I joined in almost this same discussion on another
forum I am a member of, but regarding 'James Herriot'
as opposed to the 'Midwife' books and TV series.
Some readers,mainly from countries other than the
UK belived that the 'vet' books were in fact, a true
autobiography of a man named James Herriot. UK
readers quickly pointed out that Alfred Wight was
a Scots vet,based in Yorkshire,who actually wrote
the books.His son wrote a book about the truth in
his father's accounts.
Like the Midwife series,more or less, 'James' wrote
his books based upon real experiences he had had
in his daily work. Everyone in the stories suffered a
'name change' for legal reasons,and most of the tales
had a basis in fact,but were taken to a 'literary' logical
conclusion!
In both cases, I don't think it detracts from the enjoyment
of either the books or TV series, as entertainment for
the viewers. After all, how many 'true stories' if it came
down to it,actually ARE 'true', or simply filtered through
the experience of the writer concerned?
As far as whether or not the books are true, when I was applying for midwifery, the uni suggested CTM as reading, among other topics for the history of midwifery. I agree there must be at least a gem of truth in the characters portrayed and that it is so sad that Jennifer Worth is not here to talk about it all. I spoke to somebody a few years back, who had met her, a young guy and he said she came across as warm and lovely person. I always got the impression reading her books that she knew she was a bit standoffish and cold, but learnt through life experience and her work, the people she worked alongside and met throughout her career, to be more relaxed and approachable.
If anyone has a copy of this weeks TV Times, apparently there's an interview with Laura Main where she talks about Sister Bernadette and Doctor Turner.
Dying to read it, will have to pick a copy up tomorrow!
If anyone has a copy of this weeks TV Times, apparently there's an interview with Laura Main where she talks about Sister Bernadette and Doctor Turner.
Dying to read it, will have to pick a copy up tomorrow!
Regarding whether or not the events in the book actually happened and were real, the one thing that's indisputable is that Jennifer Worth was real. It strikes me as kind of odd then that not one person (as far as I know) has ever said 'that character was me', or even 'I worked with Jennifer - I remember her well, as well as a lot of the events she described'. Where are all the other people that would remember 'Chummy' or the rest of them?
I realise how long ago all this was, and how a lot of the stories were ones that people would not want to be identified with ('I was the abusive husband!'), but they weren't all like that. She was a community midwife/nurse, and must have come into contact with hundreds of people over the years, not just patients, but colleagues too. They can't all be dead. Yet nobody seems to want to hang onto the coat-tails of her fame and say 'I knew her, I was there too'. I'm probably cynical, but I think that's unusual. She was a brilliant writer, but what truth there is in the stories must have been diluted to the point where it's unrecognisable, even to the people who were there.
If anyone has a copy of this weeks TV Times, apparently there's an interview with Laura Main where she talks about Sister Bernadette and Doctor Turner.
Dying to read it, will have to pick a copy up tomorrow!
Got it she is not giving much away although they are in Sundays episode so we shall see.;)
It's an interesting article. It looks like some of the people were amalgams of others, so I should imagine many of the stories she wrote were the same. It doesn't detract from what she wrote though - she obviously wanted to show the poverty of life there at the time, and she's done it very well. As I said before, a talented writer who should have taken up her pen years before she actually did!
It's an interesting article. It looks like some of the people were amalgams of others, so I should imagine many of the stories she wrote were the same. It doesn't detract from what she wrote though - she obviously wanted to show the poverty of life there at the time, and she's done it very well. As I said before, a talented writer who should have taken up her pen years before she actually did!
Indeed, Seejay.
Also, even regardless of the extent of the truthfulness, the fact / fiction aspect or the practicalities of re-writing / editing for legal / people protection reasons etc, if such a work is a catalyst of further interest and discovery maybe this is an important factor in appraising the value or worth (pardon the pun) of the overall work too?
It has certainly got me into the history of the East End and this coincided with an old University friend getting a deal with a local Essex publisher to write a book which is fundamentally about sport built around the careers of Bobby Moore and Graham Gooch but is really my friend's essay on the changes in East London and Metropolitan Essex life since 1960.
More a biography of the area since 1960 as much as a biography of the 2 iconic local sporting heroes.
Excuse the plug but here is my review of that book and my friend's sporting life;
I then the discovered and loved The Sugar Girls about the lives of 4 women who worked in the Tate and Lyle factory in Silvertown c1945-1955 and I've had many discussions with my friend bringing all of this stuff up to date with the impact of the Olympics on the area; much of the pollution that companies like T & L left has been cleared up as part of the 2012 reclamation of parts of the area;
This is a wonderful book. If you like CTM, you'll like this;
(I wrote to the authors and they rather kindly wrote back!)
And now, a completely different friend (who also played football with myself and Phil at Liverpool University back in 1970's) as a result of being the media manager at 2012 has set up a website on the physical legacy of the games.
The sports participation as well as the physical legacy are of interest to me due to my former existence as a youth sports coach;
So pardon all the detail here, but for me, CTM has been more than a book which may or in some areas, may not be actual fact. It has been the catalyst for discovering all about this area of the country and an interest in what is going on there now, not just what happened 50 years ago.
Also, even regardless of the extent of the truthfulness, the fact / fiction aspect or the practicalities of re-writing / editing for legal / people protection reasons etc, if such a work is a catalyst of further interest and discovery maybe this is an important factor in appraising the value or worth (pardon the pun) of the overall work too?
I have to agree. To my shame I'd never really thought much about the workhouses - didn't understand just how awful they were. I knew that people didn't want to have to go into them, but the books have opened my eyes somewhat.
I have to say the story of the Bryant and May factory didn't sound pleasant, and something else I'd never heard about either.
I've been doing some family tree research recently. I'm having a break from doing my own, and decided to try and research my husband's. I discovered that his great great great grandmother went into a workhouse after she was widowed in 1861. She had six children, but for whatever reason she didn't go to live with any of them.
I have to agree. To my shame I'd never really thought much about the workhouses - didn't understand just how awful they were. I knew that people didn't want to have to go into them, but the books have opened my eyes somewhat.
I have to say the story of the Bryant and May factory didn't sound pleasant, and something else I'd never heard about either.
I've been doing some family tree research recently. I'm having a break from doing my own, and decided to try and research my husband's. I discovered that his great great great grandmother went into a workhouse after she was widowed in 1861. She had six children, but for whatever reason she didn't go to live with any of them.
Wow. That's quite a family link.
This stuff can be very intriguing.
I've always had an interest in Victorian times and especially the industrial revolution. In fact, I am now living in Oldham for many reasons but one of them is my interest in the cotton industry and Oldham was the cotton spinning capital of the world pre 1914 - 335 x 5 story mills belching out smoke and producing vast quantities of yarn to be turned into cloth and clothes further north in Lancashire)
But then I discovered that my Great Grandfather on my dad's side brought his family over from Cork in the 1880's and set them up in Cardiff where he went down the mines.
It can get a bit freaky sometimes. I shuddered a bit when I found out, having just been to the National Coal Mining museum in Wakefield.
I've always had an interest in Victorian times and especially the industrial revolution. In fact, I am now living in Oldham for many reasons but one of them is my interest in the cotton industry and Oldham was the cotton spinning capital of the world pre 1914 - 335 x 5 story mills belching out smoke and producing vast quantities of yarn to be turned into cloth and clothes further north in Lancashire)
My great great grandfather was a cotton waste dealer in Manchester. I've ordered copies of various wills so I can find out more about what they actually owned etc.
My great great grandfather was a cotton waste dealer in Manchester. I've ordered copies of various wills so I can find out more about what they actually owned etc.
Another WOW.
The house I live in overlooks 3 old mills, one of which is derelict but the others are used by companies.
One old man, now sadly dead, who I met in the cafe I go to was related to the Platt family, one of the biggest and most influential people in the industry in it's mid 1800's heyday.
Someone I met at the gym told me she lives in the end house of a terrace at the top of a small hill in one of the many villages around here. This house was bigger than all the others below it; reserved for one of the overseers in the mill - a perk of status.
Couldn't believe the gorgeous Stephen McGann (Dr Turner) tweeted me the other night - I couldn't stop grinning (and swooning!).
I think CTM has the edge over Strictly for me. I agree about it seeming totally authentic. I feel like I'm truly transported to the 1950s. And the birth scenes have me on the edge of my seat.
Top notch drama.
I'm not on Twitter but well done for getting a tweet from the Doctor, bet that had your pulse racing
For me, Strictly is the best programme but Call the Midwife is a very close second, all the actors are excellent and I really like Fred, who I remember from East Enders, he seems to fit in so well ..... just off to watch the Christmas edition which I missed first time round
Does anyone else think this could be a possibility (just a theory) regarding Sister Bernadette:
Sister Bernadette is being treated in the hospital specialized in TB and she's making progress etc but at the end of tomorrow's episode it looks like it's returned or is stronger than the medication they can supply and in the final episode (episode 8) she is dying, and the Doctor declares his love for her-and her for him, then she dies?
It's only a theory but I remember a few of the cast members saying this series is very emotional/sad etc.
Comments
forum I am a member of, but regarding 'James Herriot'
as opposed to the 'Midwife' books and TV series.
Some readers,mainly from countries other than the
UK belived that the 'vet' books were in fact, a true
autobiography of a man named James Herriot. UK
readers quickly pointed out that Alfred Wight was
a Scots vet,based in Yorkshire,who actually wrote
the books.His son wrote a book about the truth in
his father's accounts.
Like the Midwife series,more or less, 'James' wrote
his books based upon real experiences he had had
in his daily work. Everyone in the stories suffered a
'name change' for legal reasons,and most of the tales
had a basis in fact,but were taken to a 'literary' logical
conclusion!
In both cases, I don't think it detracts from the enjoyment
of either the books or TV series, as entertainment for
the viewers. After all, how many 'true stories' if it came
down to it,actually ARE 'true', or simply filtered through
the experience of the writer concerned?
Dying to read it, will have to pick a copy up tomorrow!
Let us know what it says. I don't use that mag.
I don't either usually, but will stop in the shop and grab a copy as I'm ridiculously impatient!
Will post under a spoiler tag tomorrow
I realise how long ago all this was, and how a lot of the stories were ones that people would not want to be identified with ('I was the abusive husband!'), but they weren't all like that. She was a community midwife/nurse, and must have come into contact with hundreds of people over the years, not just patients, but colleagues too. They can't all be dead. Yet nobody seems to want to hang onto the coat-tails of her fame and say 'I knew her, I was there too'. I'm probably cynical, but I think that's unusual. She was a brilliant writer, but what truth there is in the stories must have been diluted to the point where it's unrecognisable, even to the people who were there.
It certainly answers many of the questions in my mind and is centred around people who knew Jenny Worth at the time;
http://www.radiotimes.com/news/2012-02-19/did-call-the-midwifes-chummy-exist
Got it she is not giving much away although they are in Sundays episode so we shall see.;)
It's an interesting article. It looks like some of the people were amalgams of others, so I should imagine many of the stories she wrote were the same. It doesn't detract from what she wrote though - she obviously wanted to show the poverty of life there at the time, and she's done it very well. As I said before, a talented writer who should have taken up her pen years before she actually did!
Indeed, Seejay.
Also, even regardless of the extent of the truthfulness, the fact / fiction aspect or the practicalities of re-writing / editing for legal / people protection reasons etc, if such a work is a catalyst of further interest and discovery maybe this is an important factor in appraising the value or worth (pardon the pun) of the overall work too?
It has certainly got me into the history of the East End and this coincided with an old University friend getting a deal with a local Essex publisher to write a book which is fundamentally about sport built around the careers of Bobby Moore and Graham Gooch but is really my friend's essay on the changes in East London and Metropolitan Essex life since 1960.
More a biography of the area since 1960 as much as a biography of the 2 iconic local sporting heroes.
Excuse the plug but here is my review of that book and my friend's sporting life;
http://www.goalsandwickets.co.uk/cricket/cricket-editorial/the-perfect-goalsandwickets-book-sporting-heroes-of-essex-and-east-london-1960-2010-bobby-moore-and-graham-gooch-by-dr-phil-stevens/
I then the discovered and loved The Sugar Girls about the lives of 4 women who worked in the Tate and Lyle factory in Silvertown c1945-1955 and I've had many discussions with my friend bringing all of this stuff up to date with the impact of the Olympics on the area; much of the pollution that companies like T & L left has been cleared up as part of the 2012 reclamation of parts of the area;
This is a wonderful book. If you like CTM, you'll like this;
http://www.thesugargirls.com/
(I wrote to the authors and they rather kindly wrote back!)
And now, a completely different friend (who also played football with myself and Phil at Liverpool University back in 1970's) as a result of being the media manager at 2012 has set up a website on the physical legacy of the games.
The sports participation as well as the physical legacy are of interest to me due to my former existence as a youth sports coach;
http://www.londonolympicparkwatch.com/
So pardon all the detail here, but for me, CTM has been more than a book which may or in some areas, may not be actual fact. It has been the catalyst for discovering all about this area of the country and an interest in what is going on there now, not just what happened 50 years ago.
I have to agree. To my shame I'd never really thought much about the workhouses - didn't understand just how awful they were. I knew that people didn't want to have to go into them, but the books have opened my eyes somewhat.
I have to say the story of the Bryant and May factory didn't sound pleasant, and something else I'd never heard about either.
I've been doing some family tree research recently. I'm having a break from doing my own, and decided to try and research my husband's. I discovered that his great great great grandmother went into a workhouse after she was widowed in 1861. She had six children, but for whatever reason she didn't go to live with any of them.
Wow. That's quite a family link.
This stuff can be very intriguing.
I've always had an interest in Victorian times and especially the industrial revolution. In fact, I am now living in Oldham for many reasons but one of them is my interest in the cotton industry and Oldham was the cotton spinning capital of the world pre 1914 - 335 x 5 story mills belching out smoke and producing vast quantities of yarn to be turned into cloth and clothes further north in Lancashire)
But then I discovered that my Great Grandfather on my dad's side brought his family over from Cork in the 1880's and set them up in Cardiff where he went down the mines.
It can get a bit freaky sometimes. I shuddered a bit when I found out, having just been to the National Coal Mining museum in Wakefield.
My great great grandfather was a cotton waste dealer in Manchester. I've ordered copies of various wills so I can find out more about what they actually owned etc.
Another WOW.
The house I live in overlooks 3 old mills, one of which is derelict but the others are used by companies.
One old man, now sadly dead, who I met in the cafe I go to was related to the Platt family, one of the biggest and most influential people in the industry in it's mid 1800's heyday.
Someone I met at the gym told me she lives in the end house of a terrace at the top of a small hill in one of the many villages around here. This house was bigger than all the others below it; reserved for one of the overseers in the mill - a perk of status.
Thought the baby was sooooo cute and tiny aswell
She does say that
I'm not on Twitter but well done for getting a tweet from the Doctor, bet that had your pulse racing
For me, Strictly is the best programme but Call the Midwife is a very close second, all the actors are excellent and I really like Fred, who I remember from East Enders, he seems to fit in so well ..... just off to watch the Christmas edition which I missed first time round
Also, is anyone thinking about visiting the museum that has the CTM (streets) set? I am
Wish I did know!
Congratulations! I picked up a copy in Sainsburys for £8.99, but is only available in larger stores as it's 51 in their chart.
Tesco are selling it for £9 and HMV for £12.99.
I've only played disc 1 so far and worth the money for that alone.
Made a mistake in typing.;)
It's only a theory but I remember a few of the cast members saying this series is very emotional/sad etc.