Small Talk: What's Revealed At Nonnatus House Stays At Nonnatus House

[Lisin]

The Small Talk topic is for:

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Happy trails beyond Small Talk!

If you (collectively) would like to change the name of the Small Talk thread jokey bit just figure it out amongst yourselves and then email david@previously.tv and he'll change it.

[BkWurm1]

I love this show but for the life of me I can never explain to others just what makes it so compelling. I try but it always comes out like I'm excited to be watching something on the history channel. It's such a quiet show but filled with huge, life affirming moments. So pleased that the new season has started up. :)

[JeanneH]

Not sure if this is the right place, or if I should create a thread for discussing the books

 

I'm about 1/3 the way through the first book, "Call the Midwife: A Memoir of Birth, Joy, and HArd Times" (originally titled "The Midwife").  Love the explanations of how things were done in the old days vs how things were done in the 50s, vs how things are done in more current times, and similarly, the diseases and other problems that would come up back then vs now.  (maybe it's just me, but I like that sort of thing)

 

It's more anecdotal than I expected ("here's this story" then it moves on to the next story) with nothing but the presence of the midwives tying things together, but I guess that's what you get when it's biographical. I already want to know more, what happened next, with some of the patients. In particular

I was left wondering about a woman who had 2 little kids, just gave birth, her husband beat her, she'd apparently gone back to the streets leaving the kids alone, and when her mother tried to take the kids for their own good, the police hands were tied and they couldn't let her do it though it probably would have been for the best.

I wanted to know what had happened to them, but there was nothing else. But as was pointed out, the midwives themselves often never knew what happened once their patients left their care.

 

Love Chummy and Sr. Monica Joan so far, and Cynthia is a mouse that has been barely seen, while Trixie is also barely seen but quite definitely heard.  I also liked the story about Chummy and the bicycle, and her Eastender protector, and who else he grew up to protect. Jenny Lee seems more than a bit of a snob, but there have been hints that she'll get taken off her high house in coming chapters (it's already happened once), so it'll be interesting to see how that continues. At this point, she's still a trainee midwife.

 

All in all, it's still quite early days in my reading, so I'm sure things will change, for both good and bad.

[ethalfrida]

Well!!! Just when I think there is nothing good, decent or interesting to watch I discover Call the Midwife. Totally in in the first five minutes and am working my way through. An amazing show.

[dcalley]

‘Midwife’ writer and rookie producer deliver new ‘Gigi’ to Kennedy Center

[SweePea59]

I just want to say thank you to everyone discussing Shoulder to Shoulder and thank you to the person who posted that it's on youtube. I just watched episode 3, the one with "Sister Monica Joan". Wow. 

[sigmaforce86]

I don't want anything - just need to vent that I was on the Mirror website looking for an article I'd heard about where the cast and crew think the building that plays Nonnatus house is actually haunted...................and I saw the a headline of another story that spoiled one of the plot lines for the final episode of the season that's airing in the US this coming Sunday.   Had to share my thoughts with fellow fans which were along the lines of "damn, damn, damn, damn, damn".   Despite being curious and impatient I've been keeping away from spoilers - there were only two days to go and I can't un-see or forget that headline now.  So one more time - Damn.

And I never did find the article I actually wanted to read, I heard some of the cast won't even go certain places in the building alone.  I think I'll wait and look for it after the show airs - but if it's interesting I'll post a link (or if anyone else finds it and wants to link or just let us know if t's not that good an article after all).

[JudyObscure]

You have my sympathy, Sigmaforce.  I hate to be spoiled and it's so hard not to be with these shows that air in England first.  I keep seeing things on the Google news page that say something about Downton Abbey and I look away as fast as I can, but it might not always be fast enough.

[Badger]

I've learned if you want to remain spoiler-free, stay off the internet until you get a chance to watch the show.  

 

I'm pretty sure I know the "spoiler" you're talking about, Sigmaforce and that's all I'll say.

[QuelleC]

The worst spoilers I read are by clicking on "next unread topic" so you don't know where you're going until you scroll up.

[JeanneH]

I don't want anything - just need to vent that I was on the Mirror website looking for an article I'd heard about where the cast and crew think the building that plays Nonnatus house is actually haunted

Is this the Mirror article? Call the Midwife new nurse's fear: 'Toilets are haunted and people hear voices in the attic'?

 

It's an interview with Charlotte Ritchie, the first part covering the headline subject. Then it goes into her time with the singing group All Angels, and her other acting work. There's video at the end, but it's scenes from this season's episode 2. I did not see any other spoiler material on the page

[sigmaforce86]

Is this the Mirror article? Call the Midwife new nurse's fear: 'Toilets are haunted and people hear voices in the attic'?

 

It's an interview with Charlotte Ritchie, the first part covering the headline subject. Then it goes into her time with the singing group All Angels, and her other acting work. There's video at the end, but it's scenes from this season's episode 2. I did not see any other spoiler material on the page

 

Thanks - that was the one I had and I was looking for one that Emerald was quoted in.  Just above the article title though there's a link to Call The Midwife that shows all articles for the show and that's where I saw (can reveal now that it's aired):  ""Call The Midwife fans outraged as Patsy's lesbian relationship comes to a tragic end in season finale"" - Although in the end they show telegraphed it anyway with the bicycle talk.  

But now that it's over may go back and read some of the other articles, they seem to have a lot and it looks interesting.  Anyway found the Emerald article - She and Helen George dare each other to go into certain rooms and tried to go to the attic but Charlotte's apparently the most afraid and they're not allowed to mention it around her.

[Micks Picks]

I like spoilers.  

[zoey1996]

Aargh!  My DVR has been recording all the reruns, but it missed the Christmas special!  I think the last day to stream it is today!  Know what I'll be watching tonight...!

[zxy556575]

Bringing this over from the episode thread...

 

My sensitive first husband couldn't even stay in the room for the preliminary pains. I know without a doubt if he had been encouraged to stay and watch the birth, we would never have had sex again.

 

A friend of mine was having her fourth baby last year and had been in labor for a while. Her husband had to go into work and of course things started moving along quickly once he left. I asked my friend if she wanted me to call him back and she was all, "Nah. Not worth it." She was over it. I wonder how many modern mothers would actually prefer to be alone, if given the choice. (Society: "OMG! You didn't want your husband with you?")

 

I don't have kids, so grain of salt with my opinion, but it seems to me that helicopter parenting starts with the OBs nowadays having to nanny every aspect of the pregnancy, including when to announce it. I don't think all this "we're pregnant" stuff was the men's idea.

[OtterMommy]

I don't have kids, so grain of salt with my opinion, but it seems to me that helicopter parenting starts with the OBs nowadays having to nanny every aspect of the pregnancy, including when to announce it. I don't think all this "we're pregnant" stuff was the men's idea.

 

Interesting.  I know a couple of doctors who practice obstetrics, and I had a couple of OBs...and I definitely wouldn't say that it is the practice of OB's to nanny every aspect....BUT, my first OB definitely did do that (my 2nd OB did not, and I highly doubt my friends who are doctors would either).  It is hard to compare 1st pregnancies to 2nd pregnancies, but my first pregnancy WAS much more stressful and I think that was due, at least in part, to the lectures I would get from my OB about what I should or should not do, especially when they ran counter to what I thought was right.  I am lucky that one of my closest friends is one the doctors I mentioned and she was able to talk me down from some of my post pre-natal appointment anxiety attacks.

[zoey1996]

I just wanted to say how much I enjoy reading the comments in the various episode threads.  It seems like we're all watching because it's such a terrific show, and nobody seems to have the need to nitpick it to death.  So refreshing; in some of the other shows I follow and read about, nobody who posts seems to like the shows and never seem to find anything they like about them.

 

So thanks to all that post here!

[zxy556575]

Thinking about Patsy not being able to be her true self, I wondered how I would have reacted in the 60s if I found out someone I knew was gay. Puzzled, maybe? I mean, gayness wasn't even part of the cultural vocabulary at the time -- nobody even thought Liberace was gay! He was just a "real entertainer." The concept of being gay didn't exist back then. Except for places like NY and Hollywood, I suppose, but I lived in deep-dyed suburbia.

 

I also got to wondering about the coat hanger abortion, as in: how would a woman even do that? The cervix isn't that easy to find without a speculum and mirror. If the idea is to somehow force the wire up through the cervix, well. That's a very small, slippery opening.

[anna0852]

I think the point is that she might have tried with the coat hanger but wasn't successful. I believe PC Noakes said something about puncturing an organ in the attempt.

[JudyObscure]

Thinking about Patsy not being able to be her true self, I wondered how I would have reacted in the 60s if I found out someone I knew was gay. Puzzled, maybe?

That's a good point, Lordonia. I remember when Phil Donahue and later Oprah had gay guests for the first time, answering all our many questions. The audience was absolutely fascinated as I was at home. Not in a voyeuristic way but just wanting to know what their life was like, how they first knew and how they met their partners. We all had so much to learn.

[dustylil]

Perhaps because I grew up in a large city in the sixties my experience was somewhat different. One of the most popular and respected teachers at my high school  - he  taught biology and chemistry - was gay (and yes, that was the polite term that was used at the time). His private life didn't seem to bother either the students or the parents. Nor was it a subject of  gossip.

 

This is not in any way to suggest that that era was without serious flaws and substantive injustices. Certainly there were many.  But things were not just monolithic back then any more than they are today. There were shades and nuances in beliefs, knowledge and understanding then as now.

Edited April 20, 2016 by dustylil

[Spunkygal]

I am a huge fan of this show, but was wondering....if any of you have read Jennifer Worth's books, do you recommend them? Will I be disappointed? I love getting the true, real life story behind shows and movies. For example, after seeing the old James Stewart movie, Spirit of St. Louis, I read a Pullitzer winning biography of Lindbergh by Scott Berg. It is fabulous and I had to buy it. Not that every book fulfills this need, but am hoping that JW's books are satisfying in a way, although not necessarily in the same way the TV show satisfies. Does that make sense?

[Kohola3]

I think that you have to go into reading the books with the expectation that they do not follow the story lines of the series.  They are very good, in my opinion, but don't try and compare apples to apples with them.  Just enjoy them for what they are.

[craziness]

I read the books a few years ago,  and the early seasons of the show used the stories from the books,  but since JW wrote mostly her own experiences,  the show split the cases among the various midwives.  I think they ran out of stories from the books around the end of season 2/middle of season 3, so everything since then is new. 

[Kohola3]

Plus some of the stories in the book had very different endings than shown on the series.

[BooksRule]

I knew this show existed, but never watched it until I checked out seasons 1 and 2 from my local public library.  As of this week, I've caught up through season 4.  I'm bummed that I didn't discover that I loved the show until I had missed the episodes of season 5 that are currently being shown on PBS.  (Since I'm not a paid member of the PBS family, I can't watch them on the site.)  I can't decide whether or not to just watch the remaining ones and just read about the earlier ones from the season here, or to just save them on my DVR until I can find the earlier ones (I wish PBS would have a marathon, like they did with 'Downton Abbey'--but I think that was because the final season was being aired).  Oh, well.  I'll probably just read ahead here--I had avoiding doing so until I got caught up, but I don't know when that will happen and I can't wait to know more!

I do have to say that Chummy is my favorite (I want a friend like her).

[dargosmydaddy]

You can watch the last couple episodes on the PBS website without being a member. Still doesn't help you see the very beginning of the season, but might help a little.

[BooksRule]

I recently read all three of Worth's books.  I highly recommend them, although (as others have said) they do differ a little from the series.  Between reading the books and watching the series, I really want to learn more about medicine of the time and about that part of London (I was already keeping google busy by looking up some of the terms that were unfamiliar to me, such as Horlick's and Babycham).

I hate that PBS is editing these.  I'm glad I was able to check out the first four seasons on DVD from my local public library (that's where I also got the Worth books from) and hope that they will get season five so I can check it out and catch the first two (and the Christmas special) of season five that I missed and re-watch the rest with no scenes deleted.  (Support your local library!)

[jpgr]

Thanks for the reminder about checking the library! I looked, and mine has the DVDs for seasons 1-4 and the books. I've put a hold on book one, but the DVDs are all available right now. I'm going to wait until I get back from an upcoming vacation before I binge-watch the early seasons I missed.

[vesperholly]

I've been watching on Netflix - up to mid-S3 now. Does anyone know if Netflix uses the PBS cuts or the full episodes from BBC? I was reading the S03E05 thread and don't recall Patsy making a joke about a cake shaped like penises (a scene that PBS cut), but I also don't always pay 100% attention to the episodes, either.

[Beldasnoop]

The Netflix episodes are edited as well. In fact,they're (inexplicably) slightly shorter than the PBS edits. If you want to see the whole show, I highly recommend getting the DVDs. They are unedited.

[Spunkygal]

Is there a full box set that is compatible with US DVD players? 

[AZChristian]

If you check amazon.com, you should find every season for DVD.

[Spunkygal]

I did find seasons 1-5 on Amazon but it says that the box set is not compatible with most US DVD players. Maybe I need to wait until the entire show is over (sob!) and look for it then. Don't leave me, CTMW!!!

[dustylil]

Spunkygal -You may want to look at the Amazon Canada website. The American and Canadian sites sometimes have different  DVDs of the same series on offer.

[yeswedo]

@Spunkygal PBS has seasons 1-5 on DVD for $150. The description doesn't say if they are as aired on PBS or the unedited version.

[Spunkygal]

Thank you, @yeswedo! And I get 15% off my first order by signing up for their emails. Order is being processed now! 

[Portia]

1 hour ago, Kohola3 said:

Of course a person of age should not "be a dick" if that person is in possession of all of their faculties.  However, I would hope that we can cut someone with dementia some slack.  They, nor are small children, accountable for what they say or do if they are not able to distinguish the rights and wrongs of their verbalization.

My mother had Alzheimers.  She said some hurtful things.  It was not easy to let that roll off my back but I had to keep repeating to myself that she was acting like a small child.  I always said I lost my mom several years before her actual death.  She was not being "a dick" and while it took some explanation to relatives and strangers, none of them felt that she was either after they knew her condition.

On the other hand, I am of an age that I really don't care if people like me or not.  While I am not cruel to anyone nor do I eschew an honest opinion if one is solicited.  I do not support the Special Snowflake culture where youngsters expect high praise for everything they do including what should be expected as proper behavior.

 

1 hour ago, Brattinella said:

So what would you do with a senile old person when they act like a dick?  You certainly can't muzzle them; I think the only solution would be to avoid being in their presence if they are hurting you with their words.  I get lots of slack due to my age, and I will not be penalized for it.

[Portia]

8 hours ago, Portia said:

Yeah, whether or not it's based in fact, I'm not a big fan of the trope of the "hilarious" elderly person who says and does outrageous things. (It's why I despised fan favorite William on This is Us.)  I understand the appeal of saying and doing the unexpected for shock-comic value, and I engage in some of that stuff myself, but I don't think old age entitles anyone to be a dick.

 And when this phenomenon occurs because of illness or disability...well, that's not necessarily the stuff of comedy. After multiple strokes, my mother lost a lot of her "filter" and sometime said inappropriate things in public.  Occasionally there were giggle-worthy moments,  but more often than not we family members were pained because that just wasn't her.  She was always wacky, but she'd never hurt or embarrass someone on purpose. When my sweet father was in the throes of dementia, he had me in tears at times saying hurtful things that his former self would have never said. I knew he couldnt help it, but it was traumatizing nonetheless.

I'm starting to realize why I've never particularly cared for the Monuca Joan character. She's a wee bit over-romanticized for my taste.

 

8 hours ago, Kohola3 said:

Of course a person of age should not "be a dick" if that person is in possession of all of their faculties.  However, I would hope that we can cut someone with dementia some slack.  They, nor are small children, accountable for what they say or do if they are not able to distinguish the rights and wrongs of their verbalization.

My mother had Alzheimers.  She said some hurtful things.  It was not easy to let that roll off my back but I had to keep repeating to myself that she was acting like a small child.  I always said I lost my mom several years before her actual death.  She was not being "a dick" and while it took some explanation to relatives and strangers, none of them felt that she was either after they knew her condition.

On the other hand, I am of an age that I really don't care if people like me or not.  While I am not cruel to anyone nor do I eschew an honest opinion if one is solicited.  I do not support the Special Snowflake culture where youngsters expect high praise for everything they do including what should be expected as proper behavior.

 

8 hours ago, Brattinella said:

So what would you do with a senile old person when they act like a dick?  You certainly can't muzzle them; I think the only solution would be to avoid being in their presence if they are hurting you with their words.  I get lots of slack due to my age, and I will not be penalized for it.

(This was all brought over from the Season 6, Episode 5 thread.)

I think you'll agree that in my original post I was careful to differentiate between elderly people who are just plain jerks and those who are unable to regulate their own behavior due to dementia or disability. I did not remotely suggest that someone with Alzheimer's is capable of being a jerk, nor that someone like that should be silenced or pushed away. 

I can appreciate the way both of you expressed a desire to enjoy the benefits of aging and to not be overly bound by what others think.  I don't think either of you were describing behavior that I'd consider rude or antisocial.  As for me, I have never been a syrupy-sweet person; I'm not one now, in my 50s; and I certainly don't plan to be one in my 80s! If I'm lucky enough to remain in full possession of my faculties, I'm just aiming to NOT be the hateful old biddy that people avoid running into at the grocery store.  I have a feeling there will be plenty of good company in that middle ground.  :-)

Edited May 3, 2017 by Portia

[Brattinella]

Yep, the "hateful old biddy" is a real thing, and to be avoided at all costs! In my life, I had the fortune of having MANY great-aunts and uncles, and some of them were on the cusp of dementia (or even over it), and I learned from each and every one of them.  Lots of good history can be absorbed through an elderly person, and sometimes even wisdom!  It annoys me when some folks refer to "the olds" as if we were aliens, or something that not everyone will be eventually.  I keep that in mind and think "yeah, buddy, your day is coming!"

Glad to hear I am in good company with you, Portia!

[Kohola3]

We just had this discussion at our book club today.  Today's generation gets all of its information from social media.  They treat their elders as if we are dinosaurs.  But we have a lot to offer in terms of wisdom, history, and experience if they will slow down enough to listen.  

Says the Old Fogy.

[MissLucas]

Just something else to consider when dealing with an old person who's not particularly nice. Sometimes they are in chronic pain and lashing out is their way of dealing. It can be exasperating to live through a day when nothing you say or do is good enough but I try to not take it personally - retail therapy also helps *cough*

[StatisticalOutlier]

16 hours ago, MissLucas said:

Just something else to consider when dealing with an old person who's not particularly nice. Sometimes they are in chronic pain and lashing out is their way of dealing.

Add to that not being able to see well, or hear what people are saying, or maybe even taste things.

I don't think young people not acknowledging their elders' knowledge and wisdom is a creation of social media, but just a twist on generations of young people thinking older people don't know anything.  In fact, it might be going the other direction a bit, from the "never trust anyone over 30" days. 

[Kohola3]

Our local high school had a bunch of kids dress in clothes that limited their mobility (making it difficult to move their arms and legs as though they had arthritis) and had them wear ear plugs and glasses smeared with vaseline to mimic poor vision.  They wrote quite an interesting report about the difficulties they had that day.  I do wonder if that stayed with them as they dealt with the elderly.

[Brattinella]

7 minutes ago, Kohola3 said:

Our local high school had a bunch of kids dress in clothes that limited their mobility (making it difficult to move their arms and legs as though they had arthritis) and had them wear ear plugs and glasses smeared with vaseline to mimic poor vision.  They wrote quite an interesting report about the difficulties they had that day.  I do wonder if that stayed with them as they dealt with the elderly.

This is SUCH a good idea! I wish that all classes had that assignment.

[SunnyBeBe]

I wanted to see if any of you have read the books and where they stop off in the story.  Do the books end with the author leaves and moves away?

[Badger]

No.  Basically, as time went on, there was less and less need for their services, so the nuns of Nonnatus House stopped doing midwifery and mother and baby care, and started concentrating on things like drug abuse, the homeless, etc.

[dargosmydaddy]

PBS has printable paper dolls of Trixie, Parsy, Barbara, and Chummy: 

http://www.pbs.org/call-the-midwife/characters/paper-dolls/

[Brattinella]

14 minutes ago, dargosmydaddy said:

PBS has printable paper dolls of Trixie, Parsy, Barbara, and Chummy: 

http://www.pbs.org/call-the-midwife/characters/paper-dolls/

That is AWESOME!  Thank you!

[Fireball]

On ‎5‎/‎5‎/‎2017 at 8:32 PM, dargosmydaddy said:

PBS has printable paper dolls of Trixie, Parsy, Barbara, and Chummy: 

http://www.pbs.org/call-the-midwife/characters/paper-dolls/

So I of course had to go check these out and here are my riveting thoughts. 1) What's up with Chummy only getting one set of clothes when everyone else gets two? 2) Barbara's non work outfit is a bit frumpy. and 3) Trixie's glamorous outfit... is a trench coat?  btw if you can't tell I'm being a bit facetious.   :)

Edited May 28, 2017 by Fireball