All language subtitles for Everyday Except Christmas 1957

Happy day!

Thanking you!

Good luck, ladies!

I'll be good luck, ladies. Thanking you!

I'll be good luck!

Happy day! Happy day, sir!

Good luck, ladies!

Thanking you!

Good luck, sir! Thanking you!

Thanking you! Happy day!

I'll be good luck! Good luck, sir!

Take this.

Allez! Allez! Allez!

Here you go.

- Do you want the next lot?
- Yes. Yes.

- Do you like radish?
- Yeah.

- Have you got those lettuce in there?
- Yeah.

- Not bad radish, are they?
- No.

Lettuces for market for Covent Garden.

Lettuces in boxes, mushrooms in baskets,
and the long boxes are for roses.

This goes on every night,
and it goes on all over England.

These roses and mushrooms grow
on a market garden in Sussex.

Brian and Dennis take the lorry
up to London every night.

It's usually a couple of hours' loading
before the last mushroom basket is aboard.

By the time they're ready to go,
it's getting on for midnight.

That's the end of the news summary.

Now we say good night
to listeners to the live programme.

If you're working through the night
or if you have to be up,

well, we hope it'll be
a quiet, uneventful time for you.

But if you're going to bed now,
good night... and sleep well.

♪ God Save The Queen

All through the night,
through cities and country towns,

and down the long arterial roads,
the lorries are coming to London,

with apples from Kent and Evesham,
potatoes from Norfolk,

oranges and lemons
from the western ports.

All these roads lead to Covent Garden.

The middle of the night is the beginning of a
new day for the night workers in the market.

Sleep is over for them.

They've come in by car,

last trains and buses have brought them in to
open up shop, to start work on their displays.

All round the market,
the streets are stirring.

The lorries that have come in
earlier in the night begin to unload.

Everything that comes to the Garden
finishes its journey by lorry,

then by hand and head and trolley
into the shops.

All night it's going
to keep on coming...

..in sacks and crates and boxes.

22 large.

A lot of flowers have come in by air -

daffodils from the Channel Islands,
anemones from France -

then come all the rest by trains
and lorries from all over England.

Lincolnshire tulips, primroses and
violets from the woods in Cornwall,

roses and chrysanthemums
in long wooden boxes.

Oh, never mind. Stop there.

- How many this afternoon?
- Four, eight, 12, 16... 22 and eight.

Allez! Allez! Allez! Ay! That's right.

This is the end of the journey.

The flowers have reached the address on
the label. This is where Bill takes over.

Bill is one of the night
men on the flower stands.

He comes up from across the river at midnight,
or a bit after, to start his day's work.

Now the boxes must be got off the trolley
and onto the shelves and checked and sorted.

All through the market,
displays are starting to grow.

Some people believe
in getting right down to it.

Others prefer to start with a cup of tea
and a chat - the cheerful way.

You've got... Raynes Park's open.
They've got a branch line.

Malden. Surbiton. Woking.
All the mainline stations.

All the little stations aren't open. It's clear.
The signals are green all the way through.

I'll tell you something else too
that you don't bloody well know.

- What?
- I don't expect Jim knows it.

- There's a record held by the Great Western...
- Yeah.

- ..since 1904, that hasn't been beaten.
- London to Exeter?

- No, you're not far out.
- The Great Western?

- It's got a record.
- Buggered if I know.

Well, wake up!

- All on the railway, are they?
- Eh?

I mean to say, all your brothers
are in it? All your brothers?

I'm the only one in the family
who's not on the railway.

For Sid, the night has started quietly.

His big load is still on the way,
mostly mushrooms coming up from Sussex.

At half-past one or two,
with Dennis at the wheel,

Sid's mushrooms and a lot else as well
pull into Covent Garden,

round the market and up the yard.

Come on! Come on! Straighten her up.

Come on! Come on!

Come on! Come on! Come on! Hold it!

Dennis and Brian are
glad to get to work again.

The sooner their load is off and
delivered, the sooner they can get home.

Go on. In here.

Now Sid can find out what sort of a job
the night is going to bring.

Judging by the invoices, he'll be busy.

A busy night means 400 baskets or more,
all to be checked and displayed.

- Morning.
- Up against the post there.

How many's he got?

- Same count are they?
- Yeah.

Right. That's your lot.

Half-past two and Sid
gets down to the job.

Out in the yard, Dennis and Brian
work steadily on towards bed,

packing their lettuces
off round the market.

First the unloading and delivering, then
the long job of sorting and setting out for sale.

How much you had in tonight, Brian?

- Not a lot. Only mush.
- No? Nothing else?

No. Not a great deal.
It was a better load last night.

- Got a ton of grape in there.
- Yeah, put that in last night.

- No oranges?
- No.

Danny's been idling about again?

That's nice.

We've had tons of sellers out there.

- Have you?
- Yeah.

Now, what are you gonna do about today,
after you've finished work?

Well, if you've got a
break, I'll go with you.

It'll cost you exactly two quid.

All round the market, through the small
hours, displays take shape and grow,

and still the flowers roll in.

♪ When down in gay Paree

♪ I paid five francs to see

♪ Oh, a big fat French lady

♪ Tattooed from head to knee

♪ And on her drawers

♪ Was a British man-of-war

♪ And on her back was a Union Jack

♪ So I paid five francs more

♪ And up and down her spine

♪ Were the Royal West Kent in line...

♪ Oh, I love her, oh, I love her

♪ Oh, I love my mother-in-law

Why don't you shut that row up?

- Why don't you turn your head?
- Do you mind?!

♪ I wonder why you keep me waiting...

- Morning, Patrick.
- Hello.

- All right?
- Yeah.

♪ I wonder why you keep me...

♪ The sun shines
east, the sun shines west

♪ But I know where the sun shines best

♪ Oh, Mammy...

♪ Where the grass is greener...

Thank you.

Half-past four in the morning
and everything's ready.

Everything's set in the flower market.

Everything's here except the salesmen
and the customers.

Another half-hour to
go before buying begins.

Just one last load to get in.

Fancy a cup of tea, Bill? Come on.

Right.

How's that? Good?

Come on, George.

..the market.

It's a regular meeting
place for some of them,

where they can sit down for a chat, a cigarette
and a cup of tea - and maybe a bite to eat.

Not everyone you find in Albert's
works in the market.

Some of them,
you wonder where they come from.

They come in at two or three in the morning,
have a bite to eat, talk for a bit, then they go,

and you wonder where.

I said to her, "I don't half talk
dirty." She said, "See you later, duck."

Later.

- You're going bald.
- Do you mind? Keep with us.

Come on, Horace!

Daylight brings traffic
back to the market -

lorries from farms and shops,
more vegetables to go out for sale.

Liven yourself up down there, mate.

These are the ordinary vegetables
from the farms round London.

Cabbages and potatoes, and leeks and
carrots, fresh out of the earth yesterday.

All round the courtyard, the stalls go up
and the wares are laid out for inspection.

The farmers stand by.

Slowly, with caution at
first, the buying begins.

- Bit of this lettuce?
- How much are they today?

Fruit and vegetables
start selling at five.

It's the early birds who get in first
who catch the bargains.

Serious business starts a little later.

This is the BBC Home Service.

Good morning, everybody.

The time is half-past six
and today is Thursday.

Happy day!

Thanking you!

Good luck, ladies! I'll
be good luck, ladies!

Thanking you! Happy
day! I'll be good luck!

Good luck, sir!

Mr Bayliss has been doing his rounds of
the Garden every early morning for 30 years.

He comes in to buy fruit and vegetables
for one of the big West End stores.

He knows where to find the bargains.
He knows what to watch out for.

Grown by 36, Aggie Ford.

In the flower market,
the boys are busy again.

The salesmen are in and so are the customers
and, by seven o'clock, buying is brisk.

There's no shouting or loud bargaining,
everything friendly.

But people want what's best
and they want it cheapest.

Oh, hello, mate, how are you?

- Do you wanna buy the roast from them?
- Give me a sec.

No, leave it
and I'll see if I can get some scrag.

- What about Dutch? How much?
- 20 in a bundle. Ten bob a bundle.

Ten bob a bundle.

- There you are.
- Give us three of those.

Pink, red and white.

Three, four, five, six,
seven, eight, nine. Nine at four.

Six, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16...

I bet it'll be nothing really,
only a few bob on top.

The third was your one, innit?

- Do you want it in or out, darling?
- I'll have it out, please.

- You don't want it...?
- No, leave it in. Leave it in, please.

- You what, dear?
- The others...

Red and white? 18
bob that is for a dozen.

- And what's the pink?
- 18 bob there, dear. 18 bob there.

Thank you.

- Go on, Bill!
- Go on, then, Bill. Go on.

Tony, good job
the old man ain't up here this morning.

I want two more.
Have we got a small white anywhere?

Small white and a small blonde.

I think it's a supreme favourite.

People come to the market from the big
stores and little shops and barrows.

Some of them want cut flowers
and, some of them, plants still growing.

They want to be sure they're fresh
with plenty of life in them.

And they want them out and away
and into the shops by nine.

- Right with you.
- Right, let's have that.

One by 36 Ada Stevens.

One by 42 love lilies. One by
48 Sussex pink. And one by 30...

Years ago, all the porters in
the flower market were women.

Now there's only one of them left.

Alice has been on the job for 35 years
and, when she goes, that's the end of it.

By eight o'clock the movement in
the flower market is steadily outwards.

Cafés are busy now all round the market, with
cups of tea and sandwiches for the buyers

who have been on the go
since four or five this morning.

Right.

All right.

- Thank you.
- Thanks a lot.

Frank's is always crowded. It's quick and
it's clean and the menu is always the same.

The customers are all regulars here
and they know what to expect.

Morning.

- Cup of tea.
- One tea here, please.

- Would you like anything to...?
- Yeah, a sausage sandwich, please.

- Cheese roll, please.
- Cheese roll?

Tea and a...?

- ..and a cheese roll.
- Cheese roll.

- Oh, thanks a lot.
- Two teas, please.

Two teas. Two teas.

- Egg sandwich, please. Egg.
- Egg.

There you are.

Ta, love.

And two sausage, please. No mustard, no.

And two egg.

What are you going to have, my dear?

- Erm...
- I'll take that for you.

I want it washed up and I want a cup of
tea. No sugar in it, please, when I go.

Now, what are you gonna have?
Sausage? Egg? Ham? Cheese?

- I'll have ham, I will. I'll have ham.
- A ham sandwich.

By ten or ten-thirty, the rush is over.

In the flower market,
people begin to relax.

George - who came on at midnight -
can put his empty boxes away,

and Alice can get
her weight off her feet.

For the boys who came on at midnight,
this is the end of the day.

For the others, it's just a break, then across
to the shops for another three hours or so.

Late in the day, when
prices have fallen,

the old ladies come round who sell
their flowers in the London streets.

But things aren't what they were.

Later on in the week... I don't suppose
they'll get any easier, will they?

I mean, you pay one and nine, and you ask
them two bob or half a crown for a buttonhole.

- They think you're robbing 'em.
- They do. They do.

- Got to do these things, ain't you?
- Yes. Got to.

- I say the change in the market...
- Yeah.

Our poor old granny ought to be alive.

Our poor granny ought to be alive now.

60 year ago...

I mean, they all helped one another.

Old Freddie here,
they'd be on the booze.

Then they'd wake up with nothing
the next morning

and old Freddie would give them
a lovely box of roses.

- Lovely little short roses, but not today.
- No.

- They won't help one another, will they?
- No.

Well, it's... All these boys, they...

When Jenny started selling flowers
on street corners,

Victoria was Queen
and every gentleman wore a buttonhole,

but that was a long time ago.

By eleven o'clock, there's nothing left,
except what other people don't want.

The fruit and flowers,
they're thrown away.

Work has gone out
to the streets round the market now,

where the big lorries are loading
their cargos for out of town.

Everything that was sold in the early
morning has to go out for loading

and tomorrow's supplies
are already coming in.

Happy day! Happy day!

Happy day!

Thanking you. Good luck, ladies...

The lorries are going
far round the country,

as far west as Wales
and as far north as the border.

They'll be leaving Covent Garden all day and
travelling on through the night, some of them,

piled high with freight
and as heavy as they'll stand.

Good luck, sir! Thanking you!

Happy day! I'll be good
luck! Good luck, sir!

Thank you.

Thanking you...

So there it is, and there's
only one 24 hours in the year

when these streets are quiet
from one midnight to the next.

People say the market's changing,

and that's not surprising, when you
think it's been going on for 300 years.

But there's a lot that stays the same.

Young faces follow old.

And old ways will change to new,
one of these days.

But work will still be with us
one way or another.

And we all depend on each other's work,
as well as our own -

on Alice, and George, and Bill, and Alan, and
Sid, and all the others who keep us going.