"You won't admit you love me" "And so how am I ever to know?" "You always tell me" "Perhaps, perhaps, perhaps" "A million times I've asked you" "And then I ask you over again" "You only answer" "Perhaps, perhaps, perhaps" "If you can't make your mind up" "We'll never get started" "And I don't wanna wind up" "Being parted, broken-hearted" "So if you really love me" "Say yes" "But if you don't, dear, confess" "But please don't tell me" "Perhaps, perhaps, perhaps" "You should have been in school today, Christina, and every other day." "You'll never catch me, Inspector Clark." "That's what they all say." "I'll catch you, all right, and I'll tell the judge to send you off to Cuan Mhuire, the old nuns will teach you manners there." "In your dreams, mister." "There we go." "One, two, yeah." "Well?" "I won a singing competition, Dad." "I got a voucher for my dress." "You are going to be a big star." "Do you promise me?" "Of course I do." "You have a great talent." "And you didn't lick it off the stones." "Here, did I ever tell yous about the time," "I won the All Ireland boxing?" "Daddy was on the ropes." "Yeah, Dad." "Hilda Brannigan had a weakness, so I punched him hard in the ribs." "And he looks at me, he starts to stagger sideways," "Then the coup de grace, boom... and he goes down, like a bleeding stone." "And that made you champion, did it, Dad?" "It did." "Come on, get up." "Could have gone to America myself after that." "All the promoters were interested." "Why didn't you go, Dad?" "Because I met your ma, and that was the end of me." "Come on you." "If we don't get home, she'll think we did a bunk." "Come on, Christina." "If we don't go now, they'll be sold out." "Be careful there, Christina." "Don't worry about me, Mrs. Doyle." "Aw, good girl." "Thanks, love." "I don't know what happened to me there." "It must have been the excitement seeing her all grown up." "No need to speak" "No more shall I seek" "For my heart has taught me their meaning" "I saw your eyes" "Your wonderful eyes" "With love, light and tenderness feeling" "Your father isn't coming home anytime soon." "Christina, bring your plate over." "I'm not hungry, Mum." "An hour ago you said you could eat a horse." "That was an hour ago." "Is it horse stew we're having, Mum?" "Have you heard me?" "What's this?" "Oh, Danny boy" "The pipes, the pipes are calling" "From glen to glen" "And down the mountainside" "The summer's gone" "And all the flowers are dying" "'Tis you, 'tis you" "Must go and I must bide" "Christina... come on, get up... quickly now." "Oh, will you get the children after school, Mrs. Kelly?" "And look out to the little ones for the day." "I will, love, don't you be worrying." "That's it." "That's it." "Excuse me now." "And he looks like a complete fool." "Mum." "Look, I wore me dress for you." "I'm sorry I've been asking too many things." "You don't have to make me like Dorset, if you don't want to." "I don't have to go to America." "I'll stay here so long as you don't let me lovely mum die." "Sure you won't, God?" "It's time for you to go on home now, Christina." "I don't want to go home." "That's as may be, but your daddy's waiting on you." "God told me to stay here." "He says he's going to cure my mum, if I stay here." "That's enough nonsense." "God can't cure everyone." "You're expected home." "Glasses off." "You don't need to be anxious." "It just takes a long time to get through immigration." "I'm okay, don't worry about me." "You've been here before obviously." "Twelve times." "You must like it." "Oh, I love it." "The people are fantastic." "The countryside, the beach, the food." "What's not to like?" "The queues." "All right, the queues." "The music." "Well, it's not Mozart, but it's atmospheric." "The scary London, nearly bouncing off the rooftops." "Also atmospheric." "Are you always such a glass half empty type?" "I'm only pulling your leg." "So what brings you here?" "I don't know." "If I told you, I'd have to kill you." "Thank you." "Thank you, madam." "That's great." "Hello." "Hello." "Excuse me?" "My name is Christina Noble." "You're expecting me, I hope." "We expect all our guests." "I suppose you do." "And what's your name?" "My name is Mr. Reception Desk." "That's a nice name." "Passport." "Passport." "You're English." "Irish, big difference." "Oh, yes, big difference." "Big difference." "How long you staying here at the Cornett Hotel?" "Well, as long as it takes to make you smile," "Mr. Reception Desk." "Room 204." "Jesus." "Let me go please." "There you go." "It's hot dog?" "No dog sorry." "It's not dog?" "Not dog sorry." "I don't want dog." "Yes, not dog." "Okay, I'll have two not dogs." "Okay, two not dogs." "Thank you." "Do you like to smoke, lady?" "I gave them up." "It's never too late to start again." "No, thank you." "You are on your own?" "Yes, on my own." "No husband?" "It's complicated." "What is your name?" "My name is Meiyang." "Meiyang, Christina." "The truth is, Christina, sometimes love last same, same time as a cigarette." "Don't I know it?" "I hear you." "Give me, give me." "Red is the rose" "That by in yonder garden grows" "Fair is the lily of the valley" "Clear is the water" "That flows from the Boyne" "But my love is fairer than any" "Yummy." "Dad." "Yeah." "What did we do wrong?" "It'll be for the best." "What will be for the best?" "What will be, will be for the best." "Did you ever really love us, Dad?" "It has been reported by Mr. Clark, the school's attendance inspector, that this has been a particularly tiresome case of truancy and parental neglect." "His recommendation is that the children be sent to separate institutions for their own educational benefits and welfare." "Daddy!" "Daddy!" "Hold it down now." "Down the stairs." "Dad!" "Good afternoon, sisters." "Well, there is punctuality for you, Sister Sumta." "4 o'clock the man said, and 4 o'clock it is." "What way did you come?" "The Cong Road, Mother Superior." "And you were right." "They've had terrible floods in Maam Cross." "Noah had nothing on the west of Ireland, isn't that the truth of us?" "Take the child, Sister Sumta." "Don't worry about those frightsy bitches of nuns." "I'll show you how to beat them." "Come on, Christina, quickly." "They're gone." "By the light of the silvery moon" "I want to spoon" "To my honey, I'll croon love's tune" "Honey moon, keep a-shinin' in June" "Your silvery beams will bring love's dreams" "We'll be cuddling' soon" "By the silvery moon" "Christina, you can come in now." "Take a seat." "Well, you're a tonic, Mr. Brendan." "You really are." "Now, Christina, I hope you said thank you to Mr. Brendan for returning you safely from your little farlay into the great beyond." "Thank you again, Mr. Brendan." "He tells me that you have a great talent." "Want to be nurtured carefully at this tender age mind." "What with the potential to blossom into a wonderful national, even international career." "Where did you say you had your contacts, Mr. Brendan?" "The Royal Albert Hall in London," "Radio City in New York." "The Conservatoire in Paris." "Oh, yes, we mustn't forget the Conservatoire." "There's only one problem." "What's that, Mother Superior?" "That..." "That is..." "That is that your name isn't Doris Day, is it?" "Do you actually love those people?" "Because I won't be a friend for much longer if you do." "I know I should forgive them but I'm not going to." "I'm going to stand up to them." "An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a slap for a slap." "Isn't that what you said about something that got in your way?" "Don't worry, I wasn't really gonna hit them." "It's just that you know what's going on in my head." "I know I've taken a few bad knocks." "I'm not saying that was your fault." "Because I know you've got a much better future in store for me." "Hey, Irish, you left your book behind." "I'll pick it up later." "Okay, in you go." "Excuse me..." "Floor moving." "Yeah, going up in the world." "That's lovely, thank you." "It's great, Meiyang." "Okay, out we go." "Not allowed to bring these bui doi children into the hotel." "Why not?" "Do you not like Vietnamese people staying here?" "Thank you." "Xin chao." "Xin chao." "Is that another glass half empty I see?" "Hello again." "Can I buy you a refill?" "Sure, why not." "There's a place called Can Tho, which is like a sort of Venice in Mekong Delta." "It's quite a site." "You should go there." "To Venice?" "No, to Can Tho." "It's only about a day's drive." "Don't worry, I'm going." "I'm going to see all of Vietnam." "Well, do it before the place gets developed to death." "It was once the Americans with their trade embargo, whoosh, same, same as everywhere else." "Is that what you're here for, David, whoosh?" "I'm a businessman, Christina." "We all have to take what we can get." "Do we?" "I think we do." "Stand back now, kids." "Very, very hot, hot." "Vietnamese fish and chips." "Do you want salt and vinegar on those?" "Whoa." "Okay, let's go." "Oh, it's perfect." "Let's get places." "You are a tourist, Tina?" "No, not a tourist." "What do you do?" "I'm just a mother, mama." "Mama Tina?" "Yes, Mama Tina." "Mama Tina, Lam." "Hello, Lam, it's good to meet you." "Where is your family?" "Don't know." "Where are yours?" "Well, my children are in London." "They are grown up now." "They don't need Mama Tina anymore?" "No, only when they get into trouble." "Do you have brothers and sisters?" "Two brothers, are bui doi also, but I don't know where they are." "What does it mean this bui doi?" "It means "dust of life. "" "The dust beneath your soles." "Ah, I was bui doi also when I was young." "No." "Yes." "Oh, my God!" "What the hell do you think you are doing?" "They are not allowed in my shop!" "Those children are with me, they are my guests." "But your guests will ruin my business." "Tell me, Mrs. Noble, do you know of any city in the world where people want to see the streets ruled by vagrant children?" "No, inspector." "So what makes you, a woman newly arrived from Europe, think that we should give up our city to this bui doi?" "I don't." "But when I was young I was also homeless, without the protection of parents." "An Irish gutter is the same as a Vietnamese gutter." "I know how hard it is." "Really?" "You must have been a good beggar." "I've never begged for anything in my life, inspector." "I always worked when I was bui doi." "But at least I was allowed to spend my money in a chipper or an ice cream shop without being thrown out." "Mrs. Noble, you are here on a tourist visa." "And you behave as if you have a work permit." "If I find that you have violated the terms of your visa once more you could be deported and barred from Vietnam." "Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, yeah, yeah, yeah" "Hey, little devil" "Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, yeah, yeah, yeah" "Hey, little devil" "Hey, little devil, you're always running around" "Hey, little devil" "It's time that someone started taming you down" "Hey, little devil" "There'll be some changes made" "Your roving days are through" "Hey, little devil" "I'm gonna make an angel out of you" "You look good, Dad." "Well, I'm good." "Do you mean that?" "They made me a farmer up the brewery, took the pledge, haven't had a drink in a year and a half." "Look at you, beautiful young woman." "Don't worry, Christina." "Really?" "Hungry?" "Come on, I'll treat you to fish and chips." "The nuns gave me £5 to start me out in the world." "I'm gonna get a job save up for singing lessons." "Then I might be able to make a goal of it, you know, professionally." "Didn't I always say that was your destiny." "Be fair to you, Dad, it is." "Oh, now there's a load of new houses going up in Cromet." "I'll get our name down on the corporation list." "We'll get your brothers and sisters back, be a family again." "What do you think?" "Here." "Here's the five I owe you." "I just want to get some fags." "I've not any money." "A pint of bottle lemonade, Dad, will you?" "Of course." "Back in a jiffy." "Dad, did Mum ever get a gravestone?" "Let's take care of the living first, and then, you know..." "Would you like some more water at the table?" "Please." "Hey, you can pay at the till." "We close at 6." "Hey, come back here you!" "Stop there, will you?" "What are you crying for?" "I'm the one who should be bawling." "I said to him, "If you ask me up to dance one more time," "I'll give you a box in the nose. "" "You didn't." "I said," ""Did no one never teach you to take no for an answer?"" "Well, he looked to me like a dodo." ""No. "" "Ah, the poor fella." "Poor fella me, aye." "He was back 10 minutes later." ""Joan, would you ever give us a dance before they stop the music?"" "What did you do?" "I threw him a punch of course." "You didn't." "I did, he ducked." "Hit his friend, scruffy little redhead." "I had to dance with him then to make up for it." "I kissed him and all." "Redheads is good kissers." "More iron in their blood or something, but they do taste a bit rusty." "I'll get you one to have a go-off." "You've done well, girl." "Keep it up now." "Don't let a good beginning slip away from you, like so many others." "Thank you, Mr. O'Reilly, I won't." "That little redheaded fella must have been contagious." "He would have given me the flu." "Where'd you live, Shoes?" "Me?" "Um, down at black pits?" "You can walk home with us so." "That's my place." "I'll see yous all tomorrow." "We'll wait, see you get in safely." "Okay." "Shite, I was wrong." "She's not a tanker." "Mm-hmm." "Come on." "Sweet dreams till sunbeams find you" "Sweet dreams that leave all worries behind you" "But in your dreams whatever they be" "Dream a little dream of me" "Lovely to meet you." "Goodbye now." "How are you, ladies?" "You all right, Christina?" "You look very pale." "Pale is the in vogue fashion, Mr. O'Reilly." "Well, just make sure you're getting enough to eat now." "Don't be spending all your wages in the in vogue fashions, will you?" "Ten more payments and you can choose your mum's stone." "Then I'm going to carve her name for free." "Oh, thank you." "Excuse me." "Can I help you up there, miss?" "No, you're all right." "I can get up on my own." "Put your foot into my hands." "I'll hoist up, no bother." "There you go." "Let go of me." "I'm over now." "Come on back down here for a second, young one." "Let go of me I said." "I'd love to look up what's up your skirt there." "Let go of me I said!" "No!" "No!" "We'll just have a bit of fun, that's all." "Let's get rid of her quick." "Should we toss a coin, lads?" "Head or tail, huh?" "Grab her legs, that's it." "Leave the girl, will you?" "You've let me down very badly." "And I want to know why?" "So you better have something very good in store for me, to make it up to me, all right, God?" "I do think you are a good worker." "It's just you can't go missing for all that time without so much as a by your leave, and expect your job to be here whenever you pop up again." "That's just not the way the world works." "Sweet Jesus!" "I need to find a way to help these kids." "Bui doi, the dust of life." "That's what I was once, just like Tao and Han and Lam and thousands of other kids." "I can't afford to make anymore mistakes, or I'll get kicked out of this country." "I need you to tell me what to do." "I'll tell you what." "I'll walk, you lead." "Kahm uhn." "This is private property." "Can I help you?" "Sorry, the kite came over the wall outside." "Thank you for returning it." "Is this a school?" "No, it is a government orphanage of Binh Dai district, private property." "Thank you." "Is it ever possible to visit the children?" "Sometimes... but strictly with permission." "Right, who do I apply to for permission?" "Me." "The evasive agent arrange." "Up here all the children brought to us severely malnourished." "Are you a wealthy woman, Mrs. Noble?" "I wish I could say that I was." "Our history is full of foreigners who thought they could help." "Maybe we don't need anymore disappointment." "I understand that." "What is it that you intend to do for the sweet children?" "I don't know yet exactly." "That is a good start." "When I was much younger" "I had a dream about your country." "I don't know why." "No doctor or psychiatrist could explain why I became obsessed with a country that I wouldn't have been able to show them on a map." "Madame Linh, this may sound mad to you, but today, right here," "I have my explanation." "Come and see me again tomorrow." "Thank you." "Good morning, Christina, or should I say good afternoon?" "That was a long sleep you had." "Well, rest, recuperation, get you back to the full of your health." "That's what we're about here." "So let's just get you signed in, will we?" "A little bit like a hotel." "Now." "Just here." "What age are you, Sister Laura?" "Thirty-one." "Why?" "Did you always want to become a nun?" "Always." "What about you, Christina?" "Did you ever think about a vocation?" "Never." "Sorry I had to bring you to the nuns, Christina." "It's the only place that'd take you in." "There was no way they would let me visit you before now." ""Three months of rest, no excitements. "" "I told them I wasn't exciting." ""Come back in 3 months, not before. "" "I think you saved my life, Joan." "This lot are grand, not like those kind of lunatics." "I'm forgiven so?" "Just about." "I'm going to England, Shoes." "Getting out of this kip of a place." "Where will you go to?" "Birmingham, I've a brother who lives there." "Would you come with me?" "I have no penny to go with." "I'll lend you the money." "You can pay me back when you get a job." "What do you think?" "Will there be any excitements?" "There will be, loads." "Sister Laura, please!" "Don't be ridiculous, Christina." "What's wrong with me going to England?" "There's nothing for me here." "Would you have some common sense for God's sake." "What do you mean?" "You are going to have a baby, Christina." "Me?" "Yes." "Why else do you think you're excused from heavy cleaning work?" "And you get second helpings at dinner whenever you want them." "He's called Thomas, after my dad." "Hello, Thomas." "He's gorgeous, Shoes." "So I picked up the ferry tickets yesterday." "What's your plan for Saturday?" "I'll tell them, I'll take him out in the pram for a couple of hours." "That's my usual." "Then I'll get the bus to northwall." "I'll meet you there at 5 o'clock." "Don't you dare be late now." "I'll go without you." "I will." "Someone's moved Thomas." "Was he taken to the nurse to be weighed again?" "Calm down, Christina." "Tell me where he is, Sister Laura, please." "Thomas isn't here anymore." "It's in his best interest." "Where is he?" "You're only 17." "You haven't got a husband." "What's that got to do with this?" "Thomas has gone to a good Catholic family where he'll get the very best of care." "So when do I get to see him?" "Well, I'll go and get my things together." "He's been adopted, Christina." "What?" "But you can't do that." "But you signed the papers, that first day you came here, do you not remember?" "No." "No, oh, my God." "Oh." "I forgive you for that, Christina." "I don't know what to say to you except that... now we both know what it's like to lose a son." "I'm not being blasphemous." "I'm not comparing myself to you." "It's just that first I believe, but now I won't be able to keep going." "I won't survive." "I hope you're gonna explain this to me, very bloody soon." "So until then you're gonna have to listen to me swear and curse and shout, and I won't be asking for your forgiveness." "Sorry about that." "This is the name of the government department you must contact." "It is forbidden for any foreigner to work in Vietnam without a red stamp." "Mm-hmm." "Ask for Mr. Ku and mention my name." "I will, thank you." "And if you want to help the street children, you will need to understand their dangers." "I would like you to meet Trung." "He will show you what I mean." "I've never had a bodyguard before." "I never been a bodyguard before." "What do you normally do?" "I used to be a duck farmer." "A duck farmer?" "Yes, duck is big business in Vietnam." "Quack-quack, chop-chop." "I feel safer already, Trung." "What's this building used for?" "Not used." "Hello." "It is not usual to give a work permit to a foreigner like this." "I do appreciate that, and I'm grateful for your consideration." "What will you bring to Madame Linh?" "I will bring hard work, and passion, love for the children, my heart." "Your heart?" "And money, I hope." "Oh, yes, and money." "Where will you get this money from?" "You let me worry about that, Mr. Ku, I have my ways." "Is there anything else that you would like to say before we make our decision?" "Would you mind if I sang you a song." "A song?" "It's an Irish tradition." "I just give you the one verse, okay?" "Come over the hills, my handsome Irish lad" "Come over the hills to your darling" "You choose the road, love, and I'll make a vow" "That I'll be your true love forever" "Thank you." "Thank you for your application, Miss Noble." "We are interested in what you say and we like the way that you say it." "You're very kind." "We will give you a work permit." "Oh, that's brilliant." "For 3 months." "Three months?" "That's not very long, Mr. Ku." "Let's see what your heart can do in 3 months." "I'm checking out." "I can see that." "I'm going to live with the bui doi." "They offered a better quality of cockroach than the Coronet Hotel." "Aha, see, I told you I'd get a smile out of you before I left." "No smile." "Oh, yes." "You smile like a little baby." "I'll see you around, Mr. Reception Desk, don't forget me now." "I forgot you already." "This way." "Judy say, "Cheap, cheap place. "" "I need to save all the money I can, Mia." "People here will think you are insane." "Yeah, well, a little insane goes a long way." "It's not far from Madame Linh." "It's perfect." "Dear, sir, I'm writing on behalf of the street children of Ho Chi Minh City." "I'm trying to raise funds for the building of a Social and Medical Center in district 3." "If your company will be interested in helping to improve the circumstances of these children," "I will be very grateful." "Perhaps I could come to your offices to make a sure presentation about my plans." "I look forward to hearing from you." "Yours sincerely, Christina Noble." "Finished?" "Yes, 19 letters to deliver." "You're going to have a busy day tomorrow." "I dream of a busy day." "What else do you dream of, Lam?" "I dream of a busy day, that's all." "I have always wanted to rebuild this, but never had the money." "Hey." "What the hell are you doing, you mad woman." "You're trying to get yourself killed?" "Are you Irish?" "Amongst many other fine attributes, yes." "I need to talk to you." "What about?" "It'll sound better mixed with whiskey." "All right, I'll see you inside." "And I'm not just talking about the facility that's so so." "I'm talking about a place that you'll be proud of if it was in Dublin or London." "Treating Third World children the same as First World children." "BlueRock Oil could be a founding sponsor, Gerry." "I have to go in." "And what can I say, Christina, I'll read your proposal." "I'll show it to a couple of colleagues and I'll give you a call." "I bet you say that to all the girls." "No, only the crazy ones." "Okay, Lam?" "Okay, Mama Tina, Lam has another dream." "Do you want to tell me?" "When my father died, my mother was very lonely." "No money, me and two older brothers at home, very hungry." "Then Mr. Rat moved in with my mother." "He beat us, throw us out onto the street." "I miss my mother." "I dream that one day I'll see my mother again." "I have the same dream, Lam." "I wish you'd come..." "Do you good to get out." "You've been in here nearly 2 months now." "Any day, Joanny, I promise." "There'll be no holding me back then." "Stop your nagging, is that what you mean?" "I'll try not to wake you." "Hello." "Hello, how may I help you?" "I'd like to apply for the job in the Fish and Chip shop." "Do you have experience working chips?" "Well, I haven't, no." "I've plenty experience eating them." "Three cod large, salt and vinegar on those?" "Yeah." "And a smoked herring and a single for you, sir." "Thank you." "Who's next now?" "Yes, Mrs. Hennessey, the usual, is it?" "Well, that'd be lovely." "Underway." "Another bucket of chips there, Jimmy." "We're good." "Now who's gonna play for a hired working girl?" "I will." "Oh, true gentleman at last." "Watch and learn, all you lads." "All right." "Two pickled eggs, she says." "Okay." "Music is the way to a woman's heart, is it not right, Mr. Olden?" "Whatever you say, Christina." "Our lips shouldn't touch" "Move over, darling" "I like it too much" "Move over, darling" "That gleam in your eyes" "Is no big surprise anymore" "Because you fooled me before" "I'm all in a spin" "Move over, darling" "About to give in" "Move over, darling" "And though it's not right" "I'm too weak to fight it somehow" "'Cause I want you right now" "Ugh, Cyprus, that's gorgeous, I think I'll go in there next." "And sea is so bright blue just like a... like... there's nothing here that blue." "Do you know the color that is called turquoise?" "Where we you come from, turquoise is big birds you kill and eat for Christmas." "So what brought you here then, Mario, to Birmingham?" "You maybe." "Charmer, go away back to the warm blue sea with you." "Don't listen to a word, Christina." "I'm not so much charmer, more straight, direct." "You know?" "I like you Joan." "You're funny like comedy, you know." "The house rules, I lock the front door at 9 o'clock so you must be in by then." "No exceptions, and no late entry." "Breakfast to serve from 7 o'clock to 8 o'clock." "No pets." "No visitors, and no inappropriate or immoral behavior." "The car park's at your own risk." "Sorry, I'm late, Mr. Olden." "The bus broke down on Mosey Street, the whole place is flooded down there." "Congratulations, Christina, you got a new boss." "Mario has given me a very generous retirement." "No, no, no, Christina is the boss." "They're happy tears." "Mario has been so good to me." "Nobody has been this good to me since my mum died." "Huh, except me." "Except you." "Oh, I'm gonna miss you, Shoes." "Mario's." "Just the start of my empire." "The man is tall, mad, mean and good lookin'" "And he's got me in his eye" "When he looks at me, I go weak at the knees" "He's got me going like no other guy" "'Cause he's my big, bad, handsome man" "He's got me in the palm of his hand" "He's the Devil Divine, I'm so glad that he's mine..." "The Americans were destroyed." "What they have claimed to protect." "But Viet Cong still concentrated in strength closing around the major centers of the nation..." "What can I get you?" "The bulldozers plow under the rubble of the homes and the burnt acres where the Viet Cong held out for the first days." "The communists have succeeded in providing massive new distractions of re-housing, and relief, and rebuilding to add to the burdens of a creaking government." "At the moment, everyone is waiting for the expected second wave of attacks." "Viet Cong have taken heavy casualties that may dictate a delay perhaps to intensify recruiting in new areas under their control." "Michael Carlton reporting from the war in Vietnam." "And in another story connected to that part of the world, the families of American soldiers missing in action have received the support of the famous film star, Doris Day." "Miss Day has agreed to be a patron for league of families of American prisoners and missing soviets in Southeast Asia." "It's the bright blue sky." "I've told you before." "They're not bloody well going with you." "Why not?" "Because I don't have a good feeling about this." "You don't have a good feeling about my children, visiting an 80-year-old aunt who has traveled all the way from Cyprus, who will only give them sweets and kisses?" "It's not your aunt I'm worried about." "What then?" "It's all your showing off, and driving at 100 miles an hour like you always do." "What do you know what I always do, huh?" "Shut up talking for once in your life." "Gladly." "You're a stupid Irish bitch, you know that?" "Maybe you also a witch, huh?" "Putting spells on people." "My children would have been killed or maimed if they'd been in that car." "I'm gonna do something about you." "Yeah?" "I'm gonna do something about you too." "Do you know who I am?" "I know what you are." "What am I?" "A fish wife." "Get your own husband." "He'll come after me, Joan." "He always does." "This can't go on, Shoes." "You're lucky you didn't lose an eye." "What'll he do the next time?" "I need to know that you're still there." "Have you forgotten me completely?" "I don't think Joan believed me when I told her you sent me the dream." "She's more worried about me now than when I was dead to the world." "But I know you've sent it and I know I have to follow it, just give me a bit of time, will you?" "I will go to Vietnam, I swear to Almighty you, when the time comes nothing would stop me and You better be coming with me." "Well, they're rubbish." "Thanks for keeping them for me, Fan." "No good news?" "No, not today." "Maybe it's not your destiny." "What isn't?" "Looking after these bui doi, maybe you can't do it." "There's no such thing as can't." "You tell him, Christina." "You get me this number in Hanoi and I'll take it in booth three." "Okay." "Who's this little man?" "This is Lam." "He's my new business partner." "We're waiting for everything to go whoosh." "Very funny." "Hello, Lam." "He's got look of a young Jimmy Cagney about him..." "Something in the eyes I think." "Your call." "Great." "Don't let her work you too hard." "From here to the end of that wall." "Yeah." "Just having a child is difficult for poor people in Ho Chi Minh City." "If there is a birth defect, they think they are being punished by fate and they abandon the child." "Abandon where?" "In this place, in the garbage." "We always give babies a name when they arrive." "We call her Mai, it means cherry blossom." "Will Mai live?" "The infection on her head is bad." "We will see." "Stars shining bright above you" "Night breezes seem to whisper "I love you"" "Birds singing in the sycamore tree" "Dream a little dream of me" "Stars fading but I linger on, dear" "Still craving your kiss" "I'm longing to linger till dawn, dear" "Just saying this..." "My name is Christina Noble, and I work for the street children of Ho Chi Minh City." "There's a lot of them as you know and they need love and looking after as much as the next kid." "So if you can help us, we'll be very grateful." "Dream a little dream" "Of me" "It's a fair enough proposal if we can make it..." "We make it happen before the year ends." "Yeah." "Listen, can I call you back?" "Something's just come in." "All right." "Can you give me half an hour, Gerry?" "I'm afraid you'll have to make an appointment just like anyone else, Christina." "Do you not take a lunch break?" "Texas, Siberia, Vietnam, or everywhere." "You'd be surprised how many parties there are in the oil business." "Why is that do you think?" "Because we are very good at digging." "Years of practice." "I always thought people drill for oil." "Well, that's exactly where they've been going wrong." "Digging is the new drilling." "Is it?" "It is, and that is our company motto and that is why we are top of the heap." "And what do you see when you look down, Gerry?" "Ah, you don't look down, Christina." "Isn't that what they tell you?" "Because you might get vertigo and fall." "That's right." "Don't you be worrying, I'll catch ya." "Hello, Mr. Ban, hello, Wade." "Hello, Mama Tina." "I brought you some rice and toys on my way." "This is my friend, Gerry." "He wanted to meet you also." "Mama Tina, Mama Tina." "Must come now, please, must come now." "What is it?" "Mama Tina." "I'm coming, Lam." "Okay, Lam, you stay here." "You mind the bike, okay?" "Don't worry, don't worry." "It is him." "Bastard." "How old is that girl?" "I would say 10." "So would I." "You better careful, Christina." "This man always dangerous." "Just in here." "A foreigner has just taken a young girl up to his bedroom." "You call him, tell him bring her down, now." "What you say?" "Trung, please." "What are they saying?" "They're asking if anyone know who you are." "It doesn't matter who I am." "There's a dangerous man up there with a child." "Get the manager, now." "Come on, come on, for God's sake." "What do you want?" "I want you to do something about the fact that your hotel is being used by foreigners to abuse Vietnamese children." "Get out." "This is a good place, three stars." "I have just seen one of them take a child up in the elevator." "His name is David Summers." "You call him, you get him down here or we will go up and break the door in." "What'd he say?" "He says you have to go or he'll call the police." "Yes, call the police, that's exactly what you should do." "I ask you for the last time to get out." "I don't know you, why are you causing trouble?" "Listen to me, I have been given permission by the government to look after these children, to stop them from being raped in your hotel." "Now you get that man down here or I will call Inspector Bong myself." "Would you do this to a 10-year-old girl in your own country?" "I should've known you're just a frustrated old cad the first time I met you." "Just because she's a street child you think you can do what you like to her?" "Mind your own business." "If I see you with a child again," "I'll splash your ugly face across every newspaper in Southeast Asia." "I will get you, bitch!" "Oh, you don't frighten me." "I am not a child that you can frighten." "Look, those kids up there are the lucky ones." "They've got a roof over their heads." "What if you're a child living on the streets?" "You're 12 years old and you're looking after your little sister, she is 6." "Forget about education or healthcare, forget about protection from danger or a little bit of love and a cuddle, forget that." "And now count yourselves in the thousands, living out there in every derelict building in this city." "Just like this one here, except this one is going to be rebuilt so that you can come and visit for basic hygiene, for medicine, for school, and to be treated like a kid again." "Because that's the very least that you and your little sister deserve." "So it'll go before the committee up at head office." "Now unfortunately, Christina, there's a couple of today's delegates that feel it's..." "Feel what?" "That it's just a drop in the ocean in the context of the overall need in Ho Chi Minh City." "Now therefore disinclined to recommend." "But this is only the beginning." "This is just the blueprint." "If we build one center, we can build ten." "I'm sorry not to be more positive." "Fight for me, Gerry." "You can bring them around, I know you can." "Christina, you don't want to work for me, do you?" "No, I want you to come and work for me." "Is that Carol?" "Speaking." "It's Christina Noble." "Yeah, I know that but if you could just be sure to tell Gerry that I called again." "I will, yes." "Yeah, and to make the point that it's been 2 weeks since the delegation visited and I was promised a decision within 10 days." "I will tell him." "I'm sorry to be pushy, Carol, but my government parameter is running out fast." "I will tell him." "It'll be okay, Lam." "Mr. Rat has gone." "Lam can stay with his mother." "That's great, Lam." "You come and see me sometime, okay?" "Oh, God." "Mrs. Noble, we are on the same side." "I hate this people as much as you do, but I need evidence." "Here." "Here's evidence." "There's a photo of him on this roll of film." "I took it the night that I followed him." "Illegally?" "Justifiably." "So what is the photograph of?" "Him, David Summers." "Is there a child with him in the photograph?" "No." "I need you to do something for me, Fan." "You're not going to like it." "Tell me something new." "Don't worry, Mama Tina, I look after them for you." "I know you will." "And don't be offering them cigarettes, all right?" "I promise." "You promise to come back." "On my mother's grave." "And don't bring any husband." "I would be jealous." "No husband, I promise." "It's fucked up." "Ready?" "I may have to be in London for a few months, Madame Linh." "I know I'll have to apply for another permit." "I'll..." "just have to take my chances." "And I'm sorry about the typewriter," "I will replace it." "I don't think they will give you another permit." "The time has passed and we achieved very little." "Excuse me, Christina." "Your car is here to take you the airport." "What car?" "I didn't order a car." "Jump in and close the door, will you?" "The air conditioning is doing overtime in this bloody heat." "Hello, Christina." "Gerry." "I hear you're on your way back to the London." "You hear right." "That's a pity." "That's also a pity that I've been turned down by every oil company in this city." "Germans, Mexicans, Taiwanese, and I've been calling your office for 2 weeks without getting a reply." "I'm sorry, I've been very busy." "Yeah, that's what they all say." "I wouldn't go to the airport right now if I were you." "Why not?" "Because our committee has taken a liking to your proposal for a social and medical center." "Don't..." "Don't mess with me, Gerry." "Twenty thousand dollars of our liking." "Are you joking me?" "No." "Oh, my God." "Congratulations." "I won't let you down." "I know." "That is amazing." "Thank you." "Thank you." "What the hell are you doing?" "Leave me." "No." "Don't, no." "Mrs. Noble, you have already met your destiny." "You have nothing left to prove." "You know me a little, not a lot." "I have everything left to prove." "You must have a stronger focus if you are to win the battle." "You forget that they call us the fighting Irish." "We, Vietnamese, have faced more powerful enemies than you." "Not all, you've never taken on the nuns, twice." "We are ready for them." "That's what you think." "And are you ready, Mrs. Noble?" "I am, Madame Linh." "Ready, steady, go." "Oh." "Ow." "In my place, in my place" "Were lines that I couldn't change" "I was lost, oh, yeah" "Not today, girls." "I'd rather..." "I was lost, I was lost" "Crossed lines I shouldn't have crossed" "I was lost, oh, yeah" "Yeah" "How long must you wait for it?" "Yeah" "How long must you pay for it?" "Yeah" "How long must you wait for it?" "Oh, for it?" "I was scared, I was scared" "Tired and under-prepared" "But I'll wait for it" "If you go, if you go" "Leave me down here on my own" "Then I'll wait for you, yeah" "Yeah" "How long must you wait for it?" "Yeah" "How long must you pay for it?" "Yeah" "How long must you wait for it?" "Oh, for it?" "Singing" "Please, please, please" "Come back and sing to me" "To me, to me" "Come on and sing it out," "Now, now" "Come on and sing it out," "To me, me" "Come back and sing it" "In my place, in my place" "Were lines that I couldn't change" "And I was lost, oh, yeah" "Oh, yeah"