Original subtitles

(Rushing water)

(Bird call)

(Chatter)

(Background music)

(Beer poured)

You're not having another drink, Henry.

Bye, Henry.

Are you all right?

Blow job...

You want to be careful what you wish for.

My cock sucking.

Up this alley.

It's too busy round here, come back to mine.

There's nobody on the street, lad.

(Vomiting)

Another time, maybe?

Any time, sailor.

I was a soldier.

(Music)

(Wind, bird song)

(Buzzing)

(Buzzing)

BENJI: It's happened. I've been let go.

BENJI: They want me out right away.

BENJI: I'll be at yours in three weeks.

BENJI: Call me.

(Water)

(Dogs barking, voices)

JAKE: Are you OK?

HENRY: Fine.

HENRY: Fine.

You're a good runner.

I do my best.

Blues and Grenadier?

Yeah, Blues and Grenadier.

Impressive.

Ex-Tyne and Wear Regiment me.

Captain.

Ha, right, best keep moving.

(Vacuum cleaner)

What's in the flask, Henry?

HENRY: Water.

TOM: Bullshit.

You're on your last warning.

Do you want this job or not?

It's water.

I can smell it on your breath.

I'll ask you again, do you want this job or not?

Then follow the rules...

or you're out.

(Vacuum cleaner)

And fill the tampon machine.

(Buzzing)

BENJI: Henry, where are you?

BENJI: I've bought my plane ticket.

(JAKE: crying out)

(Splashing water)

(Shower water)

Sounds: Marching soldiers.

HENRY: Teddy, Teddy, Teddy?

Sounds: Marching soldiers.

(Alarm ringing)

(Water running)

(Water running)

(Loud music)

(Gym gear)

Working out again?

Four days a week.

Once a soldier, always a soldier.

Coffee?

Where?

(Kettle boiling)

(Hearing aid ringing)

Henry...

Henry Farman.

Jake.

Jake Sherrin.

(JAKE: Screaming)

♫ Yea, Jacobites by name, lend an ear...

♫ Yea, Jacobites by name, lend an ear...

♫ Yea, Jacobites by name...

♫ your fautes will proclaim

♫ your doctrines I mean blame, you shall hear...

♫ you shall hear.

♫ your doctrines I'm mumbling you shall hear.

♫ What is right? What is wrong to the law?

♫ What is right? What is wrong to the law?

♫ What is right? What is wrong?

♫ The short straw and the long arm.

♫ A weak arm and a straw to the draw.

JAKE: I did over twenty years in the army.

I came out the army last summer.

Well, so to speak.

They knew you were gay?

I was never in.

It was never a problem.

They changed the rules back in 2000 and then

Bang! I was in hog heaven.

Shagging my commanding officer all over the base.

A bomb went off in Iraq.

Permanently damaged my hearing.

My commanding office saved my life.

I'm glad I've met you.

I don't know any other soldiers these days

ex or otherwise.

They don't dishonourably discharge homos now?

No...

They stopped doing that years ago.

JAKE: Did the fuckers boot you out?

That's bullshit.

Where'd you serve?

Falklands.

I was, I became a mechanic in the army.

HENRY: They were good to me, until they weren't.

How dare they treat you that way.

I'm all right.

I'm a cleaner.

After what you did for them...

for us.

We shouldn't have fought that war.

HENRY: Las Malvinas is Argentinian.

Really?

After going there and fighting for it?

I was in service.

They turn us into machines.

Then they spit is out.

Therapy doesn't help.

You can get your dishonourable discharge changed, you know.

I don't like talking about the army.

There's pasta for dinner.

I've got work.

After?

See you at nine.

This is some house.

I inherited it from my grandparents.

The knick knacks too?

I bought these for you.

(Gun fire. Shooting)

(Gun fire. Shooting)

I've not been up this late since my

mate's 60th birthday party.

Years ago.

I was so drunk.

HENRY: I met this couple and I snogged them in the garden.

Then I noticed this light in the sky.

I thought they'd started a war somewhere and not told us.

I was delirious.

I said to someone

what's that light?

And he said,

'it's the fucking sun, mate.'

Boyfriend?

Ended years ago.

We're still mates.

What's his name?

Benji.

Well, Benjamin, but I call him, Benji.

We had a great relationship.

Eight happy years.

Why'd you break up?

JAKE: Slutting around?

JAKE: Henry?

Sluts are for hetties.

Sound: Doorbell rings.

Sound: Doorbell rings.

Sound: Doorbell rings.

Hi, Benji, so nice to see you.

Would you like some coffee?

Hi, Benji, so nice to see you, would you like some coffee?

Yeah...

If you can spare some?

You've not checked your mobile, have you?

Perhaps not.

Definitely not.

I've been sacked.

Terrible.

You're sixty-three,

they didn't say...

You've had your time.

They didn't say.

It's time somebody else had your job.

They didn't say.

What did you expect?

You'd been treated badly there for years.

I'm not like you Henry,

surviving on,

dust and god knows what.

I need money.

HENRY: For what?

You're homeless.

I'm not going to charge you rent.

I've got standards.

That need lowering.

This is only temporary.

Where are you going to get a job?

The local paper is run by a twenty year old.

They'll take one look at you and call an Egyptologist.

I've got a five year gap in my pension.

If I don't sort that out I'm living off my German pension

and god knows what that is.

I live on eight hundred pounds a month.

Yeah, well...

Beer's cheap here.

And everything else.

Where are you planning on going, Benji?

London? Dublin?

It's a good job I'm making this coffee,

cause you need to smell the fucker.

I'm being realistic.

HENRY: You're not.

HENRY: I tell you what, you get that dream job

and I will eat your underpants raw.

It's not going to happen.

Don't be awful.

I'm being realistic.

I've got to try.

What for?

Take it easy. Relax.

I can't take to the bottle like you, Henry.

Fucking god knows what and god knows where.

Actually,

I am seeing someone.

You rancid old git,

pouncing on some young unfortunate.

Your last boyfriend was fourteen years younger than you.

We were together for thirteen years.

HENRY: Until he ran off with that richer ponce.

They must find it really difficult filling up their jet,

what with the price of oil.

Neville was let go from his job too, you know.

He had a three million Euro pay out.

Forgive me for not laughing.

Don't be cruel.

For god's sake, Benji,

come out from under whatever it is

that's covering your head.

He left you as soon as he got out you

what he wanted.

And he found someone better.

Like you?

We'd stopped having sex.

I thought it was important.

I was wrong.

You wanted money from the sale of our flat.

HENRY: Years later.

When I was desperate.

I'd've taken that hundred quid I asked for

as a token.

I loved you.

Remember?

And I stil do.

Do you?

You know I do.

Say it.

You never do.

Yeah, well,

You're much more in touch with your feelings than I am.

♫ Dance music ♫

Sounds: Marching soldiers.

HENRY: Teddy, Teddy, Teddy?

Sounds: Marching soldiers.

BENJI: Are you annoyed I've turned up?

Don't be daft.

I can't believe it's come to this.

It's not the end of the world.

It's the end of my world.

You've got a roof over your head and I'll take of you.

Will you?

I promise.

I just left the flat in Berlin.

BENJI: Walked out with just that suitcase.

What about all the books and your tingle tangle

and all that shit?

There you go, making fun of me.

Just trying to make you laugh.

I just walked out.

Shut the door. And put the keys through the lettebox.

I left everything.

Except the paintings.

They're in London.

In storage.

They're yours if I pass away before you.

BENJI: I've left you everything.

HENRY: I don't want all that.

Skip it all. The most important thing is you.

I care about you.

Those five paintings are worth hundreds of thousands of pounds.

One of them alone is worth over two hundred thousand pounds.

Then sell the fucker. We need the money now.

They'll be worth more later on.

We might be dead.

BENJI: Do we have to talk like this?

We didn't forty years ago.

We weren't old men then.

BENJI: Even though death was all around us.

Our friends dropping like flies with AIDS.

Poor Brian.

Brian.

Ian.

Andrew.

Stephen.

Michael.

Juicy.

So many of them.

That's why we've gotta...

live life now, grab the opportunity.

Live, have a laugh, forgive.

You've not forgiven the army.

We shouldn't get stressed out.

We mustn't.

My hernia's playing up.

And my acid reflux is ripping me a new arsehole.

Good. Cause your old one's worn out.

Coffee's nearly ready.

Sugar?

Ah,

Mmmm...

Maple syrup.

None of that white stuff in this house.

Bloody vegan.

That's true.

I want meat.

What sort?

Ha ha!

I don't know...

Beef. Meat. Chicken.

You're not having any meat.

And you're not allowed to cook it here either.

I can't live without meat.

Think of the planet.

Fuck that.

We've no children...

and you piddling about in this kitchen

with your bloody lentils,

isn't going to make any difference.

I'm not poisoning my body with all those chemicals

and don't get me started about the cruelty.

Yeah...

But you don't mind the cruel way we treat each other?

I've extracted myself as much as I can

from the human race.

All I do is work, wank and eat.

And how's that going for you, Mr Farman?

I'm not the one with a dodgy heart and an ulcer.

None of us knows what lies ahead of us.

Ah, but you can do things to mitigate

the aging process.

Er, like what?

What you do?

OK, you're a vegan, but...

you drink like fish.

Vegan booze.

Booze is booze, Henry.

Where's my cofeee?

Here! I'm just doing the fucker.

I'm mean, it's like having a chick in the house.

Where's me dinner? Where's me lunch?

Endless feed me, drink me.

HENRY: Walk this way, love.

(Buzzing)

BENJI: We came here for that holiday.

Yes, years ago.

It's always been difficult getting you here.

What a lovely place.

If I have another southerner say

it's grim up north

I'll punch them in the face.

BENJI: Ok...

BENJI: Calm down.

BENJI: Fatty.

Really? You're calling me names?

I put on a

a bit of weight

when the army kicked me out thirty years ago.

I lost it soon afterwards.

BENJI: Thirty-five years ago you met Lance.

BENJI: I never liked him.

BENJI: Vindictive little shit.

HENRY: Really? We're talking about old shags?

BENJI: Old shags?

BENJI: You lived with him for fuck's sake.

HENRY: For a year.

BENJI: Neville liked him.

Neville doesn't like anyone who doesn't own a yacht.

Who's this fella you're seeing?

Jake.

What's he do?

He's a retired soldier.

Can you not just meet a baker?

Or a window cleaner?

Where?

We've become so class conscious.

We've gone back to the fifties.

We met loads back in London in the eighties.

We did.

Plumbers. Bakers. Carpenters.

Where are they all now?

Married?

To each other.

Or dead.

Married? Never thought about it.

We're queer for christ's sake.

Who wants to be heterofied?

The gays do.

They're chomping at the bit for equality.

Conformity.

You can shove that up your arse.

I'd rather chomp on something else.

(Traffic, bird song)

I've had a camera installed in here.

You can't do that, it's illegal.

So's murder but people still do it.

I'll report you.

To whom?

You want to keep your job?

Get in here.

Why'd you end our relationship?

We had a good thing going.

♫ Marching soldiers ♫

STOP!

Go back to your own bed.

You were talking again, Henry.

I've got work in the morning.

TOM: We need to talk.

I've got to let you go.

Company re-jig or, whatever.

This'll be your last shift.

Are there any other jobs?

Sure... but you'll...

have to apply for them.

But I've worked with you for years.

So, what?

Just make sure you finish this last shift.

You won't get paid if you don't.

That'll come out of your last pay packet.

Fuck you, Tommy, and your shitty fucking job.

A very posh Englishman goes into an off-license in Belfast.

and picks a bottle of wine and puts it on the counter.

And the man behind the counter looks at it and says

That'll be 1066.

And the Englishman says,

Ah, yes, 1066.

The Battle of Hastings.

And the Belfast man says,

Hang on there a minute, mister.

Vera?

Have we got a bottle of Hastings?

It's amazing how you survived the troubles.

Did I?

I escaped being tarred and feathered

and tied to a lamp post

like all the other boys that dated British soldiers.

You've always been so brave.

Look how you chatted me up

a squaddie, at that check point.

Belfast is a very different place these days.

But how did we come away from something like that?

We were brutal, horrible.

(Fire burning)

Gun fire. Shooting.

Gun fire. Shooting.

This is for you.

Paperwork for the army

to reinstate your pension

back dated.

I didn't ask you to do this.

Fill it in. Tell them the situation

and they'll do the rest.

This has always been a fucking problem

people sticking their nose in where it's not wanted.

Just trying to help.

If I wanted your help I'd ask for it.

You're wound so tight you wouldn't

have the breath for it

let alone the words.

We've only just met.

I've got a life time of experience...

JAKE: Being shut down.

JAKE: Cut off from your feelings.

I may not know you but I do know you,

You're me.

JAKE: But older.

JAKE: It's the same for all men.

Especially gay men.

Even more so, soldiers.

Benji's moved in.

Three weeks ago.

And you're just telling me now?

My old boyfriend.

I know who he is.

How long's he staying for?

Permanently.

Do you love him?

Not in a way you'd understand.

Try me.

We should never have spit up, we...

We get along.

There's no work involved.

Does he keep the nightmares away?

No, he doesn't.

Unbelievable.

JAKE: I can't do this.

I think it's best you leave,

and we don't see each other again.

(Running water)

JAKE: For fuck's sake...

Henry Farman, I love you.

(Voices, traffic)

HENRY: Where are you?

HENRY: Will you just come home, please.

HENRY: This is ridiculous.

Gun fire, explosions.

Gun fire, explosions.

(Running water)

We've been in worse situations than this.

When?

When we left Greville Place.

Well, when the landlord chased us out with an axe.

We were in our twenties then.

It was still an axe.

Where did he get it from?

He brought it with him.

To chase us out?

Not us...

Me.

I was alone.

Well, we got through that, we can get through this.

We're in our sixties now.

I'm a retired art director

and you're a failed soldier

Sorry.

Cleaner.

We're fucked.

My state pension doesn't kick in for another four years.

But I do have this month's rent.

HENRY: I've been dumped.

BENJI: By who?

BENJI: The toddler?

BENJI: What happened?

HENRY: You did.

HENRY: He didn't like you moving in.

BENJI: Where does he want me to live?

BENJI: Under a bridge?

HENRY: Possibly.

HENRY: But somewhere in India.

BENJI: Little shit.

HENRY: He got the paperwork to

HENRY: reinstate my army pension.

BENJI: Fill the fucker in.

BENJI: Get the money.

HENRY: It's all online now.

HENRY: And I don't know how to fill it in.

HENRY: I don't know how to do it.

I'm broke.

Why didn't you say something sooner?

So, you can throw me out sooner.

We're not getting into debt.

Give me your cards.

BENJI: All right.

BENJI: Calm down.

You'll have a stroke.

This is good.

You look after them for me.

BENJI: Sexy bugger.

HENRY: That was Jake.

BENJI: No...

Shame he's such a twat.

How's it hanging?

To the left.

But you know that.

You must be the infamous, Benji.

You must be the infamous, Jake.

JAKE: Nice to meet you.

What are you two layabouts doing?

Cruising.

Ha...

Fat chance of that.

I don't know.

They say some of the boys

running through this park can be quite hot.

How do you know? You've only just moved here.

News travels fast

on the Lavender press.

That old thing went out with the handkerchief code.

Some signals never change.

Old dogs can learn new tricks.

Henry's been sacked.

We're enjoying imminent

complete and utter ruin.

Benji!

We're just two old layabouts

eking out our existence

from one old packet of crackers and...

our eternal youth.

You've not looked in the mirror lately?

Oh, yes,

the fairest of them all.

Did you send in those forms?

It's all online these days.

Henry can't do that.

Neither can I.

Can't even open up a Thumper account me.

JAKE: I could do that for you.

You would do that?

JAKE: Call me.

Come to mine. My treat.

What just happened?

I used my still powerful lavender

juju on our new boyfriend.

He's not my boyfriend.

Not yet.

Henry, call me.

You can have your old job back.

I was being a dick before.

Just call me.

You make it look so easy.

You just have to get used to it.

BENJI: If they said

BENJI: we've all got to learn how to use a lathe

I'd tell them to fuck off.

Everything's online these days.

Banking.

Wanking. Seeing your GP.

BENJI: You take a photo of your ailment, then email it to them.

But what about the lens?

The nuance of the light, I mean

your red mark could end up looking like a pimple

when in fact it's a melanoma.

All those pictures of our piles.

In the ether or the cloud of whatever it is.

In a thousand years time they'll find those pictures

of our arseholes

and think, what the fuck was going on there?

That's why I wax mine.

Right.

Let's put your story in the box.

The one that says how awful they were to you.

I'd been seeing this air traffic controller, Scott.

It was 1994.

We were having a good time together.

Going out.

But I was a bit concerned that...

that I was becoming too relaxed.

We would often be out near the barracks.

So, I decided to end it.

He sent

a letter

that I had sent him.

And some incriminating photos

to my commanding officer.

I was discharged

immediately.

BENJI: Those photos were not photos of their arseholes, by the way.

But of them hugging each other at a party.

Innocent.

Sweet pictures.

JAKE: What happened next?

BENJI: Michael said,

Oh,

Janice...

How does it feel,

to be superfluous at your own dinner party?

Harsh!

Michael was a bugger then, and he is now.

He's running to be the mayor of London.

Mmmm, bugger.

Powerful bugger for sure.

Ah, you boys...

I'm jealous of you living in those times.

Ah, you've got your own times. And anyway

It's still our time, we're not dead yet.

The internet's taken the fun our of everything, these days.

And put it back for some of it, yeah...

All those orgies and threeways eh?

We only went to one by accident.

We just peeked in the door.

Threeways.

There was that pimply ballet dancer we met at Heaven.

What was his name?

It's all chocolates and roses for a dancer these days.

Not to mention a ballet dancer.

And let's not talk about getting into bed with the two of you.

He was called Simon.

He was a strange one.

That was the night you hit me.

Wow!

Threeways, there's always one that's pushed out

elbowed away while the other two get at it.

and this is what happened with him and Simon.

And I was jealous.

HENRY: I left the bedroom

HENRY: and Benji followed me into the living room.

I was, you know, distressed, upset.

I raised my hand to slap him across the face

and as I did so I was pulling it away

and the tip of my finger just touched his face.

And a mighty...

meaty bruise came up.

BENJI: It looked terrible.

I showed it off for weeks.

JAKE: You two must have really loved each other.

We still do.

I never raised my hand again.

Teddy?

Teddy?

He lived with us for six months.

Until you threw him out.

I'm sleeping with Jake tonight.

(Music)

The rent's due and I've not looked for a job.

I'll look tomorrow.

We're insane. Who's going to employ us. We're old.

It's discrimination.

By stealth.

HENRY: We'll end up homeless.

BENJI: Don't be so gloomy.

Who's going to pay the rent? The bills?

It'll come right.

When did you become so devil may care?

I'm allowing myself the chance

to not think about a future that might not happen.

Sell the fucking paintings.

Have faith.

HENRY: We're not religious.

BENJI: I'm thinking with my heart.

BENJI: It isn't all about fucking, Henry.

BENJI: It's about love.

Companionship.

Family.

I keep thinking about Teddy.

He hid himself away, Henry.

Effectively ending his life.

It was more than thirty-five years ago

it wasn't our fault.

BENJI: We threw him out.

HENRY: Well, I keep dreaming about him.

I couldn't cope.

Poor Teddy.

I don't need reminding.

BENJI: This is very strange.

We hear nothing from him for about

two and a half weeks and then this

dinner invitation out of the blue.

I saw him yesterday in the park.

What did he say?

We didn't speak.

You dragged him off into the bushes?

HENRY: I wish.

HENRY: I've applied for cleaning jobs.

BENJI: I'll sell a painting.

HENRY: Thank god.

I don't think your new boyfriend's gonna

want you dragging your old baggage

into your new relationship.

HENRY: What are you on about?

BENJI: That's what tonight's all about.

Jake's going to fess up his undying love for you.

I'll never abandon you.

Well, this was a lovely surprise.

And, we both needed it.

Don't be maudlin, we're having a good time.

To you, Jake...

We appreciate you.

Don't we, Benji?

I'm just glad we're all back together.

The night before Benji and I

officially become homeless.

It's rather reckless of us to be out

we really should be at home, packing our trunks.

JAKE: Tell me about Teddy.

We met him at a dinner party in Holland Park.

He'd just left university.

We clicked immediately.

We were young.

He came home with us that night.

And never left.

HENRY: We became an official threesome.

We forced it on to our friends.

Invites had to go out to all three of us.

HENRY: We were inseparable.

BENJI: We went everywhere together.

We loved each other.

We caused a scandal.

HENRY: But there was no reference point.

There was no guide as to how to behave.

After six months Henry told him to leave.

Nicely...

Gently.

HENRY: A month later,

he went in to a monastery

never to be seen again.

He's been locked away ever since.

It never bothered you, you had to hide from the army?

BENJI: We all hid back then.

As a gay man, you kept your head down.

Watched your back.

Only Henry, here...

in his civvies

went parading down The Kings Road

with his arms around me.

BENJI: And it's not changed much.

I bet you can't walk around this place arm in arm.

True.

BENJI: What is it?

BENJI: What's going on?

Congratulations!

HENRY: It's my pension.

Back dated...

BENJI: We're rich!

Rich!

We're rich!

Your room.

Your room.

Our room.

♪ Come here and lie with me

♪ on this warm bed

♪ there's loads of room for three

♪ to rest our heads

♪ I'll take your hands

♪ and kiss them softly

♪ lean my head on your bare chests

♪ we'll build a place for us to thrive in

♪ a house, a home, a nest.

♪ And we'll burn the wood together

♪ set the world on fire alight.

♪ And we'll burn the wood forever

♪ let the embers dance all night.

♪ A journey can be long

♪ when not prepared

♪ and now the three of us

♪ need not be scared

♪ they'll be no rule nor chance not taken

♪ and no fear will hold us back.

♪ and when the wind that blows bends us

♪ they'll be nothing we will lack.

♪ And we'll burn the wood together

♪ set the world on fire alight.

♪ And we'll burn the wood forever

♪ let the embers dance all night.

♪ A journey can be long

♪ when not prepared

♪ and now the three of us

♪ need not be scared.

♪ they'll be no rule nor chance not taken

♪ and no fear will hold us back.

♪ and when the wind that blows bends us

♪ they'll be nothing we will lack.

♪ And we'll burn the wood together

♪ set the world on fire alight.

♪ And we'll burn the wood forever

♪ let the embers dance all night.

♪ Come here and lie with us

♪ on this warm bed

♪ there's loads of room for three

♪ to rest our heads.