³ÉÈËÂÛ̳

It’s July 1969, and everyone is giddy with nervous excitement about Apollo 11’s imminent landing on the moon. The whole community wishes to mark this special occasion, and there is a public showing of the landing outside, using the Nonnatus House television set. Sister Veronica, Sister Julienne, Fred, Violet, Rosalind, Colette, Miss Higgins, Nurse Crane and Nancy are in attendance. Dr Turner, Shelagh, Angela, May, Teddy and Timothy host a family celebration and stay up late to watch the coverage. Sister Monica Joan is thankful to be able to witness a moon landing in her lifetime and is overcome with emotion when the Apollo commander, Neil Armstrong, steps onto the moon’s surface. Meanwhile, Fred is unhappy with being under the watchful eye of Violet and wishes he could return to work.

The pupil midwives are now into their third month of training and undergo a review. Sister Julienne, Shelagh and Nurse Crane are delighted with the scheme and how well Rosalind and Joyce are getting on. However, it’s noted that both pupils have areas of practice that would benefit from improvement – Rosalind’s self-confidence and Joyce’s belief in home births. Under Trixie’s tutelage, Joyce is assigned to Prue Stanton, a rumbustious warm-hearted local, who proves to be quite a challenge. But things take a turn for the worse when Trixie makes a serious mistake with far-reaching consequences.

Sister Veronica presides over a BCG vaccination clinic at St Oswald’s Hall for secondary school age children. The results from the clinic tests are rushed through before the end of the school term. A Biafran family cause great concern for the team, and Nancy delves into her family’s past, which finally gives her some closure.