S10.E01: Episode 1

[JustDucky]

3 hours ago, susannah said:

Isn't the tobacco shop what the Irish family bought just before the guy died in a car wreck, and Nurse Crane and Barbara.. Barbara....😢 saved them from a fire? They lived in the apartment above the shop?

That's what I assumed - that Fred took over the shop to help the Irish family out (and to stay out of Violet's hair at her shop).

[Cetacean]

3 hours ago, susannah said:

I did see Season 9, and at the end of the season they were at the Outer Hebrides, with the villagers having fits over Christmas trees.

That was the end of Season 8.  The holiday episode for Season 9 was when the circus came to town.  Valerie had just left for Africa at the beginning of that episode.  And Sr. MJ had an untied shoelace when she climbed the stairs after fixing some sort of Christmas decoration.

I agree that there isn't any chemistry between Cyril and Lucille but the lack of PDA's would not be considered odd back then for people in conservative religious groups. It doesn't make great TV, that's for sure but even though "free love" was the mantra in the 60's in the US, among many church groups "hands off" was the expectation until marriage.  Lucille has always held very conservative views and found a church in her neighborhood that she seems to feel comfortable with.  And Cyril being their minister means he's held to a highter standard as well.  Odd to our modern eyes, for sure,  but there are still churches today that preach that sort of thing.  Not that many of the young folks care, I imagine!

[proserpina65]

On 4/22/2021 at 3:18 AM, purist said:

Welcome back, CtM! Random thoughts:

- Angela and May are the cutest! Loved the brief shot at the beginning of them swinging their schoolbags outside Nonnatus House.

- Trixie's frilly pink-and-white uniform at the new clinic is ridiculous. I love her confidence with the doctor-in-charge, though. Looks like he's going to be a good boss.

- The plotline about nuclear testing affecting fertility etc. is very juicy, and I'm look forward to seeing how it develops. I'm in Australia, so I found it particularly interesting in light of the British nuclear tests that were carried out in our central-south deserts in the late 1950s and early 1960s. The respective governments both claimed there was no one living in the area and/or that they had moved any inhabitants to 'safe' places, but there were in fact Indigenous people there who were affected by radiation. The land (which had been stolen by 19th-century colonists in any case) was also contaminated. Servicemen and women at the sites were also exposed and later died from leukemia or a rare blood disorder. The truth was covered up by the British and Australian governments and only came out decades later - you can read more about it on Wikipedia if you're interested.

Seems to me there was a Doctor Blake mystery involving that cover up.  It was very interesting.

On 10/4/2021 at 12:59 PM, Sarah 103 said:

 

The only way it makes sense is that he is the pastor (I hope that's the right term) of thier church. Often times clergy get housing in exchange for thier services (the church provides a place for him to stay). When looked at in that context, it makes sense. They both seem proper, so I doubt more than dancing and possibly kissing will happen. I imagine nothing more intimate than that will happen until they get married. 

He is the pastor of their church.

On 10/4/2021 at 1:19 PM, EllaWycliffe said:

More to the point, if they are in love, what's holding them back? Pastors can be married, married women can be nurses, society approves of a man and a woman marrying.... so whats the hold up?

Probably money.  People often don't marry until they think they're financially able to.

17 hours ago, McKavity said:

They touched on it briefly with the difficulties Mrs. Wallace/the church had renting a space.  Sadly, it’s very realistic that Cyril would not be making much.  He’s a civil engineer who has to work as a mechanic.

Exactly.  If Cyril were white, he'd be working as an engineer and making good money, but he's black and from Caribbean.  It reminds me of To Sir With Love, where Sidney Poitier is also a civil engineer from the Caribbean forced to work as a substitute teacher.

8 hours ago, susannah said:

I just watched S10 Ep 1, and feel like I really have missed something. I did see Season 9, and at the end of the season they were at the Outer Hebrides, with the villagers having fits over Christmas trees. Now with the first show of the new season, it said "previously" and showed Sr MJ falling down the stairs, Val leaving, Cyril having no church and no place to live, and Sr Julienne faced with the house closure. When did all this happen?

At the end of last season.

[susannah]

5 hours ago, Cetacean said:

That was the end of Season 8.  The holiday episode for Season 9 was when the circus came to town.  Valerie had just left for Africa at the beginning of that episode.  And Sr. MJ had an untied shoelace when she climbed the stairs after fixing some sort of Christmas decoration.

I agree that there isn't any chemistry between Cyril and Lucille but the lack of PDA's would not be considered odd back then for people in conservative religious groups. It doesn't make great TV, that's for sure but even though "free love" was the mantra in the 60's in the US, among many church groups "hands off" was the expectation until marriage.  Lucille has always held very conservative views and found a church in her neighborhood that she seems to feel comfortable with.  And Cyril being their minister means he's held to a highter standard as well.  Odd to our modern eyes, for sure,  but there are still churches today that preach that sort of thing.  Not that many of the young folks care, I imagine!

Thanks. I had seen the circus episode too but I'd forgotten alot of it. I do remember Nurse Crane on the trapeze! I am sure different churches have different expectations of behavior but I remember Pastor Tom and Barbara kissing pretty well, remember the infamous hair gel stain on the wall?

[Daff]

5 hours ago, Cetacean said:

And Sr. MJ had an untied shoelace when she climbed the stairs after fixing some sort of Christmas decoration.

Yes. She stubbornly climbed the ladder (after being told not to-leave it alone) because the garland was off-center! I remember rolling my eyes, thinking she was going to fall, but she didn’t. Then she goes and steps on her own shoelace while climbing the stairs! I’m sure in her mind, the fall was punishment for her sins (pride and vanity). Also in her mind, she felt forsaken by God, left alone in the hospital, even though it was explained to her that being cared for in her room at Nonatus would have placed too heavy a burden on the others and the midwives’ practice. She’s just come home, prior to Easter, which means her hospital recovery took 3-4 months. Given the way she treated the visitors we saw, they probably dwindled off. Yes, she’s acting like a spoiled child, but when hasn’t she? Every so often, they give her hilarious lines or profound insight. She comes with the package, like the damp and the appliance malfunctions. I don’t mind. 
In fact, I predict that she’ll have some sort of reckoning with her demons right around Easter. (No, I haven’t read ahead on this forum, and don’t intend to-don’t have passport, either). 

[Daff]

8 minutes ago, susannah said:

I am sure different churches have different expectations of behavior

Tom and Barbara were probably Methodists, while Cyril and Lucille, probably Presbyterians. Before a debate ensues, it’s a joke!

[DonnaMae]

On 10/4/2021 at 8:06 AM, Suzn said:

I couldn't agree more.  It's past time for Sister Monica Joan to go to the mother house to stay.  She takes time that could be better used by other characters.

I'm so tired of the oh-so-proper way she talks.  

[susannah]

20 hours ago, movingtargetgal said:

Sister Monica Joan's biggest fear is to be of no use to others.

That is true. I remember the episode where they found those poor children starving and abandoned in utter squalor, and Trixie was talking about opening the cleansing stations. I wasn't sure where they were, though. Did they just have bathing rooms around?  Sr MJ said that there was a time that the stations were open night and day, and she wanted to help. She said that she had grown useless to help the others, but that was something she could do. Seems that there was alot that she has done of use, but unless it is something she wants to do, it doesn't mean anything to her.

[susannah]

On 10/3/2021 at 6:01 PM, Straycat80 said:

Have they had women giving birth on their knees before? Seems like this is new this season.

I can remember several times when women have been on their hands and knees, or leaning over something. Rhoda Mullucks was on her knees, I wonder how Susan is doing and thought of her this show...and the woman who gave birth over the phone with Delia, and Chummy's first delivery after having her baby.

[Suzn]

I'm going to revisit a couple of things.

First, Lucille and Cyril, even if their church is so conservative that they can't even hold hands, much less kiss, they look so awkward and uncomfortable together.  They are so bland and passionless.  So, even if you can convince me that their behavior is realistic, it's unpleasant to watch. 

Then there is Sister Monica Joan, who from the beginning has acted childish and self-centered.  There is always the attitude from her and others that she is saintly though.  If she so much wants to be helpful, she could stop demanding so much time and attention from others.  As I've said before, it's time for her to go to the mother house.

[EllaWycliffe]

2 hours ago, susannah said:

Sr MJ said that there was a time that the stations were open night and day, and she wanted to help. She said that she had grown useless to help the others, but that was something she could do. Seems that there was alot that she has done of use, but unless it is something she wants to do, it doesn't mean anything to her.

Which is sad and I like Sister Monica Joan, but because her dementia is so on and off, I honestly have to question her shitty manipulative behaviors when it comes to things like this. Point - she technically can't be trusted to answer the phone and relay a message correctly, its been life or death at times and she's never taken to task. She pretty much is allowed to act like a destructive child, because of her prior service, even when its very very obvious that she's got full use of her faculties and is just wanting her way, like a petulant destructive child. Now she's having a crisis of faith... but is it really a crisis of faith or is she doing a little pity party as she is prone to do? Remember this is the same woman who was shoplifting and who ran off to her childhood home on a whim and who periodically goes walking by herself on cold wintery nights.  

There IS a lot she has done, but there's also a lot of shitty manipulative behavior that doesn't seem to be dementia related. 

12 minutes ago, Suzn said:

Then there is Sister Monica Joan, who from the beginning has acted childish and self-centered.  There is always the attitude from her and others that she is saintly though.  If she so much wants to be helpful, she could stop demanding so much time and attention from others.  As I've said before, it's time for her to go to the mother house.

This. I love the actress but I think the character has played its course.

13 minutes ago, Suzn said:

First, Lucille and Cyril, even if their church is so conservative that they can't even hold hands, much less kiss, they look so awkward and uncomfortable together.  They are so bland and passionless.  So, even if you can convince me that their behavior is realistic, it's unpleasant to watch. 

And this. It's dragged on forever and I feel like no one, including the actors, care if these two ever manage to kiss. 

[susannah]

1 hour ago, EllaWycliffe said:

Which is sad and I like Sister Monica Joan, but because her dementia is so on and off, I honestly have to question her shitty manipulative behaviors when it comes to things like this. Point - she technically can't be trusted to answer the phone and relay a message correctly, its been life or death at times and she's never taken to task. She pretty much is allowed to act like a destructive child, because of her prior service, even when its very very obvious that she's got full use of her faculties and is just wanting her way, like a petulant destructive child. Now she's having a crisis of faith... but is it really a crisis of faith or is she doing a little pity party as she is prone to do? Remember this is the same woman who was shoplifting and who ran off to her childhood home on a whim and who periodically goes walking by herself on cold wintery nights.  

There IS a lot she has done, but there's also a lot of shitty manipulative behavior that doesn't seem to be dementia related. 

Also don't forget her tantrums, when she doesn't get her way! Remember when Sr Evangelina...I miss her, told Sr MJ when she brought a Christmas tree home early that it wasn't time yet, and Sr MJ just went walkabout, making everyone worry to death until they found her.

[Daff]

On 10/4/2021 at 4:47 PM, CrazyMoon said:

Cyril & Lucille are considered pillars of their community (both their Black community & the community at large). They will continue be very discreet & cautious as their relationship moves forward. Neither apparently believe in sex without marriage & commitment. Cyril won't marry until he feels he is worthy of his bride. Right now he isn't able to support a wife & family. He won't ask Lucille to wait. She's waiting by choice. So we shall wait with her.

 

I’m with you. Cyril and Lucille are both very shy, private characters. I think they’re a lovely, charming couple. For the simple fact that they want to spend time together, but not want to shout it from the rooftops creates a certain amount of romantic tension.  Furthermore, the whole main plot line of last season and this: the entire Poplar community is undergoing “urban renewal”. Everyone is in the same boat-eviction prior to demolition! 

[Daff]

14 hours ago, susannah said:

I can remember several times when women have been on their hands and knees, or leaning over something. Rhoda Mullucks was on her knees, I wonder how Susan is doing and thought of her this show...and the woman who gave birth over the phone with Delia, and Chummy's first delivery after having her baby.

I distinctly remember there’s a commonly occurring birth presentation that indicates this position for delivery, but not sure what it is. I’m guessing here, but perhaps the baby’s head is pressed against the pubic bone of the pelvis and can’t move easily into the birth canal?  

[Leeds]

18 hours ago, DonnaMae said:

I'm so tired of the oh-so-proper way she talks.  

It's part of who she is.  I'm more bothered by Jenny Agutter's sanctimonious voiceovers.  (Man, I just googled her to check the spelling of her last name - anyone else remember The Railway Children?)

11 hours ago, EllaWycliffe said:

Which is sad and I like Sister Monica Joan, but because her dementia is so on and off, I honestly have to question her shitty manipulative behaviors when it comes to things like this. Point - she technically can't be trusted to answer the phone and relay a message correctly, its been life or death at times and she's never taken to task. She pretty much is allowed to act like a destructive child, because of her prior service, even when its very very obvious that she's got full use of her faculties and is just wanting her way, like a petulant destructive child. Now she's having a crisis of faith... but is it really a crisis of faith or is she doing a little pity party as she is prone to do? Remember this is the same woman who was shoplifting and who ran off to her childhood home on a whim and who periodically goes walking by herself on cold wintery nights.  

 

I don't know much about nuns, but I expect compassion and forgiveness are pretty high on their standards of treatment towards others.  (I do agree that she shouldn't be at Nonatus House.)

7 minutes ago, Daff said:

I’m with you. Cyril and Lucille are both very shy, private characters. I think they’re a lovely, charming couple. For the simple fact that they want to spend time together, but not want to shout it from the rooftops creates a certain amount of romantic tension.  

I agree.  I'm always surprised by how many posters project their modern mores onto the characters of Call the Midwife and other shows set in very different eras.  Add to that Lucille and Cyril's very strong religious beliefs and their behaviour is very believable.

(In the 1980s my grandparents - who were not religious - and I used to write to each other weekly.  When I moved in with my then boyfriend, their sign-off went from "Love, Grandpa and Grandma" to "Love, Grandpa and       ".  I kid you not.)

[Cetacean]

10 minutes ago, Leeds said:

I'm more bothered by Jenny Agutter's sanctimonious voiceovers. 

If you are referrong to the narration at the beginning of the show, that is meant to be commentary by "older" Jenny Worth who was the focus of the first year or two. That  narration is done by Vanessa Redgrave. 

The series is based on the book by Jenny Worth who was a real midwife in the 1950's.

[cinsays]

20 hours ago, DonnaMae said:

I'm so tired of the oh-so-proper way she talks.  

Huh.... I love the way she talks and I love that she's still on the show.  

 

[proserpina65]

1 hour ago, Daff said:

I distinctly remember there’s a commonly occurring birth presentation that indicates this position for delivery, but not sure what it is. I’m guessing here, but perhaps the baby’s head is pressed against the pubic bone of the pelvis and can’t move easily into the birth canal?  

Seems to me this position should be more of the default position.  Let gravity help.

1 hour ago, Leeds said:

I agree.  I'm always surprised by how many posters project their modern mores onto the characters of Call the Midwife and other shows set in very different eras.  Add to that Lucille and Cyril's very strong religious beliefs and their behaviour is very believable.

I find them to be very believable, especially considering there are still fundamentalist sects which set strict limits on what kind of contact unmarried couples can have.

[Leeds]

1 hour ago, Cetacean said:

If you are referrong to the narration at the beginning of the show, that is meant to be commentary by "older" Jenny Worth who was the focus of the first year or two. That  narration is done by Vanessa Redgrave. 

The series is based on the book by Jenny Worth who was a real midwife in the 1950's.

Thanks for the correction!  I'd forgotten that it was Vanessa Redgrave.

[susannah]

2 hours ago, proserpina65 said:

Seems to me this position should be more of the default position.  Let gravity help.

I find them to be very believable, especially considering there are still fundamentalist sects which set strict limits on what kind of contact unmarried couples can have.

I agree about the birth position, but not about Lucille and Cyril. It's been several years now and they still stay four feet away from each other. No physical contact at all, no talking together like they really like each other, no nothing. I thought last year that they were inching closer, but in this show IMO, it seemed like they were just phoning it in.

[movingtargetgal]

17 hours ago, EllaWycliffe said:

Remember this is the same woman who was shoplifting and who ran off to her childhood home on a whim and who periodically goes walking by herself on cold wintery nights.

When Sister Monica Joan is ill and has a fever, she becomes disoriented.  Her shoplifting and wandering were a result of her illness.  She walked away from Nonnutas House thru the snow, with bare feet to go "home" to her mother and family , who were long since dead.  

17 hours ago, EllaWycliffe said:

There IS a lot she has done, but there's also a lot of shitty manipulative behavior that doesn't seem to be dementia related. 

 She can be a willful pain in the ass but I still love her.  

[EllaWycliffe]

2 hours ago, movingtargetgal said:

When Sister Monica Joan is ill and has a fever, she becomes disoriented.  Her shoplifting and wandering were a result of her illness.  She walked away from Nonnutas House thru the snow, with bare feet to go "home" to her mother and family , who were long since dead.  

I actually don't recall these incidents both being related to a fever, but there's been more than one incident of Sister Monica Joan wandering around at night by herself. She also can't be trusted to answer the phone, and when the tv was given to the sailors home, she was pretty willful in her attempts to watch tv there despite being told no by Sister Julienne. Her dementia is mostly bratty behavior which after *ten years* seems super implausible. 

 

2 hours ago, movingtargetgal said:

She can be a willful pain in the ass but I still love her.  

I like her too, and I like the actress, but having witnessed dementia in my life, I find the depiction way too cutesy and sanitized and implausible. I'm mostly questioning the realism of Sister Monica Joan having deep, coherent thoughts on the reality of God's existence and whether she wasted her life when she's also deemed too incapable of coherence to be of use anywhere. 

[movingtargetgal]

2 hours ago, EllaWycliffe said:

I actually don't recall these incidents both being related to a fever, but there's been more than one incident of Sister Monica Joan wandering around at night by herself

The only reason I remembered this detail is that I binge watched the entire series last month on Netflix.  I am currently binge watching The Sopranos.  I can't explain why I would go from watching nuns and midwives to homicidal gangsters.  

[Cetacean]

2 hours ago, EllaWycliffe said:

Her dementia is mostly bratty behavior which after *ten years* seems super implausible. 

Has it been ten years chronologically or ten seasons?  I'm not entirely certain about the time span but I think it portrayed the late 50's at the beginning and now we're in the mid 60's, correct?  And I don't recall her having dementia in the early seasons but it's been a long time since I have seen them.

[caitmcg]

10 minutes ago, Cetacean said:

Has it been ten years chronologically or ten seasons?  I'm not entirely certain about the time span but I think it portrayed the late 50's at the beginning and now we're in the mid 60's, correct?  And I don't recall her having dementia in the early seasons but it's been a long time since I have seen them.

I believe season 1 was set in 1958, and we’re now in 1966.

[EllaWycliffe]

Just now, Cetacean said:

Has it been ten years chronologically or ten seasons?  I'm not entirely certain about the time span but I think it portrayed the late 50's at the beginning and now we're in the mid 60's, correct?  And I don't recall her having dementia in the early seasons but it's been a long time since I have seen them.

This episode was set in 1966. The first season was set in 1957. So, nine years chronologically, my bad for being off a year. The very first episode has SMJ messing with Jenny and having it being passed off as her being elderly and possibly senile. Its season two when she's caught stealing and season four or five when she runs off to her childhood home so I don't think they were both caused by fevers. No one ever says "dementia", they say she's off with the fairies or she can't be trusted because she's failing and elderly. 

[Clanstarling]

11 hours ago, movingtargetgal said:

The only reason I remembered this detail is that I binge watched the entire series last month on Netflix.  I am currently binge watching The Sopranos.  I can't explain why I would go from watching nuns and midwives to homicidal gangsters.  

From birth to death ... seems a logical transition. 😉

[susannah]

15 hours ago, EllaWycliffe said:

This episode was set in 1966. The first season was set in 1957. So, nine years chronologically, my bad for being off a year. The very first episode has SMJ messing with Jenny and having it being passed off as her being elderly and possibly senile. Its season two when she's caught stealing and season four or five when she runs off to her childhood home so I don't think they were both caused by fevers. No one ever says "dementia", they say she's off with the fairies or she can't be trusted because she's failing and elderly. 

What was it Se Evangelina said in an early season..."if she goes any farther down doololly hill, we won't be able to care for her." They shouldn't have had to care for her as it was. She should have gone to the mother house. The comments about her being a petulant child are spot on. With all her going on about being useful, in the show where Sheila was too busy with work and family and asked the nuns to help put the name tags in Timothy's school clothes, I wasn't sure why that was necessary as he was like 13 and presumably coming home in the same clothes he went to school in, anyway, Sr Evangelina asked her to help them,  and she refused, like it was beneath her.."I am taking my tea to my room!" I agree that her mental faculties being in question was there from the very beginning.

16 hours ago, movingtargetgal said:

The only reason I remembered this detail is that I binge watched the entire series last month on Netflix.  I am currently binge watching The Sopranos.  I can't explain why I would go from watching nuns and midwives to homicidal gangsters.  

What season are you on with the Sopranos? I am considering binge watching them too. At least you're not watching homicidal nuns!

[AZChristian]

3 minutes ago, susannah said:

What was it Se Evangelina said in an early season..."if she goes any farther down doololly hill, we won't be able to care for her." They shouldn't have had to care for her as it was. She should have gone to the mother house. The comments about her being a petulant child are spot on. With all her going on about being useful, in the show where Sheila was too busy with work and family and asked the nuns to help put the name tags in Timothy's school clothes, I wasn't sure why that was necessary as he was like 13 and presumably coming home in the same clothes he went to school in, anyway, Sr Evangelina asked her to help them,  and she refused, like it was beneath her.."I am taking my tea to my room!" 

Many British schoolchildren go to schools away from home, and only come home during holidays and summer breaks (like Harry Potter).  In that case, it would be important for names to be in clothing.

I often think that if Sister Monica Joan wasn't taking up space at Nonnatus, they could get another nun or nurse in, or the ones who are there could spread out a bit.  I'm a bit tired of her (non)story line. 

I am a believer in compassion, but sometimes the most compassionate thing that can be done (for the patient and exhausted caregivers) is a move to a place where than can be cared for . . . but not be a day-to-day burden on people who are already trying to take care of others.  The nuns and nurses at Nonnatus house are called to care for pregnant women and others in the neighborhood who need temporary medical help.  There are other places where the caregivers are called to care for people in need of palliative care.  Sister MJ should be cared for at one of those places.

[susannah]

2 hours ago, AZChristian said:

Many British schoolchildren go to schools away from home, and only come home during holidays and summer breaks (like Harry Potter).  In that case, it would be important for names to be in clothing

I know that is true, but not in Timothy's case. He went to day school. as are Angela and May.  I don't understand the English custom of sending their kids to boarding schools, as young as eight years old. It's one thing for kids of high school age, but young kids need their parents.

[AZChristian]

17 minutes ago, susannah said:

I know that is true, but not in Timothy's case. He went to day school. as are Angela and May.  I don't understand the English custom of sending their kids to boarding schools, as young as eight years old. It's one thing for kids of high school age, but young kids need their parents.

A former boss of mine was British and was sent off to school about the age of 7.  I expressed shock that a child that age was sent away to school.  His response, "Well, that's what was done.  It was nothing unusual."

I still don't get it.

[Clanstarling]

1 hour ago, susannah said:

I know that is true, but not in Timothy's case. He went to day school. as are Angela and May.  I don't understand the English custom of sending their kids to boarding schools, as young as eight years old. It's one thing for kids of high school age, but young kids need their parents.

I think name tags in clothing was pretty common in England, for local schools as well. And I assume they take their clothes off for PE - so this would help if they misplaced something, or someone absconded with their clothes.

Sure would have saved me a lot of trouble if my mom had sewn in name tags on my sweaters. I lost them more than once.

Edited October 7, 2021 by Clanstarling

[susannah]

2 hours ago, AZChristian said:

A former boss of mine was British and was sent off to school about the age of 7.  I expressed shock that a child that age was sent away to school.  His response, "Well, that's what was done.  It was nothing unusual."

I still don't get it.

Me neither. I don't know why people would have children if they were going to send them away. I have heard that those schools could be pretty brutal too.

[Suzn]

5 hours ago, AZChristian said:

I often think that if Sister Monica Joan wasn't taking up space at Nonnatus, they could get another nun or nurse in, or the ones who are there could spread out a bit.  I'm a bit tired of her (non)story line. 

I am a believer in compassion, but sometimes the most compassionate thing that can be done (for the patient and exhausted caregivers) is a move to a place where than can be cared for . . . but not be a day-to-day burden on people who are already trying to take care of others.  The nuns and nurses at Nonnatus house are called to care for pregnant women and others in the neighborhood who need temporary medical help.  There are other places where the caregivers are called to care for people in need of palliative care.  Sister MJ should be cared for at one of those places.

Exactly!  So much time is devoted to her storyline and other people hardly get a mention.  

[movingtargetgal]

10 hours ago, susannah said:

What season are you on with the Sopranos? I am considering binge watching them too. At least you're not watching homicidal nuns!

I am currently watching the 3rd season.  I had not watched it since it went off the air and I have grown to hate all of the characters, even Dr. Melfi.   The writing and direction make it compelling, however, at the end of each episode I feel disgusted and a little depressed.  Call the Midwife has the opposite effect on me.  I really love these characters, flaws and all.  Even when an episode has a tragic story line, I feel uplifted by how the nuns and midwives care for and support each other, their patients and the community of Poplar.  

[susannah]

49 minutes ago, movingtargetgal said:

I am currently watching the 3rd season.  I had not watched it since it went off the air and I have grown to hate all of the characters, even Dr. Melfi.   The writing and direction make it compelling, however, at the end of each episode I feel disgusted and a little depressed.  Call the Midwife has the opposite effect on me.  I really love these characters, flaws and all.  Even when an episode has a tragic story line, I feel uplifted by how the nuns and midwives care for and support each other, their patients and the community of Poplar.  

I haven't seen it since it aired either. It is as you said, disgusting and compelling. The thing that always stuck in my mind after watching the show was the dichotomy of good and evil. I agree also that Call the Midwife is about love, and treating everyone, especially the poor, etc, with respect.

 

[Leeds]

On 10/7/2021 at 10:03 AM, susannah said:

What was it Se Evangelina said in an early season..."if she goes any farther down doololly hill, we won't be able to care for her." They shouldn't have had to care for her as it was. She should have gone to the mother house. The comments about her being a petulant child are spot on. With all her going on about being useful, in the show where Sheila was too busy with work and family and asked the nuns to help put the name tags in Timothy's school clothes, I wasn't sure why that was necessary as he was like 13 and presumably coming home in the same clothes he went to school in, anyway, Sr Evangelina asked her to help them,  and she refused, like it was beneath her.."I am taking my tea to my room!" I agree that her mental faculties being in question was there from the very beginning.

What season are you on with the Sopranos? I am considering binge watching them too. At least you're not watching homicidal nuns!

 

On 10/7/2021 at 10:14 AM, AZChristian said:

Many British schoolchildren go to schools away from home, and only come home during holidays and summer breaks (like Harry Potter).  In that case, it would be important for names to be in clothing.

  There are other places where the caregivers are called to care for people in need of palliative care.  Sister MJ should be cared for at one of those places.

Around 1% of British children attend boarding school (ie, not "many").  At the time Call the Midwife is set most schools probably had some kind of uniform and therefore you needed to sew name labels onto each item.  If everyone is chucking their jumper on the ground during play time you need to be able to get the right one back.

When my mother finally moved out of our long-time family home we found cloth labels for my brothers and me (all of us were at that point in our 50s).  I hated sewing those stupid suckers onto my clothes.  PE consisted of peeling off a layer or two and jumping around for a bit.  Just your regular local school but everyone's clothes looked the same.

Edited October 8, 2021 by Leeds

[susannah]

12 minutes ago, Leeds said:

At the time Call the Midwife is set most schools probably had some kind of uniform and therefore you needed to sew name labels onto each item.  If everyone is chucking their jumper on the ground during play time you need to be able to get the right one back.

I still have to get used to the British use of "jumper" as a sweater or sweatshirt, which in reference to chucking on the ground during playtime would make sense. Here in the US a jumper is a dress, and one would hope that's not being thrown on the ground during playtime! I am not sure but I think some British schools still require uniforms.

[Daff]

13 minutes ago, susannah said:

I still have to get used to the British use of "jumper" as a sweater or sweatshirt, which in reference to chucking on the ground during playtime would make sense. Here in the US a jumper is a dress, and one would hope that's not being thrown on the ground during playtime! I am not sure but I think some British schools still require uniforms.

Ah, the “jumper”….my favorite winter school attire. Usually wool and needs a turtle-neck or dress shirt to be complete (as our jumpers were as you said, a dress, but without sleeves and usually V-neck or scoop-neck). Pants (trousers) were never allowed on any girls at school (never mind standing at the bus stop in sub-zero weather-suck it up) so complimentary wooly knee socks were a must! I’m convinced that midi-length wool coats became stylish just for my generation!

[susannah]

8 minutes ago, Daff said:

Ah, the “jumper”….my favorite winter school attire. Usually wool and needs a turtle-neck or dress shirt to be complete (as our jumpers were as you said, a dress, but without sleeves and usually V-neck or scoop-neck). Pants (trousers) were never allowed on any girls at school (never mind standing at the bus stop in sub-zero weather-suck it up) so complimentary wooly knee socks were a must! I’m convinced that midi-length wool coats became stylish just for my generation!

 When I was in elementary school, girls were not allowed to wear pants or shorts either.  I didn't wear pants to school until high school. Luckily we lived in an area that didn't get freezing cold, especially as we walked several blocks to school at one point. We just wore tights when it was cold. It might sound fogey-ish but I can't believe what kids wear to school these days, crop tops and short shorts, etc etc. I don't think things like that should be allowed, and NOT because it "distracts" the boys, but it shows disrespect for one's body and the school.

[Clanstarling]

1 hour ago, susannah said:

 When I was in elementary school, girls were not allowed to wear pants or shorts either.  I didn't wear pants to school until high school. Luckily we lived in an area that didn't get freezing cold, especially as we walked several blocks to school at one point. We just wore tights when it was cold. It might sound fogey-ish but I can't believe what kids wear to school these days, crop tops and short shorts, etc etc. I don't think things like that should be allowed, and NOT because it "distracts" the boys, but it shows disrespect for one's body and the school.

Same here, except that I did live where it got freezing cold. I remember putting on snow suit pants and cramming my dress into them. We walked to school in that, taking them off, and putting them back on for recess. I always thought it was stupid to require that of the girls.

[Cetacean]

1 hour ago, susannah said:

When I was in elementary school, girls were not allowed to wear pants or shorts either.  I didn't wear pants to school until high school.

Since I am older than dirt, I had to wear skirts all though grade and high school and I live in Michigan.  Those were some cold winter mornings waiting for the bus in the dark!  There was one day in our Senior year that Seniors were allowed to wear shorts in the spring before graduation.

[susannah]

3 hours ago, Cetacean said:

Since I am older than dirt, I had to wear skirts all though grade and high school and I live in Michigan.  Those were some cold winter mornings waiting for the bus in the dark!  There was one day in our Senior year that Seniors were allowed to wear shorts in the spring before graduation.

Was it public school? I know that the parochial schools, back in the day, required girls to wear uniform skirts the whole way.

[caitmcg]

1 hour ago, susannah said:

Was it public school? I know that the parochial schools, back in the day, required girls to wear uniform skirts the whole way.

My mother went to public school in New York, graduating from high school in 1961, and had to wear skirts for the entirety of her pre-college education. This was also before full-length tights or hose existed, and she walked to school year-round. 

[Dehumidifier]

On 10/6/2021 at 2:29 PM, susannah said:

I agree about the birth position, but not about Lucille and Cyril. It's been several years now and they still stay four feet away from each other. No physical contact at all, no talking together like they really like each other, no nothing. I thought last year that they were inching closer, but in this show IMO, it seemed like they were just phoning it in.

In my opinion the writers are afraid to make these two characters less than perfect for political correctness.

[EllaWycliffe]

20 minutes ago, Dehumidifier said:

n my opinion the writers are afraid to make these two characters less than perfect for political correctness.

I agree, but its also a tough line to tread. If Lucille pulled a Trixie and started drinking, for example, as the only black character on the show, it comes off poorly. Likewise if Cyril loses his temper and hits her, or does anything less than saintly, they're buying into ugly stereotypes.

Makes it awkward though because Lucille in particular is so picture perfect, its hard to like her. 

[Dehumidifier]

2 minutes ago, EllaWycliffe said:

I agree, but its also a tough line to tread. If Lucille pulled a Trixie and started drinking, for example, as the only black character on the show, it comes off poorly. Likewise if Cyril loses his temper and hits her, or does anything less than saintly, they're buying into ugly stereotypes.

Makes it awkward though because Lucille in particular is so picture perfect, its hard to like her. 

Well, they could have a quarrel now and then.

[MissLucas]

46 minutes ago, EllaWycliffe said:

Makes it awkward though because Lucille in particular is so picture perfect, its hard to like her. 

Well, her prissy moments make her not quite so perfect but also not exactly likeable. I thought her backstory really interesting - i.e. post war UK suffering from a shortage of workers had to rely on immigrants from the Caribbean to rebuild its economy. It was a chapter of UK history I had not been aware of. (I think the Windrush scandal hit the news after Lucille was introduced on the show.) But now that plotline has more or less played out and it seems the writing for her character is going nowhere. Probably due to concerns already mentioned.

[JudyObscure]

11 hours ago, Dehumidifier said:

In my opinion the writers are afraid to make these two characters less than perfect for political correctness.

Yes.  [Pet peeve alert.] I remember, just before they hired Lucille, they were going through job applications, desperate for anyone at all, when they came across a resume from an American woman and tossed it away saying something like, "Not an American  anything but that." The writers missed their chance to jump in on all the Yank stereotypes; she could have been loud, aggressive, lazy, spoiled, promiscuous. arrogant -- just like all the American characters in all the Brit shows and books like, "Major Pettigrew" and that  "Potato Peel" thing. 

[AZChristian]

3 hours ago, JudyObscure said:

that "Potato Peel" thing. 

"The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society"????