This film contains some strong
language & some scenes of a sexual nature.
LAUGHS
Ursula!
Ursula!
Ursula, come back 'ere!
Ursula!
Ursula!
Come back 'ere! It's dangerous!
LAUGHS
Ursula! Wait for me!
Who didn't come, then?!
Was it you, Miss Puddleduck?
Were you off for a swim?
No.
What is it, me lady?
I want that, Daddy.
Can't have it, it's not for catching
Want it!
It's too far off, lass. If you're a
good girl I'll make you one for tea.
They were naughty to fight. Losing
their feathers. They'll be sorry when it's cold.
I just saved this one from the river
Off you get.
Perhaps we'll have that gate fixed.
You left the door open!
What if I did?! The baker came
and the baby woke up.
Why do you niggle me?! I don't just
sit around designing lace hankies.
Soup again? You spoil me.
Oh, is our little blackbird tuning up?
Sing up, lad, and drown your mother out.
You put such pressure in my head.
Oh, get off!
# When the pie was opened
The birds began to sing
# Wasn't that a dainty dish... #
Still there, Daddy. Can't I have it?
You're a persistent little
madam. I'd not forgotten.
There you are. On you jump.
There we go. What about that, then?
Want a taste?
Uh-uh.
A little taste. Just a little one. No?
Uh.
Oh, I see. You want the real one.
Well, you can't have it, my lass.
"And again, I say unto you, it is easier
for a camel to pass through the eye of the needle...
..than for a rich man to enter
the kingdom of God."
The collection is for Mrs Hartley...
..widowed by the Grange Pit tragedy.
I know you will give generously.
On a happier note, there will
be a resumption of christenings.
Thanks to the restoration of the font
by our organist - Will Brangwen.
PLAYS ORGAN
He's like my dolly.
This church takes up too much time,
but it's a fine hand you've carved.
It's an ogre's hand.
It's the hand of God, Billy.
Assisting at the birth of Eve.
He's not a midwife!
It was my hand you used as a model.
That's not so, it's after Donatello's "Frances".
Perhaps that's how it started.
Oh, never!
For all you know, Donatello may have used his wife as a model.
Don't be ridiculous. The hand of God is a man's hand.
Like taking Eve out of Adam's body, when man is born of woman? The impudence of men!
Oh, Mother, don't fuss so!
I have said, Ursula, do not speak to me like that.
How could a great big camel pass through an eye of a needle?
With great difficulty, I'd think.
RUNNING FOOTSTEPS
It's locked. Open the door, Ursula.
She won't answer, she's dead.
Go away. I'm not dead. What do you want?
Mother says you have to come down to dinner.
There's a soldier downstairs with Uncle Henry.
DOOR HANDLE RATTLES
You're not fibbing, are you?! Cos I'll pull your hair out. Even if it is Sunday.
I always used to ask strangers to stay.
It was rather trying for my parents.
It's our Lazarus. And Billy said you were dead.
Might as well be sometimes.
LAUGHTER
I wanted some peace. I didn't realise you were coming.
Or she'd have had a sherry.
Likes a tipple, does she?
Give your Uncle Henry a kiss.
Drink the health of my friend - Lt Anton Skrebensky.
He's staying at the hall. His father was the parish priest.
Are you staying long?
This is my last day.
I have to report back tomorrow.
To what do you report?
I'm in the Engineers. And you? I suppose you're at school.
My last term. I'm taking my matriculation exams soon.
You'll be going out to work?
Don't put ideas in her head. My daughters don't need to work.
I'm considering my field of action.
There's stockings need mending. They could be your field of action.
What would you like to be?
I don't know. A teacher, perhaps.
I could never study. The brains of the Army are in the Engineers.
I joined to get the credit of other people's brains.
Brains don't matter.
What does matter, then?
Whether people have courage or not.
Courage for what?
For everything.
Like a soldier, you mean?
That's another field of action you wouldn't like.
She should join the Royal Engineers.
No need for courage to build a privvy.
Are you not lonely, being an orphan?
I have got a guardian. And Henry. And my aunts.
I'm really fond of them all. But my real home is the Army.
Do you like being on your own?
I think so.
I went to school early.
The outside world was more of a home to me than the vicarage.
This house used to be a vicarage.
Really?
Do you not feel like...
..like a bird, flown out of its own latitude?
CHUCKLES
I find things much as I like them.
You look very lazy.
I am lazy.
You look really floppy.
I am floppy.
Can't you stop?
I don't want to stop.
It looks like there isn't a bone in your body.
That's how I like to feel.
I don't admire your taste.
That's my misfortune.
Damn it! Why can't I rock?!
Men don't rock themselves.
Girls don't pull men's hair.
You've seen that they do.
My father used to rock me on the swingboats.
Would you like to go on one again?
Oh, I didn't mean...
When?
Now!
You arrange it with mother while I change.
Our families go a long way back.
My grandmother told me stories of her life in Poland.
She knew your father in Warsaw.
She married his friend, Dr Lensky, just before the uprising. They fought together.
Dr Lensky and Baron Skrebensky. Don't you find Polish names extremely musical?
They're a musical nation. And very patriotic. They make poor exiles.
They all die young, humming Chopin's "Funeral March".
You Lenskys seem to be an exception.
They say Granddad died with a stethoscope on.
He had connections with the medical profession and had a practice in Beldover. That's where Mum was born.
I've always thought it romantic to have Polish blood.
More than British? Is your father not romantic?
Of course, or he wouldn't have swept Mum off her feet.
They were married in that church. Shall we go in?
Oh, dear. I thought I'd escaped church parade today.
Come along.
Beg pardon, sir, didn't hear you.
This is dreadful.
Dreadful and wonderful.
Then let's stay a minute.
You loved flying high, didn't you?
Better than being earthbound. You'd think so if you lived in our house.
This reminds me of Ingram from my platoon.
Why's that?
He had a girl in Rochester. They'd make love in the cathedral.
How nice.
Ended badly. The verger caught them, got their names, made a row about it
What a shame. He shouldn't have objected.
He said it was a profanity.
No, I think it's right.
To make love in the house of God.
I promised your mother I'd have you home early, you've school tomorrow.
Come along, I'll buy you a lolly.
Push and glide! Push and glide!
Ethel, as the arms complete their stroke, bend the legs back.
Don't let your feet break water.
Push and glide! Heads steady. All right.
WHISTLE
WHISTLE
Come on, I'll race you.
I've won. But you've good form. What's your name?
Ursula, Miss Inger. Ursula Brangwen.
Right, Ursula Brangwen.
Class dismissed. No lingering in the cubicles - Class Three are due.
Do you think it's wicked to let a man kiss you - a man you've just met?
I should think. It depends.
Real kisses, I mean. Not just flirting. He's a soldier.
Where did he kiss you?
In church.
I see. And what time was it?
Erm. About a quarter to seven.
Oh, yes, I think it'd be very wrong.
What do you think of the new athletics mistress?
Not a lot. She was rough with me.
Ursula. Ursula.
I enjoyed our race, did you?
Erm, yes. Yes, I did.
Tell me, have you a bicycle?
No. Er, yes.
My sister does, we share it.
Would you like to come for a swim on Saturday? I've a cottage on the river, you could stay for tea.
Thank you. Yes, I'd like that.
Come along, Class Three. Come on, girls. Come along.
Into the water. You'll be swimming like dolphins in no time.
NO, YOU CAN'T! I NEED IT! LISTEN TO ME!
STOP, WILL YA?! I SAID NO!
Stop! Oh, I hate you.
Mmm! Such peace.
Be more comfortable with your boots off. Here.
How do you spend your weekends?
Helping Mother. Going to church.
Church is peaceful.
GIGGLES
Why do you laugh?
The last time it was anything but!
I was with a friend looking for seclusion.
Choir practice?
Restoration.
Do you think it's blasphemous to make love in church?
No. Merely uncomfortable.
Such narrow pews.
Or did you do it standing up in a confessional?
We were only kissing.
Oh, I thought you meant fucking. Who was he?
A soldier.
What's the matter?
My father was a soldier. Coarse brute.
Treated my mother little better than a whore.
How do you mean?
As a person in her own right my mother did not exist.
She was an instrument for his perverted sexuality.
Was there no love?
The best you'll ever get from a man is passion.
Even that can't last.
I think we're in for a storm - the milk's turned.
Perhaps I should be off.
Don't say that, not before our swim.
In the rush I forgot my costume. Besides, it looks like rain.
In the water what do raindrops matter?
Besides, it's best in the rain.
It's safe, the grounds are private.
We'll undress inside and run down. It's all right.
DISTANT THUNDER
BOTH LAUGH
Come on.
You're tickling me!
Relax! You're in the hands of a qualified osteopath.
That's lovely.
I think you better go soon, it's getting late.
Can I not stay with you?
Your parents wouldn't approve.
When will we see each other again?
Monday, silly.
Swimming class.
I meant like this.
I was thinking of taking a school party to the Lakes next weekend. Want to come?
I'm not that fond of hiking.
I wouldn't bother, then.
I meant a party of one.
I love hiking!
Your mother'll think you've been kidnapped. Come along.
You heard me. I need it to get the groceries.
I had to carry them home. What have you got to say?
Damn the groceries! I'm sick of being told what to do.
- ALL:
- # We're bading in the sea, Mother
# We're bading in the sea, Mother... #
And I am standing here with your nightshirt.
# We're bading in the sea, Mother... #
Come on, Rupert, get up now.
Will somebody love me, Mother?
We say "bathing", not bading. We all love you.
But will somebody love me ?
Some man will love you, because that's your nature.
I hope he loves you for what you are, not what he wants of you.
What did you want for yourself?
What I've got.
Billy, where is your nightshirt?
I don't know.
Then look for it!
Marie pulled my hair.
Oh, you two, get along.
We have a right to what we want.
Now then! What you up to?
Nothing.
Yes you are, you wicked lad. Up you get, plenty of room.
Why aren't they in bed?!
The children must live.
But I must live, too.
We all live together, lass.
My teacher's taking a party to the Lakes next weekend.
You're Uncle Henry's invited us to the hall on Saturday.
Anton'll be there.
I think not. I really must go with my school.
Your mother's right.
Men have fixed ideas of what a woman should be.
Any woman who fits their definition, they say they love her.
They're only in love with themselves.
Like a serpent who swallows his tail when he's hungry.
But women - they have fixed ideas, too.
Can you see it? Can you make out what it is?
No.
Can't you?
Up there, on the summit. The lion lays down with the lamb.
Can you see it now?
Yes! It's good, isn't it?
Can we get up there?
Let's have a drink before we tackle it.
Wave to the ladies.
Hello!
How I love lions.
God is like a lion to me.
Not like those silly toy lambs in church.
Lambs or lions.
Buddha or Apollo. Christ or Zeus.
They're only symbols of man's instinctual desires - illusions.
Who do you worship?
I worship this.
GROWLS: I would like to be proud and strong like a lion.
Not weak like a lamb, who only exists to be loved and sacrificed.
To love and be loved are equally important.
When the lion lays down with the lamb in you, you'll know peace.
EXPLOSION
We're workin' the mine! Be off with you!
Didn't you read the sign, woman!
You are a monster. How dare you come here with your filthy mind?
EXPLOSION
Come on, Ursula!
Man is terrible. The works of man are more terrible still.
The mines are the most terrible of his works.
My Uncle Henry owns several of the Grange pits.
Really? Remember the painting at the cottage? It's Mack.
I sometimes model for the old rascal.
Mack!
We saw it so clearly from below. Where is it?
Where d'ya think? Use your eyes.
If you're looking for a public convenience it's behind a rock.
I'm looking for the lion and the lamb
It's behind you, silly.
It's an illusion - the lion laying down with the lamb.
You're the third person today to say that. Must be true.
Distance lends enchantment. This is Ursula, one of our favourite sorts.
Is she now?
Do you always meet casually on mountains?
More often in the studio. Do you think she'd pose for me, Fred?
Would you like to, Ursula?
I don't know, I'm a bit of a fidget. When?
There'll be some pocket money in it for you. How's next Saturday?
I'll come along, if you like.
No, it's all right.
I'm not a child.
I shall call it, "Experience Rewarding Innocence".
I generally choose titles with cynicism, but this is an exception.
I'd almost given up hope of finding purity in a girl your age.
Would you like me to smile?
It's not your face I'm painting at the moment.
You're a good girl, Ursula, are you not?
My parents don't always think so.
Parents seldom do.
Do they smack your bottom?
Not any more.
Domestic bliss is a pleasure I've been denied.
I'm childless and wifeless.
I have to rely on others for my creature comforts.
Free spirits, untamed by convention.
Jolly good sports, like Fred.
I feel you are such a kindred spirit, Ursula.
You have the power to make me the happiest of men.
At first the idea of my chastising you may seem abhorrent.
That is merely through association.
When you see the delight it affords me...
..you'll see it, not as a violation, but an act of love.
I'll awaken in you a world of sensuality.
You'll not find my gratitude ungenerous.
The pain is nothing, passes in a moment. And the marks soon fade.
But should I draw blood you'll feel the salt of my tears in your wounds.
I believe you mentioned a fee.
Get out!
How dare you lead me on, you money-grabbing bitch?!
You disgusting little trollop!
Get out!
Ha!
Halt!
Quite commendable. You have the skill, but you lack the desire to win.
Yes, miss. Thank you.
And desire, girls, is the source of all truth and good.
Class dismissed.
There'll be no instruction next week owing to exams, so good luck.
- ALL:
- Thank you, miss.
So, you got picked on today.
Ursula, I'm sorry about Mack. I should have thought it through.
It was...
An act of love, perhaps.
In a way.
There are things one should understand about life, even artists.
It's best to be prepared.
Who prepared me for that?
Experience is the best teacher.
I was half expecting you last weekend.
I was studying.
What are you doing in the holidays?
Uncle Henry's invited me to Grange Hall. I said I'd bring you.
You will come, won't you?
HORN
Out the way!
Nearly late for his own funeral.
Has there been a death in the family?
No, miss, it were only a miner.
A miner?
He leaves a wife and two bairns.
Was it an accident?
Consumption.
It gets them sooner or later. He died gradually - fretful.
My father went the same. It's a relief when it's over.
Gruesome.
And the widow?
She'll be getting married again directly.
Her two sisters have just changed husbands.
Is Uncle Henry going to the funeral?
No, miss, but he'll send biggest wreath.
Ah! There you are!
About time, too. You missed Anton, I'm afraid. He was disappointed.
Never mind. I'm pleased your friend could manage it.
Hello.
I'm Henry Brangwen.
Hello.
Welcome to Grange Hall.
Thank you.
I'm so glad that...
I'm sorry. You're upset?
No.
She saw your wreath and burst into tears at the thought of that miner.
I did no such thing, I've a smut in my eye.
From one of your filthy pit chimneys.
Let me see. Williams should have had the top down, he's bone idle.
Just look up.
There!
Souvenir.
Why are the men so sad?
Are they?
They seem unutterably sad.
I wouldn't go as far as that.
They just take it all for granted. They accept their lot.
Why don't they alter it?
They alter themselves to fit the pits...
..rather than alter the pits to fit themselves.
It's easier.
You, of all people, agree...
..that human beings should adapt themselves to all kinds of horrors?!
We could easily do without the pits.
Until the wood ran out.
Perhaps their lives aren't so bad.
They are pretty bad. The pits are deep and hot, and in some places wet.
But they're paid good wages. They're sold to the pit.
And the women?
What do they get?
They get what's left.
BIRDSONG
How delightful to hear birds singing at night.
COUGHS
You will excuse me.
Good night!
Oh dear! What have I done now?
It's the canaries I breed for the pits.
The men take them down when they go to work.
How lovely.
When they stop singing, there's gas. One whiff and they're dead. The men have a minute.
Oh.
Ursula doesn't approve. They've saved many lives.
I get the impression that Ursula doesn't approve of you at all.
She loathes the fact that my pits support her family.
Perhaps I should go to her.
As you wish. I was about to retire myself.
Must be tiring working the pit.
The pits work themselves. It's my ankle - a strained tendon.
My doctor prescribes mustard baths.
Very anti-social.
I've heard of them prescribed for rheumatism, but not strains.
Really?
I'm a qualified osteopath.
Are you, now?
Would you like me to look at it?
Where?
Anywhere.
Here, if you like.
I don't know, they...
Are your servants.
They are rather limiting types.
Should they see my foot in your hand, they may...
May think I had a fetish.
Aye, they might.
It feels so strange - as if a kitten had swallowed a snake.
Give him to Jacobs before he has one of your fingers.
What's the object of this caper?
Tell her, Jacobs.
Aye, sir. To save our prize lettuce from the rabbits.
They make such lovely pets - lettuce.
Ursula, do grow up.
Well, there's another prize lettuce - saved.
Right. You shall have it for lunch.
I can see how this game amuses you.
It's like your pit, this warren. Your men haven't got a hope.
They certainly breed like them.
Catch them in a net, or they perish in the dark.
Either way they're doomed.
Ursula lacks the courage of her convictions.
LAUGHS
Do you want to help me?
Yes, Daddy.
Help plant some taties if you like.
See these?
Hmm.
These are the sprouts. They have to stand straight.
We've to put them so far apart, do you see?
You stay here, I'll go down there and we'll meet in the middle.
What are you doing?! You're tramping on them!
That's like you - following your stupid nose.
Ursula, dearest, what have I done?
Nothing.
Is it because of your Uncle Henry and me?
No... I'm glad.
He's invited me to stay on after you've gone.
But if you'd rather you and I went off somewhere...
No, I have to go home. I'm expecting my examination results.
You've nothing to worry about there.
You are fond of him, aren't you?
I've been fond of him ever since I was a child.
He's a man by himself. He has something apart from the rest.
Yes, I thought you'd get on.
I know you did.
"Love seeketh not itself to please."
But... Henry!
Why not Henry?
I'd like to destroy his colliery.
And put everyone out of work?
I'd rather they starve and grub the earth for roots.
And what about us poor women? Huh?
Yes, I'll stay.
It'll be best.
Now, tell me you love me.
SIGHS: Yes.
DAD!
DAD!
Dad, guess what!
Has Billy had too much birthday cake and disgraced himself?
Oh, Dad, please!
Does he like his tent?
Can't get him out of it. Dad, I passed my exams!
Hey! Well done, lass.
It came second post with a letter from my headmistress about a job.
A job?
Can't I go out to work?
Whatever for? You've enough to do helping your mother.
But I want some other kind of life!
What on earth do you mean by that?
- We'll discuss it after us tea.
- IMITATES FANFARE
# Happy birthday to you
# Happy birthday, dear Billy, Happy birthday... #
COMMOTION
CHILD CRIES
Here, come here!
What's the matter? Billy, what have you done to Rupert?
Mother, do something with him.
Come here, let me show you...
Your turn next, Ursula. What would you like?
Get her a bicycle, Dad, please.
To be free to earn my own keep. That's what I'd like best.
How will you do that?
I can become a teacher. I'm qualified by my matric.
Aye.
How much are you qualified to earn by your matric?
50 a year. It's not much, but it's enough to live on.
What kind of teacher will you make?
You've no patience with your own brothers and sisters.
Some people don't think so.
Oh?
My headmistress, for one.
"I deeply sympathise with your desire to do something."
"I shall be proud to see you win economic independence."
"It provides freedom of choice."
You did it behind our backs!
What do you mean?
School-leavers always have an interview with the headmistress.
"I see no reason why you shouldn't make a good teacher."
"After a year as an uncertified instructor, you could take a degree."
"That would give you the self-respect nothing else can."
She even sent an application form.
What's this about Kingston?
It's her old school. They've a vacancy. I can apply for an interview and have you sign it.
There's no way you're dancing off to London.
It's a good place to go.
How do you know?!
It's on the Thames, it's lovely.
You said, Mother, we have a right to what we want.
It's up to your father.
Why not get a post near here?
Something in town.
That slum!
I'd rather go right away. I'm fed up with housework.
Indeed?! You have too much opinion of yourself.
There's a place for me and I want to go.
You're not going.
Why not?!
That's why not!
London's full of troops off to South Africa - no place for a girl.
We'll see the local authorities about a place here.
You can put me off, but one day I'll get a place and I won't stop at home.
NOBODY WANTS YOU TO STOP AT HOME!
# Il etait une bergere Et ron et ron petit patapon #
# Il etait une bergere Qui gardait ses moutons Qui gardait ses moutons... #
KNOCKING
Come in.
Isn't it a nasty morning?
Yes, not much of weather.
Am I early?
Twenty-five past - you're second to come. I'm first this morning.
Must you do so many?
COUGHS
Fifty-six.
But they're not all for your class.
Why aren't they?
It's too many.
- CHUCKLES:
- You've got about the same.
FOOTSTEPS
That'll be Miss Hardy, Headmaster's assistant.
Oh! You are early.
I'll warrant you don't keep that up.
That...is Mr Harvey's peg.
This...is yours.
Aren't you taking your hat off?
Standard Five teacher always has that one.
Isn't it a beastly morning?
POKES FIRE VIOLENTLY
Beastly!
If there's one thing I hate it's a wet Monday morning...
..kids trailing in anyhow.
This...belongs over there.
You've brought your apron, haven't you?
You've no idea what a sight you'll look before half past four.
Jim Richards! What are you doing, peering in? Come here!
I want you to go and askmyma for a pinny for Miss Brangwen.
Yes, miss.
What are you going for? And what shall you say to my ma?
School pinny, miss.
"Please, Mrs Harby, Miss Harby says to send down another pinafore for Miss Brangwen...
..because she's come without one."
Yes, miss.
What are you going to say?!
Miss Harby wants a pinny for Miss Brangwin.
Miss BrangWEN. Be quick about it.
He's a caution, that boy - but not bad. Follow me!
Here we are. Standards Three, Four, Five and Six.
This is your place - Standard Five.
- TUTS:
- Mr Harvey will be teaching through there.
He'll be keeping an eye on you.
If you can find your way back to the teachers' room he'll be there.
You had a wet walk.
I don't mind. I'm used to it.
You will sign your name here.
And the time when you come and go.
CHILDREN PLAY OUTSIDE
Miss Brangwen, there are some exercise books on the top shelf.
Get them, would you ?
I'm so sorry.
CLEARS THROAT
I'd let them in now.
Miss Brangwen, you will go to the lobby with Mr Brunt.
Door!
Sharp! Sharp!
Wake up! Wake up!
QUIET DOWN! QUIET!
In line!
WHAT DID I SAY?! QUIET!
Leaders in place! Standards Four, Five and Six...
..FALL IN!
PIANO PLAYS MARCHING TUNE
Class Five, quick march.
HALT!
Who told Standard Five to come in first like this?
I am responsible, Mr Harby.
This is Miss Brangwen, replacement teacher for Standard Five.
For her benefit we'll start again.
CRACKS KNUCKLES
PIANO
Describe the modern factory and the assembly of a given product.
I will expect you...
We will start with a composition.
Write me a short essay on...
..the rabbit.
ALL GROAN
Miss, I got the pinny.
Thank you. Timmy, isn't it?
No, miss, it's Jim.
I'm sorry. Thank you.
ROARS OF LAUGHTER
WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS?!
Yes, Richards?
Sir, Miss forgot her pinny, and Miss Harby sent me for one of hers.
I put it in my satchel so it wouldn't get rained on...
..and there were chalk in it. I forgot, sir.
Spell the word "pinafore".
P-I-N-A-F-O-U-R
CHILDREN LAUGH
You will write "pinafore" 100 times on the blackboard after school.
Miss Brangwen will supervise you. This time she will supply the chalk.
LAUGHTER
Silence. Resume your studies.
I will examine your efforts in the morning.
Isn't it done?
Not yet.
I didn't know we had a stove. Must be jolly bringing lunch.
On the other hand, if one lived here it would be jollier to go home.
Miss Brangwen, if I were you I'd get a tighter hand on my class.
Would you? Aren't I strict enough?
They'll get you down if you don't tackle them.
They'll pull you down till Harby has you shifted.
You won't last a month if you don't tackle them.
But I...
He's got his eye on you.
Get in his bad books and you'll be out.
Not that it matters to me, except I might have to cope with your class.
Will it be so terrible?
I don't know about terrible.
I do feel frightened. The children seem so...
So...what?
Mr Brunt says I must tackle my class.
You have to keep order to teach.
If you want to survive.
If you can't do that, what good are you?
You'll have to do it by yourself.
Indeed.
Some people can't be helped.
Do you think there will be a war?
More like a bloody massacre in your case.
When you say "Their fur is brown", how do you spell "their"?
Please, miss - T-H-E-I-R!
Richards. Stand up.
Who told you to call out?
I was answering, sir.
Go to my desk.
Pens down.
Fold arms.
What is the subject of your composition?
I wouldn't advise you to call out.
Well, Alice?
The rabbit, sir.
Not very difficult for Standard Five. Or very original.
Don't nibble your lip. You've written about rabbits so often you're turning into one.
BEATS BOY SIX TIMES
That'll do, Richards, you can go.
But the master said 100 times.
I know, but you may go home now.
I said go home.
OW!
I cut my finger on a nail.
Where was that?
Erm...on my desk.
Show me, I'll take care of it.
Yes, thank you, I will tomorrow.
That Richards, Miss Brangwen, you've made a rod for your own back.
You're very young and inexperienced.
Hardly out of school yourself.
I could be very useful to you, Miss Brangwen.
I could make it easier for you.
So much easier. If only you'd...
I could swallow you whole.
You see, Miss Brangwen, only my cane rules this school.
SOBS
Hello, lass! How did it go?
Fine, Dad. It was a bit strange at first.
Bound to be. Hey, you just missed your Uncle Henry.
Oh?
Dropped in with a lady.
Oh?
Your old teacher.
Miss Inger?
Aye. Seems they're getting married.
And guess what.
They want you to be chief bridesmaid.
LAUGHS
TAPPING ON GLASS
Relations, neighbours, friends, lift up your glasses and drink to the hearth and the home.
The hearth, the home, and may they enjoy them.
- ALL:
- The hearth, the home!
Night and day and may they enjoy it.
- ALL:
- Night and day!
Hammer and tongs, and may they enjoy them.
Hammer and tongs!
Bed and blessings, and may they enjoy them.
- LAUGHS:
- Bed and blessings!
Marriage... Marriage...
CHATTER CONTINUES
Marriage is...
HUSH DESCENDS
It's what we're made for.
A man enjoys being a man.
For what purpose was he made a man if not to enjoy it?
And likewise a woman enjoys being a woman.
Least in my eyes she does.
Now, for a man to be a man it takes a woman...
..and for a woman to be a woman it takes a man.
And therefore we have marriage.
Don't run us off our legs.
There is no marriage in heaven, but on earth there is.
If there are no marriages in heaven, where do the angels come from?
LAUGHTER
Angels... If there's got to be angels...
There's got to be, hasn't there?
If there's got to be angels, and there are no men or women amongst them...
..it seems to me as a married couple makes one angel.
It's the drink!
Go on.
An angel has got to be more than a human being.
So I say an angel is the soul of a man and a woman in one.
And, and, and...!
No, wait! They rise up, united in the Judgement Day, as one angel.
Aye!
I had an angel up my nose once.
LAUGHTER
My mother said, "Why are you poking about up there?"
I said, "I've got an angel up my nose." She gave me such a swipe.
We called dandelion seeds "angels" and I'd stuffed one up my nose.
If I become an angel, it'll be my married soul, not my single soul.
So I say...an angel is the soul of a man and a woman...
..in one.
How lovely.
Praise the Lord.
ALL: Praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord!
BRASS BAND
Isn't it nice to have a wedding?
You have confetti in your hair.
I hear you're teaching.
Yes. I thought you might have gone off to war.
I embark at Southampton on Friday.
Do you want to go?
I want to go, yes.
Ladies and gentlemen, take your partners for the Lancers, please.
# JOLLY MUSIC #
Why do you want to go to war?
To do something genuine. It's a toy life, as it is.
What'll you be doing?
Making railways, building bridges, working like a slave.
But they'll be pulled down when the Army's done with them.
It's like a game.
Not to those taking part.
It's about the most serious business there is, fighting.
Why is fighting more serious than teaching, for instance?
You kill or get killed. It's serious enough, killing.
When you're dead you don't matter.
But it matters whether we settle the Boers.
Not to you or me. Do you want to live in Africa?
No, but we have to do this or it's the end of the nation.
But we aren't the nation. Heaps of others are.
Everybody could say that.
If everybody said it, there'd be no nation, but I should be myself.
You'd be at the mercy of every robber that came along.
They wouldn't get much.
I'd rather be swept off my feet by a robber than a soldier.
Only because you can't imagine me out of uniform.
Will this do?
Now may I steal your heart?
It's not my heart you want but my soul.
Kiss me.
Kiss me, Anton! Kiss me! Kiss me!
MUSIC & CHATTER
They see war as a game, anyway.
Bang!
Arghhhh!
Anton?
What?
Come back to me.
Yes.
You will come back to me?
I will come back.
I'm going to dance with Anton.
May I take the soldier?
Ursula's looking a bit upset.
Oh?
Ask her to dance.
Go and ask her. Go and ask her now.
As father of the chief bridesmaid, may I have the pleasure?
Such a condition in a class.
I don't believe it. Simply disgraceful.
I can't think how you've been allowed to get like it.
Every Monday I shall examine these books...
..so don't think you can unlearn everything you've learned...
..and go back to Standard Three.
Why are you writing in pencil?
There aren't enough pens to go round.
Not enough pens, Miss Brangwen?
No. We are five short.
Oh. And how is that?
How many are here today?
Twenty-four.
How many pens are there? Staples?
Please, sir, 19.
That's very curious. A few days ago there were 24 pens.
Now there are 19. What's 19 from 24, Richards?
Please, sir?
I'm waiting, Richards.
Eleven, sir.
I would advise you to attend. 19 from 24 is 5, so there are five pens to account for.
Have you looked for them, Staples?
Yes, sir.
Am I to have thieving, besides your dirt, bad work and bad behaviour?
Not content with being the worst class in the school, you are thieves as well.
Pens do not melt into the air, or mizzle away into nothing.
They must be somewhere and they must be found by Standard Five.
They were lost by Standard Five and they must be found!
WHISTLE
No recreation until all pens are found.
Miss Brangwen will organise the search.
To start with, you will turn out your desks completely.
Not just your books, but conkers, string, sweets, everything.
Be quiet, Wesley. What is it?
Please, miss, Richards hit me.
Come in front, Richards.
I said come in front!
I SHAN'T!
Ah! Get off!
STAND STILL!
Fold your arms!
LAUGHTER
Get off me, you bitch!
OW!
OW!
Get off!
WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?!
I've thrashed him.
Get up! Go and stand by my desk!
If you settle Benson and Staples the same way, you'll be all right.
Put your things away tidily!
Sharp! Sharp!
I said... put your things away tidily!
There will be no more time wasted looking for lost pens.
New pens will be issued first thing Monday morning.
Carry on!
What's he say?
You know perfectly well.
Since it's all about the weather, it must be in code.
There's a tatie pot in the oven for you.
Thanks, Mother.
Dad in church?
As usual.
Aren't you hungry?
Pay day!
You've been there a month already?
This is my board.
Fifty shillings.
Aye.
Come and get your dinner. Billy, bedtime.
That was the happiest day of her life.
A souvenir from the class bouquet?
A memento of her time at that prison.
I thought she enjoyed the challenge.
Nobody likes school.
You don't like your art school?
That's different.
Here's us at Scarborough in the holidays.
A few sunny days on parole.
Dad and I ran the handicrafts school.
Ursula spent her time at the harbour with the sailors.
No souvenirs of them?
Not here. There's plenty of you, though.
I've often wondered about this one. Who are those wretched folk?
The Boers. The enemy.
But they're civilians. And that woman - were you fighting women?
She had six notches in her rifle.
Why?
Six notches - six lives.
Carlisle College with the suffragettes - and the teachers.
Another prison?
This is beautiful.
A cross section of human hair. Such delicate abstraction.
I prefer the coarse reality.
Gudrun!
Anton was just admiring...your hair.
She was only being polite.
We were waiting for you.
Yes. Exams started late.
How did you do?
Not very well. You shouldn't have encouraged her.
No. But I was all agog.
You've been very busy these last two years, haven't you?
Yes. So have you, I gather.
Yes.
I'm very happy to see you.
Thank you.
Is there anything you'd like to do?
Is there anything we can do?
There's nothing to do here.
Then let's walk.
By the river?
I was quite flattered by the space allocated to me in your scrapbook.
Soldiering is more important than teaching.
I'd hoped you'd forgotten that.
The number of times I've regretted that last evening.
It could have ended there and then.
No, you were right. I enjoyed that awful school because I had such high hopes for college.
I saw it as a kind of religious retreat, a temple dedicated to truth and learning.
In reality, it's just a factory where you learn to make money.
In the Army, we earn glory.
I read the casualty lists every week. It was horrible.
I knew I'd come back.
I went back to our church once. Everything was clean and orderly.
Seemed like a dream.
It's getting dark.
Shall I hold your hand?
I'm not afraid of the dark in England - it's soft and natural.
It's my medium. Especially when you are here.
The darkness, were you afraid of it in Africa?
Yes. The darkness there is filled with fear, like the smell of blood.
The blacks know it. They worship it.
The darkness. One almost likes it. The fear -...
..something sensual.
Did you think of me in the darkness?
You were at the back of everything.
I had to come back to you.
This is lovely.
The last time I was here it was under false pretences, too.
Another lover?
Yes!
Aren't I the first?
First and last. No, it was Winifred.
Really?
She was my first great passion.
I'm sure she said above the front door. Here we are.
Welcome.
I'm glad you're not always naked or all the women'd fall in love with you
They do, regularly. I'm considered quite a catch.
Oh! Not a fish out of water, I hope, flapping about on the ground.
Oh, no, there's my colonel's daughter, for instance.
SNIFFS
Scent?
Soap.
Soap!
GIGGLES
Would you rather live in India or England when we're married?
India, by far. Nice of you to ask.
It was decided long ago, wasn't it? When I first kissed you.
You'll like India. There's a good social life, hunting, polo.
I'll teach you to ride.
Plenty of servants...who'll cook, bathe babies, keep you cool.
I'll teach little Hindus to write essays on the rabbit!
You wouldn't have to teach, you wouldn't have to do anything.
But I do want to teach, and I don't want to be with other people.
I want to be like this. Isn't this enough?
It's enough for now.
Then let's have no more talk of marriage.
Which means that I'm to get supper tomorrow?
I'll keep you to that!
BLOWS HORN
Strawberries! Strawberries! Fresh ripe strawberries!
Shush, you'll wake them.
All this hollering and pounding.
I expected them up at this hour.
Woman, you have a fickle memory.
Strawberries! Fresh ripe strawberries!
What a bore!
She's supposed to be chaperoning us. We're supposed to be her guests.
Were you expecting her?
Didn't I say?
Lt Skrebensky, your staff sergeant here.
Ursula! Anton! I wonder where they are.
Maybe they've gone out.
Don't be stupid, woman.
BABY CRIES
Good morning, grocer. Kindly leave them on the doorstep and go away!
Why have you got your bloomers round your neck?
Anton's wearing my nightie!
But do you love him?
It isn't a question of love. I love him well enough.
More than anyone else.
And I shall never love anyone else the same again.
What does it mean, love? It doesn't lead anywhere.
It isn't supposed to lead anywhere. It's an end in itself.
Then I could love a hundred men one after the other.
Why should I end as Mrs Skrebensky, social wife?
Why not love all the types I fancy, as Ursula Brangwen, spinster, school mistress?
Then you don't love him.
I tell you, I do. Quite as much, and perhaps more, than any of the others.
But there are things that aren't in Anton that I'd love in other men.
Like what?
An understanding, a directness. A man who could let go - reckless and passionate.
What is this fantastic fulfilment you're hankering after?
Is it just other men? Hmm?
If it is, you'd better marry Anton.
The other thing can only end badly.
So I'm to marry out of fear of myself?
We're ready for you!
Time for mixed doubles.
I can see you on an elephant - amongst adoring natives.
I shall be glad to leave England, it's so unspiritual.
Leave the home of democracy?
Democracy... is only for the degenerate races.
Why is democracy unspiritual?
Because only the ugly and the greedy succeed.
The people elect the government.
But what are the people? Each of them has a money interest, and they choose those who have money.
They rule in the name of money.
To me democracy means equality.
The equality of the wage packet is a democracy of dirt.
Then you should give away your worldly goods.
Or join us filthy aristocrats!
Up onto the pedestal!
Revolutionaries and aristocrats don't mix.
But she is an aristocrat - of the spirit.
YES!
Stay just as long as you like.
As long as you don't want to play croquet at the hall!
Bye!
Marriage agrees with them.
Meaning they agree with each other.
It's a little odd, though.
Odd?
Something unnatural about Winifred.
Yes, she has two left feet.
I meant her tendencies.
She should be in a freak show(!)
Your relationship isn't healthy. Just as well we're going to India.
You say the Indians aren't healthy.
We'll improve health standards.
I meant you might find them freakish.
Ursula, you must come with me for your own good.
You'll govern the Indians for their own good with your dead judgements.
If they have to bow down to you, I do not. You're so self-righteous!
Aren't you righteous, in your own mind?
Yes! But at least I am something. There's nobody there where you are.
Are you anybody, with your old dead things?
I didn't mean to hurt you.
Yes, you did.
The words came out without my knowing.
They didn't mean anything really.
You're a romantic, up on some hill...
..so you'll always be looking down, always disappointed.
Why must I climb that hill, Anton? Why not stay below?
Why force one's way up, step after step, for a moment of exhilaration at the top...
..only to plunge into a dark valley?
When shall we be married?
I don't know!
Don't you want to be married?
I don't think I do!
You mean never, or not yet?
I mean never.
He may take you back. You'll have to wait for his reply to your letter.
I was full of apologies for my perverse, selfish behaviour.
The child will make a difference.
That's what decided me.
I must go to him, because it's his child and because...
..he once loved me.
Is that the only reason?
Croquet!
I thought about my mother, too.
If it was enough for her to have her man and children, why not for me?
Why do I punish those who love me? I should be grateful for them.
Do your parents know?
I couldn't tell them so soon after failing my degree.
What if Anton says no?
I'll live at home with the child and go back to teaching.
You haven't even seen a midwife.
What if Anton says yes, you go to India and you find you're not with child?
You'll come straight back, that's what you'll do.
A child binds you to a man as securely as if you were handcuffed.
Aren't you and Henry...?
Very good companions.
But remember, you will always be welcome here.
GONG
Tea.
I won't stop.
Henry'll be back soon.
It's getting late. I'll get my things.
WHINNIES
WHINNYING
HOOVES THUNDER
LAUGHTER
- ..SEVERAL VOICES:
- # ..Gently down the stream
# Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily, life is but a dream
# Row, row, row your boat Gently down the stream... #
SINGING CONTINUES
SCREAM
Your mother said to let you lie in, but I had to see you were all right.
Thanks, Dad.
We wondered where you'd got to.
No bike or anything.
Me and your mother were worried.
And er...then we saw the telegram had gone.
Yes, I saw you'd opened it.
The boy asked if there was a reply. Naturally your mother thought...
No marriage, no bike, no wonder you were worried.
The bike's in a ditch. Is that where you expected to find me?
I can see there's nothing much wrong with you.
You were quite feverish earlier.
I caught a chill.
I heard the party. Didn't want to be a wet blanket.
Don't be so silly.
Your mother took the children out. Anything I can get you?
No thanks, Dad. I think I'll lie in for a while.
Thanks for the tea.
Aye.
Goodbye, lass.
Bye, Dad.
Don't work too hard.
I'm er... I'm in town today. Thought I'd drop in your old school.
Whatever for?
Well, now that you're...
Now that you're...
Now that I'm an old maid?
Let me finish.
Now you're not off to the other side of the world...
Or even the other side of London.
I was just going to say that... this has always been, and always will be, your home.
Hey, look, there's a rainbow.