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Dear God!
Not a chance.
And why not?
She's a famous heartbreaker.
Do you know her?
No, but I know her brothers.
Don't. Just stop it. I can't look at you.
She's gorgeous.
Sorry! My fault. Sorry.
So where are we going?
I thought Maidenhead.
I know a rather jolly pub by the river.
This doesn't look like a jolly pub by the river.
No, we seem to have lost our way.
What a surprise.
You can't possibly marry him, Diana.
He's practically a stranger.
Is he stranger than us, do you think?
Not much in it?
- Has he got any money at all? - No.
It's not as if you don't have other options.
What about that Hugh? Didn't he have a castle in Scotland?
Mind you, who wants to live in Scotland?
Oh, do shut up. She's talking about going
to live in Kenya, for God's sake.
Don't tell me to shut up.
Diana?
Please stop going round and round and concentrate.
This is your future life we're talking about.
It's your future happiness.
The thing is, I just know this is it.
You all right? I'm all right, darling.
Are you all right?
That's the Milima Estate.
More subtle fragrance, but it hasn't got the depth.
Mmm. And what do you drink?
Oh, I drink Nairobi Chai.
But it's too black for the home market.
Oh.
We don't usually get wives on these buying trips, Mrs. Cavendish.
Oh, well, it's Robin's business.
I want to know about it.
Oh!
What is it you actually do out here, Robin?
Oh, um...
Well, I'm a tea broker.
Um, yes, I collect tea, and then I broke it, and...
Well, it's very skilled work.
And what does Diana do while you're off "broking"?
Well, she comes along.
My God, that's almost indecent.
I like it. Really.
God gave men jobs to do
so women could have a little time to themselves.
I like being with Robin.
He really is quite bearable.
Well, I can't see it myself.
It's all a complete mystery to me.
What Colin means is, how on earth did Robin manage to nab Diana?
Ah! Yes, my God, we'd all like to know that.
Yes, I don't know. How did you, darling?
Do you hear that?
What? I don't hear a thing.
Yes, exactly.
It's like the dawn of creation.
You need faith to survive out here.
Oh, how can you say that, Don?
And you a doctor.
Well, I believe in the power of the mind.
Did you hear about the prisoners on Kome Island?
During the Mau Mau rebellion?
There were 60 of them, all crammed into a small tin hut.
Prison officer wouldn't let them out.
Mau Mau leader said, "Very well, I give my men permission to die."
Next morning, all 60 were dead.
How?
Mind power.
Hmm.
They chose to die.
They turned their faces to the wall and died.
Well, I think I would have chosen to live.
Oh, I've got news. Oh, yeah?
Yes, it's a bit of a bugger actually.
I'm never going to be able to have fun again.
Well, what is it?
I'm going to have a baby.
Somebody's pleased.
Yeah.
Very pleased?
Best news I ever had.
Well, since I proposed and you said yes.
Well, you didn't propose, though, did you?
Didn't I? No.
You said you had to get married before going out to Africa.
Otherwise, you'd go native.
Yeah, that's right. Mmm.
You did say yes, though, didn't you?
Apparently, I did.
Oh, dear. Oh, dear.
Never, ever have a baby. It's a blunder, Col.
- Thank you. - Never.
Robin thrashing Colin again? No.
No?
Come on. We're going to be late.
Yes! Game, Robin!
Oh! Well!
Colin!
Well done.
I never thought I'd see the day.
Well. It might be our time to break a sweat.
Oh, God, here we go.
I can't quite believe it.
I can't quite believe it, either.
Thank you, Victor. See you at tea.
Lovely job, Victor.
You've been practicing while I haven't been looking.
I have. It was the first set I think I've ever had off you in my entire life.
Come on. Fancy another one? Absolutely not.
I'm gonna quit while I'm still vaguely standing.
God, I tell you what, this feels rather good.
Now I know what it's been like to be you all these years.
Oh, yeah, no. It is rather lovely, isn't it?
Look at this. What is going on over here?
Okay, what are these contraptions?
Mary, you are extraordinary.
Goodness, Katherine.
Oh, Robin will be a natural, you'll see.
Never seen you like this.
What is this? What are you doing?
You just imagine you're jiving.
And what's the purpose of this?
Just to look foolish? No, tone up the tummy.
Mary looks rather fantastic.
Move your hips, darling. That's it.
This is all it is? Is this the point of it?
You're just kind of undulating for fun.
You don't want a flabby tummy.
Without anyone else joining you.
Just solo undulation.
- Look at that. - That's it.
That's it.
Are you all right?
Yes, that's too much tennis.
You all right? Just too much tennis. That's all.
You were rather good. That's your fault.
Now the crown jester's going to step in.
Need a drink.
It's all in the legs.
I'll have another go. Let's have another go.
Go. Are you all right?
Me? Yes, fine.
What's the plan? Oh, um...
I've asked Thomas to run me home
because Don's coming round to prod me again.
That's good. He may want to give me a prod while he's at it.
You sure you're all right?
Yeah, it's the pregnancy, isn't it?
It's just making my joints ache. That's all.
Is it? Oh, poor Robin.
My joints are fine. It's funny that, isn't it?
That's because I'm bearing most of the weight in this pregnancy.
Yes, you are. It's true. Look, will you come with me?
Oh, dear. No, I have my, well...
I have my meeting tomorrow first thing in the morning,
so I was going to bunk here.
Colin.
Colin. Sorry.
Sorry, old chap. I'm not...
Sorry. I'm not feeling too good.
Well, you look ghastly.
Arm's giving me some gyp.
Let me help you.
Lift your right arm.
Left arm.
Legs.
I can't move. I can't move. What's going on?
Get ice now.
I can't breathe. I can't breathe.
He's losing it! We have to get him on a respirator!
Robin? We have to get oxygen into you somehow.
Looks like we're gonna have to smash our way in.
Don. Diana.
How is he? He's stable.
He's just coming round.
Here we are.
Hello, darling.
The air can't reach the larynx anymore.
That's why he can't talk.
He says, "Bit of a bugger."
You inhale the polio virus from droplets in the air.
The same way you catch a cold.
It passes into the blood stream,
into the central nervous system,
and attacks a big group of cells in the spinal cord.
The result is you become like a rag doll.
You can't move anything from the neck down.
Can't even breathe for yourself.
Right, and, um, how long will he be like this?
The paralysis is irreversible.
A good respiration system will maintain life for a while.
We're talking a matter of months.
Tell me what we can do.
Do you want to go home?
After the baby's born.
What about Robin?
Him, too.
You do know...
I have seen enough people paralyzed by polio before.
The mercy of it is they don't last long.
It's no kind of life, Diana.
Easy, now. Careful with the respirators.
That's it. Keep slack in the tubes at all times, okay?
Good. Very gently. Very close now. Good.
Let me get round. Lots of slack, gents.
Diana.
Oh, yes. Mrs. Cavendish.
Yes.
I'm really sorry. This isn't a good time.
We've had to medicate your husband.
So perhaps you could come back tomorrow.
I don't mind if he's asleep. I'd just like to see him.
I don't think that's a good idea.
Your husband is going through a temporary depression.
But I'd still like to see him.
I'm so sorry. He doesn't want to see you.
Excuse me.
There we are. Tid.
I can manage from now on.
It's not fair to ask you to do this.
Well, I don't see why not. All right.
I looked after you when you were a baby, didn't I?
The thing is, we're not very well off, I'm afraid.
We've got some savings, but there's not a lot coming in.
Oh, you don't need to worry about that.
Your family's my family, really.
It's nice to be back. Come on.
That's it. Come on, little man.
Off we go. Come on.
Ma?
Moo?
Me?
Me. He said "me."
Eh.
"Eh." "Get." Is the first word "get"?
Or "let"?
"Let me lie"?
Well, he is lying.
Sorry, Robin, you must think we're awful chumps.
Let me die.
"Let me die."
Talking to Robin
was rather like playing one of those ghastly party games
where you don't know the rules.
It's very clever of you to get him to say anything at all.
Well, what he said was...
What he said was, "Let me die."
Well, we can't, can we?
You mean we can't even think of such a thing
or we wouldn't know how to do it?
Both, I suppose.
Well, it makes no odds, really.
I had a sort of word with the consultant, and he wouldn't hear of it.
It's not what they do.
It's not a good way to go, apparently.
It's several minutes of agony.
No. No, I don't want that.
No, of course not.
You do have a life, too, you know.
You are allowed to think of yourself.
Chin up. We're doing very well.
Well, Mrs. Cavendish, we do have some progress to report.
Progress?
We're learning to swallow again.
We are?
It's more significant than it sounds.
At present, we have an inflated cuff round our tracheotomy tube
to stop food and drink going down our windpipe.
If we can swallow again,
the cuff can be removed, and air can get to the larynx.
Then we'll be able to talk again.
Might there be other progress, too?
This is about as good as it's going to get, I'm afraid.
How are we this morning?
We wish we were dead. Good, good.
Good morning to you, Paddy.
He couldn't go on having no name,
so I decided to call him Jonathan.
I hope that's all right.
He never even looks at him.
He can't bear to even look at him.
You don't know that.
Yes, I do.
I do. I know everything he's thinking.
Every time I come here, I hope he'll have changed.
Nearly there.
But he can't bear to look at his own son.
Well done.
An old priest I knew once, a very holy man,
he used to say,
"Those that God loves most, He allows to suffer most."
We can't know the mind of God,
but we can be sure that whatever happens to us
is somehow part of His plan.
I'm sorry. I didn't get that.
Move closer.
Closer. Yes, of course.
Yes, well... I'll be on my way.
I'm thinking you're not a believer.
Believer in what?
God's a joke.
Hmm. No, pal.
God's a joker.
Look at the pig's mickey he's made of you and me.
How do you live like this?
Ah... You get used to it.
What if I don't?
Well, there's always a way out.
Like Pete there got out.
In his own private box.
Robin.
Why do you keep on coming here?
I don't really know.
I'm no use to you.
You really must leave me here to rot now.
Well, it wouldn't look very good.
And apparently, I love you.
You don't love this. You can't love this.
Apparently, I can.
Well, I don't want you to.
Don't you understand that?
Makes it harder for me.
Yes, I can see that.
You'd rather just pack it in, I know.
And bloody machine
that keeps on breathing for me.
So it looks
as if you're going to have to stick around for a while, doesn't it?
I'm sorry to say.
I'm not sorry.
I want Jonathan to know you.
And maybe... Maybe I can make life a little better for you.
Don't want your duty.
Yes, all right.
All right. All right. We know all about that.
Everything's as bad as it could possibly be.
But I can't go on coming in here
and have you say that you wish you were dead.
Because you're not dead, and that's that.
Robin.
Come on, there must be something I can do
to make things more bearable.
Get me out of here.
I'm afraid it's out of the question. I'm sorry.
Well, has anyone ever tried?
No one with your husband's degree of disability
anywhere in the world
exists outside a hospital.
But I've watched what the nurses do,
and if we had a ventilator at home,
I just don't see why it wouldn't work.
Allow me to explain.
Your husband is only alive because a machine is breathing for him.
If that machine should fail,
in under two minutes, your husband would be dead.
Forgive me if I speak plainly.
Do I make myself clear?
I'll be sad to go, of course, after all these years.
But since Muriel died, I can't seem to get on top of things.
Hmm.
Things can run away from you, you know.
Yes.
It's a lot of work. Is the roof sound?
Some of it.
Why are so many of the windows bricked up?
Ah. Oh, yes, those are my rooms.
Muriel said it saved such a lot on the heating bills.
Did she?
Well, it's a lot of work, but it might do.
The thing is, I haven't got £12,000,
or anywhere near that, really.
I'd take 11, or even 10.
All I can manage is seven.
Seven? Cash.
And then you'd be rid of the place forever.
And Muriel.
Yes. Really?
Yes. Yes. Oh!
And how are you this morning, Robin?
Did you sleep well?
You're looking good.
Good morning, darling.
Morning, Margaret.
Almost done, Mrs. Cavendish.
Is that something I could do?
I don't see why not.
It's just like a Hoover, really.
Could I try?
Here.
Just...
Right.
Good.
Oh, no, sorry.
Let me. Let me take it.
Once I got used to it, I think I could manage.
Why would you want to manage, Mrs. Cavendish?
Dr. Khan. Robin and I,
we wanted to ask you a question. Didn't we, Robin?
Can machines like that ventilator only work in hospitals?
Well, it's just a machine, you know.
You plug it in, and it goes.
Why do you ask?
Robin's going to leave the hospital.
Do you have any idea of the risks?
Yes. Yes, I do.
The risk is that he might die.
Robin.
I either go on living here,
or leave here and possibly die.
Yes.
Well, what are we waiting for?
Up, up. I thought we were going down.
No, lift your end up so we can get the bed down.
Very heavy.
Left, left.
I am going left.
Sorry. Your right.
So, Robin goes in this bed?
Yeah.
And then Diana's bed goes next to it?
That's what she wants, yeah.
But surely Robin will have a nurse when he...
No nurse. Just Diana.
I mean, well...
She can't be with him every minute of the day and night.
She's got to pee, hasn't she?
She's got me.
£5 says you'll never make it.
And what do I get if I do?
You get £5, you t'ick.
You're on.
Ready?
- So long, chaps. So long. - Best of luck, Robin.
So long, Paddy. I'll be back for my fiver.
I'll miss you, pal.
Where do you think you're going?
We're taking my husband home.
You don't have my permission.
Is this a prison? Am I your prisoner?
What do you think you're doing?
It is the patient's own wish, sir.
He's fully apprised of the risks.
Take him back to the ward at once.
Diana, call the police.
Tell them I'm being held against my will.
I'm sorry? What did you say?
You have no right to... To keep me in this place.
Of course. Be my guest.
Let's go. Do as you please.
You'll be dead in two weeks.
Ready? Yes.
Right, bag going on.
All right.
How's he coping?
So far, so good.
Right, ready to move?
- Lift, lift. - Got it.
Are you all right, Diana?
Yes. Okay, gently put him down.
And up again.
Okay. Okay.
Come on. Let's clear the way. Clear the way.
One, two, three. Lift. Here we go.
- Keep him level. - All right, Robin?
Easy.
All right, all right. Gently, gently. TID: You're clear.
We need to get him on the bed over there, so turn him round.
All right, all right. Yeah, just to the left.
Uh... Right, yes, that goes on that table there,
and the cable needs to be to the left-hand side.
Just leave it there. Sorry, darling.
Harry. No, no, Bengy.
Could you come here? Bengy, get down.
Bengy. Bengy, off the bed.
You need to do what I'm doing.
He'll tell you. Hold on to the cable.
Got it, got it, got it.
He'll tell you if you're going too fast.
All right, Col, we need to get him on the bed.
One, two, three. Lift.
There we go.
Got him. It's okay. Okay.
Right. Right.
Bengy, off you go.
Just take your shoes off, Robin.
Is it on? Right...
We're going to change your tubes right now, darling. Ready, Harry?
I've got your hand, Robin.
All right.
It's on.
You all right, darling?
Yes, I think I am.
Thank God.
Can't believe it actually works.
Yes, it works.
Could you get Jonathan?
Oh, yes, of course, my dear.
So this is it. Our new home.
How do you feel?
Much better.
Diana, what happens if there's a power cut?
You work it with a hand pump.
It's a nifty bit of kit.
Look who's here.
Hello.
There you go.
Oh...
Look, Jonathan.
It's Daddy.
Hello, Jonathan.
Hello, dear boy.
This is Bengy.
Night, darling.
Good night, my love.
Diana.
Di. Di.
Had a bit of a bump, darling? Oh, no.
What's the matter? Has Mummy not been playing?
Shall we go and find Daddy? Where's Daddy hiding?
Where's Daddy? He's in there. Shall we go and find him?
What's that naughty Daddy doing? Daddy?
Jonathan, Jonathan.
Daddy?
Robin?
Oh, my God. Robin?
Robin? Robin? Robin?
Please, please, please. Robin. Robin.
Oh, my God.
Please. Oh, my God.
That was interesting.
Oh...
Oh, my God.
Ah!
I've saved the best till last.
This one spent the whole of the war in my air-raid shelter.
Looks like a good drop, Teddy.
It is a good drop.
And good wine deserves good glasses.
This one is for the lovely Diana.
That's me.
Mary. Katherine. Bloggs. David.
Biggles. There we are, darling.
And Tid?
No, no, not for me.
Tid only drinks Dubonnet.
And only on my birthday.
Oh, I almost forgot.
He's sleeping. To Jonathan.
Happy birthday, Jonathan.
Yes, I had been wondering what it might be like to... To get drunk.
Given that I'm legless already.
What you have to do with mechanical devices is stress-test them,
find their breaking point, so...
It's rather good, Ted.
An interesting experiment, Teddy.
Robin would die,
but you'd probably be able to improve your machine probably.
All progress has its price.
It's the power supply that's usually the weak link.
You know, power can fail. Power frequently fails.
Oh, do stop it.
I'm only hypothesizing.
He's just doing his job.
He doesn't have a job. He's an Oxford professor.
There's nothing to worry about because it can be worked by hand.
Well, what about in the night?
Well, I'm here.
But you have to sleep some time.
No, she doesn't. She's a machine.
Well, if Robin needs me, he wakes me. Don't you, darling?
Robin makes a noise.
Like a duck.
That's a chicken, Bloggs.
Can you do a chicken, Robin?
I hate you so much, Bloggs.
Not much. Hmm.
Much rather have a bell or something.
What can you move?
Cover your eyes, everybody.
You can move your head. Can I?
I've seen you do it.
All right, well, let's...
So move your head.
Oh, yes, I think I can have some fun with that.
Teddy. Yeah.
Oh, that's wonderful.
Darling? Bottle?
Oh, why not? Yes. Why not?
But listen. Mmm-hmm?
You know those Marconi shares that I bought?
Justin's hot tip, yeah? Mmm-hmm?
They've almost doubled in price.
Really?
Yeah.
Crikey. Well, I hope Justin got something out of it.
Oh, yes, well, he gets a very agreeable sensation of
helping someone far less fortunate than himself.
Oh.
Poor Robin.
Paralyzed for life.
Oh...
Yes.
And his poor wife. I hear she's a saint.
She is a saint.
A gorgeous saint.
Ah!
Darling, call Teddy Hall, would you?
I've just had an idea.
- Robin. - Oh, bloody hell.
Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls,
may I present the Cavendish chair!
That is amazing.
Hooray!
Roll up, roll up.
There'll be no stopping you now, old boy.
Not bad, eh? It looks terrifying.
What if it breaks?
Unbelievable, Teddy.
Left, left, left!
We've lost the dog. Bengy.
Robin, how does it feel?
Bloody marvelous.
Really?
Is the ventilator a little fast?
Well, maybe a little.
Yeah? Is that better?
Yeah, that's better.
How long does the battery last, Teddy?
Up to three hours, we think.
Isn't this a case where a little more
certainty would be appropriate?
Well, there's a mains lead as well.
Teddy, you're a genius.
Well, to be honest, it all turned out to be pretty basic.
I used a bicycle chain and Sturmey-Archer gears.
I don't know why no one's done it before.
I'll tell you why. Because you're not a doctor.
There's no one to tell you it can't be done.
Oh, hello, Matron. Hello, Matron.
Oh, we've got an appointment with Dr. Khan.
- Dr. Khan. - Ah, hello, Dr. Khan.
Huh?
Paddy. Oh.
Robin.
This really is quite something.
Jammy bastard.
What in God's name is that?
Did you give permission for this contraption to be brought into my ward?
Well, actually, sir, Mr. Cavend...
It's hard enough for our patients
to accept the conditions of their lives
without raising false hopes that can only leave them more dissatisfied.
Now, where you come from,
it may be common practice to play games with people's lives.
Here it is not.
Is that understood?
Good.
It was lovely to see you, Dr. Entwistle.
Oh... That man's a pompous idiot.
You must want to smack him.
Believe me, I'm used to it. Well...
You'd think he'd want to get chairs like this for all his patients.
Well, Paddy, looks like you owe me a fiver.
Not so quick, pal.
You could drop off your perch tomorrow.
Aww.
Is it safe, Doctor?
I don't know, Paddy.
I've never seen anything like this before.
Goes five miles an hour
with a strong wind behind you.
I'd advise waiting a little while longer. Test its limits.
Yes, quite right. Let me find the breaking point for it.
No, we're not going to test Robin until he breaks.
Well, actually, that's exactly what we're doing.
You're doing better than all his other patients.
That's what he said.
Poor old Paddy, though.
I wish we could somehow break him out, too.
It isn't kind to let them out like that.
On the street, where everyone can see.
Believe me, ladies, my distress is far greater than yours.
Bloggs told me the other day
that all our friends were convinced that I'd give up on you.
Apparently, they saw me as some kind of pampered nitwit.
Well, you were a pampered nitwit.
Oh, was I?
Well, it didn't stop you running after me, did it?
Well, no, I've got nothing against nitwits
as long as they're pretty.
Well, you're stuck with me now.
Yeah, I suppose I am. Mmm.
Just think, all those affairs I could have had.
Oh.
And me.
It's not too late for you.
Isn't it?
What, and come back and find you've popped off while I was out?
That would rather spoil the party, wouldn't it?
Yes, it would.
Hold on.
Look. I found Daddy.
That's Daddy when he was a soldier.
Was he a soldier?
Yes, he was.
And then this is us when we were in Africa.
That's where you were born. And what are those?
Elephants.
They're elephants.
You saw elephants?
Yes, we did.
You're so lucky.
Yes, we were.
Can we go to Africa one day, Daddy?
I'm so sorry.
Me, too.
Right, I'd better sort out tea.
Can we go to Africa, please, Daddy?
Wouldn't that be an adventure?
I could push you.
Rather a long way to push, J.
I don't mind.
- Are you clever? - Yes.
Can you prove it?
Okay, maybe you are. Do you know what?
Maybe you are strong enough.
Mummy. Yes?
This chair-pushing business.
Mmm?
Is it quite hard to do over long distances?
Well, it's harder than a pram, I can tell you.
Oh...
Jonathan?
We're going to have to do some thinking about this, aren't we?
Mmm-hmm.
As per your design, Mr. Cavendish.
Be nice.
Takes up to 300 pounds.
My God.
Hydraulic lifting mechanism.
You won't see that in a Bedford anywhere else.
What do you think?
What is it?
It's a little dark in the back.
I feel rather like luggage is the only thing.
I just thought...
Being as the wheelchair has to be got in,
the back seemed...
Yes. Yes.
Have you sat in the back?
Me? Well, no.
But, then I'm not, um...
I'm not...
Uh...
You're not luggage, are you?
Please don't think I'm not grateful. I truly am.
You want to sit in the front?
I don't think that's possible, is it?
I suppose if I took out the front seat...
Wait for me! Wait for me!
Careful!
Hi, there, little one. Ought to be shot.
Robin's amazing, isn't he?
It's not a bore.
I feel I can talk to you, Robin.
Mum, Mum, I'm going in to bat.
Oh, are you? Brilliant. You go get them.
Good luck, Jonathan. Go on. Thanks, Mum.
Lucy walked out a month ago now.
It's been a long time coming, I suppose.
Oh...
Rory, I'm so sorry. That's rather rough on you.
Life's a shitty business, isn't it?
There you are, trying to get on with life,
and then, out of nowhere, crack,
everything comes tumbling down.
Rory, grab my drink. Let's have a toast.
What are we drinking to? Hmm?
New dawns.
You've made a real hash of that ham.
Rubbish, Bloggs. You did that. I've done this. Beautifully.
Do you want it? Yes. Thank you.
Look at Robin now. Look at him.
- Unbelievable. - How does he do that?
Well, he proposed to me yesterday.
Of course he did.
Yeah. And I'm so fond of him.
The only girl we've got is you, Bloggs.
Oh, do shut up.
But he's no beauty.
It's not just the pain...
Is he actually ugly?
Um... Well, yes.
No, no, no, that's wonderful.
Why is that wonderful?
Well, because good-looking men are bone idle.
Ugly men will get things done.
So pointless. How do you get over something like that?
Yep, you're right.
Lost in the darkness and silence, but it hurts...
And I will get over it. I know I will get over it,
but it's just going to take time,
and at the moment, I just need a bit of...
It's a six!
Yes! Yes!
Dad! Dad, did you see that?
- Well done, Jonathan! - A six!
So?
Mmm?
Did you enjoy that?
Well...
You were surrounded by admirers.
Yes, as were you.
Me? Yeah.
Rory Stewart for one.
Oh, Rory.
Lucy's really messed him about.
Hmm? Mmm.
I feel so sorry for him.
He says he spends his evenings alone watching television.
I suppose he'd like you to relieve his loneliness.
Well, I'm not going to.
You can if you want to, darling.
Oh.
You're giving me permission, are you?
I do sometimes worry that, um,
you don't have enough fun.
Don't worry about me. No?
Mmm-mmm.
I'm all right.
Are you sure?
I think so.
Mmm...
We manage, don't we?
That's easy for me.
I just sit here while you do all the work.
Good old selfish Robin.
Oh, I say, Diana. Run away with me.
Where?
Spain.
Spain?
We can't. Robin.
Robin. Oh, you really mean it, don't you?
Now how on Earth do we go to Spain?
Well, by plane, of course.
Darling, how do we get you on a plane?
Oh, my God!
Whoa!
Are you all right, Jonathan? Bloggs, are you all right?
Come on, then, you start.
I spy with my little eye...
The house is on the beach,
and I brought a long extension lead,
so in theory you can stay out all day if you like.
Did you remember to pack my parasol?
Yes, darling, and I also brought pints of sun cream.
You're just an angel, aren't you?
Darling, we should charge the chair battery.
Oh, good idea. Uh...
- Bloggs. - Yes?
Can you see a cable down there on the floor?
Sorry. I can't take my eyes off the road.
Yes, I can. London.
There's a plug board on the side of the wheelchair.
Can you plug that into the second socket for me?
Uh, yes, I see it. Second socket?
Second socket.
Yeah.
Oh, God. Sorry. Something's...
- I don't know. - The ventilator.
It's burning! Mum!
What's happened to the...
- Robin. Robin. - I'm really sorry.
Just pull over. Jonathan, are you all right?
- Yes, Mum. - Get the hand pump.
We need to open the door.
All right, all right, all right.
- Bloggs, get Robin's door. - Stop here.
I'm stopping. I'm stopping. I'm stopping...
Robin.
Bloggs, the bag.
Jonathan, are you all right?
Yes, Mum.
Sorry, Robin.
Oh, God, I knew something like this would happen. I just knew it.
What did I do?
I don't know.
The ventilator's broken.
Robin, are you all right? I'm fine. I'm fine.
Jonathan.
Do you know how to fix it?
No.
No, I don't.
Sorry, Diana. I just don't know what I did.
Neither do I.
Oh, God. Do you speak English?
Just a little. We need a mechanic.
No, no, we don't. No, no. What we need is a telephone.
A telephone.
Yes.
Uh...
I take for you to Torredembarra to find for telephone.
Yes. Yes. Is okay?
Yes, yes, yes. Jonathan, could you get my handbag, darling?
Thank you, yes.
Yes, yes.
Bloggs, Bloggs, Bloggs, Bloggs. It's rather fast.
You don't have to go so fast. Sorry.
Don't go so fast. I'm not a balloon.
- Bloggs. - Yeah.
Can you go with this man, find a telephone and call Teddy Hall?
He'll either be at home or at the workshop.
That's the Littlemore number. In England?
Yes. Just tell him what's happened,
and that we'll wait for him here.
Yeah. We'll wait for him to fly out from England?
Yes. Can you just go, please? Yeah.
Bloggs, just while you're out, grab us a...
Pick up some sausage and a nice bit of bread.
And a bottle of red wine.
Corkscrew.
Good luck.
Hola.
I'm not saying it.
- I hope you can hear me. - Sorry!
Mmm-hmm?
A rather pleasant temperature.
Reminds me of Nairobi.
You all right there, Jonathan?
Yes, I'm fine. It's quite easy, really.
Oh?
You really are doing brilliantly, darling.
Truly. You really are.
I'll take over in a moment. I'm okay.
Really.
Oh, God. I wonder what it is they think we're doing.
Why, we've just gone on holiday in a lay-by.
It's perfectly normal.
Cheers. Cheers.
Cheers, darling.
He say God makes a joke.
So we have party.
Sí. Sí.
Yeah... Well, that's quite all right, isn't it?
Do you know who'd love this?
Paddy.
- For heaven's sake. - Teddy!
Teddy! Hello, darling.
Oh, God.
You could at least have the decency to be on the point of death.
What...
What the hell is this?
There. Now, let's fire her up.
I'm glad someone's happy.
God knows how you managed to make such a balls-up of this.
My fault, I'm afraid.
What are you all doing gallivanting in Spain in the first place?
It's my fault, I'm afraid.
Well, this isn't built for trans-continental voyages.
I know, Ted. I'm sorry.
I wanted to see the sun rise over the Med.
It rises over Drayton St. Leonard's, too, you know.
Teddy?
Absolutely rather good you're here.
I'm planning an even greater escape.
Well, I'm not rescuing you from anywhere else.
Oh, it's not just me this time.
There's a good few more that need rescuing.
Let's get this show on the road!
Is that chair breathing?
Like a sleeping lion. Glorious.
Is that Dr. Clement Aitken? The same.
Very good, very good. Teddy! Mind.
Hello. This is Teddy Hall.
Oh, dear, dear, dear.
I have never, in all my career, seen anything like this.
You just made this up? Well, pretty much, yes.
Only way to get anything done.
I like this man. Is he a doctor?
Yes, and he's the Director of the Disability Research Foundation.
Which he invented.
Yes, and made himself director.
Well, if nobody else will do it, you have to do it yourself.
Hello. What's this?
Oh, I'm having a go at a Mark II version.
The trouble with the Mark I is the battery is pretty poor,
and the pump's very noisy,
so I'm having a go at using a solenoid.
Fascinating. So what is the battery life?
On the Mark II, about six hours.
How long have you been living with this condition?
Eleven years so far. Incredible.
Well, if these chairs of yours really work,
I'm gonna need a lot of them.
How many? Hundreds.
Oh, well, I've been financing the work myself up to now.
It hasn't set me back too much,
but if we're to go into production, we'll need proper funding.
The Department has to take into consideration
the question of cost-effectiveness.
The life expectancy of polio patients
is less than average, shall we say.
I'm sorry. I can't see how I can, in all fairness,
make a case for funding.
I have to follow the rules.
Rules are so paralyzing, aren't they?
Of course, I do sympathize with your condition.
Oh, yes. Likewise.
Name?
Lady Jane Neville.
And good for?
Uh...
A thousand at least, if she's in the mood.
Right. So are we "plucky" or "pitiful"?
I think definitely "plucky."
These old dowagers are tough as nails.
Why does he make that funny noise?
Well, that's the wheelchair.
It does his breathing for him.
Are you quite sure it's safe for you to be out?
Seems to have worked so far.
And what exactly is it you want from me?
Well, we want more of these chairs.
Yes, for people like Robin.
At £200 a chair.
Yes, which really is excellent value.
- Isn't it? - Well...
It would be five for £1,000.
£1,000?
Well, 10 for £2,000.
£2,000?
You see, we knew we could count on you.
Because you're so generous.
Yes.
I don't usually find it difficult to say no to spongers.
But with you there,
wheezing away in front of me,
I suppose I shall have to pay up.
So very kind of you. So very kind.
So kind.
This is bloody marvelous.
Aww.
Do you feel safe?
I feel bloody terrified. Ah...
Hello, everyone.
My name is Dr. Clement Aitken.
I'm the Director of the Disability Research Foundation.
In this country,
there are hundreds of severely disabled patients
currently living their entire lives in hospital beds.
Worldwide, there are thousands.
Do you think they like that?
If you want to get out, give me a shout!
How many thousands worldwide?
Oh, tens of thousands, maybe more.
No one's ever believed it's possible to live as you do.
Well, we should show them.
What do you want now, Robin, a world tour?
Well, there is a European conference coming up in Germany
for severely disabled living.
All the so-called key experts will be there.
Oh my giddy aunt! If only they could see you...
I think he should be in hospital. No?
You're quite right. No.
You did check we'd be able to fit
the wheelchair in, didn't you, Bloggs?
Yes, of course, I did. What do you take me for?
Thank God for that. I know.
I never thought we'd actually make it... Oh, sorry.
No, it was probably my fault.
Pull out, pull out. Let's pull out, that's it.
Straight, straight, straight...
- Straighten it up. In you go. - Oh!
You're not gonna do it. That's not gonna go through.
Right. Whose fault's this, then?
I think we're going to struggle here.
Sorry, I didn't know I was supposed to measure the doors.
It's the wheels that are the problem.
Yes, yes, yes, yes. Good idea.
Drag him back.
- Listen, listen, listen. - What?
We're gonna have to take the inner door frame off.
Oh, well done, Clem.
Clem's done it, Clem's done it.
Clem's bloody done it.
Clem, that is looking good.
Quick. Go, go.
Get him in, get him in, get him in.
Sorry.
Go on.
Brilliant.
I want you to see this, Robin.
Let me go in first.
You may give them something of a shock.
Dr. Aitken? Yes.
It's an honor.
Erik Langdorf. I'm the Director.
Aha! My associates.
I have heard so much about your care for the severely disabled.
This hospital is famous.
Please.
Such excellent modern machinery.
And everything so clean.
The chair has a respirator?
Mmm-hmm.
Sorry, but he must leave.
Of course. How stupid of me.
Please understand.
We are Department of the Bundesministerium des Innern.
If anything were to happen...
The Ministry of the Interior?
Yes. Like our Home Office?
Yes.
Don't they run the prisons, too?
I believe so, yes.
Thank you so much, Dr. Langdorf,
for giving us so much of your time.
May I begin by noting an interesting fact.
At this conference
on Managing The Lives Of The Severely Disabled,
there are no disabled people present.
Dr. Aitken, forgive me,
but the severely disabled are on life-support machines.
So how could they be present?
Well, allow me to introduce Mr. Robin Cavendish.
All right...
If I put that there, is it going to work? Yeah, well done.
Robin, you have a question to ask our hosts.
Yes, I do.
Why do you keep your disabled people in prisons?
In prisons?
No. No.
We have some of the finest facilities
in the world for the severely disabled.
I know, but they're run by prison guards.
No, not at all.
Well, patients are kept out of sight.
Not treated as part of healthy society.
I must ask that you withdraw that.
Mr. Cavendish doesn't mean to cause offense.
He's merely suggesting that the severely disabled
can be better integrated into society.
Absolutely. I can see that you all care
very deeply about your disabled people. I see that.
But let me ask you, when you look at me,
what is it that you see?
Do you see a creature
that's barely alive?
Or do you see a man that's escaped the confines
of the hospital walls?
Now, I have a machine
under this very seat that breathes for me.
And at home, I have a ventilator right by my bed.
I also have a remarkable group of friends.
And, most vitally, I have my wife.
But, as you see, I can do nothing for myself.
And yet here I am.
Now, when I first became paralyzed, I wanted to die.
Yeah, I wanted to die. I did.
But my wife wouldn't let me.
She told me I had to live.
To see our son grow up.
So I went on living
because she told me to.
Because of her, really,
and with her and for her.
And every day since then,
I've accepted the risk of dying
because I don't want to just survive.
I want to truly live.
So I implore you,
go back to your hospitals,
and you tell your disabled patients
that they too can truly live.
You all have this power
to open the gates and set them free.
Jonathan!
Help me turn him on his side.
Jonathan. Help me turn him on his side.
That's it.
All right, love. All right, darling.
It's all right.
All right, we can put him on his back now. That's it.
All right, darling.
Robin?
Do what you can to clean up the mess, darling.
It's all right. It's all right.
It's all right, dear boy. It's all right.
I'm afraid this is what happens
after a number of years on a respirator.
The lining of the lungs becomes irritated.
You get small abrasions. You get bleeding.
The fact is, it's gonna get worse.
More bleeds. Bigger bleeds.
And... Well, the risk is you drown in your own blood.
Remember that story in Kenya about
Mau Mau prisoners?
Yes. Ah...
Their leader said,
"I give my men permission to die."
And then by morning,
they just all passed away.
And I have decided it's time for me, too.
I'm going to let myself go.
And what about me?
You're going to be free at last.
I don't want...
No.
God, you're a stupid, stupid man.
What do you think I've been doing all these years?
Hmm?
Your life is my life.
And...
I'm sorry, Jonathan.
Jonathan.
You should let her be.
All right. Fine.
Fine, have it your way. You always do.
But don't you ever, ever say that you did it for me.
You do know that it's against the law.
Well, yes, but who's going to know?
Well, if Diana or Jonathan were to get involved,
could end up in prison.
They're not going to be involved.
And what about you?
Me.
I've been breaking the rules my whole life.
So promise me you know what you're asking.
Oh, yes, I know what I'm asking.
We must buck him up.
You know, get him out of this morbid frame of mind.
Make him see how much his friends need him.
Colin. We're not going to keep Robin alive for the sake of his friends.
No, of course not.
But I expect they'd like to say goodbye.
Oh...
Hi.
Toby.
He's telling everyone it's his leaving party.
What, even the girls? Trevor.
Watch the steps. Drop coming up.
You're planning another great escape.
Uh... It's time to go.
For me, anyway.
Just like the last time.
Not waiting for your friends.
No, you're too slow for me, Paddy.
You owe me £5.
Ah...
Well, this is a Saint-Émilion '59.
My last bottle of one of the greatest wines ever made.
Jonathan, glasses, hmm?
Teddy.
Robin. Harry.
We've been friends for many, many years.
I'd just like to say...
Harry. Harry.
I broke a chair. No, you didn't. You didn't.
You didn't.
Give him a drop of that.
This'll sort you out.
This'll put hairs on your chest.
Robin, old man, here's to you.
I'm drinking to each and every one of you.
- Cheers, Robin. - Cheers, old boy.
Goodbye-ee
Wipe the tear, baby dear, from your eye-ee
Though it's hard to part, I know
I'll be tickled to death to go
Don't cry-ee
Don't sigh-ee
There's a silver lining in the sky-ee
Bonsoir, old thing
Cheerio, chin-chin
Napoo, toodle-oo, goodbye-ee
There's something I have to say.
I want you to know what a difference you've made to my life.
It's not always been easy for me.
Every time I come here, I go away stronger.
And it's not because you're worse off than me.
No, no, no.
It's who you are, Robin.
Or who you've turned yourself into. God knows how.
Thank you, Col.
I'm gonna miss you.
Robin.
I'm sorry.
Darling.
That's enough.
Yes.
I expect you know this, but,
just in case...
No one could have loved you as much as I've loved you.
I know.
My love.
And my life.
Me, too, Robin.
My love.
My life.
Clem.
Hello, Robin.
It's time.
All right.
When? Today.
Now.
I'll be with you at 11:30.
It's like a military op, eh?
You can count on me. Synchronize watches.
I'll be there.
Thank you, Clem.
See you soon.
Get Jonathan.
Jonathan.
I need you both to listen very, very carefully.
Just before 11:30,
you're to leave the house.
And you're to come back
at 12:00 on the button.
Okay.
Promise me I'll have time to say goodbye.
Yes, there'll be time.
Hello. I haven't seen you in a while.
So what can I get you all today?
I'm fine, thanks. Mum?
I'm still here.
You go first, Jonathan.
Bye, Dad.
I love you.
My own son.
My boy.
You have given me more than you can ever know.
Now, I don't have a farewell speech.
You don't mind, do you?
No.
You've given me a wonderful life.
It wasn't quite what you expected.
No.
No, nor me.
Thank you.
For choosing to live.
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