Friday, May 3, 2013

Call The Midwife


Have you been watching the wonderful show Call The Midwife that airs Sunday nights on PBS?  I am crazy about it and each time it opens with Vanessa Redgrave's voice narrating the story, I get a little emotional. Most episodes I am in tears by the end. Last week's was especially poignant as it juxtaposed a story about the general good health of babies born in the fifties with the issue of the unavailability of birth control and women having as many as 10 children while living in poverty.

The midwives, along with the nuns of Nonnatus House, provide free and safe maternity care to the impoverished women living in London in the 1950's. They deliver babies among the slums and dockyards of London's East End. They live along side the nuns at the convent and the relationships between the nuns and these modern girls are the heart of the show. They watch out for and respect each other, learning precious life lessons along the way. Their meals together around the big table in the convent's kitchen is a highlight of the show. As is the vision of the girls and the nuns making their rounds on bicycles wearing their prim uniforms with red cardigans and nurse's caps.


I recently read that writer and producer Heidi Thomas almost passed on this project, but after reading Jennifer Worth's memoirs, upon which the show is based, she was powerfully moved by the stories of the midwives, nuns, young women and mothers all living together in this part of London and the problems they all faced. She realized that the universal theme of childbirth with its inherent dangers as well as joys would be a powerful one and make fascinating viewing. She was right.

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If you want to be further immersed in this era of London during the 1950's, be sure to watch The  Bletchley Circle that is currently airing as part of Masterpiece Theatre. (Have you noticed the high quality of so many of the dramas on television right now? There seems to always be something good to watch.) The lead characters are four women who worked together during WW II in the espionage department of the government cracking enemy codes. After the war, they turn their analytical skills into solving murder mysteries in London in 1952. This show is fabulous!

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And if you would like to round out your picture of London in the fifties even more, throw in a Barbara Pym novel. I am happily rereading my favorite Excellent Women and adoring the story of the central character Mildred Lathbury and all her adventures in the little world she inhabits in London at this time. A clergyman's daughter and a spinster living in London, her life is shaken up by her glamorous new neighbors and unexpected developments for the vicar next door. She tells the story with humor and insight. Her world may be small, but her observations about human nature are universal. 

19 comments:

  1. Wow, you and I are SO on the same page; even the book. That is my favorite Barbara Pym also.

    Yes, wonderful dramas on PBS right now. They have definitely cranked it up a notch.

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  2. I suppose could say I'm good for two out of three. "Call the Midwives" is a favorite. This past week's episode was heart wrenching. I loved the ending. I only recently found "The Bletchley Circle". I seldom turn on the television, but love Sunday PBS. I tend to record and watch various programs during the week. I've not heard of "Excellent Women", but you have never suggested a book I didn't like.

    I hope you are safe. I have been thinking about you after hearing of the dreadful fires in CA. Stay safe.

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    1. Bonnie, you will love Excellent Women! Thank you so much for your concern. We are fine and now that the weather has cooled down, the firefighters are getting the fires contained. So glad you are enjoying Midwife!

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  3. My sentiments, exactly, Sunday - and my Sunday evenings as well. Last Sunday's episode was particularly poignant, wasn't it? How their lives, and the lives of their daughters', changed with the availability of contraceptives. Do read the three books in Jennifer Worth's series if you can. They are even more compelling than the fabulous series.

    The Bletchley Circle has been a terrific addition to our Sunday viewing. I've been underwhelmed by Mr. Selfridge, though it is a feast for the eyes in costuming and makes me yearn for our own Marshall Fields, which is where Harry Selfridge started. Here in the Chicago area, it airs between Call the Midwives and The Bletchley Circle. I'm in British broadcasting bliss for three hours.

    Enjoyed this post.

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    1. Penny, I love the way you put it, British broadcasting bliss! We are certainly there on Sunday nights. Absolutely adore Bletchley Circle also.

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  4. Isn't it funny - you're hooked on our TV and we're hooked on Swedish/Danish. And after sending us all those gripping Scandi-crime series, they're addicted to Midsomer Murders which is like moving wallpaper.
    They are now running midwife tours of Chatham dockyard where Call the Midwife was filmed. Although I'm not sure it would be the same without the lines of washing hanging out in the street.

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    1. Mary, that is so true. The lines of washing need to be there!

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  5. I've been hearing about "Call the Midwives" so must tune in. I got such a late start on Downton Abbey and then couldn't get enough of it. The Bletchley Circle sounds perfect. Can't wait! Good books, good television. Thank you Sunday!

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  6. I am utterly addicted to The Bletchley Circle! Such wonderfully interesting characters and so well done. Marvelous.
    And I so miss Chumley on Midwives. Is she coming back??
    I was disappointed in Mr. Selfridge. It left me rather cold as I find Jeremy Piven a fairly dreadful actor and I cringe a little during his scenes.
    Am heading to the UK next week... and to Persephone Books to immerse my self in more of these delightful stories.
    xo

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    1. Pamela, I feel the same way. Bletchley Circle is fabulous! Not sure if Chummy is coming back to Midwives. I just read that Miranda Hart who plays Chummy is a big star in England with her own television show that she writes and stars in. So maybe she needed to have some time away to work on her own show. I adore her character and certainly hope she returns. Have a fabulous trip to UK!
      xx Sunday

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  7. Sunday....Sunday night is the only night (or day) of the week I watch television. I love "Call the Midwife" and think so many issues that women face are explored in this series. No one before this felt these issues were worth viewing. I then love watching "Mr. Selfridge" followed by Bletchley Circle. The British are the best and I so respect their approach to film and theatre.

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    1. Judie, I agree with you. The British do these shows so well and beautifully. I have enjoyed watching the segments after the episodes of Midwife and Bletchley, in which the writers, directors, set and costume designers talk about how they created the period look and feel. So much detail...
      xx Sunday

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  8. Thank you for reminding me of the Barbara Pym books I read them all in the 60/70s my favourite was 'Jane and Prudence'.Time to re-read them,she captures the characters,lives of rural Britain so well.Love the cosy feelings they inspire.
    Also a great fan of the Bletchley Circle do hope they will make a further series.

    Tonight is the last episode of the latest Endeavour series,Shaun Evans is well cast as the young Morse,the small mannerisms are all there. Judith

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    1. Oh, you are so lucky to be seeing the Endeavour series. We saw the first one (I think there was just one episode) here in the states a while ago and everyone I know loved it. Can't wait for the new season to air here!

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  9. Sunday, loved your review of Call the Midwife. I work in IT training at a local hospital and I've noticed that some of the midwives that come for training have copies of the book in their bags. Great pictures, too. I do like to see babies in hand-knitted cardigans!

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  10. I'm glad to hear that I'm not the only one who cries while watching Call the Midwives! I adore both of these shows and would rather watch them then Mad Men, which I used to love.
    I think Anna Maxwell Martin from Bletchley Circle is such a wonderful actor.

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  11. I just finished watching tonight's episode of Call the Midwife. I've really been enjoying it this season. The Bletchley Circle looks intriguing, but will have to be one for my Netflix queue as it's up against Mad Men on Sunday nights!

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  12. Sunday, I just finished the second season of "Call the Midwife" on Netflix and will be in a deep depression until I can see the third season. I usually treat myself to the show while exercising (as it is the ONLY thing that can get me to exercise), but I almost fell of the treadmill last week due to the fact that I was sobbing so hard I couldn't see in front of me. (It was the episode where the woman's baby is black but her husband doesn't care and loves him as his own. I still get emotional just thinking about it!) I enjoyed the TV series so much that I rushed out and bought the book by Jennifer Worth. And I can't believe I'm saying this, but I liked the show better than the book. It isn't that the book isn't fascinating, because it is. It's just that I think the show possesses a human tenderness and charm delightful characterization that the book didn't quite capture for me. That being said, I'll probably find myself reading the rest of the series just as soon as the TV series ends to ease my withdrawal symptoms. I am thrilled to hear that you love The Bletchley Circle. I haven't watched it, but it gives me something to look forward to!

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