Call the Midwife

[Toddlerteaplease]

Well this is boring.

Even perfect Turner children behave with chicken pox hooray!

How long will they keep sister Monic Joan on for? She was ancient and confused. In series one we told she was one of first midwife’s to be trained. Google says that was 1902 so let’s say she trained 1920 (miles away from being one of the first) at 18 years of age that makes her 119!!!

Maybe they can retire her and bring back the one from Xmas day she’s great.

Sorry been drinking to much… obvious it’s set in 1966 not 2022!!!

So 18 in 1902 would make her 82….

Tediously teal Turner's typing t'was terribly tardy....I mean love, I learned on a manual banger of a typewriter and would have had that done before the pox twins woke up for their next scratching session! And of course she'd noticed some patterns in the data....brrrrrrrrilliant teal scientist!

I miss so many of the old characters - Patsy, Jenny, Cynthia and of course Barbara. They can't afford to knock anyone else out, so be warned, scriptwriter keep yours pen AWAY from Phyllis Crane!

Does Sheila deliver babies these days? She seems so basic stuff in the maternity home but I imagine she works v v part time. Unless they have a nanny and a cleaner. I’m sure they could afford one!

Oh has Cynthia been written out?

I miss Val, Barbara and Patsy too.

I miss the grittier stories, the ones that unfolded over several episodes. I'm a bit sick of the constant twee fancy dress (tonight's offering didn't resemble 1967 imo, as if working class women would have access to all those OTT materials).
I'd like to see the WAAF nun and the new young one (with the daughter) have some meatier storylines. I liked the comedy of the WAAF nun at the beginning but now they've descended into silliness.

And as predicted upthread the teal has given way to mustard!

I like the start of the storylines but they always end so fucking sweetly!

Not like the early days where they would see the story through to what was often a horrible ending. I mean yes, things were improving in some ways in the 60's but not that fucking much! Single mothers were still being slagged off and judged well into the 80's and beyond (I should know, I had DS in 1990 and got side eye.....a friend's [17, the same age as me at the time] mother banned her from seeing me as I was clearly of loose morals).

Its all gone a bit fucking twee and crap and yes the SD in the Xmas special in particular was painful to watch. The only thing missing from the Nativity scene was stickers on the floor saying "Keep Your Distance. 2m Apart"

@GarethSouthgatesWaistcoat I'm with you. LOL at Sheila: "yes, give me the complex data to collate, I'll need something to do while the children are ill"

Such dead time & so dull looking after 3 young children with chicken pox.

Anyone else already sick of the simpering newly weds as she lovingly makes his sandwiches?

Still having the very obvious social distancing. Even outside with the children at the beginning. They almost threw those biscuits at the little girl they were at such extremes of arms length.

I didn't find the social distancing quite as distracting as in the Christmas special.

I'm assuming there is going to be a story line around the nun as she brings up her WAAF experience every time she opens her mouth.

Young nun is getting a bit better. I too miss the older characters. Trixie is definitely getting on a bit now, she'll be joining Phyllis in the spinsterhood if she doesn't snaffle the wealthy widower. But can you imagine a man of that social status allowing his wife to work? I think not, that works be the end for Trixie though I imagine CTMW will make him come over all modern and revolutionary and she'll work.

How does it work for on call on a night once they are married? Or is all the on call done by the residents?

I like Sister Frances, she’s got a nice line in snappy comebacks under the wimple and I seem to remember an episode where she gave an annoying husband what for.

The problem is, as wiser MNers than I have noticed over the years, it’s become the Turner show so the run time left over for storylines for the others has been chipped away, leaving too many characters with lots of potential wasted.

[quote Councilworker]@ivykaty44 I thought of EMIN/EarthMotherImnot too and that thread. Hard to believe it's over 11 years ago now. www.mumsnet.com/Talk/mumsnet_classics/922821-drug-dependant-baby-advice-needed

There seemed to be less teal. The social distancing in the nativity audience was ridiculously obvious. Dr Turner is still irritating and Shelagh is such a simpering dolt around him. And when he explained to her that the woman was on her 5th baby and the risks to her I don't know how she didn't lamp him. Maybe he is slipping her a bit of heroin in her drinks to keep her so compliant[/quote]
My God! Have just read through all of EMIN's post. What a woman. I am speechless

Back under another name from what feels like a lifetime ago. Last one was breaking my new year’s resolution…

Anyway.

I adore Phyllis. I cried. And yes it a bit twee and all that jaaaaaayazz.

But I love it for that.

The had better not be doing away with Miss Higgins (next week’s clip) or indeed Nurse Crane or else I won’t be able to love it.

I’m with Nurse Crane with the bare feet malarkey! So there.

Tired of the Turners. No way with three poxy kids would she have time for comprehensive notes. My mam was driven daft when we all had it. She still mentions it now. And I see the remains of it every day.

I do wish Trixie would just get it on.

Have to say that the new nurse has got the most beautiful face.

I'm in bits reading EarthMotherImNot's thread about fostering a drug dependent baby.

3 kids with chicken pox, yet the Turners were happily mixing with pregnant women, plus unwell patients. Really?

The stillborn babies. Perfect little skeletons, wrapped in impeccable blouse and white pillowcase, neither of which was stained at all. Not at all realistic. There would be body fluids.

Baby up the chimney in 1936 - and house was occupied all through the war and afterwards. And nobody ever lit a fire? I don’t think so.

Trixies makeup was so heavy last night. Fine for a night out, but not for a nurse on duty back then. My late MIL was a nurse in the 50s and 60s, and she said the most they got away with was a dab of powder and a light lipstick.

I'm confident that such frivilous Easter celebrations were not a thing of that era. Wasn't Easter a really austere and very religion-heavy event until the late 70s?

Just been reading about the awful legacy of Stilboestrol on generations of the same families (the women). That could be an obs & gynae 'tick' for a future storyline?

Where were you reading about that? I often follow rabbit holes as a result of CTM.

I hate to say that it was on the DM website today @ISaySteadyOn but I knew about it previously. Here's a short research abstract from 1972.

Thanks.

I was confused at the age of the mother with the stillborn babies. She looked fairly young in 1966(?) so how old was she back in 1936?

@ninnynonny

I was confused at the age of the mother with the stillborn babies. She looked fairly young in 1966(?) so how old was she back in 1936?

We couldn't figure out the ages of her and her mum at all. One was probably a bit old the other a bit young to have babies in 1936 which would have been 30 years ago. She didn't look 45

I would have said the mum was 70ish and the DD looked mid 40s to me. It would kind of make sense that the daughter (mother of the stillborn babies) was young (a teenager), hence being taken in by a married man

I loved Sundays episode and the Christmas special. I always shed a tear. Yes the Turners are cringingly 'worthy', but I still love it, especially nurse Crane.

@GarethSouthgatesWaistcoat

I rolled my eyes once again at the Turners. Of course Mrs Turner found the time to type up comprehensive notes/collate the information while she was off work with three unwell children.

That line made me laugh, give me something to do while looking after the ill children. Like she wouldn't have anything else to do

I did enjoy it, it's just missing something that the early episodes had.

The music is really irritating. They play the sickly sweet musac refrain at any opportunity. It's really intrusive and noticeable.

Prediction: Shelagh is found to be runnjng a prostitution wing. But, in a happy turn of events, she donates the proceeds to Nonatus House. Dr Mansplain tells her patiently why Prostitution Is Wrong. They hug. Her children shout YAY!