The Good Word

Somewhere, somewhere...

Who's that?

Hello?

Da's in the big shed,

if you're lookin' somethin'.

We've no beef left, but we've pig and chucks.

Hello?

There's no beef left. Only pig and chucks.

Go on over to the big shed, Da'll sort ya out.

Hello?

I don't need any beef.

We've no beef left.

Pig, and chucks, and maybe a wheen o' eggs, but that's all.

I don't want any food.

And what do you want?

I want one thing.

And one thing only, to share the good word.

The word laid down by our Father,

the gospel according to my Lord and savior Jesus Christ.

Tell me, Mrs.?

Taggart?

Mrs. Taggart.

Tell me Mrs. Taggart. Are ye a believer?

Have ye accepted the Lord Jesus as your savior?

Long ago, but I'm nae one for talkin'

about our savior on doorsteps.

Ye better come in.

Thank you, Mrs. Taggart.

You can call me Ma, everyone else does.

And is there a Mr. Taggart?

Da. He's in the big shed.

Your father?

Dear, bless us, no.

My father's dead this 20 years.

My husband, we've called each other Ma and Da

since I don't know when.

My grandparents used to do the same thing.

Aye, I suppose it's out of fashion nowadays.

Well, sometimes the old ways are the best.

That's what I keep sayin'.

They wanted us to put the electric here in the house,

but I says, no, I'm not having them wires in my walls.

I stick with my oil lamps.

No one knows what that electric does to ye.

There's wee Mrs. Convoy down the road.

She got the electric in.

Next thing you know she has the cancer in her teats!

Get away with you

I'm tellin' you, dead and buried a year now.

Well, I hope she knew the Lord Jesus.

She did.

Well. Isn't that a mercy.

Aye, it is.

You take a wee cup of tea?

I couldn't put you to the trouble.

Sure, it's made.

Sit down.

Thank you.

So what do you do for your livin'?

Must spread the good word.

You a minister or a pastor or something?

No, no. A missionary.

What, you mean, going to Africa?

Preachin' to the darkies?

Every man, woman, and child deserves to hear

the good word, do you not think?

Ach, I know, but Africa?

And India, and South America, and China, and Korea.

I have brought the good word.

The black men, brown men, yellow men

red men, any shade o' man you care to imagine.

My goodness, all them places.

Me and Da went to Blackpool, once, on our honeymoon,

we had to get the boat.

One thing you won't find in this house is a blunt knife.

Da keeps them all like razors.

You could shave with that there.

Is that right?

He earns his livin' from his knives,

just like his father did,

and his father before that. They're all butchers.

It's a good trade.

Yeah. Keeps us goin'.

We raised a few animals ourselves and some

of the local farmers bring their animals

to us for butcherin'. Keeps him busy.

Milk?

Yes, please.

Aye, people'll always want their beef.

Aye.

So, you sell the meat from here, like a shop?

Sort of. Da works in the big shed,

You'll have saw that when you drove up.

That's where he sells the beef from,

that's where he does the butcherin' too.

All by himself.

Wee Danny Tole lends a hand the odd time.

He's the other sort.

Ach, but he's a decent enough young fella.

Is he there today?

Ach, no, not today, he's in school today.

So it's just you and your husband then?

Aye.

You haven't been blessed with children, is all I'm askin'.

I didn't want to come right out

and say it in case I upset you.

No. No. We weren't blessed.

I did pray for things to be different.

And so did Da, but the Lord had His own plans for us.

What about yourself?

No. My wife and I did intend to start a family, but she...

She what?

She perished.

How?

Malaria. When we were in India.

I'm awful sorry.

She give her life to the Lord Jesus Christ.

She died, spreading the good word for him.

I will see her by His side, when the time comes.

Aye.

Aye, you will, you will in soul.

You'll stay for a bit of dinner, won't ye?

Ach, I couldn't impose on ye.

You're imposin' nothin'.

You're stayin' and that's that.

We're having veal!

Veal?

Aye, that's not somethin' you get every day, is it?

You stay for a bit of veal won't you?

Well, it does sound lovely.

What's that, you finished?

Aye, what's this?

We have a visitor, Mr...

You didn't tell me your name.

Ivan.

Ivan Cutler.

Pleased to meet you, Mr. Taggart.

I, I...

I near caught you red-handed!

Okay. Shoulda told you about Da! He's the one!

Look. The red hand of Ulster.