“Life unfolds as fates decide. It carries within its own secrets, its own power, its own incontrovertible decisions. Life does not appear to accept dictation. And so we seek to pin it down, to label it, to assign to it weights and measures and predicted likelihoods. But life will not submit to this. Life thinks life knows best.”
Hello again to Call the Midwife as we welcome Season 14, Episode 1 back into our homes. I loved seeing the midwives, nurses, and nuns of Nonnatus House. We were blessed to see a successful, albeit scary, birth of a woman with a classical (up and down vertical) scar on her uterus. Winnie Welsh had a previous caesarian section, and the obstetrical team had discussed what they felt were the dangers and risks of uterine rupture if she labored.
As a modern-day midwife, we rarely see a classical incision done; however, we would participate in a shared decision-making process, which entails sharing the diagnosis, sharing the known evidence. So, for this situation, what the actual risk of a uterine rupture occurring is, getting your client’s views, values and preferences and then coming to a decision together. In the show—as fate would have it, she labored and birthed without mishap.
Another storyline was a 13-year-old teenager, Paula, who discovered she was pregnant, and she faced the challenges of her parents’ religious beliefs and the church elders. However, it was the storyline of the community uprising that I would like to blog about as I had never heard of the Isle of Dogs. This storyline highlighted things that seem relevant and prominent right now. Similar to our current times, this storyline had a sense of great discontent. We witnessed the awakening of social and political activism in the East End of London. We also witnessed familial differences of how to approach the events with Fred and Reggie embracing and engaging in the activism, and Violet with her mayor hat on.
I spent some time trying to investigate what occurred during this unrest. The Isle of Dogs is a large peninsula in East London. It is bounded on three sides (East, South and West) by the River Thames. I read that the North side was never really defined and this was the former West India Docks. It is called “the island” by the local Londoners. On March 1st, 1970, the area attained global attention as a revolution brought awareness to their 10,000 residents and their plight of being ignored. They take matters into their own hands by becoming an independent state so that they can run the island.
The community action, led by a labor councilor named Ted Johns, was due to their perception of neglect. In our episode, we witness these complaints as they voice concerns regarding housing, transportation, schools, healthcare, lack of shops—their infrastructure. We witness community organizing, complaints of their labor struggles and see the emergence of local leaders. Freedom songs were sung and their actions shine a light on the unfulfilled promises by the Town Hamlets Council. In our episode, we see Fred and Reggie singing, chanting and protesting in support of them.
When I was reading about the revolution, I noted that not everyone was pleased, and the opposing view was also vocal—there were angry local women. They did not agree with the approach of independence. In the resources, there is a video of an interview with the women who are against independence and their attempt at talking to the labor councilor.
In my readings about this situation, on Day 9 of the protests, they made an official Unilateral Declaration of Independence (UDI), and Prime Ministers were elected. Within eight hours, there were anti-independence petitions. It was a short-lived revolution (10 days) and the activism that was highlighted by the national BBC Radio 4 and other international networks helped bring things to a closure. On March 10th, 1970, the Citizens Council welcomed Tower Hamlets Council’s plans for improvement and investing in their future.
As a modern-day midwife, the episode made me think of recent town hall meetings and community action with recent rallies and protests filled with discontent. At the end of March, I attended a joint USA/CANADA protest. The rally was a protest of the US President Donald Trump’s policies that impact Canadian sovereignty and economic stability. The Americans were at Hart Plaza in Detroit, Michigan, USA, and the Canadians were across the Detroit River in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. Both groups were facing each other, waving flags, singing national anthems, and supporting each other. The visual of this was powerful. Just like our Season 14 premiere, there was discontent and just like our show, there were individuals sharing their collective voice and wanting to be heard. Just like our show, I felt the power of the average person.
This season, our Nonnatus House midwives and nuns will need to navigate many obstacles and challenges and I look forward to watching and reflecting on them through a modern-day lens.
The decade was scarcely newborn, at Nonnatus House. But it was already marked and measured. Every day was made to count. Despite the fever of a changing world and the unruly actions of the human heart. Which is the stronger? Life or love? Life persists in the face of all rejection, all despair. And so does love. The wounds all bleed, and they are not divisible. Love, like life, unfolds and flowers as it will. It too carries its own secrets, its own power. And like life it will make its own decisions. Love laughs in the face of dictation. Do not try to pin it down, do not attempt to label it. Because love will have none of it and love knows best of all.”
RESOURCES
Bhakar, J. (2023, April 3). Isle of Dogs Unilateral Declaration of Independence: a revolt, a joke, or a tactical stroke of genius. Poplar, London. The Slice.
Isle of Dogs UDI. (1970). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-8fUd0m5Eo
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