Call the midwife

I think that Sister Monica Joan is so much a part of the series that I forgot who was playing her; she is one character who seems so real.

Judy Parfitt must be an excellent actor; she is Sister Monica Joan.

I wonder if she wrote the book too?

I think his RL wife writes the scripts.

Yes to the sickly smiles, Phoenix. I think the actor believes he is a doctor now. He’s published a book of Dr Turners Case Notes and was recently pontificating on vaccines.

I thought it was psittacosis too.
Wrong!

fiachna I think you're right about the male doctors, they would have been in a separate wing or building.

Does anyone else play "count the sickly smiles"? The doctor and his wife are currently winning by a mile!

Yes, it is a bit of escapism. No sex, no bad language, the blood and gore is appropriate to the situation.
However, the story-lines are getting tired. There is a limit to what one can do with child-birth scenes.
At first it was based on fact, now it's pure fiction and they are running out of ideas.

I too had diagnosed psittacosis - I was most put out to be wrong!

I love CTM because it's so easy to watch. Maybe too easy!

One of our elderly neighbours died from psittacosis, she constantly kissed her budgie and the hospital said that was why she caught it.

I thought the pigeon fancier had psittacosis from early on in the programme. I'd not heard of his true condition.
DD love to compete over diagnoses.

Mrswoo, I agree thought last weeks episode wasn't great. Phil Daniels playing an elderly man!!!! I saw him in a stage production just last year or year before, elderly just doesn't spring to mind with him. He is a good actor, but he was the wrong choice for that role. The four doctors story, they really were running out of ideas. Perhaps someone can correct me, but I didn't think males would be housed within convent walls. If the convent had a Guest House which is a separate building then yes. Maybe Im just too picky and feeling that Call The Midwife is nearing the end. It may do naturally with the place being up for demolition.

I think one of the doctors, probably the one who was with Valerie (?) will be the new recruit GP that they talked about getting.

I thought last Sunday’s episode with the 4 doctors - of whom 2 never uttered a word - was really not up to the usual standard. In fact it felt as if they had a few odds and bits of scenes that were just cobbled together.
It’s starting to feel a bit tired but when it’s good it can be excellent especially when dealing with “difficult” subjects. Personally, I love Phyllis and think her character has real warmth even though she’s a bit scary too.

Oh, maybe! ?

One of my daughter’s friends has haemochromotosis. Others in his family have it. He’s never needed treatment so far, although as he seems live on a diet of crisps, maybe that’s the remedy.

Wasn’t the Miss Higgins/policeman thing something to do with art or photography?

Sorry, on re-reading that it does sound rather insensitive.
It was not sudden, he did go to give blood for a long time, but his heart must have been damaged years before his diagnosis.

That would be a good idea, blondenana

We had a friend who was diagnosed with this very late, sadly he did die but he was not diagnosed until he was well into his sixties.

I was pleased that last weeks episode brought Haemochromatosis into it, as it is a very undiagnosed blood disease,it was barely known about until i think the 90s, and was mostly diagnosed at a post mortem, it still isn't screened for in a full blood test, but should be as it is a killer if not known about,it is hereditary , and it is caused by an overload of iron, which affects every organ in the body, and if the heart is affected it is usually too late to do anything about it
It can also cause arthritis,which oe of my sons suffers badly with
The only treatment is taking about a pint of blood every so often,depending on the ferritin level in the blood
I have it and 3 of my sons have it
My grandad probably had it as he died very young, of a heart attack,but it wasn.t known about then
There is pressure being put on to have it included in a normal blood test

Nurse Crane & the policeman did strike up an acquaintance but she didn’t want to forgo her very pleasant life as a single woman so it came to nought.

I forget how Miss Higgins came to be involved with him instead. Maybe he was casting his net wider! I think she may have joined the surgery when Sheila had her youngest child.

I think I spend too much time watching CTM.

I keep wondering if the young nun with the sweet face will fall in love and leave the order.

Yes, I remember Phyllis and the sergeant becoming friends.

I think she was a temp to help out with some crisis or other then stayed on.

I must have missed the bit where she became close to the police sergeant with the dicky ticker. I thought that was Phyllis.

I must have missed Miss Higgins joining the cast because I had no idea where she'd arrived from!

I feel nostalgic when I see the nurses uniforms. Somehow the very neatness and primness of them engendered confidence. A feeling that they must definitely know what they were doing.When a friend of mine was nursing, if she was in uniform travelling outside the hospital, even just coming or going from work, she had to wear a garbadine coat and a hat. Cloaks were only for inside the hospital.

That would be a nice resolution for Val, Callistemon. I’d also like to see Miss Higgins reunited with the policeman, whose heart condition has been found to be far less serious than first thought.