♪ ♪ ♪ Mature Jennifer: Learning and growth can be solitary pursuits.

We close doors, turn inwards, seek a private space in which to thrive, and yet we need each other as friends, as family, as fellow students in the school of life.

Mr. Sinclair... Pastor.

Come and join us again.

Yes, of course.

♪ More new faces, more souls saved.

And even less room in here than there was last week.

It's good that the church is growing, Mrs. Wallace.

It would be better if this flat was growing, too, but it's not.

We need a proper church building.

The Sharing Church Building Act may become law this year.

I'll put it on me prayer list, item number two.

What's item number one?

Backsliders.

There may be more people joining us on our journey of faith, but we still got people falling off the bus.

We do have a duty to them, as well as the newcomers.

[Cat mews] Who asked you?

Get him his pilchards and then find a pen and a piece of paper.

We're going to make a list, and then we're going to knock on doors.

Nurse Aylward.

Trixie: Morning.

Were you vanquished afresh by the perils of public transport?

3 buses.

It's a miracle the East End doesn't grind to a halt.

Perhaps you might need to allow a little extra time for your journey.

Well, not when it would mean leaving the night before.

Nurse Clifford will accompany you on your home visits this morning.

Ah.

Again?

How nice.

I took the liberty of packing your bag for you.

I hope I didn't mess it up.

Good morning.

I'm looking for Mr. Lloyd Bristow.

[Sighs] Owed you money, too, did he?

I'm Pastor Robinson from the Shining Tabernacle Church.

Mr. Bristow used to come to our services, but we haven't seen him for a while.

Hmm.

Well, neither have I, and neither has his daughter.

I take it you are Mrs. Bristow.

Yes.

For my sins, or should that be his?

Sorry if your husband hasn't behaved as he should, Mrs. Bristow.

Sometimes, even being a church member can't stop someone from losing their way, and perhaps-- Oh, he found his way up the M1 no bother.

He's moved in with some floozy up in Nottingham, and you know what?

She's flaming welcome to him.

Would you accept help from our church?

It's too late.

Lloyd knew his Bible chapter and verse.

Didn't mean he lived by it.

The offer of help remains.

In the meantime, I'll pray for you and your children.

Prayers aren't gonna feed the meter or my kids.

Miss Higgins: It's really quite straightforward.

"MacDonald" M-A-C should not be filed with "McDonald" M-C. A basic command of the alphabet is a prerequisite in every profession, Nurse Corrigan.

Turner: Ah.

Mrs. Khan.

Sister Julienne: Yes.

Edna Bristow is on our books.

She's due to have her second child very soon.

She won't accept any help from our church.

You'll make a note of her circumstances?

Of course.

I'll make sure that the midwives and Sister Veronica are aware.

Thank you.

I wish I could do more for her.

You have done your best.

Sometimes, our best must be enough.

♪ It really does seem as though your symptoms are the same as when I first saw you last December-- abdominal pain, aching legs, struggling to sleep-- but your blood and urine tests were normal.

Has the insomnia improved at all?

Only a very little.

Meaning not at all.

I'm sorry.

It must be hard.

I have to work, so it is not always easy.

I imagine starting afresh in a new country is never easy.

I make the best of it.

I am going to prescribe you some pills to help you sleep, and we'll keep trying to find a cause of this muscle pain and weakness.

Thank you, Doctor.

You're very kind.

It's my pleasure.

♪ [Door closes] Poor woman.

Blood tests can tell us all kinds, but what they can never show is how homesick someone is.

Well, you think that's part of the problem?

Doesn't matter if you come from India or Cork.

First few months, you can feel as though you're dying.

I'm still not convinced she's told me everything.

Do you suppose you could make an excuse and call in on her at home?

I think she'd be less guarded with a woman.

I'll have her singing like a canary in no time.

♪ [Indistinct chatter] ♪ Nancy: Would like a glass of milk with that biscuit?

Yeah.

Yeah.

And do you like Winnie the Pooh?

Well, Sister Monica Joan is gonna read a story, and I hear she does a very funny Eeyore voice.

Come have a listen, and I'll fetch you a drink from the kitchen.

Mrs. Bristow, thank you for your patience.

This is Nurse Highland, our wonderful pupil midwife, who will be looking after you today.

I've no objection as long as she's gonna be supervised.

If you'd like to come with me, Mrs. Bristow.

♪ Struggling to relax.

Keep wanting to hop off the couch and whisk my mop around.

This hall's one of my cleaning jobs.

The height of the top of the womb is telling me you're at term, Mrs. Bristow.

You need to find a little time to put your feet up.

I'm sorry, Nurse.

What I actually need to do is pay my rent.

Let's listen to baby's heart, shall we?

Must be very hard on your own.

Word travels fast.

It's ticking away like a little watch just the way we like it.

Vertex presentation.

Thank you.

If you just write up the notes.

I hope you know you're entitled to a maternity grant and family allowance once baby's arrived.

If things are still tight, you might even be a case for National Assistance.

I'm not grumbling.

I've plenty to be thankful for, including a Council flat.

Are you all ready for your home birth?

Place is spotless.

Mmm.

You're a professional.

I always think how spick and span this room is when we arrive to set up.

Ha!

Thanks.

Sister Veronica: Hold the squidger firmly at about 45 degrees.

Now aim for the pot.

Nancy: What?

What are you reading?

We have to choose an animal poem to learn off by heart for school to raise money for the RSPCA.

I think these are all about cats, written by a possum.

They're so long.

I'll never remember any of them.

Nancy: Call it a draw, shall we, and stick to the handicrafts next time?

Absolutely.

Well played, all.

Nancy: Come on, you.

It's getting late.

♪ [Doorbell rings] I was passing this way and thought you might be interested in our coffee mornings for Asian ladies new to Poplar, hosted by our surgery receptionist Miss Higgins.

"M-A-C, not M-C"?

That's the one.

I think she's a little... frightening, no?

Oh, her bark is worse than her bite.

I like that expression.

Heh heh.

Oh, look at those.

I love a good heel.

My cousin works at the shoe factory, and my husband and I sell the surplus stock at the market.

Bet you do a roaring trade.

No one can ever have too many shoes.

That's what I said when he wanted to sell hardware.

Ha ha!

I attended university.

My husband went to college, but business sense you have to be born with.

You have to work hard, too.

I can see you're doing that.

I try, but I wish my health would help me.

Dr. Turner will get to the bottom of it.

I did wonder if there was anything you didn't feel comfortable telling him, something you'd rather talk to another woman about.

Do you know a lady doctor I can speak to?

They're a bit thin on the ground sadly, even in this country, but I am a nurse, and I am female, and I know what it's like to go bright red even just thinking about my body and all the things it does and can get up to.

It is not usual in our culture to discuss our...monthly period.

Are you having bother in that department?

The pain is so very, very bad.

Every time it is so bad, and everything that ails me, it is worse-- the pain in my legs, the pain in my stomach, the sleeplessness.

Everything is worse.

God love you, Sahira.

Can you help me now?

Every piece of the jigsaw puzzle makes a difference.

♪ There you are, sweetheart.

Now you play nicely.

I'll be as quick as I can.

♪ [Water splashes] [Moans] Girl: Mummy.

I know.

Lucky I've got the right equipment to hand, eh?

♪ [Shuddering] OK. You're gonna have to wait till I'm finished, little one, or I don't get paid.

Turner: Has Nurse Corrigan returned from her house calls yet?

Miss Marple at your service.

Did you find out anything new about Mrs. Khan?

Yes.

She's crippled with dysmenorrhea, doubled up with pain every month, and says all her symptoms are worse when she's menstruating.

All of her blood tests have come back normal, but at least this gives us something new to go on.

Miss Higgins, can we refer Mrs. Khan to gynecology at St. Cuthbert's?

I would respond by saying Mr. Kenley or Mr. Parry, but I understand Mr. Parry has a more sympathetic manner.

I shall telephone his secretary.

Thank you.

On the district, we have the privilege of being with the mother from the beginning of her journey to its end.

We go into her home, we meet her family, we see her wracked with pain and self-doubt and radiant.

It is a profoundly-- Shelagh: Sorry to interrupt, but I wondered if I might borrow Nurse Highland.

Mrs. Bristow called, and it sounds as though baby's arrival is imminent.

[Indistinct chatter] Tracey's almost asleep.

Has she got her teddy?

Tucked in next to her.

Did she drink her milk?

She'll wake up crying if she didn't drink it.

I'll see to Tracey if she doesn't settle.

Nurse Highland is going to examine you and just find out exactly where we're at.

[Groaning] Joyce: Oh, my goodness.

The baby is almost crowning.

Why didn't you send for us sooner?

I was at work!

You've done so, so well to get this far without any help, Edna.

We're with you now, and you're safe at home.

We're gonna take good care of you.

[Sobbing] That's it, honey.

You push if you want to.

[Moaning] [Sobbing] [Screaming] I think it's coming too fast!

I'm gonna rip open!

Everything's under control, Edna.

I'm supporting baby's head so it can't come too quickly.

Pant now, pant like I showed you.

[Panting] [Panting] Shelagh: Perfect work, Edna.

Just keep listening to Nurse Highland.

And I've freed the chin.

You'll feel baby turn in a moment.

Now!

[Gasping] Can you see his face?

Oh, it's a darling little face.

And now, one last big, brave push for me as soon as you're ready.

[Inhales] [Groaning] ♪ You have a handsome baby boy, Edna.

[Sobs] Why isn't he crying?

He's just a bit of a lazybones.

Ah.

Come on, Prince Charming.

Let's show a little appreciation for your mother.

She been working her socks off.

[Baby coughs] [Crying] Oh.

Well done, Edna.

And well done, Nurse Highland.

[Crying continues] Ahh!

Ha ha!

Oh.

He--he looks like his father.

Is that good or bad?

Let's just say it's a useful reminder.

[Baby crying] ♪ I know, I know.

I'm in ferment of apology, but my daily wrestle with public transport will soon be a thing of the past.

Matthew is going to give me driving lessons.

Brave man.

Heh heh.

Ha ha!

Ha ha ha!

[Thunder, rain falling] ♪ More demolition works?

Linton Road and Gateshead Road?

But I declared those houses fit for human habitation when I inspected them last year.

They were decent.

Where the tenants supposed to go?

They'll be eligible to apply for flats in the new tower blocks.

The tower blocks that haven't been built yet?

It's not the Council's fault that there's a queue.

6 pounds and 8 ounces.

Shelagh: It's normal for baby to lose a little weight in the first few days.

I'm switching to the bottle anyway.

I need to get back to work.

We can give you some Stilbestrol and Epsom salts to help dry up your milk.

It does seem very early to be going back to work.

Have you thought any more about applying for financial relief?

I wouldn't want to take it away from those that really need it.

And have you thought of a name for the little prince?

We'd agreed to call him Alastair if it was a boy.

[Tracey coughing] Shelagh: And how are you doing, Tracey?

Excited to have a new baby brother?

Poor mite seems a little under the weather.

Shall I tuck her in bed for a nap?

Uh, no, no, no, no, no.

She can sleep here.

♪ Oi.

You're up with the lark.

Not so much up as haven't been to bed yet.

I've just finished a shift at the homeless shelter.

I have enough time to change my suit and have a cup of coffee before I go to work.

Burning the candle at both ends.

Here.

On the house.

♪ [Tracey coughing] [Alastair crying] ♪ Oh.

Good morning, Dr. Turner.

I just had a telephone call from Mr. Ayub Khan.

His command of English is poor, but between my Punjabi and his Sylheti, I think I discerned his wife is complaining of blurred vision and severe headache.

Don't like the sound of that at all.

23 Nightingale Terrace.

I'll reschedule your early appointment.

Colette: Oh.

I'm never going to remember this.

Nancy: You've still got a week.

Don't worry.

I'll help you.

Now come on, or we'll be late for school.

Cyril, you have a cat, don't you?

I think the cat would say it was the other way round.

What's its name?

Nigel.

And what about his other names?

Colette is learning T.S.

Eliot's poem "The Naming of Cats" for school.

Please will you sponsor me?

Put me down for a shilling and a pilchard from Nigel.

Singer: ♪ I saw that gleam within your eye ♪ ♪ I couldn't let this chance pass by ♪ ♪ I didn't want to take you...

Morning, Mrs. Khan.

I'm sorry to hear you're still suffering.

The pain is so bad.

It is so bad, I want to die.

What is he doing here?

Get him away from me.

Ayub: It's the doctor.

P-p-please h-help her.

Mrs. Khan, I promise I only want to make you feel better, but I have to examine you first to try and find out what's wrong.

I'd like to shine a light into your eyes.

Is that all right?

Uh-huh.

♪ That's all good.

I'd like to have another feel of your tummy, if I may, and take another urine sample.

Aah!

If I give you a container, might you be able to use the toilet now?

Hoo!

Please excuse the state of my attire.

The moped and heavy showers are not soulmates.

[Tracey coughing] Someone has a nasty cough.

[Coughing continues] [Wheezing] Oh, she wasn't this bad earlier.

What do you think's wrong with her?

May well be a chest infection.

Where's your nearest telephone?

There's a public one on the ground floor.

You need to call an ambulance, explain that you have a young child that's struggling to breathe.

And now, sweetheart, let's sit you up... if we can.

All right.

Well done.

♪ [Tracey coughing] Oh, my goodness.

♪ Turner: Uh, let me take that.

Thank you.

Now come and sit down.

Perhaps your husband could fetch you a glass of water.

Sahira?

It's best just to leave her.

W-w-what's happening?

She's having a seizure.

I need to transfer her to hospital.

Yes.

Baby's asleep in the pram just outside.

It's wheezy bronchitis.

According to the consultant, they started antibiotics as soon as she was on the ward.

She'll stay in the oxygen tent until further notice.

Did he say she'll get better?

He said we have to wait and see how she responds over the next 24 hours.

Is wheezy bronchitis catching?

Could the baby get it?

I'm afraid it's caused by living conditions, especially damp and mold.

You've seen the bedroom.

Mm-hmm.

I have been scrubbing that wall for months and months, writing to the Council, calling in.

I should have saved time and just wrung their bloody necks.

No.

This is not your fault.

[Alastair crying] ♪ Edna: I need to be with Tracey, but every time he cries, I--I start leaking.

What am I supposed to do now?

Where am I supposed to go?

I've spoken with Dr. Turner, and if you're agreeable, we can take Alastair to the maternity home for a few days.

All things considered, I think it's the best solution for all of you just now, Alastair, Tracey, and you.

[Alastair coos] There you are.

[Gurgling] It's all right.

♪ Oh.

There, there.

Shh, shh, shh.

It's all right.

♪ Nancy: Dr. Turner, have you seen Mrs. Khan's urine sample?

It wasn't that color when she gave it to me.

Has it been exposed to sunlight?

Uh, possibly.

It was briefly left on the counter in the sluice room.

I think this could indicate liver problems.

♪ I'm sorry.

All visitors have to leave now.

Matthew: Right.

Now, the first thing to remember is that a car is a 3-dimensional object.

Duly noted.

Thank you.

Good.

Now check the mirror.

Indicate.

[Thump] Release the handbrake.

Now gently press the accelerator whilst slowly releasing the clutch.

[Engine revs] Gently.

♪ Sit here for a few moments.

We'll bring Master Alastair in to you.

Mrs. Bristow arrived to visit her baby, and I saw at once she has a fever.

Thank you, Miss Higgins.

I'll be with her directly.

[Crying] Take him onto the ward?

He's halfway through his feed.

It wouldn't be advisable to interrupt him.

Mrs. Turner has advised it.

I think you'll find she knows best when it comes to balancing the needs of mother and baby.

But in hospital, we-- You're not in hospital now, Nurse Highland.

You've come to us to learn that there is a different way.

Hmm.

♪ This is mastitis.

It looks so sore, and it really does feel quite lumpy.

You'll need antibiotics, which doctor can prescribe, and you must rest.

No.

I can't rest.

I didn't get a wink of sleep last night fretting about Tracey.

How is she doing?

Critical... but stable.

Can I see Alastair?

Rosalind: And as if by magic, your wish is my command.

He's just had 1.5 ounces, so if that's his main course, you can give him his dessert.

♪ Oh, Edna.

I am going to admit you.

You need to be with your baby, and you need antibiotics, good food, rest, and care.

Yeah, but what about Tracey?

Sh-she could be dying.

You can't expect me to choose between my children.

No one's suggesting that.

In a perfect world, we'd be looking after all of you at home.

Yeah, but it isn't a perfect world, is it?

It's a filthy, stinking, moldering world that makes my children sick and me ashamed of the way I have to live.

Matthew: Gently, slower, slow down.

Move out the way of the pavement.

[Sighs] Mind the lady with the pram!

Aah!

Aah!

Brake!

Brake!

Ohh!

Ohh.

[Gears grind] Careful, careful!

[Horn honking] I'd be better in your car.

No, you wouldn't.

What gear am I in?

You're not in gear.

Get in gear!

[Horn honking] Ugh!

Calm down.

I am calm!

[Gears grinding] Where am I going?

There's only one direction.

♪ [Tires squeal] [Cat mews] [Cat screeches] ♪ [Mews] ♪ The tests on your urine sample have revealed you have a condition called porphyria.

It's a very rare inherited liver disease, which results in the buildup of toxic chemicals in the blood, which caused damage to the nerves.

Is there a cure?

We can certainly relieve the pain, and physiotherapy will address the weakness in your legs.

But no cure?

My wife, she will die?

A severe attack could be life-threatening, but if you avoid the things that make it worse, you should be able to lead a fairly normal life.

For example, certain medications or hormonal changes brought on by pregnancy.

Avoid pregnancy?

I would advise against having any children for the time being.

I'll speak with your GP.

♪ Do you have an appointment?

No.

I'm an extremely busy health professional striving to serve and support a very deserving case.

Heh heh.

Everyone who comes here is a very deserving case, or they think they are.

Perhaps you've met Mrs. Edna Bristow, a mother of two tiny children who has reported mold to you time and time again, and your advice was to paint over it.

That is usual.

And is it usual for the mold to keep coming back blacker and more widespread every time until a child ends up in hospital struggling to breathe?

That seems extreme.

It is the result of extreme mismanagement.

Very possibly by the tenant.

Don't you dare try and blame your tenant for this.

Do you have children, sir?

I fail to see how that is relevant.

You might if you stopped to imagine your own family being forced to live like this.

I will send someone around to inspect the premises, but I'm entirely sure they'll come to the same conclusion.

Everybody has children.

To marry is to want children.

To marry is to say we will face the things we do not know.

I am sorry.

I am sorry, sorry that I cannot give you a child and be sure that I will live, and I am sorry that this pains you.

We must tell our parents.

They will advise us.

No.

We will tell them nothing.

Why?

Because it is not their business and...because I'm ashamed.

Thank you.

Sorry.

I explained that you were trying to avoid the cat, and he is gonna let you off, but I have to make a donation to the Cats Protection League.

If you're going to try to run over a policeman, it's always best to choose one with a sense of humor.

[Engine starts] Ah!

You can't possibly imagine I'm gonna let you drive again after that.

Trixie: 3-dimensional object coming your way.

You-- Unh!

[Gasps] ♪ Sister Monica Joan: It's rumored King George III suffered from porphyria, so your Sylheti patient might be in very esteemed company.

Wasn't King George completely insane?

Some people believe he suffered from mental illness.

Well, he might have suffered intermittent derangement as a result of his condition, but the fact remains it could be a royal malady.

I'm not sure she'll find that all that reassuring.

Any more news on Tracey?

She's starting to respond to her antibiotics.

Hospital's the best place for that poor child.

What's going to happen when she's discharged?

She could be permanently asthmatic.

Oh!

Someone looks in need of a pick-me-up.

Thank you.

Matthew just gave me my first driving lesson.

But it didn't go well?

I was tortured by a kamikaze cat, and Matthew's just gone in search of a coat hanger.

I see.

Taking instruction from a loved one can always be challenging.

Pfft.

To say the least.

Have you never been tempted to teach Violet how to drive?

I'd rather boil my own head.

Heh.

Ha ha ha!

I don't suppose you'd be willing to give me lessons.

You're extremely patient and calm in the face of danger.

I know because once saw you eat Violet's fete bake before a judge had had a chance to try it.

Go on then.

Don't tell Matthew.

He'd be terribly offended.

[Softly] Mum's the word.

♪ Mummy, I want to go home.

I know you do, love, but the doctors and nurses need to make you better first.

♪ [Horn honking] Have a pleasant day, sir.

Heh.

Charming.

Ah.

You get used to impatient motorists working as a lollipop man.

I find that a sunny smile usually unnerves them.

I wondered if you'd ever consider offering driving lessons.

I've been teaching Trixie myself, but, uh, I'm extremely busy with work.

I don't really have the time to spare.

I'd remunerate you for your troubles of course, though I'd appreciate if you offered without mentioning we'd had a conversation about it.

I'd be delighted to teach her to drive, and no re...required.

Ha!

Thanks.

Uh, you might reconsider the offer after the first lesson.

[Sighs] You know, I told you last time, Pastor, I don't give the Holy Spirit house room.

And I'm not calling in that capacity.

I've been sent by the housing officer to assess your flat.

There are several ways the water could be getting in.

If you don't object, I'd like to take some photographs.

Hmm.

For all the good it'll do.

When I complained, the housing officer made out it was my fault.

I can assure you, my report will state otherwise.

[Camera snaps] [Doorbell rings] [Door opens] Joyce: Hello, Mrs. Bristow.

Edna: Oh.

Hello.

Come in.

[Snap] Joyce: Greetings.

Sister Veronica sent us round with some forms for Mrs. Bristow.

She just told me you weren't impressed by the mold situation.

I am disgusted by the mold situation.

If you don't mind, ladies, I need to look behind the bed.

Uh, What is that?

Cyril: Stachybotrys chartarum.

It's a highly toxic black fungus you'll find in drywall construction.

It roots in the plaster and feeds on the moisture before releasing spores.

That won't just be on the wall.

It'll be on the mattress.

Mmm.

This has to go.

It'll make everyone in this flat ill. [Snap] All I ever did was clean.

The mold is not your fault, Mrs. Bristow.

It is the fault of bad building and worse management.

As Rachel Carson said in her book "Silent Spring," "If humankind poisons nature, nature will in turn poison humankind."

Joyce: And as my grandma used to say in Trinidad, "Is it the pig who makes the sty or the sty who makes the pig?"

♪ I can't see much out of the back window.

Yeah.

It's probably more important to look out the front.

[Gears grinding] [Trixie grunting] [Grind] Oh!

[Exhales] It's all right.

Take your time.

[Exhales] [Engine starts] [Revving] [Gears grind] Fred: Whoa, uh, whoa.

Whoa, whoa!

That's a-- I think technically you'd call that a stop... but early days.

Don't worry.

Practice makes perfect.

Thank you, Fred.

[Exhales] National Assistance forms.

I feel like a beggar.

I feel like I'm asking for charity.

I've been to the flat above, the flat below, and the flats on either side.

They're all bad but none as bad as yours.

I keep thinking I-- I don't want Tracey to come home.

I'd rather she stayed in hospital, where she isn't getting poison in her lungs, you know.

What kind of mother does that make me?

A mother in an impossible situation.

I can't even afford a new mattress.

She's gonna have to sleep on the settee cushions.

Not if you fill these forms and accept this money.

Mrs. Bristow, your children have the right to a decent home.

Their father let them down.

Society must not do that.

♪ Joyce: There was mold in Trinidad just like there is here, and we painted over it, too, bright pink, ocher, turquoise blue.

It came back again and again like the rust on a roof.

The mold in Ireland was always green.

You could call it patriotic in a pinch.

It's why I love hospitals, that beautiful smell of antiseptic, the squeak of the spotless lino underneath your shoes.

Everything is so safe and so under control.

You really do want to be a matron, don't you?

Maybe, but Edna Bristow's case has made me think.

Can you really nurse a person if you don't know who they are?

Can you do your best work if you don't know where they come from or what they'll go home to?

[Door opens] I called in at the nurse's hostel to follow up on the leaflets I left there, and there's going to be an enormous turnout for the Imperial meeting, almost enough to fill a chartered coach.

You're gonna charter a coach?

No, we can't afford to, but 23 of us are going to meet at the Poplar tube.

Oh.

Make that 24.

25.

Just don't tell Nurse Crane.

[Laughing] ♪ [Parking brake clicks] Ahh.

Ta-da!

Third time lucky.

Ha ha ha!

[Nurses clapping] Joyce: Yes, Trixie!

Matthew: Trixie.

Matthew!

Heh.

Sorry.

I was just, um-- Me, too.

Heh.

You're fiddling with your ear.

That almost always means you're hiding something.

Fred: Right.

Well, I'd best be off.

Um, Violet needs me to do something down at the old, uh, shop.

Ha.

I asked Fred to give me driving lessons.

I asked Fred to give you driving lessons.

Ha ha ha!

Ha ha!

Ha ha ha!

Ha ha!

Ahh.

Violet: I shall be raising this at the next Housing Committee meeting, which happens to be tomorrow.

It's a very comprehensive report by Mr. Robinson.

It's an absolutely dreadful story.

It's not a story.

It's happening here and now, and words are not enough.

Action's what's needed.

I've already spoken to the Medical Officer for Health in the Borough.

Was that really necessary?

I mean, these flats are the best that Poplar has to offer.

Half the people coming to see me here would give their right arm for one of these.

Yes, and possibly their lungs, so I would imagine it would be rather humiliating for the Council if their shiny new buildings were declared as unfit for human habitation as the Victorian slums they replaced.

I'll see what I can do.

You must take some sweets with you.

My mother keeps sending parcels, and she forgets that we do not like them.

♪ She has sent a tabiz, Sahira.

It's like a charm to help me conceive.

You must tell your mother.

I cannot tell my mother if you do not.

Why do we need to tell them at all?

So that we can become the talk of two villages?

No.

We live here now.

This is our new life, and we will succeed in it.

I will not be made to feel like a failure for a disease that is not my fault by your parents, by mine, or by you.

If you falter, you are a weak man, and I do not want to be married to a weak man... because I am strong.

♪ Tomorrow, will you come?

Sahira's not so sick now.

This will be my last visit for a while, hopefully a long while.

Rest is up to you now.

♪ Milk and two sugars, did you say?

Yes, please.

♪ Wouldn't believe the strings I had to pull to get a builder in so quickly.

You clearly know people in all the right places.

Well, as do you.

Heh heh heh.

Perhaps you should consider running for mayor.

When I couldn't get hold of the Medical Officer, I tried the mayor and got very short shrift.

His tenure's coming to a close.

I thought you said that you'd spoken with the Medical Officer.

Sometimes for the sake of the greater good, one has to be slightly creative with the truth.

Hmm.

"When you notice a cat in profound meditation, "The reason, I tell you, is always the same.

"His mind is engaged in a rapt contemplation "Of the thought, of the thought "of the thought of his name: "His ineffable effable Effanineffable Deep and inscrutable singular name."

Meow!

Teacher: Well done.

♪ We've certainly got the mastitis on the run, and your family are back where they belong.

Edna: It's OK, love.

You can go in there now.

Would you mind if we weighed Alastair before we go?

Yeah, I'm afraid I would.

I've decided to call him Nicholas instead.

Alastair was the name my husband chose for him, and I never really liked it or my husband, if I'm honest.

You be as honest as you like, honey.

Is there a reason why you chose Nicholas?

It means victory of the people.

When we had to go into battle, my children helped us to win.

Mm-hmm.

Joyce: I'll start a new folder with his new name.

There's nothing nicer than a fresh start.

What do you think, Mrs. Wallace?

Social worker?

I need to get out of the Housing Department.

I want to build better lives for people, not be complicit in trapping them in squalor.

This says, "Training provided."

What is going to happen to the church while you're doing that?

Mostly I'll be learning on the job.

Any study will be part-time, and all of this is dependent on my being accepted.

You will be accepted because all this is all God's doing just like our new church building is God's doing.

Our new church building?

I went to St. Oswald's and spoke to the vicar, and they are going to allow us to use their church twice a month.

That sounds like Mrs. Wallace's doing to me.

This is good news for all of us, except that cat.

Nigel's not invited?

Uh-uh.

No.

Oh.

Fred: All right.

I'm starving.

What's for dinner?

Oh, I'm sorry, Fred.

I've had things on my mind.

I'm thinking about running for mayor.

Mayor?

There's stretch of the imagination.

Why is it a stretch of the imagination?

Still you're a dab hand at cutting ribbons.

Fred, there is so much more to it than that.

It's about a bigger chance to stand up for people that can't stand up for themselves.

It's about leading other councilors so that they can do the right thing, and if you don't believe that I can do that, then you don't believe in the power and the passion of ordinary people.

Violet... you're not an ordinary person.

You are magnificent.

Will you support me, Fred?

Even if I end up Lady Mayoress.

Heh heh heh.

Thank you, Fred.

Now help me with these because they won't unwrap themselves.

Ahem.

♪ Nancy: Sahira, look at you back up on your hind legs.

My husband said he needed my assistance at the stall.

He said he's good with the mathematics but with people not so much.

If we support each other, we will succeed.

That's the best thing I could possibly hear you say.

I hope you will come to us for shoes.

We will offer you a discount.

That's the second best thing.

Heh heh.

My wife is a good woman, and how you say in English?

Baara shokhtho ar biththor norom?

My bark is worse than my bite.

Ha ha!

♪ Congregation: ♪ It's the story Mature Jennifer: Sometimes, life expands and embraces us in unexpected ways.

We can be more, we can know more, we are shown more.

♪ Togetherness is the key to all of this.

It opens doors, makes progress possible.

Together, we can forge a brighter future.

Together, we can find out our essential worth.

Is it a one-horse race?

No, Councilor Regan, it is not.

I am also running.

He is worst kind of slum landlord.

Nurse Crane: Her hip sockets haven't formed around her thighbone.

Mother: But she looks completely normal.

Look at this off color, Fred.

Fred: We're gonna pull together to get your mum through this mayor malarkey.

She wants to win.