"MrsTurner!" "What are you doing?" "!" "Double-checking." "You're treble-checking what I've double-checked." "I'm confiscating this list," "One thing left to be done is for you to get yourself ready." "Clare and Richard are late with the flowers." "Get ready, please." "'Young fellow, what are you doing?" "'" "We're not going to let her bully us, are we, Flora?" "Cats!" "Well, at least they don't get married and make their mothers wear ridiculous hats." "What are you doing in your dressing gown?" "!" "It all looks wonderful." "I think I will decide on that." "No-one will notice weeds, they're going to be too busy looking at me!" "Now go and get ready." "I can't!" "I can't find my glasses!" "Try looking in your handbag." "Is Jack ready?" "Is your father ready?" "!" "Tea, do you want any?" "Coming!" "Yeah, coming." "You'll outshine that sister of yours." "Your father will be great." "Yeah, he will be." "He's waited for this day." "We've talked about this day for so long." "And now, the final touch." "I'm not cut out for this mother-of-the-bride business." "I look like that madwoman patient of yours that pestered you." "Wore those gigantic hats." "I saw her once hatless, she had hair like the Eiffel Tower." "Oh, Jack, really, please!" "Keep control!" "Oh!" "I'm sorry, darling." "We'll get through today, and Sophie will make us proud." "She always has." "Clare and Richard are here at last." "And they're bickering as usual." "Have it your way." "I'll carry these but I left them especially for you." "Where are you going to put those?" "I know where I'd like to put them." "I think they'll fit better up yours." "Where is everyone?" "Where's Mrs Savery?" "She's within hearing distance." "I'll help this poor man unload some of his burden." "I wonder if they need help with Jack." "They can manage." "Are the cars ready?" "CHURCH BELLS RING" "Don't you make a lovely couple?" "Have you got your speech?" "You've asked me twice." "Yes, I've got my speech." "I don't know which is beginning to wilt, mother or the hat." "Daddy, yours is slipping." "MUSIC: "I Don't Feel Like Dancing" by Scissor Sisters" "# So I play along when I hear that favourite song" "# I'm gonna be the one who gets it right." "# But I don't feel like dancin'... # We've had the church wedding and the ground hasn't opened up and swallowed us." "I'm working on it." "Ah, excuse me, I have this dance with Edward." "Might convert him." "She'll never change, will she?" "Not a chance." "Have you spoken to Jack?" "How do you think he looks?" "You're as good a doctor as I am, Anne." "What do you think?" "He's completely immobile, he doesn't sleep, he's suffering terribly, he can barely..." "The doctor in me tells me..." "That it's a dreadful way to die." "It's..." "Can I say something awful?" "We both know you have to be damned unlucky to go like this and we are doctors, so if it scares us, how can I blame people for not going anywhere near him?" "Not even you." "My wonderful husband reduced to this." "Richard, go and talk to him, please." "Hello, old friend." "Actually, Anne..." "Excuse me." "She's coming." "Darling, I'll be back in a moment." "# But I don't feel like dancin' No sir, no dancing' today" "# Don't feel like dancin', dancin' Even if I find nothin' better to do" "# Don't feel like dancin'... #" "Smile, everyone!" "Hurry up, Sophie!" "Well done." "Come on!" "Mind the tree!" "Over here!" "Mind, Flora!" "Jack, mind the cat!" "That damn cat has a mind of its own." "Of course she has, she's my cat!" "Let me take that." "OK." "Anne, where are you?" "Mummy?" "Daddy's looking for you." "Edward's going to do his speech." "He's been working on it for ages." "Oh, dear." "Is it very long?" "I thought it was perfect but Sophie cut it." "Good for Sophie." "Before I make a toast to the bride and groom, I ask you to raise your glasses to the man who should be delivering this speech..." "Our wonderful father." "He's been a tower of strength to Sophie, to Jessica, to myself and to our mother, all through our lives, and he continues to be so." "He makes you all welcome to our house on this great day and so I ask you to salute our parents..." "To Dr Jack Turner and Dr Anne Turner." "Jack and Anne." "Guess who's last to leave." "Clare and Richard are having a nightcap." "Why don't you go and see them off?" "I can manage here." "Oh, thank you, darling." "My wife has just made the profound observation that nature knows best." "I'm pointing out she is, as usual, talking rot." "And you'll take his side, You'll stick together." "You doctors always do." "Well, I know we're not allowed to help people die peacefully but we can watch them die of starvation!" "Hypocrisy annoys me, Clare." "It's been a long day." "We'd best be going." "No, no, no." "Drink the champagne, finish it." "Enjoy it." "Enjoy everything while you can." "We had such plans, Jack and myself, when he retired." "A new life..." "Oh, Clare, take that expression off your face!" "You're looking sympathetic, it doesn't suit you." "You look like a nun with halitosis." "Well, thank you very much!" "If you're not careful, I'll come and breathe all over you!" "Oh, get me a last glass of something - anything!" "That'll do." "Get that down you." "Cheers." "Cheers." "Mmm!" "Did you put poison in this glass?" "!" "No, I merely looked at it." "I want to see you drink it." "Come to an end." "Life as we have known it." "I wanted to be happy in our retirement." "I am angry he got ill, we had better things to do than die!" "Damn it!" "Damn it!" "We'd better go." "Right, has everyone done four handfuls?" "Sophie, you have, Jessica has, I have..." "I've done three." "Well, do a fourth." "Think I've found something." "Look at this." "Must be a screw from the coffin." "If anybody says a word about your father having a screw loose..." "Mrs Turner, would you be angry if I gave these a rub with a brush?" "Why would I be angry?" "Well, people are strange when it comes to dying." "It's hard to let go of who we love and all they had about them." "Do you believe in ghosts?" "It's not the dead put the wind up me, it's the living." "No, no superstitions, I don't entertain them." "I'm glad you're bearing up." "Doctor Turner is a very big loss." "You know what has to be done and you do it, and more power to you, I say." "Oh, Jesus, I poison you with compliments!" "Come on, back to work, both of us!" "Oh..." "Damnation!" "Ooh!" "Diana?" "Could you get me a couple of plasters or something?" "Look at this." "Tripped for no good reason." "There you are." "What would I do without you?" "TELEPHONE RINGS See you later." "Surgery?" "So you have a fair idea of the tests we'll need?" "Yes, and I'll do them all." "Well, I'll arrange..." "I have no doubts about it." "It's what I want." "Having a child..." "Have you got children?" "Three." "My mother's very ill." "A stroke." "A whole series of small ones then a whammer." "She whispered something to me after the first." "She said, "Love your children. "" "Your mother sounds very wise." "Edward." "Edward?" "Thank you for all this." "How could I manage?" "I love it, you know I do." "Makes a pleasant change from the office in London..." "What's the matter?" "Are you all right?" "Oh, don't take any notice." "It's the house, so quiet without Daddy." "SHE SOBS" "Would it devastate you if I were to sell it?" "Oh, snap me out of this, Edward, I'm being maudlin!" "I should do something to help, hard work!" "What do you want me to do?" "I'd like you to go back in the kitchen and make a cup of tea, please, because in the garden you are Genghis Khan." "Really!" "It was his children drove Genghis Khan to destruction!" "Ha!" "And I sympathise!" "How was she?" "'She seems very emotional all the time. '" "Never know if she's going to bite your head off, laugh or cry." "She's still in mourning, Edward." "Has she mentioned selling the house?" "No, I'm not selling it." "I wasn't being serious." "Edward that worried about losing his garden?" "He's worried about you grieving." "Well, why can't he speak out?" "Why send you?" "He didn't." "I came myself." "I expect Jessica as well." "Are you all on a mission?" "Why are you so touchy?" "This has come out of the blue." "What has?" "Selling the house, moving." "I said I'm not!" "It's just..." "Oh, it's just such a big house to maintain." "There are always things going wrong." "The lights keep blowing." "Have to get an electrician in." "It's just one thing after another..." "And I've had a few nasty falls." "It's probably nothing, just me being careless, I expect." "You must go to the doctor!" "Sophie, I've been practising medicine for thirty years." "I don't need advice!" "Say something." "And have you bite my head off?" "You're tearing up plants, Mother, stop it!" "They're my ruddy plants to tear up!" "Say nothing to your brother and sister." "Then you'll go to a doctor." "Promise?" "Of course." "But I break promises, it's part of my charm." "I think I've found the problem!" "Mrs Turner, are you there?" "See what he wants." "I'll take these upstairs." "Coming!" "Don't tell me this is going to be a big job." "Mrs Turner!" "Jesus Christ, Mrs Turner!" "We'll have to lift her!" "Don't move a muscle of her!" "We'll have to fetch a doctor." "Well, get a move on!" "I'll stay with her." "What is the matter with you, Mrs Turner?" "Oh, is there much blood?" "Don't you worry about that." "Is the laundry ruined?" "All that ironing for nothing." "I'll give you a hand..." "Just you stay put!" "One move and I'll give you laundry." "What is happening to me?" "What is happening?" "SHE SOBS" "Jack, Sophie, Edward, Jessica." "Jessica, Edward, Sophie, Jack." "Help me, help me, help me, help me." "Worst diagnosis I could have had." "You would agree with that, I presume?" "Yes." "The odds of this happening twice in one family must be many millions to one." "So... a bomb going off slowly but surely inside my body, and there is nothing to be done, is there?" "You could lie to me, Richard." "You could comfort me." "I know you too well not to, Dr Turner." "Yeah." "Thank you for sparing me nothing, I do prefer that." "Courage, boys, courage." "Richard, it's me." "I'm at the surgery." "I might appreciate that lift home." "Thanks." "Still taking it all in... the news." "One thing to ask." "Fire away." "Any point in more tests?" "Any hope they could be wrong?" "Well, there's always hope, Anne." "Have you said anything to the children?" "Well, what will they be able to do?" "You need to tell them." "Would you like me to break the news?" "I'm happy to do it." "Then one of us is." "More tests, then?" "Let battle commence." "PSP." "Progressive supranuclear palsy." "Are you going to say nothing?" "Better ask me what it bloody is while I can still answer you." "Is it... is it like daddy's?" "Worse." "This can't happen twice." "It has." "It can't." "It can't, they must be wrong." "No... they're not wrong, Sophie." "What are the symptoms?" "Can't speak." "Can't swallow, fed by tube." "Can't see." "May not be able to even blink." "I'm already prone to uncontrollable fits of laughter, tears, rage, for no reason." "Falling backwards..." "that's how it's even worse than what killed your father, to put it bluntly." "That is PSP." "That is what I have." "It's rotten bad luck." "What are we going to do?" "I've made up my mind." "I don't want to hear this." "I would like you to respect my decision." "What have you decided?" "Suicide." "What have you just said?" "Would you be so kind as to repeat what you have just said?" "No, I wouldn't, Sophie." "Why not?" "clearly." "How else would you like me to tell you?" "Morse code?" "Bush telegraph?" "Smoke signals?" "I think the world's gone mad." "I feel remarkably sane." "That makes one of us." "What's has made you decide?" "It's been decided for me, Edward." "How has it?" "The disease, Jessica, that's what's decided it." "We can't allow you to kill yourself." "Allow me?" "I can't, mum." "None of the three of us can." "Excuse me." "Mother, please, you must discuss this." "No discussion." "Don't be so damn selfish." "Listen to me." "She's just had dreadful news." "So have we, Edward." "Come on." "Please don't let this happen." "Please." "Will you read this?" "Do you see what it is?" "Times and dates and days" "What do they mean?" "You'll know I've already fallen down the stairs, well, here are the rest of those memorable occasions when I could no longer control myself." "They are a record of each time I've fallen, or dropped what I was holding, or was helpless." "That is my list." "Look at the length of it." "This is already happening so often." "Is this what you want for me?" "We just want you to live." "So do I, Jessica." "We want to help you." "We'll all help you." "All right." "Tell me." "Mention palliative care, though, and I'll turn violent." "Perhaps you'll lock me in the bedroom?" "Face it, did the same thing to your poor father." "You did the very best for him." "That's why we ask you to let us do the same for you." "Be there for you." "What do you want me to do?" "You could move into a house you can cope with." "Single storey." "A bungalow?" "Dear, dear, you'd put me in a bungalow." "It makes sense, mother." "Don't dazzle me with sense, Sophie, it was never your strong point." "A bungalow!" "Bungalow!" "Perhaps if I keep saying it I might resist the temptation to emigrate." "I hear Eastbourne's lively." "I wonder if it's full of bungalows!" "She makes it sound like we're putting her in the workhouse." "I heard that!" "You were meant to!" "I knew it." "Looks like a Scout hut." "It's less than a mile from home." "It might just as well be Edinburgh." "The cat will hate it." "It's not perfect, but then, what is?" "I'm sorry." "cried in front of everyone in the town by now, it's ridiculous." "I'm either crying or losing my rag completely." "Sophie, you should tell me to pull myself together." "Really should." "It's low maintenance." "All on one level, obviously." "No stairs to fall down." "I'll ignore that cheap remark." "Really warm, not in the least bit drafty." "It does have potential." "Am I in the company of two estate agents?" "We're trying our best." "I do appreciate that." "You will make it bearable." "Here is where I have to manage, then so be it." "We can bring things from home." "Yes, we can." "We'll be absolutely fine." "Edward, the garden." "We'll have a look, see what we can do with that." "It's the garden I'll miss most about the house." "Me, who couldn't grow a daisy!" "Cheer up, Edward, you can do anything with a garden." "Come spring, who knows?" "Might be thriving." "We'll need to make up a rota - who stays when." "No, I don't think that's going to work." "Look." "What?" "Look at her." "She doesn't want to live here." "She doesn't want to live." "Well, I want her to." "And so do you." "And we will help her." "Mrs Turner, are you not frozen in that garden?" "The year's turning quickly." "Come inside to the heat." "We're a right pair, Flora." "You really shouldn't go outside." "I know that, you know, but it's a waste of breath telling you." "Yes, it is, I'm afraid." "Are you still going to the coffee shop?" "Clare has insisted." "I daren't cross her." "Here we go." "Coffee looks dreadful." "Don't let me eat any of that cake." "Why did you buy it?" "Temptation." "I must resist." "I must be good." "Oh, such willpower!" "Share it." "Oh, I daren't, putting in weight as it is." "You must get back on the tennis courts." "Shall I use this as a racket?" "Really, Clare, my tennis days are over." "You needn't tell me." "I'm now partnered with that dreadful Mrs Phelps." "You know, I pointed her out to you one day - very tall woman, voice like a parrot." "Vaguely resembles the Duke of Edinburgh, yes." "Perfect!" "Slightly more hair." "Oh, God, Anne!" "What's going on?" "And you can stop staring." "It's none of your bloody business." "Want to go home." "Get me home." "Yes, of course, go home." "Just stay there." "Shall I give you a hand into the house?" "You do and I'll wallop you with this stick." "That's the spirit!" "Mrs Savery." "You can lean on me if you like." "Thank you." "Sophie rang." "She's coming down." "No, not today." "Not today, no." "Right, well, that's me done and dusted." "Yes, I've left the money." "Collected, thank you." "Are you sure you have everything?" "The medication - you know exactly how much?" "Thank you, Mrs Savery." "Shall I phone Sophie?" "No." "Thank you." "So I won't." "Till tomorrow, then." "Tomorrow." "Damn!" "That article's useful." "Import..." "I'm not a doctor any more." "I can't practise any more." "It's gone." "What is to become of us, Flora?" "No more cat food, eh?" "I won't even be able to open the ruddy can." "We might starve to death, darling." "Come on, come on." "That's it." "I thought it was all so well planned out but it's not, is it, little one?" "It's not." "Oh." "It's now" "or" "never, Flora." "PHONE MESSAGE:" "So no need to call, having an early night." "Not that early, surely." "PHONE RINGS" "PHONE CONTINUES TO RING" "Where are you, Mother?" "Is she all right, Mrs Savery?" "Why would she tell me not to come?" "When?" "OK." "CAT MIAOWS" "I can't pick you up, darling." "I might fall and I'm so ruddy tired." "I really am." "Edward, it's me, I'm coming to get you." "PHONE RINGS" "PHONE RINGING" "PHONE STOPS RINGING" "PHONE RINGS AGAIN" "I can't just leave work." "No, look, I don't care how busy you are." "Give me an hour at least." "No, Jessica." "Something's wrong." "What is it?" "Be ready in ten minutes." "Edward!" "PHONE RINGS" "PHONE STILL RINGING" "PHONE STOPS RINGING" "Jessica, come on, now!" "I can't." "Mother?" "Mother?" "Jessica!" "Oh, I want to die." "Oh, let me die..." "Let me die." "It's all right." "It's all right." "If I were a dog, I'd put myself down." "I want to die." "Help me." "Should we call an ambulance?" "Shhh." "Do you think we should wake her?" "I don't think we should." "Why don't you get some sleep?" "I can stay and watch her." "We have to face what's happened." "What exactly it means." "Can't it wait?" "I don't think it can." "I'm going to call Richard." "Just let her rest." "It'll be what she needs." "You'll have to spend a few days looking after her." "Well, one of you will." "Are you surprised she's done it, Richard?" "I'm surprised at the way she's tried." "What do you mean?" "It's not easy to kill yourself with these." "They have built-in antidotes." "Did she not know that?" "Maybe she was forgetful." "Maybe she was desperate." "We can never leave her alone again." "We can't be here morning, noon and night, the three of us." "If we have to, we have to, because this is a cry for help." "It isn't, Jessica." "You can't want her to die." "Jessica, it's not a question of whether she lives or dies, it's a question of making a choice between a good death and a bad death." "Do you want her to suffer or not to suffer?" "That's the choice she has to make." "So do we." "I quite understand you're all furious with me, causing such a fuss." "None of us are furious." "How could we be?" "Did you want us to find you dead?" "Why do what you did?" "Why put yourself through all this?" "There are people worse off." "Not when this disease is finished with me." "I want to die." "I ask you not to stop me." "Don't ask that." "Do you know what you're saying?" "I'd thought of a thousand ways to tell the three of you, but I don't know how to do it." "I've heard of this..." "Oh..." "I can't think of the word, my mind isn't entirely clear." "It's an organisation in Switzerland." "Based there." "What do they do?" "They'd let you die if you want to." "They have the decency to do that." "Sophie, will you phone them for me?" "I hate talking on the phone now." "I came across them when your father was ill." "I wish to follow it up now." "At least talk to them about what I can do." "Is this some kind of euthanasia?" "Assisted dying." "You administer the drug yourself." "No!" "Absolutely no." "I have no choice, Jessica." "I know what's coming." "I'm not afraid of dying." "But I am afraid of going through what your father suffered." "Do you want me to end like that?" "I'm sorry for all the bad news." "You cannot know how sorry I am for so many things." "But one thing I am not sorry for." "I have wonderful children." "And I need you now." "I need all three of you." "We're here." "Always." "So, you're asking me to phone this Swiss organisation, make a little appointment, and then pack you off to Zurich where you will die?" "That's all I have to do, is it?" "You do not know if I wish to terminate my mother's life." "Stop being the blue-eyed boy, Edward!" "Say something." "The disease is beating me." "It will only beat us if we let it." "If we can fight..." "I am fighting a different battle." "I'll stand by you." "You could be prosecuted." "You could lose everything you've worked for." "I don't give a damn about that." "You should." "I'll do what I decide and I decide to be with you." "You do know what it is I'm going to do?" "Yes, Mother." "And no-one else can know." "You win." "Don't bully me, Sophie." "Just give me time." "I don't know how much time we have." "Jessica." "I'll look after her." "Yes, yes, I understand." "Provide a birth or a marriage certificate, yes." "Meet your physician." "You do discuss medical alternatives." "Tell them about Daddy." "Am I right in understanding you only operate in Switzerland?" "Tell them what he suffered." "And the waiting time?" "What we saw him go through." "Control is with the patient until the very end." "Thank you very much." "Why didn't you tell them about Daddy?" "Can we meet them in London?" "No." "Not allowed to by law." "Mother needs to write a letter, why she wants the arrangements, depending on how unbearable... how... unbearable... how unbearable..." "She's not really going to do this, is she?" "I've now passed through stages one and two of progressive supra-nuclear palsy." "The third stage has well begun." "I have difficulty eating," "I cough and choke, I cannot read or watch the news or television." "My past career as a doctor is now a dream." "I can barely support myself on my two legs." "I suffer from complete loss of power." "Can you make out what I'm saying?" "Yes, I can, Mother." "Complete loss of power in my arms, my bladder, my whole body." "I soon won't be able to close my mouth." "I need help dressing." "I need help living." "And if I don't take this path that your organisation offers me," "I will soon be unable to physically say enough." "Enough, please, enough." "It's all right, Mother." "No, it isn't, Sophie!" "I can't even talk to these people in my own country." "What kind of ludicrous law would turn us into criminals?" "They want to jail the dying, why don't they turn the Houses of Parliament into a prison, and leave us all there to rot, powerless and helpless, if that's how they want to keep us?" "I also suffer from increased impatience and am extremely irritable, as my family will tell you." "My excuse is my symptoms." "They might say otherwise." "Well, now we have that in writing, Mother." "And now guess how I'm really going to annoy you." "You know who you agreed to play chess with tonight?" "Oh, Clare." "I can't play chess any more." "She's insisting." "That woman is a ferret!" "Are you letting me win?" "That is the easiest game of chess we've ever played." "You know me better than that." "I hate losing." "Oh, the world's worst, that's true." "I never give in." "You're cut from the same cloth, aren't you?" "I'm well aware you've got a hard fight ahead of you." "Getting through this bugger of an illness." "You're going to need your wits about you to stay on top of it and there's no better woman to cope with that." "Are you paying me a compliment?" "Why?" "Perhaps it's because you're a friend I revere." "Well, for the first time in your life, you have shocked me into silence." "I do worry about you and I worry about the children and it's not the disease that bothers me most, it's what you might do about it." "Something silly, something that can't be undone and that will damage others even more than you." "You know everything, don't you, Clare?" "Richard didn't need to tell." "I had to look into Jessica's face." "Have you any idea what your children are suffering?" "You can tell me to mind my own business but, please, Anne, never try that again." "I'm asking you that and I ask you something else as well, which I'm nervous to even suggest." "May I pray for you?" "Of course, yes, if it helps you." "I want it to help YOU." "You do, I'm sure, and if it does, I'll be the first to let you know but we each have our own way of doing things." "We will, as ever, beg to differ and respect that." "I am not going to lie to you, Clare." "I know you've tried it once but if you're going to tell me why you choose suicide, don't." "I don't think I could cope with that, Anne." "I don't need you to explain." "Right you are, but I do want to explain." "I think people will want to know why." "It might be my way of explaining to myself." "I'm actually thinking of approaching the TV news people." "You'd go on television?" "Have you taken leave of your senses?" "You're going to show off on television?" "Showing off?" "In this condition?" "Anne, this is all wrong." "This is selfish and typical." "You've always been a spoilt woman." "Jack spoilt you, your children spoilt you, everyone running around at your command." "Well, this is going too far." "This is seriously what you intend?" "You think it's clever?" "It's cruel." "It's cruel and stupid, stupid and thoughtless and don't you dare try to convince me otherwise!" "Clare, you don't know and you forget what Jack suffered." "No, you're forgetting what more people than you suffer and they have the courage to face it without putting their children through what you're putting yours through." "Do you know what I think you are?" "I think you're a coward." "And Jack would agree with me." "You've gone far enough." "Well, I'll go one step further." "I think you planned this suicide from the first minute you heard." "Moving house and putting your children's concerns above yours and letting them look after you." "It's all an act, my girl, fooling everybody but not fooling me, not any longer." "You knew all along what you were going to do and you lied." "You're a coward beyond doubt, also a liar." "Because the likes of you can't take the truth." "You would know the truth any longer." "You're the liar." "The liar is looking at me." "You believe what you like, Clare, but it is not what I believe and that's what frightens you." "I am willing to stand alone." "You have never done so." "I do so now." "Well, then I leave you there." "I will never see you again." "No, you won't, and I'm not afraid of that." "YOU are afraid, Clare." "I am not." "I'm not afraid!" "DOOR SLAMS" "Courage." "If a doctor was to help you die here in Britain, it would be a crime." "Then the law..." "The law must be changed." "A terminally ill person should be able to die if they so choose, before their lives become unbearable." "Or at least know they have that option." "So it's true is it, that of those who are approved for this procedure," "less than a third actually see it through?" "Yes, people just like to know it's an option." "It relieves them of their suffering." "And to me, as a doctor, that is a fundamental duty of medicine." "And what would you say to those who fear that a change in the law would undermine the trust between doctor and patient?" "It sets us on a slippery slope." "Well, people will say that, but in countries where the law has changed, there is not a shred of evidence to support that view." "None at all." "Some people watching this interview, Anne, might argue that you are in sufficiently good health to stop you committing suicide." "Well, I might look like I'm all right, but I'm not." "I've been through their rigorous procedures." "They know and I know what is happening." "The symptoms are getting worse and if I don't go soon, the time will come when I will not be able to travel, when I will not be able to get the medical assistance I need to die." "So you're saying that you've made your choice?" "I have." "That is my right and that is at the root of all I believe in." "Doctor Turner, thank you very much." "Thank you." "Is he finished?" "You will respect my wishes?" "We'll show nothing until..." "I'm dead." "I think that's the word you're looking for." "One, two, three." "Oh, they actually worked!" "Oh, look at that lovely, gorgeous gem." "Oh, Mum, that's beautiful." "Let's hear the riddle then." "What's black and white and red all over?" "Oh, a newspaper." "A self-harming nun with a machete." "What?" "Are children reading these?" "No, I think that's appalling." "Sophie, go and get the box." "I'm sure it said family crackers." "Yes, I got it in the supermarket." "Just complain, Mother." "I will." "What part of a lady should not move when she's dancing?" "Her shoulders." "I remember when I was a girl." "Her bowels." "Her b...!" "(LAUGHS)" "That's disgusting." "There's a moral decline in society." "These cracker jokes are a symptom..." "Yes, I..." "You should complain, Mummy, you're always complaining about something." "I do not always complain." "ALL:" "Oh!" "You should be ashamed of yourselves!" "We're innocent, Anne." "We told them not to." "What have they done?" "They wrote the riddles themselves." "To shock you." "Oh, you are the end." "You really are." "How could you play tricks on your poor mother?" "Easily!" "Ha ha ha ha ha!" "Ready, steady..." "Go!" "HUBBUB OF GAME" "You were quiet during the meal." "I didn't know what to say." "I still don't." "Thank you for welcoming me into this family." "Look after Sophie." "There is nothing in that regard you need worry about." "Would you do something for your horribly demanding mother-in-law?" "I would not mind coffee." "Probably shouldn't but I'm going to." "My pleasure." "# The bells are ringing" "# Ding, dong, verily the sky" "# Is riv'n with angels singing" "# Glo-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-ria" "# Hosanna in excelsis... #" "It's all in one breath." "# Glo-o-o-o-o-o-o-o... #" "What are you thinking about?" "Can I get you anything?" "Kedar is getting me coffee." "But there is something, Sophie." "What?" "I think it's time to book the flights." "Soon." "A short stay in Switzerland." "I was saying to your mother, Sophie, you get mighty deals if you leave off travelling till the middle of January." "That's why we're going now, Mrs Savery." "You'll have a ball." "The four of you." "No skiing, I'm warning." "I want to mind no broken bones." "I promise." "And no worries about the house." "I'll keep it safe and snug." "It will be here waiting for you." "I will leave it in your good hands, Mrs Savery." "How can I thank you enough?" "SHE CHOKES" "Listen to her." "She's just like myself, always getting nervous about getting on a plane." "She shouldn't be, should she, Jessica?" "She shouldn't." "Packing's complete." "Do you want me to double-check?" "I trust you, Mrs Savery." "Don't you worry about the cat." "I'll feed the bold Flora." "I wouldn't be allowed to forget." "She's a very bossy creature." "Now look after your mother, the three of you - and bring her back safe or you'll answer to me." "Well, I better get going home." "Safe journey and I'll be seeing you soon." "Goodbye, Mrs Savery." "Is there something else I have to tell you?" "No, my head's like a sieve." "I can't remember." "Safe journey." "Goodbye." "The letters are all printed." "Everything's prepared." "We have enough cat food?" "A feast of it." "Have you seen Flora?" "She's on your chair." "I'll just go and see if she's all right." "Well, old girl." "You'll have to look after them all for me now." "Thank you, Flora." "Beautiful, wise cat." "DOORBELL RINGS" "The car's here." "What are you looking for?" "My guide book to Zurich." "I know it's in here somewhere." "Sophie has one." "Well, I have my own." "Like to know where I'm going." "Where are they?" "Meeting the TV crew." "They flew in this morning." "I must spring clean this handbag, I really must." "So, it's happening then." "Mmm." "Right, let's see Zurich." "How is Edward managing to remain so calm?" "He's no more calm than we are." "He can't imagine life without her." "I keep wondering what it'll be like, what will happen." "Can you guess what I'm thinking of doing?" "Marrying Stephen." "Oh, that's excellent news." "We must celebrate." "Can I give you something?" "I want you to have my wedding ring." "Take it off my finger when I die and put it on Stephen's." "I'm so glad for you both." "Yes, do marry." "Waste not, want not." "I always did insist on recycling." "You do know how much I'd want you to be there?" "I love you so much." "I can't imagine a better mother." "That was a lovely thing to say, Edward." "Good luck to you both." "Two sons, what fun!" "Right, food everyone." "You must all be famished." "So glad you're here, Edward." "All of you." "Hold my hand on the gallows." "Yes." "Only my mother." "Oh, very good, Edward." "That's right." "That's it." "We should say something." "Is "Cheers" appropriate?" "It's always appropriate." "Cheers." "Cheers." "To Jack." "To Daddy." "Sophie." "Edward." "Jessica." "To Mummy." "To Mummy." "I think it's terrible that people have to come and die in a foreign country." "Anne, can I just ask you one last question?" "Is there anything anyone could say to you this morning to make you change your mind?" "No, nothing at all." "Thank you." "Thank you." "'The procedure will take place in our organisation's apartment. '" "A trained volunteer will assist you." "He will have to video you taking the medicine which I will prescribe." "Yes, I understand." "And your children will be with you?" "To the end, yes." "It's what they want." "Is it what you want, Dr Turner?" "I thought it was." "I thought I knew for sure." "Though now I know something I didn't before coming here." "What is that?" "I've broken their hearts." "By dying?" "By dying." "You are honest." "And your children, they are honest too?" "They are, yes." "Then they are where they want to be - with you." "Practical matters." "Is the taste horribly bitter?" "It will be, yes." "Does it ever fail?" "No, Dr Turner, it never fails." "It is a strange thing you do today." "It does require courage." "You have it." "Dr Turner, I am Carsten." "Please come this way." "Thank you." "I'll let you have some time alone." "Thank you." "This rum chocolate is very good." "I think I might try a white one." "I'm not so keen on that." "Which one's the rum one?" "The blue one." "Blue." "OK." "Please excuse me, I need a word alone with your mother." "This is what you really want?" "Yes." "I do appreciate your kindness." "I'm not crying for myself, I'm crying for my children." "I do hope they're going to be all right." "# Glory to thee, my God, this night... #" "I have no regrets whatsoever." "That's my children." "# Keep me, O keep me, king of kings" "# Beneath thine own almighty wings" "# Glory to thee, my God, this night" "# For all the blessings of the light" "# Keep me, oh keep me, king of kings" "# Beneath thine own almighty wings. #" "It's time." "Come here." "Now..." "Look after each other." "This is the barbiturate." "The law requires I record this conversation." "Dr Turner, you know if you swallow this, you will die." "You do understand this fully?" "The law requires I hear you answer." "I know perfectly well what will happen, yes." "You understand the whole procedure?" "I understand fully." "Oh, it's bitter." "Oh, I feel woozy now." "Into the bed." "Yes." "She must stay upright in order to let the drug travel quickly through the body." "I must insist." "Can she not sit even?" "She can, but she can't lie down just yet." "SHE BREATHES NOISILY" "I love you so much." "I love you, Mummy." "You know you've been a wonderful mother." "Sleep well." "Sleep well." "Mummy?" "Mummy?" "Is she dead?" "THEY SOB" "Polizei." "'Our mother died a short while ago. '" "We're relieved she's not suffering any more." "She was ready to go and that makes it easier for us." "We respect her choice but we will miss her very, very much." ""Forgive me for not telling you in advance of my intentions," ""for not saying goodbye properly." ""Because the law in the UK is not supportive, I have had extra" ""complications which have required a certain degree of secrecy." ""I hope I have spared you some of the pain and grief" ""which those very few people in the know have experienced." ""My life has been wonderful and varied." ""I have always recognised how fortunate I am." ""Thank you for your friendship, love and support." ""Yours, Anne. ""