AN EDUCATION
Come on, girls.
Anybody?
Anybody else?
Jenny. Again.
Isn't it because Mr Rochester's blind?
Yes, Jenny.
I've got an English essay to do
by tomorrow morning.
Right.
So the only sound I want to hear
coming through the ceiling...
...is the sound of sweat dripping
onto textbooks.
- Cello?
- No. No cello.
I thought we agreed that
cello was my interest or hobby?
But it's already is your interest
or hobby.
So when they ask you
at the Oxford interview...
"What is your interest or hobby?"
...you can say, "the Cello".
And you won't be lying.
Look, you don't have to
practise a hobby.
A hobby is a hobby.
Can I stop going to the youth
orchestra, then?
No!
No. No. The youth orchestra
is a good thing.
- That shows you're a joiner-inner.
- Yes.
But, I've already joined in.
So now I can stop.
No!
No. Well, that just shows the opposite,
don't you see?
No, that shows you're a rebel.
They don't want that at Oxford.
No. They don't want people
who think for themselves.
No, of course they don't.
Jenny.
Should I wear like,
Sunday best?
You'd better, I'm afraid.
Just to show my father
you're a serious young man...
...not a teddy boy.
Oh, God!
I need to go.
It'll bucket down in a minute.
- Alright...
- I'll see you at the weekend.
- Bye, then.
- Bye.
- Sorry.
- Sorry.
Goodbye, my love.
Come on. Come on.
Stop it, now! Stop it!
Oh no, look what you've done.
- The nice man is waiting for us.
- It fell off.
Hello.
Look...
If you had any sense, you wouldn't
take a lift from a strange man.
But I'm a music lover, and I'm
worried about your cello. So...
...what I propose is, you put it
in my car and walk alongside me.
How do I know you won't just
drive off with the cello?
Good point.
How much does a new cello cost?
Ten? Fifteen pounds?
I don't know.
Let's say... fifteen.
No? Alright.
Up to you.
And that.
I'm David, by the way.
- Jenny.
- Very good.
How did the concert go?
It was a rehearsal.
The concert's next Thursday.
- What are you playing?
- Elgar.
I think it's a shame he spent
so much time in Worcester, don't you?
Worcester's too near Birmingham.
And you can hear that in the music.
There's a terrible Brummy accent in there,
if you listen hard enough.
Anyway, Elgar and the Jews
don't mix very well.
I'm not a Jew!
- No. I am.
- Oh!
I wasn't accusing you.
Can I sit in the car
with my cello?
Jump in.
I've never seen a
car like this before.
- It's very chic.
- It's a Bristol.
Not many of them made.
Where to, madam?
Jenny live round the corner.
- Worst luck!
- I'll see what I can do.
I suppose cellists must go to a
lot of concerts.
We don't go to any concerts.
- We don't believe in them.
- Oh, they're real.
So people say.
- Smoke?
- I'd better not.
I live just up there.
Why don't we believe in them?
He'd say there's no point in them.
- Your father, this is?
- Oh, yes.
They're just for fun.
Apart from school concerts,
which are no fun at all,
...so we go to those.
They don't help you get on.
Which of course is what is so
wonderful about them.
Anyway, you'll go one day.
I know. I will.
If I get to University...
I'm going to read what I want...
...and listen to what I want.
And I'm going to look at paintings
and watch French films...
...and I'm gonna talk to people
who know lots about lots.
- Good for you.
- Yes.
- Which University?
- Oxford. If I'm lucky.
Did you go anywhere?
I studied at what I believe they
call the University of Life.
I didn't get a very good degree there.
Well, thank you for driving me home.
- You alright? You got it?
- Yes, it's fine.
- Thank you.
- My pleasure.
bSous le ciel de Paris
performed by Juliette Greco/b
I don't want to hear
any French singing.
French singing wasn't on the syllabus,
last time I looked.
- Battenberg?
- Oh, thank you.
So where are you applying, Graham?
I'm not sure yet.
When will you be sure?
You can't let the grass grow
under your feet, young man.
- I might take a year off.
- What for?
I don't know yet.
Maybe do some travelling, yeah,
that sort of thing.
Travelling?
What are you, a teddy boy?
You know she's going to Oxford,
don't you?
If we can get her Latin
up to scratch.
So while she's studying
English at Oxford...
...you'll be the wandering Jew.
Mr Mellor, I'm not a teddy boy.
I'm... I'm a, uh,
serious man. Young.
No... yeah.
A young man serious...
man.
- They're for me!
- Who are they from?
- Gosh! Him.
- What's this?
Jack, I'm afraid Jenny's been
sent some flowers from a chap.
- A chap? What kind of chap?
- He's wishing me luck for tonight.
Are you sure that's all
he's wishing you?
Where did he get the money from?
- He earns it, I expect.
- Earns it? Why isn't he in school?
I don't... can we just go?
Otherwise the good-luck flowers will
actually be responsible for me...
...actually missing the concert.
Which would be ironic, isn't it?
- I... I don't like it
- Objection noted.
- Jenny?
- Noted.
Yeah, well... it's gotta be ten bob's
worth of luck here, I mean...
That's a bit much
for a schoolgirl, isn't it?
Oh, we can't leave it here.
I mean, I'd burgle a house
with flowers left outside.
They'll think we're made of money.
Thank you, Marjorie.
Camus doesn't want you to like him.
Feeling is bourgeois.
Being engagee is bourgeois.
He kills someone
and he doesn't feel anything.
His mother dies
and he doesn't feel anything.
I wouldn't feel anything
if my mother dies.
Does that make me an
existentialist?
No. That just makes you a cow.
A cow.
Well...
After I've been to the university...
I'm going to be French.
And I'm going to Paris...
...and I'm going to smoke and wear black
and listen to Jacques Brel.
And I won't speak. Ever.
- Oh, cranky!
- What?
Wait, here.
Hello?
Hello!
Hello. Thank you.
How did it go?
Fine. I think.
Well, I didn't mess my bit up.
Nobody got thrown out
of the orchestra afterwards.
Always the mark of a cultural triumph.
Listen. I'm glad I ran into you.
What are you doing on Friday?
- Going to school.
- I meant the evening.
Oh, of course. Nothing.
Because I'm going to listen to
some Ravel in St. John's Smith Square.
My friends Danny and Helen
would be coming too,
...so it wouldn't be, uh...
I tell you what.
I'll come and pick you up...
...and if your mother and
father disapprove,
...then you can have the tickets
and go with one of them.
- How does that sound?
- Thank you.
And I'd like to go with you.
Seven?
Okay, fine.
And probably go for
a spot of supper afterwards.
- Supper?
- Hm, if you want to.
Well, the thing is that...
we probably would have eaten.
Well, if you'd like supper,
then perhaps on friday...
...you could, uh, not eat?
Yes. Of course.
A spot of supper?
- You've heard of supper?
We've heard of it.
But we've never eaten it.
So, you're gonna have to
tell us everything.
Otherwise, it's not fair.
I won't allow it!
- Fine.
He's more than happy
for you to take me.
Fine. I will.
- Good.
- Well, where is it?
- St. John's Smith Square.
- Where's that?
I don't know.
I'm sure we could find out.
It's in Westminster.
Right next to the Abbey.
How did you know that?
I had a life before we were
married, you know?
- He soon put a stop to that.
- Well, there we are.
- Where are we?
- We're near Westminster Abbey.
I'm not going all the way over there.
The trouble is, that's where
St. John's Smith Square is.
There must be something on locally.
Where's the paper?
She wants to see someone
who can play.
She doesn't want to see
Sheila Kirkland scratching away.
I'll take her.
And how do you propose to get there?
RAF helicopter?
- That's him.
- Oh, bloody hell.
Jack!
By the way, David's a Jew.
A wandering Jew.
So watch yourself.
What did she mean by that?
I've never said anything like that!
It's just an expression!
Look, I got nothing against the Jews...
I'm glad to hear it.
Hello.
No, I didn't mean that
I got against you..
- No, of course I do mean that.
- Dad!
No, it's that... sorry,
it's just that...
You're not the sort of person
that I'd be against,
But I wouldn't because...
I'm not the kind of person
who would be against...
...people.
I'm Jack, and
this is my wife Marjorie.
You didn't tell me
you had a sister, Jenny.
Please.
You're a lucky man, Jack.
Yes, I suppose I'm.
This is lovely.
- Thank you.
I'm sorry.
David, would you like a drink?
I'd love one, Jack,
but we're running a little late.
If Jenny's ready,
perhaps we'll shoot off.
Actually, David, Dad has something
he has to tell you.
No, no, really...
It... It was just a question.
Point of reference.
What's the best way to get to
St. John's Smith square from here?
It's a pretty straight run, really.
Up to Hammersmith, take the A4
through Kensington and you're there.
- Simple as that?
- Simple as that.
- Shall I book us some tickets?
- No.
But... have her back by ten, David.
I was hoping she might come
with me afterwards...
...for a spot of supper
with my aunt Helen.
Oh, well...
No... no, no.
She's usually in bed by then.
What if I promise to have
her back by eleven thirty?
Well, it's Friday night.
And you're going all the way
to the West End...
Thanks, Jack.
I appreciate it.
Alright.
- Bye.
- Bye.
Have a nice time.
Hello. Hello.
Are we late?
No, I thought we're going to
miss the beginning,
...and then it wouldn't be
worth going in,
...and we could go off dancing
or something.
Helen is one of the more reluctant
members of tonight's audience.
Hello.
Jenny, these are my friends
Helen and Danny.
Shall we?
Fine.
I'm sorry.
- That's alright. It's nice, isn't it?
- It's beautiful.
- Where did you get it from?
- Oh, in Chelsea somewhere.
Oh, yours is...
Well, it's good for
this sort of concert, isn't it?
Thank you.
We should go shopping together
one day, you and I, if you want.
That would be nice.
But Chelsea... C'est beaucoup
trop cher pour moi.
Sorry?
I just said, um,
it's too expensive for me.
No, you didn't.
You said something
completely different.
No, well...
I said it in French.
In French? Why?
I don't know.
Well, Chelsea is too expensive
for me too, really.
But, we don't have to
worry about that.
If you want something in Chelsea,
just get David to take you shopping.
Why would David want to
take me shopping?
I've booked a table at Juliette's.
Will that kill the mood,
do you think?
Oh, I hope so.
God, I always think
I'm going to my own funeral...
...when I listen to classical music.
- That was classical, wasn't it?
- Yes. Very classical.
- As classical as you can get.
- Juliette's it is, then.
Heaven forbid that we'd end the evening
reflecting on our own mortality.
I want a Sunday kind of love
A love to last past Saturday night
Extraordinary woman right there,
just like you, Helen.
What about "Chante Francoise Sagan"?
Have you heard that one?
- It's wonderful
- I've only got...
Well, I think it's just called
"Juliette Greco".
The one with the eyes
on the sleeve.
I saved up and got my
French conversation teacher...
...to bring it back
after Christmas.
You've got a French
conversation teacher?
- Yes.
- Is that why you suddenly speak French...
...for no reason?
You never heard her sing?
She's marvellous.
You'd see her in Paris then, not here.
David will take you.
I'd love to.
You'd fit right in.
Better than here, really.
Isn't it wonderful to find a young person
who wants to know things?
There's so much
I want you to see.
Are you alright to come
and have a look at that...
...Pembroke Villas place
with me on Friday, Danny?
Oh, no. I can't.
There's a Burne-Jones coming up
at Christie's on Friday.
Desperate to get my hands on it.
You're thinking of buying
a Burne-Jones?
A real one?
I just had a feeling that the
pre-Raphaelites are going to take off.
I love the pre-Raphaelites.
- Do you?
- Yes, of course.
Um, Rossetti and
Burne-Jones, anyway.
Not Holman Hunt, so much.
He's so garish.
Oh, absolutely!
Well, why don't we all go
to the auction together?
Auction?
Gosh! How exciting!
Next Friday morning.
Friday, oh.
You're busy?
- Yes.
- Too bad.
What a pity!
It's no problem.
- Are you sure you're busy?
- No.
I'm sure I could re-arrange.
That would be lovely.
You got me wrapped around
your little finger
If this is love, it's everything
I hoped it would be
When we kiss,
it's as if our lips agree
That we were meant to be
When we touch, it's too much
What are you doing?
I can't get this
casserole dish clean.
It's all burnt round...
It's twenty-five to twelve.
- We finish tea at seven.
- I know what the time is.
How was your evening?
The best night of my life.
Good night, Mom.
I can think of two violins,
one cello,
...two violas, a harp.
I don't want to hear about Ravel.
I want to know what else
was on the program.
Oh, there was nothing like that.
He was a perfect gentleman.
He just said he wanted to take me
places and show me things.
- Things?
- Plural? My God!
I knew that "Jane Eyre" would
eventually work its magic upon you.
I'm assuming that's what
you're so animated about.
Of course.
- "Jane Eyre" and Jenny's new boyfriend.
- He's not my "new boyfriend".
Oh, sorry. He's more a
man-friend actually.
- He's got a sports car, Ms. Stubbs.
- It's maroon.
So could we call him, uh,
Mr. Rochester figure?
I think he must be
as blind as Mr. Rochester.
You may or may not have noticed,
I'm trying to stir the subject away...
...from Jenny's lurid love-life
and into the matter in hand.
And it's clear from this evidence...
...that most of you know
far too much about the former...
...and next to nothing
about the latter.
Reluctantly, I have to admit that
Jenny is clearly an expert on both.
Excellent as always, Jenny.
Hello.
- Hello.
- Hello.
- Hello.
Any further bids?
Sold them for 60 guineas.
- Hello.
- You're late.
We now turn to lot 41.
"The Tree of Forgiveness"
by Sir Edward Burne-Jones.
This is a rare opportunity to purchase
a key work of the Pre-Raphaelite movement.
- Who will start me off at 100 guineas?
- Is it that one?
Yes, that's the one.
Fifty guineas?
Twenty guineas?
Thank you.
Forty?
Thank you.
Do I hear sixty?
Eighty guineas?
Thank you, sir.
Another one, one hundred guineas?
One hundred and twenty?
No further bids?
Your turn.
- What?
- Any further bids?
- Any more?
- Quick!
One hundred and twenty guineas from
the very eager new bidder.
One hundred and forty, madam?
Thank you.
One hundred and sixty.
One hundred and eighty.
Thank you.
Two hundred guineas?
Two hundred and twenty?
Another one, madam?
Sold for two hundred guineas.
Thank you.
Your name, please?
Mellor.
Now we move on to lot 42.
Thank you very much.
I couldn't have possibly
bought it without you.
Just a couple of years ago, you'd
pick one of them for fifty quid.
- No one was interested.
- Oh, I'd have been so interested.
As you can see,
I just love things.
That's not a Lockey-Hill!
There aren't many people
who come in here and say that.
- Certainly not me.
- Oh, it's beautiful.
- Do you play?
- I used to.
I vowed to myself that
one day I'd own one of these.
And now I do,
I want to never touch it.
It's vulgar really,
putting it on display.
- Give it to Jenny.
- Huh?
- I think that would be even more vulgar.
- Play for us, Jenny.
No. I mean, one day.
When I'm good enough.
- Oh, she's good enough now.
- David, you've never seen me play.
I can come and hear you in Oxford,
when you get there.
We should all go and spend
a weekend in Oxford.
Straw boaters...
- punting, cream teas, anti...
- Boats?
...quarian bookshops.
Bit of business, if we can find it.
What about next weekend?
Yes.
I wouldn't be allowed to do that.
I'll talk to them.
You're going to ask my father...
...if you can take me away
for the weekend?
- He'd have you arrested.
- We'll see.
- I bet you can't.
- How much?
I'd be careful, if I were you, Jenny.
You don't know
who you're dealing with.
Half-a-crown.
You're on.
How do you know Danny?
Oh, you know.
We kept bumping into each other,
...and we became pals,
...ended up doing a bit of business
together, when it suits us.
What kind of business?
Property. A bit of art dealing.
Some buying and selling.
This and that...
Alright, just be two ticks.
- Okay.
Mr. Goldman,
good to see you.
Madam. Alright.
- Alright, I got this one. And, um...
- Put me down.
Go on, then.
Sorry about that.
- How do you know those Negro people?
- They're clients.
Clients?
Schwarzers have to live somewhere.
It's not as if they can rent off
their own kind, is it?
Test results for the Virgil translation.
We'll start from the bottom...
Patricia.
Absent.
Margaret.
Jenny.
That would just about scrape
a pass in the exam proper.
Not good enough for
Oxford candidates.
It's her Latin, isn't it?
Everyone's doing their best, Jack.
But what if everyone's best
isn't good enough?
What do we do then? Hm?
Well, perhaps the whole thing's
been a waste of money anyway.
You don't mean that.
Well, what's she going to do with
an English degree?
And if she's going to spend three years
playing that bloody cello...
...talking in French
to a bunch of... beatniks,
Well, I'm... I'm just throwing
good money after bad.
I wish she might meet
a nice lawyer.
But she could do that
at a dinner dance tomorrow.
Oh, that's the point of
an Oxford education. Isn't it, Dad?
It's the expensive alternative
to a dinner dance.
What about private tuition?
Can anybody hear me?
How much this is going to cost me?
Five shillings an hour.
Maybe a little more for A-level.
Five bob! We'll spend five bob here,
we'll spend five bob there,
...and next thing we know that's
our savings down the drain.
And what else are we spending
five bob on?
What else are we
spending six pence on?
Oh, nothing? No, nothing!
All of this is free.
This vase... is free.
It was, actually.
It was a present from Auntie Vi.
That chair, this sofa...
it's all free.
We don't have to pay for
any of it.
You see, that's
the beauty of life, Jenny.
You don't have to pay for anything.
You know, there's a lovely
Oxford tree growing in the garden.
Lucky for you, because
that's Oxford taken care of.
And there's a whole orchard
of school trees.
So that school is free.
And I think there's even a
private tuition tree in there.
- I'll just go and check, shall I?
- Jack?
Oh, that's alright, Marjorie.
Don't worry, I'll be in a second.
Because I think
there's a whole clump of them...
...surrounding the pocket
money tree.
I'll just go and make sure
they're all nice and safe, shall I?
Oh, by the way,
you might be lucky.
There might be a man
with deep pockets growing out there.
Because God know
you gonna need one.
Well, you can always go to
secretarial college with Hattie.
- Oh, thanks.
- Charming!
- Oh, God, no.
- Hello.
Hello... Graham.
I haven't seen you in ages.
It all went wrong, didn't it?
The, uh...
The tea-party, I mean.
Was it because of the
year off thing?
- Because I...
- No.
I just have so much work to do...
...if I'm gonna get the grades
I need.
Yeah. She doesn't have time for boys.
- Bye, Graham.
- Bye.
- Oh, he does all the Goons.
- No, my Eccles is no good.
- Oh, no, you've got him.
- No, no...
Hello?
Oh, Jenny...
...David does the most
fantastic Bluebottle.
You came to see my parents?
Oh, why is that so hard to imagine?
Why are you drinking?
It's not Christmas!
Well, there's a lot you don't know
about us, young lady.
- We had a life before you came along.
- Hm, that's true.
I'm only going on what I've seen
over the last sixteen years.
I'm trying to think what you missed.
Nothing much comes to mind.
Anyway, I've got a huge pile
of Latin translation to do.
You didn't tell us
David went to Oxford.
No... I didn't.
For all the good it did me.
- Isn't that funny?
- Extraordinary!
I was just telling Jack that
I'm going back next weekend.
I go and visit my old English professor
every now and again.
See, that's what you need, Jenny.
Someone on the inside track.
It's not always what you know,
is it, David?
Too true.
- Have you ever come across Clive Lewis?
- Dad's never come across anyone.
He wrote a children's book called...
"The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe"
that did very well, I believe.
C. S. Lewis?
Well, to us he was just the old codger
who taught Medieval literature.
But I came to know him very well.
We just... got along.
Jenny used to devour those books.
I'd love to meet him.
I'm sorry.
Am I being slow on the uptake?
Would Jenny like to come
with me at the weekend?
No, not this weekend.
But sometimes, perhaps.
Yes.
How often do you see him?
Not very often,
every couple of years.
- Maybe next time.
- Huh...
Well, I suppose...
Would she have to stay the night?
I wouldn't recommend driving home
after one of those Oxford dinners.
Clive could get her a room at the college.
That's easy enough.
Seems like too good an
opportunity to pass up.
It wouldn't be a bother,
would it, David?
We walk along hand in hand
Come on!
Just putting a few things into the bag.
Don't worry.
Yeah, we both understand
Ummm, Sweet Nothin's
Come on!
We're nearly ready.
Be there in two ticks.
How can they only be
nearly ready?
I wouldn't be surprised
if three of them come out there.
That's the only explanation.
They're making themselves a friend.
Ladies! Come on, let's go!
There. Have a look in the corner.
Open the door.
You should keep that one
if you want to.
I can only wear so many on one day.
Thank you.
What about tonight?
We got to put on a nightie.
Would David share the room with you?
Oh, you haven't slept with him?
No.
Good for you.
- Really? Do you think so?
- Yes.
Well, you're only sixteen.
You don't want to get pregnant, do you?
No, I wouldn't...
I wouldn't let that happen.
I want to wait till
I'm seventeen.
On my seventeenth
birthday, hopefully.
With David?
Oh Golly, it will be with David,
won't it?
If that's what you want.
Anyway, I'll find you a nightie.
Ta-da!
Should we make a move?
You got me wrapped around
your little finger
If this is love, it's everything
I hoped it would be
Can we get off
and have a look around?
Later.
If we have time.
- Imagine spending three years here.
- Oh, I know.
Why university girls are
strange-looking?
They can't all have started off
that way, can they?
Well, most girls aren't born ugly,
...but most girl students
seems to be. So...
...there must be something
about those places that make you...
...fat, or spotty, or short-sighted.
Well, if you look at it like that,
I mean...
...that's proper scientific analysis.
You can't argue with science.
I still don't quite understand what
you want to do when you get here.
I want to read English.
Books?
- Sorry?
- You want to read English books?
Reading English is just
another way of saying...
Don't worry, Jenny.
You're wasting your breath.
Tomorrow we'll get
more of a feel for the place.
Absolutely.
This place would be good
for a little business.
- All those little old ladies wandering around.
- Old ladies?
- I'll bet this place is rife with stats.
- Please explain what stats are.
You're always going on
about them.
- It isn't very interesting.
- But you two are interested.
Because we are not
very interesting either.
- Oh, no. They're not, really.
- True.
So we have an idiot here,
to save us from ourselves.
Yeah, to put some intelligence
and culture to our brutal lives.
Sing to us! Sing to us!
Please don't make me
sing to you.
Please don't make us
talk about work.
So...
Now, is he Clive,
do you think? Or CS?
I'm confused now.
I thought you'd made him up?
No, we...
Never mind.
"To dear Jenny. "
"With the pleasure
of meeting you. "
"Come and see me
again soon. Clive. "
Dirty old man.
Bad girl.
We've got these exact
same curtains at home.
Let's not talk about curtains.
You look beautiful.
- David...
- Hm?
There's something you should know.
I'm a virgin.
And I want to stay that way
until I'm seventeen.
I think that's good.
I think that's right.
We can still be romantic,
can't we?
Yes, of course.
- As long as it's not actually...
- Minnie.
Is that me?
Yes.
You're my Minnie Mouse...
...and I'm your bubbalub.
Okay... if that's what
you want to do.
- Minnie.
- Yes, David?
Bubbalub.
Bubbalub.
May I have a look?
Just a peek.
You just want to see them?
Thank you.
I think there's a house for sale
around here.
Really?
- Might be worth a look.
- Hm-hmm.
Jenny?
- Aren't you coming?
- We don't go in.
What are you talking about?
Why don't you go and get
a nice cup of tea somewhere?
Helen will look after you.
I don't need looking after,
thank you very much.
- David?
- I'm not gonna tell you a second time.
Run along.
Oh, they won't be long.
Either way.
Either way?
Well, sometimes they find something,
sometimes they don't.
And when they do find something,
...we often have to leave
quite quickly.
They can be quite naughty,
sometimes.
Thank you.
- Bye.
- See you around.
- Catch!
Careful! Careful! Careful!
Come on.
- Helen.
- Pass the ball.
Good.
Jenny!
- What?
- You can stand there if you like,
...but I won't recommend it.
Cooee!
Jenny?
Sorry about being a little brisk
back there, Jenny.
It's just the way we do things.
Silly, really.
Hey, don't forget your case.
Who's coming up for a drink?
- Jenny?
- No.
You go. I'll make my
own way home.
Jenny?
Jenny!
It's an old map.
A speed.
Poor dear didn't even know
what it was.
It's a waste.
It shouldn't spend its life...
...on a wall in wherever
the hell we were.
It should be with us.
We have to to look after it properly.
- We liberated it.
- Liberated!
That's one word for it.
Don't be bourgeois, Jenny.
You're better than that.
You drink everything
I put in front of you down in one...
...and you slam your glass down
on the bar and ask for more.
It's wonderful.
We're not clever like you,
so we've to be clever in other ways,
...because if we weren't,
there would be no fun.
We have to be clever with maps,
and... and...
You want to know
what stats are?
Stats are old ladies who are
scared of coloured people.
So we move the coloureds in
and the old ladies move out...
...and I buy their flats cheap.
That's what I do.
So now you know.
And...
...if you don't like it,
I will understand,
...and you can go back
to Twickenham...
...and listen to the
Home Service...
...and do your
Latin homework.
But these weekends, and
the restaurants and the concerts...
They don't grow on trees.
This is who we are, Jenny.
That's nice.
- Come on, you two.
- Come on, up!
You can have my olive.
Come on.
I suppose you have
homework to do.
You've no idea how boring
everything was before I met you.
Action is character,
our English teacher says.
I think it means that
if we never did anything,
...we wouldn't be anybody.
And I never did anything
before I met you.
And sometimes I think no one's ever done
anything in this whole stupid country,
...apart from you.
- Okay.
- Alright.
There you go.
Good night.
Marjorie, look at this.
"Clive"... lucky girl.
Never a dull moment with David, eh?
Better than that young man
you brought home for tea.
David's a lot older
than Graham.
Graham could live to be
two hundred years old,
...you'll never see him swanning
around with famous authors.
Hasn't got it in him.
Graham might become
a famous author, for all you know.
Becoming one
isn't the same as knowing one.
That shows you're well connected.
Very impressive young man,
your David.
I must admit, life's a
little brighter with him around.
What the hell are those?
Russian Sobranies.
Where did they come from?
She probably bought them from
the Savoy, or Claridges...
...or the opera,
or some fancy nightclub.
Who knows, with Jenny?
Paris. You can't buy them here.
- You never bought them yourself?
- No. I never.
Shut up, you stuck-up cow!
But I'll bring you some back,
if you like?
- You're joking?
- No.
- He's taking you to Paris?
- Yes.
- This term?
- May be.
Wait.
Isn't it your birthday
next Thursday?
Might be.
Oh, my God! Your birthday!
I would not like to be you.
All those supper's
you've had off him.
Ouch!
You've such a Victorian attitude
to sex, you two.
Your parents wouldn't let you
swan off like that, would they?
Well, he haven't told them yet.
But David will come up with some story,
he usually does.
Yeah, I've noticed that.
Chanel perfume,
Chanel perfume.
Chanel lipstick,
Chanel lipstick.
Those funny cigarettes
you were smoking. Sobranies.
Ten packets each.
How much is that Chanel perfume?
Are you the girl going to Paris
or are you not? Because...
Tina, top button.
Jenny, the headmistress
wants a word with you.
The, uh, legend Mr. Rochester may have
travelled further than you intended.
Come.
Ms. Mellor.
We're all very excited about...
...your forthcoming trip to Paris.
Our excitement, indeed,
knows no bounds.
Some of us can talk of little else.
An older man, I understand.
A word of warning, Ms. Mellor.
There may well have been the odd...
...sixth-form girl who has lost...
...an important part of herself,
perhaps the best part.
while under our supervision.
These things happen, regrettably.
If, however, we are made aware
of that loss, then...
...of course the young lady in question...
...would have to continue
her studies elsewhere,
...if she still has any use
for A-levels.
Do I make myself clear?
- Can I go now?
- If you want.
What are you doing in there?
Well, I imagine she's lighting
the candles on my cake.
You're seventeen
not two hundred and fifty.
- Thanks for inviting me.
- Oh, it was Marjorie's idea, not mine.
- Not even Jenny's for that matter.
- Dad!
Well, blow them out,
before the house burns down.
Wait up!
Okay, don't wait.
Bravo.
- Who'd like a piece?
- Me, please.
Come on. Come on.
Presents.
What's that?
It's a new Latin dictionary.
Thank you.
I needed a new one.
Oh dear.
Snap!
Oh, good grief!
- Jenny, you'd see this.
- It's a special day.
- She's a special girl.
- I know it.
Bit of help?
Makes your dictionary look
a bit feeble, eh, Graham?
Gosh!
These are for you.
- Hello, young man.
- Oh, David...
- David, would you like a drink?
- I'd love one.
I'd better be going because...
...I have a stack of
homework to do, so...
Thank you.
- Bye.
- See you.
- Goodbye, Mr. Mellor.
- See you, young man.
Thank you.
Wonderful to see you, Graham.
- Goodbye, Jenny.
- Bye, Graham.
- Little something warming?
- You know me so well.
- Can I open anything yet?
- Wait for me.
Before you open that lot,
I got a surprise.
Next weekend, we're all going
to Cafe de Flore...
...to celebrate Jenny's
birthday.
Lovely.
Cafe de Flore is in the Boulevard
St. Germain, in Paris.
- What do you mean Paris?
- You know the one, Dad.
No! No!
No, no, no...
No, we don't have any French money.
And besides, it's...
Well, I don't think
he would agree with me.
Dad?
The French don't like us, Jenny.
You know that.
John Sutton from work,
he went there last year.
They were very rude to him.
I don't want to spoil
anyone's fun,
...but it's just not for me,
Europe.
- You'll have to go another time.
- You've just said you don't like Europe.
So what's going to change?
It'll have to be Europe, won't it?
Because it certainly won't be you.
- I'll take her.
- To the continent?
- Why not?
- And leave me here on my own?
Oh, for God's sake!
What do you think?
You know, what Jenny's
like about France, Jack?
French films and books
and music.
- Of course, I do.
- Sorry.
Yes, because without saying,
she's your daughter.
Jenny likes to joke about...
...how you're a stick in the mud
and all the rest of it.
But I know that's not
who you are.
Otherwise, she wouldn't be,
who she is.
No.
But I can also see that,
I've acted out of turn and...
...I'm sorry.
What about your aunt Helen?
An hour late!
- We'll make it, I promise.
Okay, there's a flight at eight
in the morning.
Good.
There's no bed!
I pushed the boat out
and got us a suite.
- A suite?
- Yeah.
Well, if work stops us from getting
to Paris until tomorrow, then...
...work can buy us
a nice hotel room.
Anyway, it's a special occasion,
isn't it?
I'd have thought that tonight
of all nights we only need a bed.
Hold on... one second.
I've got something.
I thought...
I thought we might
practice with this.
With a banana?
I thought we might get
the messy bit over with first.
What?
David!
I don't want to lose my virginity
to a piece of fruit.
I'm sorry.
Oh, I think the moment
might have gone.
- I think we should wait until Paris.
- I'm sorry, um...
Minnie.
I'm an idiot.
I'm sorry.
David...
...if tomorrow night does happen,
it's only ever going to happen once.
Why? Why it only ever happen once?
Because the first time can only
ever happen once.
So...
No, baby talk.
No Minnie.
Just... treat me like a grown-up.
Okay?
I know. Let's go and sit
in our sitting room.
Alright.
I'll order us some champagne.
Room service!
bSur Les Quais Du Vieux Paris
performed by Juliette Greco/b
Do you still feel like a schoolgirl?
And it wasn't too uncomfortable?
Not after the... first bit.
It's funny, though,
isn't it?
All that poetry,
and all those songs...
...about something
that lasts no time at all?
Yeah.
All your exercise books
on my desk in a pile, please.
I bought this for you.
That's very kind of you.
But I can't accept it.
Why not?
It's because of people like you...
...that I plough through illiterate essays
by Sandra Lovell about her pony.
But I know
where this came from, Jenny.
And if I took it...
...I'll feel I would be
betraying both of us.
Jenny.
You can do anything you want.
You know that.
You're clever
and you're pretty...
Is your boyfriend interested
in clever, Jenny?
I'm not quite sure
what you're trying to tell me.
I'm telling you to go to Oxford,
no matter what.
Because if you don't,
you'll break my heart.
- Where did you go?
- Cambridge.
Well, you're clever
and you're pretty.
So presumably,
Clever Miss Stubbs won.
And here you are
with your pony essays.
I don't know.
These last few months...
I've eaten in wonderful restaurants,
and went to jazz clubs,
...and watched wonderful films,
...heard beautiful music.
- Jenny, are you taking precautions?
- It's nothing to do with that.
Isn't it?
Maybe all our lives are going
to end up with pony essays.
Or housework.
And yes, maybe
we'll go up to Oxford.
But if we're all going to die
the moment we graduate,
...isn't it what we do
before that counts?
I'm sorry, you think I'm dead.
I don't think you're dead.
I just, uh...
I think, you'd better
get to your next class.
Well done, Jenny.
I've never won anything before.
Not even at the raffle.
...the sweetest looking
one of yours always comes last.
- Let's go.
- Can we do it again? I'm feeling lucky!
Come on, let's go.
I don't want to miss him.
- Pick up your 10 bob on your way out.
- I won 10 shillings!
Who is this man, anyway?
- Peter Rachman.
- A complete bastard.
Why do we've to see him here?
Because he's not a sort of chap
with an office.
Alright.
Ladies...
A bottle of your finest champagne, please.
There he is.
Come on, Jenny.
Tell them your good news.
Don't be bashful.
No. Be sneezy.
Jenny got two A's
and a B in her mock-A levels.
Like everyone else in this
sophisticated establishment.
- The B was in Latin.
- Well, seriously, congratulations.
Excuse us.
Don't worry too much.
About what?
Someone told me that in about 50 yrs
no one will speak Latin, probably.
Not even Latin people.
So don't worry about your B.
He's even more of a bastard,
than I thought.
You don't want him
to marry your sister.
Or want to talk to him in a club,
come to that.
You do know
what you're doing, old chap?
With Jenny?
- This is the one, Danny.
- Right.
You can see, she's different.
I just don't want to see her hurt.
Have you bought any more
paintings recently?
Have I?
Yes. Picked up a little Piper.
A good one, I think.
I'm still trying to work out
what makes good things good.
- It's hard, isn't it?
- Well, the thing is, Jenny...
...you know,
...without necessarily being
able to explain why.
See, you've taste.
That's not half the battle.
That's the whole war.
Jenny, we should go.
It's late.
- Really?
- Yeah.
Alas. One day, school will be
over forever,
...and we can talk about
art all night.
You're alright in a taxi,
aren't you?
- Yeah. I'm fine.
- Yeah?
Let's go.
Come on.
Good night.
Wait here.
David, what are you looking for?
It's just...
What are you doing?
Will you marry me?
What were you looking for?
I... I thought I had a ring.
It wouldn't have been the right one.
But it would have done for tonight.
Oh, David.
I'm serious.
You're very sweet.
What do you think?
- Take me home.
- Alright.
They do need some looking after,
...but nothing that will require
too much work.
Just leave them in your potting shed
for a couple of weeks,
...and they'll look after themselves.
Fine, the potting shed.
Who does he think I am?
Prince Rainier of Monaco?
What if I got married
instead of going to college?
- Married?
- Married.
Well, it would depend who it was,
of course.
Would it?
- That's interesting.
- Of course it would.
I wouldn't want you married off
just for the sake of it.
Thanks.
- Has somebody asked you?
- Yes.
Who?
David?
No. A man I just met
walking his dog.
- What did you tell him?
- Nothing yet.
Do you have a choice?
Or is it too late?
Of course, she's got a choice.
An interesting choice too, eh?
This is where
you're supposed to say,
"But what about Oxford?"
Well, looked at it another way,
...you wouldn't really need to go now,
would you?
I wouldn't need to go.
- Would you like to expand on that?
- You'd be looked after.
All that Latin!
All those essays!
What was the point?
Why didn't you just send me
prowling round nightclubs?
It would have been less trouble.
And I might have had more fun.
I don't know about nightclubs,
I know about education.
Anyway, looks like it might have
turned out for the best.
How?
He wouldn't want you
if you were thick, now, would he?
May not an ass know
when the cart draws the horse?
Sings whoop jug,
I love thee.
And when it says "Sings",
...it means, you sing the line.
Never mind. Right.
Leer?
Does any here know me?
This is not Lear.
Does Lear walk thus?
Speak thus?
Where are his eyes?
Waking? Who is it that can
tell me who I am?
Oh, Miss, me.
I can.
Oh, Jenny.
What?
Take it off.
Oh, my God!
Is that what I think it is?
I'm going to be a bridemaid!
You know the school rule on jewelry.
Half the girls in this room
are wearing jewelry.
Yes. But none of it is
going to ruin their lives.
We have a difference of opinion
about that.
How far advanced are these
ridiculous plans?
Have you set a date?
Have you decided on a church?
We won't be getting married
in a church.
David's Jewish.
Jewish?
He's a Jew?
You're aware, I take it,
that the Jews killed our Lord?
And you're aware, I suppose,
that our Lord was Jewish?
I suppose he told you that.
We're all very sorry about
what happened at during the War.
But that's absolutely no excuse
for that sort of...
...malicious and untruthful
propaganda.
Anyway, I can see, you're far more
in need of responsible advice...
...than I realised.
Nobody does anything
worth doing without a degree.
Nobody does anything
worth doing with a degree.
No woman, anyway.
So what I do isn't worth doing?
Or what Ms. Stubbs does,
or Mrs. Wilson, or any of us here?
Because none of us would be here
without our degree,
...you do realise that,
don't you?
And yes, of course studying is hard,
and boring...
- Boring!
- I'm sorry?
Studying is hard and boring.
Teaching is hard and boring.
So you're telling me to be bored,
and then bored,
...and finally bored again,
but this time for the rest of my life.
This whole stupid country is bored.
There's no life in it,
or colour, or fun.
It's probably just as well,
the Russians are gonna drop...
...a nuclear bomb on
us any day now. So...
...my choice is to do
something hard and boring,
...or to marry my Jew.
And go to Paris and Rome
and listen to jazz...
...and read and eat good food
in nice restaurants...
...and have fun.
It's not enough to educate us
any more, Ms. Walters.
You've got to tell us,
why you're doing it.
It doesn't have to be teaching,
you know?
There's the Civil Service.
I don't wish to be impertinent,
Ms. Walters.
But it is an argument
worth rehearsing.
You never know.
Someone else might want to know
the point of it all, one day.
Where did you find him?
I can't tell you that.
- Why?
- I think he likes you.
Do you like her?
"I thought you would like her. "
You... you don't?
What?
You don't remember?
It's Jenny!
You remember her from last time.
"No, I don't. "
Yes, you do!
You naughty!
You're pardoned?
Stick to your own species.
He wants to kiss you,
I think.
Isn't that naughty?
We are engaged.
No!
- Really?
- Yeah.
- Engaged?
- Show her.
Yes, look!
Gosh! That's fantastic news.
Thank you.
Congratulations.
I knew you'd see sense
about university.
You'll stay pretty now.
Can I still read?
Of course, but it doesn't
have to be books, does it?
And magazines will do just as well.
And you learn
more from them anyway.
Oh, Helen.
Oh, you won't be laughing, David,
...when she gets all speccy
and spotty.
Danny didn't seem very pleased
about our engagement.
I noticed that, too!
Thought he might be a bit jealous.
Jealous?
We're going to keep him
away from you.
I mean, what I'm supposed to order
for starter, anyway?
And how will I know what is a starter
and what isn't?
We've been through this, Dad.
It'll be quite clearly marked
on the menu.
Oh, can't the three of you
just go on your own?
Leave me here. I'll be perfectly
happy with a tin of salmon.
Hello.
- Hello.
Ready?
I think you'll like this place, Jack.
Their wine list is as good as
anything I've seen in London.
Yes, someone told me that.
David, probably.
Who else would it have been?
Madam.
I was hoping
you'd take us in this.
Hey, you won't want to drive in
anything else after tonight.
- Mind you, it drinks petrol.
- Yes.
I'm afraid we'll have to stop
on the way into town.
- I feel like Eamonn Andrews.
- Is that a good thing?
Eamonn Andrews is the poshest person
that Jack can imagine being.
How are you tonight, sir?
- Very well.
You might as well fill her up.
I'm gonna make a quick call.
I'll be two ticks.
Do you think I should offer to help,
pay for the petrol?
Would he feel insulted,
what do you think?
I know, he said tonight was his treat.
But, does that apply to the petrol,
what do you think?
I'm quite sure it does, Jack.
- Jack!
- Come on, it just came off.
- Filled my bill? Huh?
- Thank you, sir.
Take this.
Jenny! Jenny...
- Take us home.
- What's wrong?
I'm afraid there's been...
- Jenny's in bit of a shock.
- What's happened?
It's just another one of David's
little muddles and misunderstandings.
I don't want to hear another word
from anybody.
- Take us home. Now!
- Fine.
You can take care of this,
can't you, David?
Go inside, Dad.
Mr. and Mrs. David Goldman,
Mr. and Mrs. David Goldman,
Mr. and Mrs. David...
You're married!
Legally, yes, but I...
When were you going to tell me?
Soon.
It just never seemed
like the right time.
You seemed so happy,
and I was happy...
You were living with your wife!
All this time!
Around the corner!
Byron Avenue!
It's no wonder we kept bumping
into each other, is it?
- What number?
- Thrity four.
Don't be like this.
Come on.
I have nothing.
I didn't take my exams.
I do...
I left school.
Where's it all gone, now?
I can get a divorce.
Everything will turn out for the best.
Go and tell them.
Go and tell them,
then go and tell your wife.
They won't listen now.
Alright?
I'll come round tomorrow.
When...
...everyone's a bit calmer.
Please don't leave me...
Please don't leave me
to tell them on my own.
You owe me that much.
You owe them that much.
I owe them much more than that.
Two minutes. And then
I'll come out and drag you in.
What's going on?
He's helping himself to some
Dutch courage before facing you.
Stolen Dutch courage,
from the look of it.
He has something
he has to tell you.
He just drove off.
Can you tell us?
Jenny, please?
I wouldn't worry about it too much.
- When I found out...
- Not now, Helen.
I tried to tell him.
I'm not speaking to him now,
...if that's any consolation.
It's a funny world
you people live in.
You both watched me
carrying on with a married man,
...and you did't think
it's worth saying anything about.
If you want that conversation...
You watched David and I
help ourselves to a map,
...and you didn't say much either.
Come on, you.
Let's go.
Good boy.
Hello.
Hello.
Sorry, I think
I have the wrong number.
I was looking for my...
I wanted number for my cello lesson.
Oh, no.
Don't tell me.
Good God!
You're a child.
You didn't know about
any of this.
Presumably.
No. They never do.
You're not in the family way,
are you?
Because that's happened before.
Thank God for that.
No. No.
You stay here.
Did you see her?
- Yes, I saw her.
I didn't talk to her.
There wasn't any need.
We've to have this out.
Well, if you won't do it,
I will.
- I'm still your father.
- You're my father again, are you?
What were you when you encouraged
me to throw my life away?
Silly schoolgirls are always getting
seduced by glamorous older men.
What about you two?
Jenny?
Jenny?
Jenny, I'm sorry.
I know... I know I've made
a mess of everything.
All my life I've been scared,
I didn't want you to be scared.
That's why I wanted you
to go to Oxford.
And then along came David, and...
...he knew famous writers,
...he knew how to get to
classical music concerts.
But he wasn't
who he said he was.
He wasn't who you said
he was, either.
The other day, your mother
and I were listening to a...
...a program on the radio about
C.S. Lewis and they said...
...that he moved to Cambridge
in 1954.
I... I said...
well, they've got that wrong.
Our Jenny wouldn't have
his name in her book...
...if he'd moved to Cambridge.
There's a cup of tea
and some biscuits out here.
How do you think we can help?
I want to repeat my last year
at school.
And take my exams.
I got the impression
the last time we spoke...
...that you didn't see
the point of school.
Or of me,
or of any of us here.
I know. I was stupid.
The life I want...
there's no shortcut.
I know now that
I need to go to university.
It gives me absolutely
no pleasure whatsoever to see...
...our young schoolgirls
throwing their lives away.
Although, of course, you're not
one of our schoolgirls any more.
Through your own volition.
I suppose you think
I'm a ruined woman.
You're not a woman.
No, I'm afraid, I think that
the offer of a place at this school...
...would be wasted on you.
Come in.
I didn't expect to see you again.
This is lovely.
All your books and
pictures and...
Paperbacks and postcards, Jenny.
That's all you need, isn't it?
Just somewhere to...
I'm sorry
I said those silly things.
I didn't understand them.
Let's forget about it.
A Burne-Jones.
- Do you like him?
- I do.
Still.
Still?
You sound very old and wise.
I feel old.
But not very wise.
Ms. Stubbs, I need your help.
I was so hoping
that's what you were gonna say.
Thank you, Marjorie.
It's from Oxford.
It is my pleasure,
to inform you that...
...your application to read English
at Oxford has been accepted.
On behalf of the Faculty of Arts,
staff of the University...
So I went to read English books.
And did my best to avoid the speccy-spotty
fate that Helen had predicted for me.
I probably look as wide-eyed,
fresh and artless...
...as any other student.
But I wasn't.
One of the boys I went out with,
and they really were boys,
...once asked me to
go to Paris with him.
And I told him,
I'd love to.
I was dying to see Paris.
As if I'd never been!
Subtitle by silentFX