Call the Midwife.

[Toddlerteaplease]

What is going on with Mother Mildreds make up?

[JasperRising]

That Isle of Harris Facebook group has some interesting comments about the realities of life there in the 1960s - a lot of anger at the suggestion boats wouldn't have gone for medical help because it was the Sabbath.

I agree that it has gone from gritty with some sweet to sickly sweet. It just seems like they pick the next 'issue' and shoehorn it into the programme with the Dr always at the forefront of new knowledge/modern attitudes and generally being far too perfect.

[CaptainMyCaptain]

Were little girls in the ‘60s in such a conservative place called Isla?
It's a Scottish name so I think it is quite possible. There was a singer in the 60s called Isla something (Sinclair?) who sang traditional Scottish songs.

[daisypond]

Isla isn’t really a Scottish name, though. It’s a an anglicised form, which makes it unlikely, Isla is the sort of name that producers of a modern TV show set in The Hebrides in the 60s think is Scottish-Hebridean appropriate because it’s currently fashionable for babies in the 2010s in England. It really jarred with me. Isla St Clair is a stage name.

[NewModelArmyMayhem18]

I've just read an article about the upcoming series if anyone is interested in the link?

[CaptainMyCaptain]

OK, daisypond I can't claim to know much about Hebridean names.

[Smashtastick]

Oh I didn't realise the writer is married to Dr Turner. Very convenient that 🙄 won't be getting rid of him then unless he gets an amazing job somewhere else as they have bills to pay.

[Mrsjayy]

Isla is a well used in Scotland Scottish female nameDaisy

[MrsMoastyToasty]

I don't understand why they all had to go. By the time the story was set the NHS was up and running. So surely the job vacancies created by the departure of the previous doctor and nurse would have been filled by the NHS...

[woodhill]

MJ is a bit of a CF really. I know she is a nun but always takes advantage of people.

Is she meant to have dementia?

[Mrsjayy]

That Isle of Harris Facebook group has some interesting comments about the realities of life there in the 1960s - a lot of anger at the suggestion boats wouldn't have gone for medical help because it was the Sabbath.

I don't blame them that iwas ridiculous I was tutting there is no way the ferryman would put a pregnant woman in danger because it was Sunday and all he needed was an Anglican nun to pursuade him ! Yes these islands do observe the sabbath but they don't let people die because they need to pray.

[NewModelArmyMayhem18]

Yes, Sister Monica Joan is supposed to have dementia.

Here's the link if anyone is interested.

I was wondering how much longer Reggie will live. In the 1960s, the average life expectancy for someone with Down Syndrome was only 25.

[CaptainMyCaptain]

In the 60s it was still normal for children with Downs to be placed in an institution. I lived near one such place which had a reputation for being very forward thinking and tried to prepare the 'patients' (it was still called a hospital) for life outside. Small groups used to be able to walk into the town centre unaccompanied and some got jobs in Sainsbury's or the Aerosol factory.

[Kuponut]

Watching at the moment - but at least there's one bonus...

The teal overload is gone!

[Mrsjayy]

Yes Reggie lives in an institution he just comes home for the holidays

[daisypond]

Isla is a well used in Scotland Scottish female name It is now, certainly, but was it then?

[DoesntLeftoverTurkeySoupDragOn]

Were little girls in the ‘60s in such a conservative place called Isla?

She was born elsewhere, out of wedlock to a foreign submariner, so not that conservative. No idea whether it is likely even given those circumstances though.

WRT the accents and dialects, I imagine they have to ensure they are all understandable to the majority of the UK.

It was entirely predictable and saccharine sweet though :) I diagnosed appendicitis from that woman's first visit to the clinic 😂 That said, I enjoyed it like I always do. I'm not too bothered about reality.

[DoesntLeftoverTurkeySoupDragOn]

I expected Sister MJ to fall asleep on the train and be discovered dead when they got back to London. I thought the stag was setting up her death.

[BikeRunSki]

She was born elsewhere, out of wedlock to a foreign submariner, so not that conservative. No idea whether it is likely even given those circumstances though.

That character was called Effie. The Crofter child with the burnt legs was Isla/Islay

[DoesntLeftoverTurkeySoupDragOn]

Ohhhhhhh of course it was 🤦🏻‍♀️

[Mrsjayy]

Isla is a well used in Scotland Scottish female name It is now, certainly, but was it then?

Well I am nearly,50 and there was a couple of islas in my Scottish (but not hebriderian ) primary school so maybe CTM did stereotype but Isla was around.

[christmasstress]

@CoolCarrie -completely agree about the eyebrows!!! It drove me completely bonkers - my hair is that colour and I certainly don't have thick, black eyebrows!!! Mine are gingery blonde!

[SlightlyWizened]

Well my favourite thing about it was Sheila's hairdo. It was fabulous. My mum used to do a simpler version of it in the sixties.
I too thought Effie-Merida from Brave. And she should have gone down south with the midwives.
Trixie- the huge amount of clothing!!
Otherwise it was pretty boring.

[Mrsjayy]

What was. That. Fur night wear. Trixie was wearing it was quite the ensemble

[Rockbird]

Her eyebrows are that colour all the tine, I've just image searched her!

[Apolloanddaphne]

My guide leader was called Isla. She was older than my parents so must have been born in the 1920's or 1930's so it was definitely a name used in Scotland way back.