The Rainbow Page #5

- Bed and blessings!

Marriage... Marriage...

CHATTER CONTINUES

Marriage is...

HUSH DESCENDS:

It's what we're made for.

A man enjoys being a man.

For what purpose was he made a man if not to enjoy it?

And likewise a woman enjoys being a woman.

Least in my eyes she does.

Now, for a man to be a man it takes a woman...

..and for a woman to be a woman it takes a man.

And therefore we have marriage.

Don't run us off our legs.

There is no marriage in heaven, but on earth there is.

If there are no marriages in heaven, where do the angels come from?

LAUGHTER:

Angels... If there's got to be angels...

There's got to be, hasn't there?

If there's got to be angels, and there are no men or women amongst them...

..it seems to me as a married couple makes one angel.

It's the drink!

Go on.

An angel has got to be more than a human being.

So I say an angel is the soul of a man and a woman in one.

And, and, and...!

No, wait! They rise up, united in the Judgement Day, as one angel.

Aye!

I had an angel up my nose once.

LAUGHTER:

My mother said, "Why are you poking about up there?"

I said, "I've got an angel up my nose." She gave me such a swipe.

We called dandelion seeds "angels" and I'd stuffed one up my nose.

If I become an angel, it'll be my married soul, not my single soul.

So I say...an angel is the soul of a man and a woman...

..in one.

How lovely.

Praise the Lord.

ALL:
Praise the Lord!

Praise the Lord!

BRASS BAND:

Isn't it nice to have a wedding?

You have confetti in your hair.

I hear you're teaching.

Yes. I thought you might have gone off to war.

I embark at Southampton on Friday.

Do you want to go?

I want to go, yes.

Ladies and gentlemen, take your partners for the Lancers, please.

# JOLLY MUSIC #

Why do you want to go to war?

To do something genuine. It's a toy life, as it is.

What'll you be doing?

Making railways, building bridges, working like a slave.

But they'll be pulled down when the Army's done with them.

It's like a game.

Not to those taking part.

It's about the most serious business there is, fighting.

Why is fighting more serious than teaching, for instance?

You kill or get killed. It's serious enough, killing.

When you're dead you don't matter.

But it matters whether we settle the Boers.

Not to you or me. Do you want to live in Africa?

No, but we have to do this or it's the end of the nation.

But we aren't the nation. Heaps of others are.

Everybody could say that.

If everybody said it, there'd be no nation, but I should be myself.

You'd be at the mercy of every robber that came along.

They wouldn't get much.

I'd rather be swept off my feet by a robber than a soldier.

Only because you can't imagine me out of uniform.

Will this do?

Now may I steal your heart?

It's not my heart you want but my soul.

Kiss me.

Kiss me, Anton! Kiss me! Kiss me!

MUSIC & CHATTER

They see war as a game, anyway.

Bang!

Arghhhh!

Anton?

What?

Come back to me.

Yes.

You will come back to me?

I will come back.

I'm going to dance with Anton.

May I take the soldier?

Ursula's looking a bit upset.

Oh?

Ask her to dance.

Go and ask her. Go and ask her now.

As father of the chief bridesmaid, may I have the pleasure?

Such a condition in a class.

I don't believe it. Simply disgraceful.

I can't think how you've been allowed to get like it.

Every Monday I shall examine these books...

..so don't think you can unlearn everything you've learned...

..and go back to Standard Three.

Why are you writing in pencil?

There aren't enough pens to go round.

Not enough pens, Miss Brangwen?

No. We are five short.

Oh. And how is that?

How many are here today?

Twenty-four.

How many pens are there? Staples?

Please, sir, 19.

That's very curious. A few days ago there were 24 pens.

Now there are 19. What's 19 from 24, Richards?

Please, sir?

I'm waiting, Richards.

Eleven, sir.

I would advise you to attend. 19 from 24 is 5, so there are five pens to account for.

Have you looked for them, Staples?

Yes, sir.

Am I to have thieving, besides your dirt, bad work and bad behaviour?

Not content with being the worst class in the school, you are thieves as well.

Pens do not melt into the air, or mizzle away into nothing.

They must be somewhere and they must be found by Standard Five.

They were lost by Standard Five and they must be found!

WHISTLE:

No recreation until all pens are found.

Miss Brangwen will organise the search.

To start with, you will turn out your desks completely.

Not just your books, but conkers, string, sweets, everything.

Be quiet, Wesley. What is it?

Please, miss, Richards hit me.

Come in front, Richards.

I said come in front!

I SHAN'T!

Ah! Get off!

STAND STILL!

Fold your arms!

LAUGHTER:

Get off me, you b*tch!

OW!

OW!

Get off!

WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?!

I've thrashed him.

Get up! Go and stand by my desk!

If you settle Benson and Staples the same way, you'll be all right.

Put your things away tidily!

Sharp! Sharp!

I said... put your things away tidily!

There will be no more time wasted looking for lost pens.

New pens will be issued first thing Monday morning.

Carry on!

What's he say?

You know perfectly well.

Since it's all about the weather, it must be in code.

There's a tatie pot in the oven for you.

Thanks, Mother.

Dad in church?

As usual.

Aren't you hungry?

Pay day!

You've been there a month already?

This is my board.

Fifty shillings.

Aye.

Come and get your dinner. Billy, bedtime.

That was the happiest day of her life.

A souvenir from the class bouquet?

A memento of her time at that prison.

I thought she enjoyed the challenge.

Nobody likes school.

You don't like your art school?

That's different.

Here's us at Scarborough in the holidays.

A few sunny days on parole.

Dad and I ran the handicrafts school.

Ursula spent her time at the harbour with the sailors.

No souvenirs of them?

Not here. There's plenty of you, though.

I've often wondered about this one. Who are those wretched folk?

The Boers. The enemy.

But they're civilians. And that woman - were you fighting women?

She had six notches in her rifle.

Why?

Six notches - six lives.

Carlisle College with the suffragettes - and the teachers.

Another prison?

This is beautiful.

A cross section of human hair. Such delicate abstraction.

I prefer the coarse reality.

Gudrun!

Anton was just admiring...your hair.

She was only being polite.

We were waiting for you.

Yes. Exams started late.

How did you do?

Not very well. You shouldn't have encouraged her.

No. But I was all agog.

You've been very busy these last two years, haven't you?

Yes. So have you, I gather.

Yes.

I'm very happy to see you.

Thank you.

Is there anything you'd like to do?

Is there anything we can do?

There's nothing to do here.

Then let's walk.

By the river?

I was quite flattered by the space allocated to me in your scrapbook.

Soldiering is more important than teaching.

I'd hoped you'd forgotten that.

The number of times I've regretted that last evening.

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