estelle.
So, rest, rest and when the next pain comes,
just one big brave push for the shoulders.
(BABY CRIES)
And here's your reward.
A beautiful, bonny...
..daughter.
A girl? We wanted a girl, didn't we, 'Stell?
Look at her.
She's massive!
Yeah, you don't need
to tell me that!
You go to bed. I bring tea.
I'm fine, honestly.
I'd only be tossing and turning.
Oh!
Oh, Baby is coming?
I think it might be.
Mum! Mum!
Reggie, we don't have to leave for ages.
My trousers don't fit.
Needless to say, there is no reply from the gentleman's outfitter's.
I don't know how they expect to survive in retail.
Violet, this wouldn't do up on a leprechaun.
And I'm telling you now,
I have not eaten one pie out of place
since I got measured up for this.
No, Violet. It's too short and it's too tight.
I've told you before, Colette is only going to the wedding
because she's a bridesmaid.
I'll bring you some after dinner mints back.
Eat up, it's already five past.
We have a very strict timetable this morning.
That was Mrs Buckle.
Everybody's got the wrong morning suits.
(PHONE RINGS)
I'll answer it.
The locum cover doesn't start till ten.
Turner...
A couple of stitches won't take me more than half an hour.
Go straight to Violet Buckle's, wait for me by the shop front door.
Oh, how will I know which suit is yours?
It'll be the one that won't fit anyone else.
Room service.
Virgin Bellinis all round.
Colette's got a nosebleed.
Oh no, no, no.
Doesn't she need an ambulance, or a nurse or something?
She's got two nurses and she's still bleeding
like a stuck pig.
Oh, it's like something out of Sweeney Todd!
I had stitches with both my others.
You ought to fit me with a zip.
I'm glad Nurse Crane sent for me so quickly.
These things are never as straightforward
once the swelling kicks in.
Ah, can't you give her something to pep her up?
She's been up all night; she's got a wedding to go to.
I hereby prescribe a triple espresso from The Napoli.
We are to go to the church with Nurse Crane, in her car.
If the service is all you can manage,
we can come home by taxi immediately afterwards.
I am utterly depleted.
It's best if you go without me.
The reading is not one that I would have chosen anyway.
Hmm.
I, I'll take those.
What on earth has happened?
The flowers have been delivered to the wrong address.
Oh, heavens to Murgatroyd!
It is the most abject failure of organisation I have ever seen.
Now, I am dispatching the florists to the church
with the pedestal arrangements and the buttonholes.
And meanwhile, I shall take the bouquets
to the bride's hotel myself.
I'd take your rollers out first.
Ah!
(SPEAKS IN CHINESE)
Is it starting? I could hear her halfway down the street!
Pain after pain, after pain!
I've brought you a shepherd's pie. And a book of baby names.
English book, English names. I ring ambulance.
Arnold's got the car.
He can drive us to the maternity home.
Let me just put this on the side.
The only person who is going with Lizzie is me!
You two are staying at home!
Oh, Miss Higgins!
Put them over there.
Madame appears to have entirely forgotten her manners.
Thank you.
You are most welcome.
At least it's stopped streaming like a tap,
the way it was before.
It's just a sort of postscript.
I can't breathe.
It's on her bodice, Nancy!
We shall send for milk, which will remove the worst of it.
The bouquet will cover the rest!
And I regret to inform you, it has begun to rain.
(LIGHT MUSIC)
You'll have to unscrew your head or take your hat off,
this roof's not retractable!
The Turner's aren't coming in the convoy,
they're running late.
Where's Sister Monica Joan?
She is unwell and must rest.
Sister Veronica will stay with her.
What a shame.
I'm really not a lover of parties.
Shush. They'll hear you. Both of them.
You could have won an Oscar in there.
I am having twinges.
You know what Mrs Turner said, "First twinges,
"you come straight to the maternity home,
for some peace and quiet."
Do you need me to put my foot down and do 60?
No.
But on the other hand,
the mums might be watching from the window!
SHELAGH: We're back on track with our timetable,
thanks to your speedy turn around after that house call.
His bag's still in the boot of the car.
And remember, Timothy, if there's a great deal of cutlery
at the wedding breakfast,
simply work your way from the outside in.
Oh, Patrick. I'm really not happy about you driving
all the way to Chelsea, sitting on the tails of that coat.
I smoothed them before I sat down.
Well, they won't be smooth when we get there.
You'll have to get out and take it off.
(HORN HONKS)
(CRASH!)
I'm ringing 999!
I'm a doctor. How many are inside?
I think there's two!
My wife... my wife's in the family way.
Shelagh!
I brought your bag.
Do you know how to call the Flying Squad?
Yeah, yeah. Go, now.
Tell them there is a pregnant woman, at term, involved in a car crash.
Unconscious and seriously injured.
Phone's that way.
Shelagh. It's Lizzie and Arnold Yu.
Careful, careful!
(TENSE MUSIC)
Shelagh, I need the stethoscope. Lizzie! Lizzie!
(SOMBRE MUSIC)
No. No, Patrick!
She must have died instantly.
Head injury, possibly a heart attack.
Get away, get off!
Arnold. Arnold. Arnold. Arnold. It's alright. It's alright!
We're looking after Lizzie.
We'll take care of her.
No, no, Arnold, it's alright.
You, you just bit your tongue when the car crashed.
That's it, clear your throat, that's better.
The Flying Squad's on their way! Arrival six minutes minimum.
Look after this man until the other ambulance arrives.
He's in shock, possible rib damage and he has an oral laceration.
See if someone can fetch you some ice, from the pub.
Patrick. I think the baby still has a heartbeat.
It's alive. Come on, Lizzie, come on.
She's dead.
She's been dead for minutes.
You know what I've got to do, don't you?
Mm. We need a screen!
Patrick...
A screen! Now!
Is there anyone I can send for?
Anyone you'd like to have come?
It's our first baby.
There's, there's grandmas everywhere.
Somewhere. It's Lizzie I want. And I can't see her!
No.
This won't hurt you, Lizzie sweetheart.
Dr Turner is just doing what's best for your baby.
There's no choice, Shelagh.
Yes, I know. There's no choice.
(BABY CRIES)
You have a daughter, Lizzie.
And she looks like Arnold. She has loads of hair.
And eyes like pennies,
just like you always dreamed of.
(SOLEMN MUSIC)
There are such a lot of stories
that start with Once Upon A Time.
But ours did, too.
And once upon a time,
I thought the world had ended,
because we were alone in it.
Not anymore.
We're all going to live happily ever after.
Yeah? Yeah.
What do we do now?
We carry on.
You once told me that is the terror and privilege of what we do.
We will change our clothes and we'll go to the wedding.
Just like Lizzie herself once said, "Go where love is.
Because that is where life is."
She's ready!
But she wants to wait until the rain's stopped.
Brides are always fashionably late!
If we do not leave on time, you will be un-fashionably late!
(ALARM RINGS) Jesus! Is that a fire alarm?
It's a drill, it's a drill!
But I can smell smoke!
Trixie, if you don't come out now, I'm going to drag you by the veil!
First the flowers and now the wedding cake! Delivered here.
To the wrong address...
(ORGAN MUSIC PLAYS)
Is that Sister Veronica?
She must be late, too.
MAN ON RADIO: ...a number of fire engines have been called
to the Ormonde Hotel in London's Chelsea.
The building has been safely evacuated
but it is substantially ablaze.
The Ormonde Hotel? That's where the reception is!
Sister Monica Joan!
I had a hunch she might have made her own way here.
She was supposed to be ill.
On occasion, with God's will, I rally.
The man requires remuneration.
She certainly gave me a fright, but all is now as it should be.
I'm afraid it isn't as it should be, Sister.
We're going to have to break bad news to the bride.
Therefore, if any man can show any just cause why they may not
lawfully be joined together, let him now speak, or else hereafter
forever hold his peace.
I have not come here to discuss just causes!
Shh!
Neither shall I hold my peace, for I have an obligation to fulfil.
# I will not cease from Mental Fight
# Nor shall my sword sleep in my hand
# Till we have built Jerusalem
# In England's green and pleasant land! #
The Order of Service leads you to anticipate a passage
from Paul's Letter to the Corinthians.
That is not what you are about to hear.
I shall now read A Wedding Prayer, by Robert Louis Stevenson.
With an addendum, by myself.
Lord, behold our family here assembled.
We thank you for the place in which we dwell,
for the love that unites us,
for the peace accorded us this day,
for the hope with which we expect the morrow.
For the health, the work, the food, and the bright skies
that make our lives delightful.
And for our friends in all parts of the earth.
(SOFT MUSIC)
And for those we love, and may look upon no longer,
for those whose path will not be ours,
for those we teach, and from whom we learn.
And for those who hold us
in their hearts and call us Home.
Amen.
ALL: Amen.
Amen.
(LIVELY MUSIC)
(CHEERING)
When are you going to apprise them of the fire at the hotel?
I thought that first we ought to get some pictures of the bride
where she's not hysterical.
But... we have a plan!
And it's going to be marvellous.
(NO AUDIBLE DIALOGUE)
Er, ladies and gentlemen!
Would the bride, the groom and the wedding party,
please make their way outside?
MATURE JENNIFER: There are hopes, there are plans.
There are dreams. There is reality.
And above all the other things we cherish, there is truth.
Trixie's wedding was not the stuff of dreams -
it was more beautiful than that.
The people of Poplar loved her, and they repaid her
for her service by saving her big day.
They brought fish and chips, and furniture,
and carts of fruit and seafood.
They brought music, and their children,
and their open hearts.
It was makeshift and warm and chaotic. It was perfect.
(CHEERING)
We cannot predict what the fates will bring.
We can only find strength, and hope,
and survival in each other.
There will be new dreams, one day.
There will be reasons to go on.
Let in the truth.
Embrace the real.
Open your arms to the things you did not look for.
For you will find what you did not seek,
be given what you did not know you lacked,
and be lavished with a joy that takes your breath away.
Here are life's riches, next to you.
Here, in the faces of your friends,
in the laughter of their children,
in the tenderness of those who love and work and lived with.
This is community,
our end and our beginning.
This is the best of everything we are.
Captioned by Ai-Media ai-media.tv