London couple Jill (Wendy Richard) and Peter (Martyn Townsend) move to a large country house for a fresh start after the death of their young son, David (Vincent Helyar). Their attempts to put the tragedy behind them are stymied when their surviving child, Belinda (Charlotte Helyar), keeps insisting that she sees and plays with her brother. While it irritates the rational Peter, her distraught mother begins to believe her and starts to wonder if there is something more sinister at the root of it all...
This was the first episode of the 2nd series of West Country Tales and unlike the first series was based on stories by novelists. And unlike the first series, only 3 episodes survive of the 2nd series, the other four being missing. These I was fortunate enough to save from Mick's Nostalgia Channel on Youtube before they disappeared, so you have him to thank for these. The last two available of the 2nd series from 1983 will hopefully be uploaded tomorrow.
This was the first episode of the 2nd series of West Country Tales and unlike the first series was based on stories by novelists. And unlike the first series, only 3 episodes survive of the 2nd series, the other four being missing. These I was fortunate enough to save from Mick's Nostalgia Channel on Youtube before they disappeared, so you have him to thank for these. The last two available of the 2nd series from 1983 will hopefully be uploaded tomorrow.
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TVTranscript
00:00David was six when it happened, and that was the end of everything.
00:30When you had a disaster, it helps to move to a totally different scene, no lingering
00:50on the edges of the past.
01:05This house came on the market just after David died, so Peter bought it, with everything
01:11it contained, a job lot, a possibility of happiness, rambling grounds, depths of green
01:25to soothe the mind.
01:27The whole place seems to be opening its arms, wishing for inhabitants.
01:44Ideal for dogs, perfect for Belinda.
01:57This isn't running away, the beloved child who was lost lies too deep for that.
02:03He has his place here, in each heart.
02:19This is the easy part, the excitement of moving in, with the grief shut up, out of sight like
02:26unwanted luggage.
02:29They've brought one or two pieces with them, mostly Belinda's, her nursery furniture for
02:33instance.
02:34But on the whole, the old things, the curtains, carpets, pictures, they were a series of traps,
02:43too involved with David.
02:46Belinda!
02:48Belinda!
02:50Belinda!
02:52Belinda!
02:54Belinda!
02:57Belinda!
02:58Belinda!
03:05Oh!
03:09Belinda!
03:10Belinda!
03:11Are you looking for me?
03:14Look at the white duck. It's got a funny hairdo. Never seen one like that before, have you?
03:38No.
03:39We must ask Daddy what kind it is. What shall we call it?
03:43You think we could call it Tufty?
03:45Tufty! Oh yes, that's a good name. Yes, with that smashing hairdo. Yes, that's just right.
03:51We must go and get Daddy and tell him.
03:58It still looks awkward, child, instead of children.
04:03That's it. Eat it up.
04:05It feels awkward, being an only child.
04:08Have a cup of tea off that. Have you got the paper, darling? The paper?
04:13Oh yes, here you are. Here you go.
04:22Stop those dogs, will you please? I don't need fighting dogs on top of everything else today.
04:28Do you remember where my glasses were?
04:30Oh, they're in the hall. I think that's where I saw them last.
04:34Now, come along. Behave yourself.
04:36Bit, bit, Tina. That's it. Just behave.
04:38Otherwise it's all going to be separated.
04:45Now, don't forget, before you go to bed tonight, I want all your toys put away in the cupboards.
04:50All right? Because I've got a lot to do.
04:52Jill!
04:53Yes?
04:54Come here!
04:55Now, stay here. Don't let the dogs eat those cakes.
04:58Be back in a minute.
04:59Yes.
05:04Belinda has learnt to assess a situation.
05:07Now, if anyone looks, she will be seen to be amusing herself.
05:15Hello.
05:21David's clothes.
05:23The cap that now he'll never wear.
05:26She promised to give them away.
05:29Why?
05:34Why?
05:40What's their future going to be if she can't let go of the past?
05:44This is what we left behind.
05:59Oh, my.
06:18Isn't her memory of him enough for her?
06:21It's unendurable to hoard David's clothes.
06:25What else has she hidden away?
06:30She'll go out of her mind.
06:42Her parents wanted her to sleep next to them,
06:45but she chose this room at the end of the passage.
06:48She's always been independent and detached,
06:51rather an unexpected person.
06:59Oh, darling, what are you doing?
07:01Writing.
07:02Writing?
07:03Oh.
07:04What is it? Can I see?
07:06It's not finished yet.
07:08What is it then, a letter?
07:10Yes.
07:11Well, come on, show me.
07:13It's a secret.
07:14Oh, well, you'll have to put it away now,
07:16because I want you to go to sleep, whether it's a secret or not.
07:19Give me that pen. I want you to comb the sheets.
07:21Put it under your pillow.
07:23Come on, sweetheart, lie down.
07:25Have you got a spider there?
07:26Yes.
07:27Put him up, and you'll suffocate him down there.
07:30There you go.
07:31All right? Do you like your new bedroom?
07:33Yes.
07:34It's nice and tingly.
07:36There you are. Good night, darling.
07:40Good night, animals.
07:42I don't want any noise and talking and laughing in here.
07:46I'm going to go to bed now.
07:49Good night, sweetheart.
07:58DOOR CREAKS
08:04Look, take your hands out of your pockets, all right?
08:07No, you just behave yourself.
08:09We don't want to be late on the first day, do we?
08:11Belinda, you haven't got your satchel.
08:13I'll go and get it for you.
08:15Ready for school.
08:16More of Peter's medicine.
08:18New school, new friends, distractions.
08:21No dawdling among the heartaches.
08:24Forward march.
08:25There you are. Come on.
08:27You all right?
08:29That's it.
08:30Mum's going to shut the door.
08:32There you go.
08:33I'll see you later. Bye-bye.
08:35Bye.
08:36Be a good girl.
08:37Bye-bye.
08:39Bye-bye. Be a good girl.
08:50And that leaves Jill on her own until tea time.
08:54Come on, boy. Come on.
08:56Alone, except for the dogs.
09:01Come on.
09:11Come on, boys.
09:13Come on.
09:15Come on, boys.
09:25Four dogs.
09:27They each had one.
09:29And David's dog still asks when he's coming back.
09:40Acting country lady.
09:42The Peter's wife image doesn't quite fit.
09:44She's been married nine years,
09:46and she's still afraid of letting him down.
09:48Even the children seem to be Peter's, mostly.
09:52He chooses the holidays, the schools.
09:54He pays the bills.
09:56It took David's death to make her feel like a mother,
10:00and she's still out of her depth.
10:02There's so much house.
10:04She's not used to it.
10:06It's easy to imagine that the old occupants
10:08are still in their rooms.
10:13Flower arrangements, marks of possession,
10:16vases of flowers like the family flag in the room.
10:20It's like the family flag in the rooms.
10:23Dear David, we're in our new house.
10:51I like it.
10:53We have a pond and ducks.
10:58Brothers and sisters don't die to each other.
11:02Not when they're little.
11:18School was a success, but now she can't wait to get into the garden.
11:23It's time to play.
11:27The daisy beauty of the runaway garden.
11:31If peace had a voice.
11:44David?
11:50David?
11:52I'm here.
12:06How's your foot?
12:08It's okay.
12:09And the dogs are liking it very much.
12:12Because they can run around in the woods.
12:14And they can play in the grass.
12:16And they can play in the grass.
12:18And they can play in the grass.
12:20And they can play in the grass.
12:22And they would since they can play in the field with me.
12:30I think some red roses in that flowerbed over there would just be the finishing touch.
12:36Well we can get some of those in.
12:38It'll be lovely.
12:39I'll have to mow the lawn first though.
12:41Need to do it again.
12:42I think that'll look so lovely.
12:44Well that's all right, we can have some.
12:45I'll get some for you.
12:47Darling, where are you going?
12:49To get some squash.
12:50All right then, off you go.
12:52Don't make a mess in the kitchen.
12:57Oh, I'm so pleased we came here. I think it's beautiful.
13:00Good. I love the house and I love the garden.
13:02I know. I knew you would.
13:04And she likes it too. She's happy.
13:10Belinda?
13:12Come here a minute, darling.
13:14Come here, darling.
13:17Darling, why have you got two glasses of squash?
13:20One's for David.
13:25What do you mean, one's for David? David isn't here.
13:28Yes, he is.
13:32Where is David?
13:34Down in the wood over there.
13:38Come on, sweetheart, you show Mummy and Daddy where David is.
13:42David? David?
13:53You see, Belinda, David isn't here.
13:57But he was here.
14:00Oh, darling, you mustn't play these games on Mummy.
14:06David?
14:08David?
14:11You don't normally tell stories and you mustn't make up stories like this.
14:16Belinda, will you stop pretending about David?
14:22Because we don't want Mummy upset, do we?
14:25There's no point in arguing.
14:27She knows what she saw.
14:30She'd share David if she could.
14:33Belinda spends most of her time with David.
14:36She always did.
14:39Let's play knots and crosses.
14:41You be knots, I'll be crosses.
14:43I'll start.
14:50Mummy's missing you very much.
14:52I'm missing her.
14:54Do you know at school the other day,
14:56when we were playing,
14:59Do you know at school the other day,
15:01when we were having dinner,
15:04there was a boy and he put some salt on his chips
15:08and the top fell off and all the salt went all over his chips.
15:13Now, if you put your cross there,
15:16I can make nearly a whole line.
15:19Belinda?
15:21Belinda, darling, who were you talking to?
15:25Darling, I heard you talking to somebody.
15:27Who were you talking to?
15:29David.
15:32David was here?
15:34Yes.
15:37Oh, darling, I wish you wouldn't tell these stories.
15:42Nobody wishes more than I do that David was here.
15:47Belinda.
15:58David.
16:08David.
16:11Hide and seek isn't much fun when you're grown up.
16:16And what does she find?
16:18A house, hidden away under the bushes.
16:21A little table.
16:23Tea for two.
16:27David.
16:33David.
16:38David.
16:51Jill is consumed with longing to see her son.
16:57I'm telling you, Peter,
16:59I saw her sitting on that log
17:02and she was having a perfectly rational conversation with another child.
17:05She was probably talking to one of her imaginary friends.
17:08It's a perfectly natural thing to do.
17:10I'm sorry, it was just too believable to be imaginary.
17:14I'm convinced that David was there and I didn't see him, but she could.
17:19She was playing noughts and crosses.
17:21And another thing, when I was coming back through the woods,
17:24I found a little treehouse hideaway place that she'd made
17:27and she set up a table for tea and she set it up for two.
17:31There's nothing unusual in that either.
17:33It's perfectly normal for a little girl to have a tea party.
17:36I suspect you did the same thing when you were a small child.
17:38That's not the point. I tell you, David comes back and she'd set it up for the two of them.
17:42Jill, don't be so silly. David does not come back.
17:44I am not being silly. All right, then, what about his dog?
17:47What about his dog?
17:49Well, he's stopped asking for him.
17:51Jillian, if this is how you're going to carry on,
17:53I will go somewhere else and do the gardening.
17:55Go.
18:03She must be going crazy.
18:08He can't. He mustn't listen.
18:17I want you to come down and play with me.
18:23How do I get down?
18:25Jump.
18:28But it's too far.
18:32Don't be afraid.
18:35I'll hurt myself.
18:37You won't hurt yourself, I promise.
18:42Here comes Daddy. He'll help me.
18:47Belinda, what are you doing up there?
18:50I need to jump.
18:51Don't you jump. You'll hurt yourself.
18:53You just stay around me.
19:00Please stay.
19:02Now sit down.
19:04Sit on the edge.
19:06That's it.
19:07You can be Spider-Man.
19:09We'll put Spider-Man down first, shall we?
19:13That's it. Brush him off.
19:15There we are. We'll put him down there.
19:19Carefully, don't hurt your arms.
19:21That's it. There we are.
19:24All right?
19:26Whoops, a daisy.
19:28That's Spider-Man.
19:30Okay?
19:32All right?
19:33Good. Off you go, then.
19:44Then a twinge of uncertainty.
19:47However, did she get up there in the first place?
19:55But children can't be watched every moment.
20:09Belinda!
20:11Belinda!
20:13Belinda!
20:16Darling!
20:18Oh!
20:19Oh, you frightened Mummy.
20:20What were you doing?
20:22We didn't hear the car.
20:24What do you mean, we didn't hear the car?
20:28I didn't hear the car.
20:32Come on.
20:33Let's go in the kitchen.
20:34We'll make some cakes or something.
20:35Come on.
20:37Come on.
20:44Weekends used to be the happiest family time,
20:47even when they clung together like shipwrecked sailors.
20:51Now they aren't so good.
20:53Each person seems to be doing his own thing.
20:56Jill has had a headache all day.
20:59It's a sultry afternoon.
21:01She can hardly draw breath.
21:03Come on, Belinda. Hold up.
21:05I'm coming.
21:08Come on. It's not deep.
21:11Yes, but I can't swim.
21:14Come on. I want to go in the boat.
21:17I'm coming as fast as I can.
21:20We don't want the spider to get wet.
21:25In the world between sleeping and waking,
21:28she is troubled.
21:30I want to go too.
21:33You can when I get there.
21:36I don't want the spider to get wet.
21:39Belinda.
21:44What's got into the child?
21:46What are you doing, darling?
21:48What is she thinking of, to wade in there?
21:50God knows how deep it is under the mud.
21:55Daddy told you. Come here. Come here.
21:58Come here.
22:01Oh, come here.
22:03Come on. It's deep. Just come here.
22:05Wait before we both sink in.
22:08Oh, my God. Oh, darling.
22:11It's David.
22:13She knows it.
22:15His games are becoming dangerous.
22:17Maybe he wants Belinda to himself.
22:20He's trying to get her on the other side, his side.
22:28She could have been killed.
22:30Well, she wasn't.
22:31Well, she could have been.
22:33The point is she's perfectly happy where she is now.
22:35But I just don't think it's natural that a little girl
22:38with all this lovely garden and everything to play
22:40and doesn't bring home any school friends.
22:42No, I think David is coming back for her
22:44and he calls her away to go and play.
22:46Don't say David is coming back to you.
22:49They don't understand.
22:52They're beginning to hate each other now.
22:54She'll have to tell David.
22:56When people do come back, and I am convinced,
22:59I know that David comes back
23:02and he wants her to join him on the other side.
23:06And what he doesn't realise is it means
23:08that she would have to die to join him.
23:10Listen, you've been under a lot of pressure late.
23:12We've both been under pressure.
23:14Perhaps it would help if we had some guidance.
23:17I'll call a doctor.
23:18Doctor? Call a doctor?
23:20Are you insinuating I'm neurotic or something?
23:22No, I'm not insinuating you're neurotic.
23:24Perhaps it could help.
23:25I'll tell you what.
23:26Call anybody. Call the doctor if you want.
23:28Get him here because I won't be here.
23:30I'm going.
23:34I will.
23:42Hello, John. It's Peter.
23:45Yes. Yes, fine.
23:47We're gradually getting everything sorted out.
23:49Yeah.
23:51There is just one thing.
23:53It's Gillian.
23:57That tribe, yes.
24:01Well, if you could, I'd be very grateful.
24:06Thanks a lot, John.
24:08Thanks very much.
24:10Bye.
24:20She needs help.
24:23She's glorying in her neurosis.
24:25Can't you see they can't carry on like this?
24:36The lingering end of day.
24:39The goodbye that has to be said.
24:42Mummy is very unhappy
24:44because I always see you and she never sees you.
24:47And she's making Daddy unhappy.
24:51So you must go away.
24:54Forever.
24:56Then I'll never see you again.
25:00You will one day.
25:03Take spiders with you to comfort you.
25:13With love, Belinda.
25:22The night-time garden breathes in,
25:25colouring the mind of the sleepers.
25:28Knee-deep in roses.
25:30The rose sweetness,
25:32heady and brief as a child's kisses.
25:35Uncalculated.
25:37Loving and giving.
25:40The sea-noise of wind in the dark branches of the trees.
25:44You can drown in woods or in the sea.
25:49You can drown in woods at night.
26:03David.
26:05Just once, for goodbye.
26:08Even in a dream, my darling.
26:18Mummy!
26:21Mummy!
26:49The early-morning garden, all flowery, like a wedding.
26:55She's strangely at peace, both inside and out.
27:07Not a word to Peter.
27:09Poor Peter.
27:11Poor, dear Peter.
27:15Belinda!
27:17Belinda, where are you?
27:23Belinda!
27:25You'll be late for school.
27:27Ah, there you are.
27:29Jill! She's here.
27:31Thank heavens.
27:33Come along. Off we go.
27:35Come on, I've got your satchel.
27:37Come on.
27:39Right.
27:40Listen, where's Spider? I can't find him anywhere.
27:43Where is he?
27:45Have you lost him?
27:48Where have you lost him?
27:50I gave him to David.
27:54What do you mean, you gave him to David?
27:56He's not coming back any more.
27:59He gave me his watch.
28:02Look.
28:08David's watch.
28:10His proudest possession.
28:13It was buried with him.
28:40THE END
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