49 Up Page #3

and push a pram

down the street

with a fag hanging

outside your mouth."

I think that we

all could have gone

any way that we wanted

to at the time

within our capabilities,

I mean, we just -

we chose our own jobs.

But we only had a

limited choice anyway.

I mean, truth be told, we didn't

have a choice of private education,

because they couldn't

have afforded it anyway.

Change is too much, Mike.

Our lives are changing

far too much, all of us.

To be honest, when you look

at the seven-year-old us,

it's difficult

to believe it is us.

I mean, it's like it's someone

else you're looking at,

this little cute thing.

I mean, I can't remember being...

Well, I wasn't cute.

I would like to get married

when I grow up.

Well, I don't know

what sort of boy,

but I think one that...

That's not got a lot of money

but he has got some money,

not a lot.

(Michael) Have you got

any boyfriends?

Um...

Um...

That's personal, innit?

By the time she was 21,

Jackie had married Mick

and moved to the

outskirts of London.

It was horrific, really, what

happened to the wedding cake.

I mean, it was sitting right

in between Mick and myself

when suddenly the columns

just completely gave way

and it just all

sort of fell into one.

I would say on average,

19 is probably too young.

By 35 she was divorced.

We decided ourselves, I mean

just between the two of us,

we knew it wasn't

going any further.

We both knew, I think,

that at the end of the day,

we would be happier

leading our own lives.

...Jackie.

She and Mick had decided early on

that they didn't want children.

Basically I would say

because I'm far too selfish.

I enjoy doing what I want

when I want and how I want,

and certainly at the moment

I can't see any way around that.

Oh, and... This one on.

Here we go. Oh, yeah.

Had a brief but very

sweet relationship,

the result of which was Charlie.

Give us a cuddle.

I don't really want

Charlie to be an only.

I'd love him to have

brothers and sisters,

but not necessarily loads of 'em.

Just, you know -

one would do, actually.

Right, Charlie.

There's yours.

Please eat it all up.

And James.

Thanks, mum.

Good boy.

And last but not least...

Going to eat that one for me?

After her relationship

with Charlie's father ended,

she met Ian, and they

moved to Scotland

and had two more sons.

James.

(James) All right.

By 42, they had split up.

Lee.

Go on, Lee.

Go and get 'em.

At 49, despite the split,

the family all live in

the same area of Scotland.

There's your dad!

Lee and Charlie's birthdays

are only a month apart,

so we tend to do

something in between

so that we celebrate

both their birthdays.

So we usually go somewhere

like amusement park.

(Michael) That Lee's got

a lot of nerve, hasn't he?

And a little bit

of bravado, I think.

Because his older

brothers had said no,

I think he decided,

"I'm going to do this one."

Yeah!

(laughs)

Whoo!

Has Charlie shown any interest

as to his father?

No. Ian's his father

as far as he's concerned.

He knows and the other boy knows,

the whole family know

that biologically he's not,

but in every respect

Ian is his father,

always has been,

he just done everything with

him, been everything to him,

taught him everything.

What would you do if you had

lots of money, about 2?

I would buy meself

a new nice house,

you know, one that's

all nice and comfy.

Oh, quite like that.

Jackie suffers from

rheumatoid arthritis

and lives off disability benefit.

(Michael) How is money for you?

Could do with more, as just

about everybody would say,

but we manage.

We cut our cloth accordingly.

You've got x amount,

and that's what you do.

I can imagine you in that.

(Michael) Has Liz got

anything to do with that?

Liz has always got something

to do with that.

Ian's her son, but she

also says that I'm here

and she's got three grandchildren

here that she loves dearly,

and she will be there for us.

James has just had a trip

to Alton Towers

with the school.

Suddenly she'll say,

"You pay the trip,

I'll give him

his spending money",

Which is brilliant, because it

just makes life easier for me.

Now, you've moved in

the last seven years.

Tell me about that.

Because of the arthritis

that I've got,

I needed to come

to the ground floor,

and this particular

area that I'm in now

is an area that I like.

It's close to Liz,

my mother-in-law,

so from that point of

view it's - it suits.

The school's across

the road for the boys,

good neighbours,

which makes a difference

wherever your property is,

it's how the East End used

to be about 30 years ago.

Doors used to be open, the neighbours

all watched for each other.

If one neighbour had a problem,

the other neighbours helped out.

That's how it is here.

That's what this place is

like. It's like a village.

We deal with the problems with

the boys as and when they arise.

I mean, you've always

got the problem of drink

and drugs and smoking

and not smoking

and, you know,

that sort of thing.

I mean, Charlie's of an age now

where I can't mother him, but

I can't be his friend, either.

He wants to work,

he wants to leave school,

and he wants to get an

apprenticeship to car mechanics,

but the chances of him doing

that are probably very slim.

Lee, take your time, babe.

You'll make yourself ill.

Don't care.

James tends to be a bit

of a computer freak.

He wants to produce

and make his own games.

(boy) That looks just

like your brain - mush.

Lee tends to be, like,

the outspoken one

and a bit like I was

at his age, really.

In fact, he's very much

like I was at his age.

Is that a worry?

I think that's -

that's terrible.

How dare you say that to me?

Is that a worry?

Why would that be a worry?

Do you think I've turned out badly?

No, but sometimes

when you look at yourself,

you don't always see things

you like in yourself,

and then you see them

in your child and you think...

Yeah, but I never said he'd

picked up all of my traits.

I actually think he's

picked up probably the best.

(fussing) If you're not

going to play nicely...

Right, go to bed, then.

No!

He has a temper that isn't as

bad as when he was younger,

but it is something

that he knows about

and he tries very hard to control.

Does your temper

get you into trouble?

You're probably the best

one to answer that.

Does it?

I mean, you and I have had

arguments on occasions.

Did you meet enough men before

you decided who to marry?

I mean, what do you mean

by "settle down"?

I mean, if you think that getting

married, as far as we're concerned,

is a case of going to work,

come home, cook tea for hubby,

going to bed, getting up, going

to work, you're totally mistaken.

(Michael) I like it

when you shout at me.

I'm not sure you do, really.

What happened at 21?

You asked me if I'd had enough

experience with men before I got married,

and I thought that was actually

an insulting question,

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