Christine Bush: Difference between revisions

Christine's [[Christine Bush's mother|mother]] and [[Christine Bush's father|father]] were both very rich. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Spiral Scratch (novel)|Spiral Scratch]]'') She had a brother, [[John Hallam|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 (novel)|Spiral Scratch]]'')

The Bushes did not have children until they were in their late thirties. According to one account, they had only one daughter, [[Melanie Bush|Melanie]], in [[1964]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Business Unusual (novel)|Business Unusual]]'') According to another, they had an elder daughter, [[Anabel Bush|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 (novel)|Spiral Scratch]]'') 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 Guide]]s 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 sale]]s and, occasionally, [[Amway]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Business Unusual (novel)|Business Unusual]]'')

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 (audio story)|The Devil's Footprints]]'')

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 (novel)|Business Unusual]]'')

In [[1986]] ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Head Games (novel)|Head Games]]''; [[AUDIO]]: ''[[We Are The Daleks (audio story)|We Are The Daleks]]'') 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 (novel)|Business Unusual]]'')

She was apparently on a [[cruise]] when the [[Sixth Doctor]] brought Mel back after [[The Doctor's trial (The Mysterious Planet)|his trial]] to the pocket of [[cauterised time]] created by [[Time demon|"Stapleton Petherbridge"]]. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Wrong Doctors (audio story)|The Wrong Doctors]]'')

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 (novel)|Spiral Scratch]]'') 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 (novel)|Business Unusual]]'')