Fathers, Daughters & a Crafty Goat Take Center Stage in 'All Creatures Great and Small'

This week’s All Creatures Great & Small introduces us to an ancient craft, dry-stone walling. The stone walls that snake and curve over the Dales (and many other parts of the U.K.) were built by hand, with no cement, a tradition that dates back to prehistoric times. Richard Alderson is rebuilding a damaged piece of wall with Helen and Jenny, and (as usual) James is the butt of most of his grumbling. You never know whether Richard Alderson is having a joke at your expense, and he enjoys teasing James. He tells James it’s the beginning of a three-year learning experience straight out of prehistoric times, starting with picking (choosing the stones, never call them rocks), followed by sorting and putting.

Helen suggests they visit the ponies, where Joan, awaiting the birth of a new foal, shares a stable with her daughter Candy. They meet the postwoman, who arrives with a very important piece of mail for Jenny: her summons to nurse training in London, where she’s expected to register in three weeks. It’s a huge moment, and her first reaction is to defer her training for a year, but her family disagrees. Even Richard Alderton, not at all happy to see his Jenny Wren fly away to a new home, knows she must leave.

Helen and James snatch a moment together at the stone wall repair site as Helen frets that her sister isn’t ready to leave her family (and they’re not ready to see her go). There are some practical worries – she won’t know about her accommodation until she arrives, and she’s only allowed to bring three pairs of underwear. (Intriguing.) James, possibly revealing more of his former bachelor life than we want to know, wonders if she’s expected to turn them inside out to last a week.