Date: August 1904 (from opening caption).

Alethea Charlton is best known to period TV drama fans for the series Sam (1973-5) where she played Sam's Aunt Ethel. She died young in 1976.

Sarah background: Sarah corrects Enid on the correct French pronunciation of the fashion house Paquin (4'49"). This indicates her French backstory may not be entirely invented (see On Trial and the Thomas & Sarah episode A Day At The Metropole). It is reiterated that Sarah has a cousin in Ilford (38'51" – see also Thomas & Sarah: Made In Heaven). She is now at the stage where she can read almost all of a magazine story (cf. On Trial) (40'45"). She can remember only two things about her father – him winning a china dog at a fair, and scavenging scraps of food with him at the local hospital (42'47").

Rooms: The servants' lavatory (at least for the men) is in the area, through the door to the right (as we look out of the back door) (6'07").

Goof: Peter Sproule messes up closing the back door and looks back through the glass, presumably to see if the floor manager was halting the take (6'18").

Goof: This is one of many instances where the servants seem to use the main staircase in lieu of the backstairs (mentioned in The Mistress and the Maids, amongst others) (6'54").

Goof: The front door hinges are on the left (as we look out of the house) on the studio set (7'49"). However on film (see On Trial, for example) they are on the other side (cf. Whither Shall I Wander?)

Goof: When Sarah lights the gas lamp behind Enid and Rose, she manages to do so without removing the glass shade and with her match about six inches away! (10'18")

At 17'38" Peter Sproule starts to recite a poem, Casabianca ("The boy stood on the burning deck"), about a French boy who went down with the ship he was on at the Battle of the Nile in 1798. It was written by Felicia Dorothea Hemans.

First appearance of Lieutenant James Rupert Bellamy of the Life Guards, played by Simon Williams.

Goof: James' middle name is given here (19'12") as Rupert. But later (in The Hero's Farewell) his middle initial is given as "H".

During their play-acting, Sarah introduces Rose to James as "Lady Alderton". This is probably an in-joke referencing Pauline Collins' husband (and before that, long-term boyfriend), John Alderton (who would later play Thomas in the show). (21'30")

Goof: As Sarah opens the door, a camera is very briefly visible (36'55").

The under-houseparlourmaid before Sarah was a girl called Kate. Kate went with soldiers and got pregnant ("caught the scarlet fever" – soldiers wore scarlet in those days), then was sacked. She later lost her baby and is now "on the streets, taking care of herself" (i.e. is a prostitute). (39'57")

Goof: At the very end, Emily puts out the wall lights (47'26"). The second one doesn't change as she switches it off, even though the background goes darker. (Tony Murry spotted this. Thanks.)

The is the only episode where the end credits are inlayed into the episode's live action (48').

This is believed to be the only Upstairs, Downstairs episode where material from the raw studio recording still exists. This is in the form of around 22 extra minutes of inter-scene material, trims and out-takes (exact content unknown).