Christine Bush
Christine Bush (née Hallam) was the mother of Melanie Bush.
Biography
Christine's mother and father were both very rich. She had a brother, John, and was a rebellious post-war socialite demanding equality. She went to Durham University where she studied English, earning a degree that she never made any use of. She married Alan Bush, who also went to Durham. (PROSE: Spiral Scratch [+]Loading...["Spiral Scratch (novel)"])
The Bushes did not have children until they were in their late thirties. According to one account, they had only one daughter, Melanie, in 1964. (PROSE: Business Unusual [+]Loading...["Business Unusual (novel)"]) According to another, they had an elder daughter, Anabel, born in 1962, who died at the age of three after falling down the stairs in an accident caused by Mel. This led the Bushes to move from 8 Gosling Street in Croxdale (PROSE: Spiral Scratch [+]Loading...["Spiral Scratch (novel)"]) to 36 Downview Crescent in Pease Pottage.
Christine was a well-liked member of the Weald community, involving herself in the Women's Institute and the Girl Guides and, thanks to a well-meaning friend, was made Honorary President of the Crawley and Area Dog Training (Obedience) Society despite the fact that the Bushes never owned a dog. She made money from coffee mornings, jumble sales and, occasionally, Amway. (PROSE: Business Unusual [+]Loading...["Business Unusual (novel)"])
Christine would liken Mel to the titular character of The Princess and the Pea when she would fidget and complain about being hurt by something she was sitting on. (AUDIO: The Devil's Footprints [+]Loading...["The Devil's Footprints (audio story)"])
When Mel was twelve, she asked her mother if she was adopted or if she had been an accident. Horrified by the question, Christine smothered her with love and presents for weeks. When she was older, Mel, as a joke, invited anti-blood sport activists into the house and painted her parents as bad people. (PROSE: Business Unusual [+]Loading...["Business Unusual (novel)"])
In 1986 (PROSE: Head Games [+]Loading...["Head Games (novel)"]; AUDIO: We Are The Daleks [+]Loading...["We Are The Daleks (audio story)"]) or 1989, Christine met the Sixth Doctor when he arrived at the house to pick up Mel. She was attacked by plastic controlled by the Nestene Consciousness and went to the hospital, as did Mel's friend Trey Korte. (PROSE: Business Unusual [+]Loading...["Business Unusual (novel)"])
She was apparently on a cruise when the Sixth Doctor brought Mel back after his trial to the pocket of cauterised time created by "Stapleton Petherbridge". (AUDIO: The Wrong Doctors [+]Loading...["The Wrong Doctors (audio story)"])
Both Christine and Alan had died by 2023. (TV: The Giggle [+]Loading...["The Giggle (TV story)"])
Personality
When she was young, Christine was a rebel who wanted equality, but after getting married she switched to a stay-at-home housewife. (PROSE: Spiral Scratch [+]Loading...["Spiral Scratch (novel)"]) Mel believed that she was a middle-class snob. She insisted on calling her daughter "Melanie", ostensibly because she did not think that "Mel" suited her. She read The Sunday Times, was shocked by Mel's frank discussion of sexuality and the like - saying that she would not have sent her to London University had she known that she would turn out that way - and failed to pick up on the many signs that Trey Korte, whom she was attracted to, was gay. She favoured Rimmel nail varnish. (PROSE: Business Unusual [+]Loading...["Business Unusual (novel)"])
