: the following program contains mature content which may not be suitable for all audiences. viewer discretion is advised. there are between 80 and 100 babies born each month in poplar. but sister evangelina never turns a hair. she grew up very poor. oh. sister evangelina: i imagine none of you girls has ever been inside a workhouse. they were designed to break the spirit. worse than dying. i'm turning myself in. [cheers and applause] male announcer: funding for "call the midwife" is provided by contributions to your pbs stations from viewers like you. thank you.

[overlapping chatter] it's on! it's on! it's on! [laughter] hurry up, everyone! come on! [overlapping street vendors shouting]

i can't see! [excited chatter] [festive music playing] [laughter] mature jenny, voice-over: my first christmas in poplar was unlike any other i had known. the streets, like all streets, were strung with colored lights, and children drew up lists, like children everywhere. as the days ticked down, it seemed as though the district was fizzing with delight. but at nonnatus house, a different magic was at work.

the sisters spent advent in prayer and meditation, and the atmosphere was not one of excitement, but of expectant, joyous calm. i wasn't entirely sure what i should make of it. i was young, and faith was still a mystery to me. [telephone ringing] nonnatus house. midwife speaking. it's me neighbor. she's started having pains. name, please? hilda levons, lisbon buildings. you're meant to be sending her down to hospital. she's already crying her eyes out.

woman on phone: third one, she was in labor for 3 days. i'll come out and assess her. keep her tucked up and warm till i get there. [fussing] it's all right, baby. it's all right. come on. [baby crying] it's all right. mrs. levons was very anxious at the last appointment. i'll come with you to reassure her, and then go on to the mastitis case. oh, straw for the crib. well done, sister monica joan. i availed myself of the kindness of some costers in the market. the spirit of the season would appear to be amongst us. [exhales] [bicycle bell rings] [distant baby crying] woman: nurse! you got to come quick, nurse! hurry, quickly! she's in here! come on! she's through here!

hurry! hurry up! [panting] oh! take that. just follow me. please, hurry up. hilda: [prolonged scream] hilda! it's all right! the nonnatans are coming. stop pushing. i can't stop! jenny: let me through, please! i'm a midwife. hilda: i need to go to the hospital! i had to have forceps with the last one! second stage, sister. sister julienne: don't distress yourself, hilda. all is well. [moaning] please, will everybody stand right back so we can assist mrs. levons? it might help if you were dispersed elsewhere. man: begging your pardon, this is a communal toilet, and i was in the queue. get yourself down the other bloody landing! hilda: i can't do this on my own! jenny: yes, you can. i want you to take nice, steady breaths in between each contraction. it will help you to feel a lot calmer. good.

[alarm blaring outside] oh, thank god! thank god. [cries] who sent for an ambulance? it wasn't necessary at all. if you really want to be of help, you will boil a kettle, fill some hot water bottles, fetch clean, dry towels, a basin, and a blanket. hilda: i'm going to need forceps again! sister julienne: thank you, gentlemen, for your attendance. all is in order, for the meanwhile. man: all right, sister. jenny: i want you to inch forward for me, hilda. that's it. good girl. it moved. i can't have it here! i haven't had my enema! vertex is visible, sister. sister julienne: shall i tell you something, hilda? you're doing splendidly. nurse lee and i aren't going to leave your side. oh... now, on this next contraction, i want you to make as little noise as possible. i want you to put all that energy inwards as you bear down.

hot water bottles are on their way. right. that's wonderful. well done. well done. keep going. now, on this next contraction, i think we're going to have the baby's head. ohh! noooooo! [groaning loudly] really good. really good! there. oh, well done. [baby crying] oh, there. there. woman: lovely girl, hilda. oh. every time a baby's born? i can't believe it. [baby crying] can't believe it.

mature jenny, voice-over: there were days and deliveries where i couldn't believe it, either. birth was and will always be the most commonplace of miracles, an event at once familiar and phenomenal, timeless and immediate, briefly making angels of us all. [babies crying] [overlapping chatter] over 18 pounds. bravo. about the same size as a turkey. all the children for vaccinations over this way, please, and anyone who doesn't line up nicely will be reported to father christmas. trixie! and you needn't think i don't know where to find him. ooh! last year, he left his number in my stocking. [chuckles] lynette, take the boys over for their needles. mum, don't say "needles" in front of them. you know they'll kick off. if they're frightfully brave and well-behaved, they'll get a jelly baby afterwards. but you'd better hurry up; otherwise, all the black ones will be gone.

[grunts] watch out. come on. mind out of me way. i want a star on top of this, not somebody's eyeball. season's greetings to you, too. do i have to undress him? it's on the nippy side in here. down to his napkin, if you would, mrs. duncan. hand-knits weigh rather heavy on the scales. got it! stop it! ha ha! get off! ha ha! i'll see you at tea time. better hurry. [bicycle bell rings] there's a baby been born. jenny: yes, there has. is it thriving? yes. is it? yes. and the mother? is she thriving, too? mother and baby are both doing well. i'm afraid you must let me pass. i'm expected elsewhere. both doing well. thank god, nurse.

woman: thank god. hmm. there's a bulb loose somewhere, i reckon, or a wire. go on, sonny. go and wiggle that plug for me. fred: the electric always slows down in the cold weather. it's what you call atmospherics. now, don't tickle it. clump it one. we'll be sat in the blooming dark at this rate, and then how's the reindeers gonna find their way, eh? ah. [bzzt] ow! [all laughing] you won't be laughing come cub's nativity. how's bethlehem gonna look without tree and lights, eh? [laughing continues] what ho, lynette? looking for the pamphlet on 3-month colic. oh. something caught your eye? not really. are you interested in coming into nursing? you must be finishing school soon. easter, then i start as a filing clerk down at cousen's wool. my dad's their warehouse foreman.

gosh. nothing like connections. must be rather jolly, seeing doors begin to open. big, wide world, all of that. suppose. happy reading. [boys giggling] fred: stop messing about with that plug now, and no one told you to touch the cypress. you'd have had more success pulling her teeth out one by one. one can't help having a sort of spasm of fellow feeling. do you remember what it felt like, feeling as if you'd never stop growing? like alice in wonderland when she ate the cake, dreading being noticed, and fearing you aren't visible at all. can't say i do.

never seen anyone so decrepit. i have to say, i've got a jolly robust nose, but a meths drinker asked me for small change the other day. it was all i could do to keep my bran flakes down. i don't think she was a drinker, and there was actually mildew on her coat. she was asking after the baby, you say? yes. sounds like someone we used to see a lot of at stepney borders. used to call her mrs. jenkins. i don't think that was her real name. not quite the full picnic, if you ask me, but she always knew if a birth was taking place. never have thought lisbon buildings would have been her stamping ground. do you know, i think i saw her the other day? i'm sorry to say it, but the poor old thing was...widdling in the gutter. oh, well, that's definitely her, then. been a lot of demolition up stepney way. she may moved her lodgings or lost them. righty-ho. for the next two hours, i only answer to akela. things you see when you haven't got a gun. [children clamoring]

pack! pack! pack! pack! pack! pack! shut up! thank you, jack. stop pushing me! neil and kenneth, we do not need any flags. we're putting our semaphore to one side this week and concentrating on our nativity play. [all cheer] now, as you know, we're going to perform it for our mothers and fathers on the last thursday before christmas. everyone taking part will get their entertainer badge, apart from timothy turner, who'll be getting his musician badge for playing the violin. now, calling all shepherds. jack, what about you? aren't you supposed to be a shepherd? "o, what blazing light is this?" jack: i've grown out of me old dressing gown.

you said we had to have dressing gowns. well, why doesn't garrett take your part? he could be a shepherd. you can play balthasar. can i still have a crook? [tweets] stop it, please. [tweets] timothy. [stops playing "silent nigh"] ooh! donkey's ears. ha ha ha! hee-haw! now, the alice band has already perished, so i want you to treat those as though they're made of porcelain. jack: what? porcelain? boy: not him again. oh, bravo. reinforcements. excuse my tardiness. i've been making inquiries about a manger. boy: ...putting up the christmas tree. ha ha! gosh. move over, prince rainier of monaco. do you suppose your mother will run you up a cape? ahem. chummy: that's it. now, come on, boys. we haven't finished yet. boy: wait. i don't know... [sniffles] you all right there? picking my brothers up.

my mum and dad don't like them running around unsupervised. good for them. that's what i say. chummy: now, in a horseshow, please. all: akela! cubs, do your best. all: we'll do our best! [door closes] [whispers] letter for you from the vicar. into bed, camilla, and calm down. calm down? the vicar's invited the mayor of poplar to the nativity. [sighs] i know one shouldn't speak ill of a man of the cloth, but it was bally cowardly for him to put it in a letter. it's only a bit of fun. it was only a bit of fun. if the mayor's intending to descend, that's a different kettle of plaice entirely. i can't just have a few cubs in their nightwear and tiny tears in swaddling. camilla, why are you getting so upset? this is our district, peter.

all saints is our church. i feel proud of it. i don't want anyone to feel as though we're somehow...lacking. into bed now before you get pneumonia off the lino. what ever happened to nil desperandum, eh? you forget what you're capable of sometimes. i know exactly what i'm capable of. that's the problem. [babies cooing] oh... oh... who's a lovely 'un, then? who's a lovely, then?

two little dicky birds sitting on a wall, one named peter, one named paul, fly away, peter-- get away from my baby! do you hear me? get away! i'd never take him. i'm not accusing you of taking him! i'm accusing you of touching him! mrs. jones! whatever's happening? it's her, the filthy old crone! i only nipped in to pick up me orange juice. oh, shh-- get off! oh! mrs. jones, that's enough. now go back in the clinic and ask them to replace your juice. nurse lee, would you clear up this mess? mrs. jones: it's all right, my darling. shh. no one can resist a baby, mrs. jenkins,

but mothers can be fierce when they think their child is threatened. was only "dicky birds." i know. "dicky birds." just little 'uns. it's a hard time of year to spend too much time alone. can you tell me where you live? we can send someone to look in on you, to make sure you're being properly taken care of. she doesn't look well. old age. poverty. chronic malnourishment and exhaustion, i suppose. why doesn't she accept help? who knows what brutality she knew when she was young? help then didn't mean what help means now. once more unto the breach and all of that.

it's simply a matter of scaling things up. i just waylaid brown owl at the bus stop and we're combining forces now, so there will be 8 angels, a female mary, a full compliment of cattle, and quite the sizeable flock of sheep. chummy... it's the parish hall, not the london palladium. well, that sort of attitude will get us nowhere. [sighs] [train whistle blowing] [sighs]

[bicycle bell rings] lynette. oh, hello, nurse noakes. by all means, tell me i'm a frightful bore, but would you consider doing me a kindness? i'll be glad to if my mum don't mind. it's all connected to church affairs; the nativity play, to be precise. we need a sort of capable senior angel to rule the little brownies with a rod of iron. oh, i don't know, nurse. i might be needed at home. i might let you down, and i'd hate to let you down. i always think it best to travel hopefully. oh, but, nurse-- you're not at home to miss pessimistic. now, we'll rig you out in the best crepe paper. a shame. i haven't got my tape measure in my pocket. you don't need it. i'm a 40-inch hip. oh, bravo. splendid. man: nell's in? yeah, first door on the right. hey there. excuse me. it's first door.

[labored breathing] man: so long, then. see you on payday. yeah. woman: better check she's all right. greetings, doctor. i just called in to collect those instruments. of course. nearly done. no sign of that new autoclave? no. the department said it would come this week, but there's been no joy so far. are you staying for tea, dr. turner? mrs. b.'s made an absolute piece de resistance of yule log. thanks, but i've got timothy outside in the car. oh, dear. housekeeper's day off? well, i'm sure we can pop you something into a paper bag. [telephone ringing] how is timothy getting on? [sighs] it's been almost a year.

he's doing well enough, but it'll be our first christmas since his mother died, and i'm worried it might...undo things. i lost my mother when i was very young. children are more resilient than you think. well... he's made his opinion of my cooking rather clear. fish and chips for us tonight, i reckon. sorry, doctor. there's been a message from the surgery. urgent home visit requested. lady called mrs. jenkins. i'm meant to be at a rehearsal now. stay there and don't talk to anyone. you'll make me late... like you're always late.

[4 knocks] hello? [door creaks] mrs. jenkins? i'm a doctor, here to help. don't you come near me! aaah! i won't be a moment. what? that's my dinner! who are you giving my dinner to? [sighs]

it's a classic case of angina pectoris. i've prescribed amyl nitrate for use in the event of any new collapse, and penicillin because there was evidence of urinary incontinence all over the place-- gangway! mrs. jenkins might very well have an infection, which would contribute to her confusion. it might be worth trying to collect a urine sample. that shouldn't prove too challenging. just stick a galley pot in a convenient gutter. dr. turner: she is also hard of hearing, jumping with fleas, and her living conditions are calamitous. if you could speak to the social services, i'll put her on the list for daily visits in the meanwhile.

[knock knock] [door creaks] hello? jenny: mrs. jenkins? i'm nurse lee. the doctor sent me to come and have a look at you. i don't need no bleeding looking at! there's nothing to be afraid of. we just want to see if we can make you a bit more comfortable. oh. [cat meows] thought you was rosie for a minute.

she's got a face like yours, like carnation milk when you open up a tin. who's rosie, mrs. jenkins? she a relation? she's sweet... sweet as a little flower, she is. the doctor wanted me to do a few routine checks each time i visit. we'll start by taking your pulse, and then we'll move on to your temperature. don't you touch me! please, mrs.-- no! oh, and when do you see your patient again, nurse "can't take a pulse"? look, it wasn't that i couldn't, sister, it was that she wouldn't let me. oh, no. it was because she didn't trust you. and if you can't make your patients trust you, you are no good as a nurse. now answer my question. she's on the list for this evening's rounds, sister.

oh, and shall i tell you what else is on this evening's rounds? 21 injections: 16 insulin, 4 penicillin, an ear-to-syringe, a cannula to drain, and 3 sets of hemorrhoids to compress! i'm sorry, sister, but the problem-- no, no, i'll tell you what the problem is. you young girls do too much book-learning. you sit for months in classrooms, filling your heads with loads of codswallop when simple, practical tasks are beyond you! [glass shatters] now look what you've made me do! [exhales sharply] oh! cynthia? i'm modeling for chummy. she ended up with more children taking part than parts, so she decided to personify the wise men's gifts. and what's that supposed to be? myrrh. it's quite straightforward compared to frankincense.

[snoring] [3 knocks on door] sister evangelina: nurses! ah. well, now, madam, what's all this fuss about? doctor says you got a problem with your ticker, but i would lay bets that it's as hale as mine. hmm. right. let's have a check of this pulse. oh! oh! mmm. pulse attempted. [sighs] patient... [exhales] demonstrated strong right hook. right... you awkward old biddy.

see what you make of this. [breaks wind] and if that doesn't impress you, i can do it again, in a different key. [breaks wind] catch it, nurse lee. it's heading for the door. cat's got it now. it's underneath the chair. where ere you be, let your wind go free. in church and chapel, let it rattle. good thing there's no naked flames about. [chuckling] right. [distant dog barking] off on the insulin round, and i'm under no illusions that it will be straightforward.

they'll all have been at the quality street, every man jack of them. if i was the prime minister, i would shut that factory down. [prolonged scream within] [scream fades off] [prolonged scream within] [scream fades off] is that mrs. jenkins? yes. i've never heard anything like it. i have. [prolonged scream within] [exhales] [scream fades off] we used to call it the workhouse howl. what? it's the sound of someone who's been at the bottom of the heap. i would call it a cry of protest

except there's no fight left in it, no hope, either. mrs. jenkins: roooo-sie! should we go back? not now. we couldn't reach her if we did. mrs. jenkins: roooo-sie! ♪ silent night ♪ holy night ♪ all is calm and don't forget to smile. the mayor doesn't want to see a lot of gloomy faces. ♪ round yon virgin ♪ mother and child ♪ holy infant, so tender and mild ♪ ♪ sleep in heavenly peace... [singing fades out]

[distant clock chiming] sister monica joan, why don't you rest until it's time for compline? [sighs] no. i thought... bright raiment was stored within this room. but it's gone. and we do not know what forces are at work. chummy takes the costumes up to her old bedroom for safekeeping. she doesn't want them getting in everybody's way. i was accused of taking macaroons up to my room by sister evangelina, but it was not so. almonds are mercurial, and likely to be consumed into the ether.

would you hold the glue pot for me, sister? sister monica joan, have you heard of the workhouse howl? i have heard the workhouse howl... itself. one hears it less, now the infirmaries are closed and the inmates are slowly... tidied into graves. it speaks of an agony beyond all words. this wasn't beyond all words.

mrs. jenkins was calling someone's name. [whimpering] [footsteps ascending stairs] lynette, have you seen my kitchen scissors? no, mum. i was putting the string on the christmas pudding and i couldn't lay hands on them. what are you doing with your light still on? i was just thinking. you can think just as well in the dark. oh, come on, you. another busy day tomorrow. church in the morning. and you got rings round your eyes as black as the ace of spades. reckon my monthly's coming on. [sighs] no medals for that, i'm afraid. you know where the aspirin is and the you-know-whats are. good night and god bless you. [door closes]

[church bell tolling] ♪ yea, with thine eyes shalt thou behold ♪ sisters: ♪ and see the reward of the ungodly ♪ sister bernadette: ♪ for thou, lord, art my hope ♪ sisters: ♪ thou hast set thine house of defense very high ♪ ♪ there shall no evil happen unto thee ♪ ♪ neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling ♪ ♪ for he shall give his angels charge over thee ♪

sisters: ♪ to keep thee in all thy ways ♪ sister bernadette: ♪ they shall bear thee in their hands ♪ sisters: ♪ that thou hurt not thy foot against a stone ♪ [lynette groaning] sister bernadette: ♪ because he hath set his love upon me ♪ ♪ therefore will i deliver him ♪ ♪ i will set him up because he hath known my name ♪ [thunder] sister bernadette: ♪ with long life will i satisfy him ♪ sisters: ♪ and show him my salvation ♪ ♪ glory be to the father and to the son ♪

♪ and to the holy ghost ♪ as it was in the beginning ♪ ♪ is now and ever shall be ♪ ♪ world without end ♪ amen [thunder] [sighs] [crying] oh, help me. baby, help me. [screams] [grunts] [screams]

[grunts loudly] [baby crying] sorry. i'm sorry. i'm so sorry.

[baby stops crying] [shivering] fetch the milk, darling.

that's if it hasn't frozen solid like the bathroom tap. oh, no. oh, no, no. trixie? trixie! what ever's the matter? oh, my goodness. get sister julienne! [baby coughs] oh, it's all right. [baby groans] his breathing's shallow and his pulse is slow. he was already turning blue. i'll fetch the blanket and the paraffin heater. when you've done that, call for the police. [knock on door] mrs. duncan: lynette, time to get up.

i am up. [footsteps descend] fred: there he goes. that's it. [groaning] pillowcase, candy-striped, winceyette material. you'll find the same in every one of a hundred homes in poplar. we were able to snip about an inch of the thread that was used to tie the cord. sister, it looks like ordinary kitchen string, but the cord was cut quite neatly with sharp scissors or a knife. sister julienne: make sure to clean the cord properly. whatever implement was used, it was unlikely to be sterile. yes, sister. our order has been here for over 60 years. we've never had a single case of abandonment until now. hmm, there's a paper bag here from liston's, that dry cleaners that shut down. sister, why do you think somebody would do a thing like this?

[sighs] i've come to the conclusion there are only two reasons for ever doing anything: one is love and the other is fear. it would appear that both were at work in this case. sister bernadette: i've put almost a whole layette together from the things in the charity box. pink booties for a boy? there weren't any blue ones. wool of the proper hue can be acquired. sister evangelina: wool of the proper hue can be purchased. nurse lee, take two shillings out of the petty cash and see that sister monica joan's properly equipped. fred: what we gonna call him, then? i worry we should leave that to his mother. i mean, she may come back, especially if it's reported in the papers. it is, in fact, customary to name an abandoned infant after somebody closely connected with its rescue. we can hardly call it cynthia. trixie: it would be worse than pink booties. fred: somebody closely connected and of the same gender. nobody calls baby boys fred anymore. you might as well give him a flat cap and a woodbine. there is surely only one appellation we can choose:

the child must be baptized in honor of our patron, saint raymond nonnatus. sounds like a spiv. [breaks wind] sister evangelina: ooh. sounds like a digestive system in full working order. now then, little raymond, let's see if we've warmed you up. oh. sorry. it's not what i asked for, but it's a start. i can't believe the council won't re-house her. the building's been condemned. elderly single people are supposed to go into nursing homes. we can do better than that for mrs. jenkins, can't we? i don't doubt it. [clattering] sister evangelina: call off the search! i've found the bath. what's more, it's full of coal. [grunts] right. off and i'm up. oh, come on.

move any slower, you'll grow moss. don't you take against my rosie. you come over here, dear. i don't know who rosie is, mrs. jenkins, but she isn't me. no. she had a little girl's hands. yours are only small. oh. oh. ooh. mrs. jenkins: i'm not taking them off! i've told you, i'm not! you thieving besoms! jenny: please, mrs. jenkins. we need you to take them off so we can get you into the bath. you can have them back afterwards. she'll burn them! i am burning your clothes because they're riddled with little visitors. we don't want them infesting your clean new bed. i never take them off! [whispers] they won't come off. mmm. they're stuck to her skin, sister.

you'll have to try vaseline. sister evangelina: here. aah! mmm. mrs. jenkins: mmm! you're hurting me. [grunts] aah! [pants] no wonder you were lashing out. you must have been in constant pain. sister evangelina: oh. we'll get you into the chiropodist's, but nurse lee and i will give you the once-over for today. they shame me. sister evangelina: no. not anymore. sister bernadette, voice-over: ♪ o come, o come, emmanuel

♪ and ransom captive israel ♪ that mourns in lonely exile here ♪ ♪ until the son of god appear ♪ rejoice! ♪ rejoice! ♪ emmanuel shall come to thee ♪ o israel

sister bernadette: this placenta's less than 24 hours old... and there's a piece missing. what does that mean? if the mother doesn't get medical help, she will develop a uterine infection leading to high fever and possible septicemia. if untreated, it may be fatal. i see. we need to find her. we may not have much time. i reckon that's squirrel, and it's not long dead. i'll keep it for best. no, you're to put it on now. you have a busy day ahead. dentist first, then we're going to the doctor's. did you hear me, mrs. jenkins? i heard the word "dentist." i'll go in the spring, when it's warmer. if you can eat without discomfort, your general health will benefit. my purse won't benefit.

there'll be no charge, mrs. jenkins. you're also entitled to free glasses, and a walking stick, should either take your fancy. but you haven't eaten your meals on wheels. i was saving it for rosie. she'll be hungry when she come. what's that? it's a lamb chop. andy williams: ♪ walk hand in hand with me ♪ through all eternity ♪ have faith, believe in me mrs. duncan: be good now. ♪ give me your hand ♪ love is a symphony ♪ of perfect harmony ♪ when lovers such as we ♪ walk hand in hand ♪ be not afraid

♪ for i am with you all the while ♪ ♪ so lift your head up high oh! you're very kind. thank you. ♪ and look ♪ toward the sky hello. ♪ walk hand in hand with me goodness. thank you. ♪ this is our destiny ♪ no greater love could be [whispers] merry christmas. ♪ walk hand in hand ♪ walk with me [music continues] [no audio] [raymond coos] ♪ be not afraid

♪ for i am with you all the while ♪ ♪ so lift your head up high... [footsteps descending] what you doing with my paper, madam? reading about this. hmm. someone's been doing something they didn't ought to. police have issued an appeal quite right, too. whoever she was, she wants a horsewhipping. oh, i nearly forgot. friday night is sweetie money night. always has been, always will be. used to be a shilling, dad. this is half a crown. that's 'cause the things you do don't go unnoticed. you're a good girl, lyn. you don't have to look after me, mrs. jenkins.

i should be looking after you. besides, if i sit too close to the fire, i'll get chilblains. oh, not the chilblains. my rosie got chilblains. she cried. one night, the wardress, she let her come to me, on account of the others being kept awake. i wrapped her in my petticoat. her bones was like birds' bones. was rosie your daughter, mrs. jenkins? all night, she stayed. and when morning come, she was took back with my others. there were others? how many? too many. did they go into the workhouse with you? yes. they didn't thrive.

what happened to rosie after the night with the chilblains? i never saw her again. never saw none of them. never saw 'em fly. i just knew they wasn't singing anymore. how could mrs. jenkins not have been told? i believe, once you walked into one of those appalling places, you gave up everything you were and every right you ever had. even your children? especially the children. the kiddies were kept in separate quarters.

[raymond fussing] oh. shh, shh, shh. [raymond crying] it's all right. come on. oh. oh, sweet pea. the social worker's going to come for him on friday. i heard sister julienne on the telephone. first he'll be fostered, and then adopted, lost to his mother forever. oh, don't say that. all the facts will be filed away in some sort of beastly cabinet. we just have to hope that one day, they go looking for each other. [raymond burps] ah. sorry to trouble you, madam.., [continues indistinctly] a baby? around here? [knocks on door] [groaning] [knock on door]

[knock on door] [distant telephone ringing] public records office? just upstairs. thank you. all saints parish, baptismal roll. thank you. all saints parish, deaths. poplar workhouse, 1888 to 1934.

mature jenny, voice-over: and there it was, in neat, indifferent copperplate: "april 3, 1906, "jenkins, mary ann. widow, admitted destitute." and underneath, the desolate roll call of her only possessions: alice, george, may, percy; aged 5, age 3, age 2, age 7 months. and rose. there was a rose, age 8 upon admittance to the children's ward. the cause of death was given as "failure to thrive." [sighs] she was in there from 1906 to 1935, put to work in the sewing shed. mmm. enough to drive anyone doo-lally. when the workhouse closed, she was discharged with the gift of a sewing machine so that she could earn her own living. sister monica joan: and what do you propose to do, nurse lee,

now you have garnered these unedifying facts? i don't know, sister. then, if i may crave my sisters' indulgence for a quote from the apocrypha, "you have been curious in unnecessary matters." the past remains the past, the present unamended. sister evangelina: sister monica joan is right. it's what happens in the here and now that counts. will it matter one day where baby raymond was found, blue with cold and wrapped in a pillowcase? no, because that will be his past, and his present will be safe and filled with love. mrs. jenkins' present isn't safe or filled with love. nurse lee. forgive me, sister, but her life is completely wretched. jenny: she waits every day for her child, for children that are never coming home. then you should turn your mind to that. [sighs] pass me a mince pie.

[door closes] public burial ground, poplar, 1900 to 1910. chummy: now, i want gold, frankincense, and myrrh and the 3 kings to stand at the back of the line for the parade of the shepherds and the sheep. come on. sit. here we go. [door opens] oh. sorry. we'll be starting that as soon as nurse lee takes her gloves off. and don't forget to line up nicely down the central aisle. you'll be walking past the mayor and i will not have him knocked by any elbows.

timothy turner, where's your tea towel? my dad couldn't find one. very well. now, are you ready, sheep? boys: baa! yes. now, angels? i don't want any angels trying to flap their wings. arms outstretched, but perfectly still. that's it. lynette, you're drooping a little. sorry. bravo. nurse lee? [boys giggling] [playing piano] [baaing] no. no baaing. absolutely no baaing until you get to the manger and see the newborn king-- gary schofield! any more poking with that crook and i'll demote you to a bullock! right. [gasps] lynette! lynette. [children murmur] is she all right? lynette. shall i call a doctor? ambulance. [door opens] sorry. i'm really sorry.

what for? i haven't told no one. do you think you can tell me? [footsteps approaching] [sighs] she wants a clip round the ear hole, not chrysanthemums. mrs. duncan-- margate. easter week. some lad she met queuing up for the waltzers. mrs. duncan: he was staying in the boarding house across the way from us. should have kept me eye on her...