I wish I'd written down the date I began watching all of Call The Midwife on Netflix. It has been a few weeks now. I've put aside The Great British Baking Show (still known to most as GBBO!) and Gardeners' World. It has been a supreme joy to see the episodes one after another. I have filled many post-it notes with quotes.
This is from episode 8 of series 9, spoken by Vanessa Redgrave at the start of the show.
"When autumn starts to dampen into winter, should we say, 'the nights are getting dark'? Should we thrust our hands into our pockets and anticipate the chill? Or should we say, 'light the fire, draw close, it will not be as cold as you imagine'?"
And at the end of the episode.
"The seasons will always turn, the clouds will gather and the cold will come. We will survive them. We will grow regardless of the weather. We will know wonder where there has been despair. There will be happiness, and we will remember it. There will be friendships which we won't forget. Love is the constant whereby we endure all winters and all storms. It is the climate in which all things can thrive. Welcome the darkness. Embrace it as a canopy from which the stars can hang. For there are always stars when we are where we ought to be, amongst the faces we love best, each with our place, each with our purpose, as fixed and familiar as the constellations. The darkness is beautiful, for how else can we shine."
Thanks for that! You have made me want to watch the series!
ReplyDeleteIf you are interested, you could type call the midwife in my search bar and more quotes will come up. It is an amazing show. I am quite sure that it is the best television show I've ever seen.
DeleteI would have liked to have listened to her voice as she said this. It's not easy to embrace the darkness, experience is the only teacher and not always in a gentle way. It has proven true so many times.
ReplyDeleteI used to watch the series, from the first on public television on Sunday nights, but got distracted to something else, not sure what. Alas, I recently ended my Netflix subscription and am focusing on Acorn and BritBox.
I love the lines, "draw close, it will not be as cold as you imagine."
I have watched in via so many stations, and DVD over the years. There is something so special for me in watching the shows one right after the other.
DeleteYour first paragraph is so very true.
I quit Netflix a while back, and then something prompted me to re-subscribe, and we have watched nothing but N. for weeks and weeks now! I was amazed at how many wonderful programs they have.
Totally agree that it's one of the best series ever. It is much better than Downton Abbey which I also love. The depth of feeling, the topics covered, the acting, and humanity of Call the Midwife is extraordinary.
ReplyDeleteOn a different note, have you watch The Indian Doctor? It's wonderful!
Mary
Yes!! Loved it!!
DeleteThere are some good programs on there if you look carefully. We just watched Anne with an E and found it to be interesting. Maybe we'll give Midwife a try!
DeleteThis one has been on since 2011, and I just love it.
DeleteQuotations to ponder.
ReplyDeleteI've just finished--at a rapid pace--the series by Janice Holt Giles which follows a fictional family through the settling of Kentucky on through the great westward migration. So many 'real' people are the backbone of her stories that I do a lot of googling to learn more. I read some of her books years ago; having since traveled through so many places mentioned and visited her home, now a local museum, I find the books have more depth and interest.
Everything about this reading experience is just wonderful. I'm sure it must add so much to have actually visited what you have read about.
Delete