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2011:

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DH (47): Theodore “Teddy” Julian Whitmore (ari.)
DW (48): Marie-Louise Lindbeck (hyacinthe)
DS1 (17): Anders Franklin Whitmore (ari.)
DS2 (15): Dylan Jeremy Whitmore (Rowena)
-DGF (15):
DD1 (12): Céline Bridget Whitmore (Robert)
DS3 (12): Elias Harold Whitmore (molly)
DD2 (10): Nicole Josephine Whitmore (cher529s)

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DDog (0):

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A lot has happened in the past ten years.

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Marie-Louise’s mother passed unexpectedly in January 2002, mere months after her latest grandchild’s birth. Teddy’s parents have also developed poor health, and a feud emerged with his brother after an accident during one of the sleepovers. This brought an end not only to the childcare arrangement, but also Teddy’s job. He has attempted to rebuild a career by starting a small painting and decorating business, and while his children are proud of their father for doing something entrepreneurial, this new venture has left him with free weekends again. This has been particularly distressing for Anders.

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Teddy’s drinking has worsened and he is now prone to bouts of depression. The arguments between himself and Marie-Louise grew more frequent and he attempted to leave several times over the years, though was always persuaded to stay by the pleas of his children, until he and Marie-Louise finally split this year, ten days before Anders’ 17th birthday. Teddy left the home and reappeared on Monday to collect his children from school, bring them home and explain that he would not return. By this point all of the children had realised that a split was the best option and had been hoping for this outcome for some time.

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Marie-Louise has thrown herself into her work, now that her children are older and no longer need so much attention. She is pleased that they seem proud of her globetrotting, but still has a great many regrets about everything she failed to achieve. She has a more amiable relationship with her ex-husband now that they are no longer living together and she is not financially responsible for him, but resents that he still spends so much time in her home to visit the younger children.

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Anders surprised his parents, who had come to know him as a reliable child, by leaving school last year with mediocre exam results. He decided to take a summer holiday with his group of friends before making a decision on what to do next and ended up in Greece, where his singing voice earned him more than applause at karaoke. The owner of a tourist bar offered him a job providing entertainment and Anders accepted the offer, sending the rest of his group home without him. He has been living and working in Greece for six months. Teddy, always a free spirit, is pleased that his eldest is happy. Marie-Louise, with her eye always nervously fixed on her bank balance, is very worried that Anders will end up homeless in a foreign country.

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Dylan is supposed to be focusing on his exams, but is more interested in the social side of school. He has already gotten in trouble for sneaking out to attend parties at night, as well as his stated intention to purchase a tattoo and a motorbike as soon as he turns 18. Worst of all, he has introduced the family to his new significant other – a girl from another school whom he met at a house party she was hosting. Both Teddy and Marie-Louise are concerned about this development, given their son’s wild lifestyle, and are trying to keep a close eye on the pair whilst desperately extolling the virtues of taking the relationship slowly.

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Céline is currently the only one of the five who is not giving her parents a headache. She has developed into a very well-rounded child; studious and intelligent, artistically talented and athletic with a particular passion for football. Her teachers claim that any career option will be open to her if she maintains this standard. Recently, however, Céline has joined her siblings in causing trouble. She returned from school one day with a puppy in a cardboard box, claiming to have found him abandoned. She has been nursing the puppy and is now very reluctant to part with him, despite her mother’s insistence that he needs to be rehomed.

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Her twin, Elias, has developed an interest in cooking after watching his older brothers learn the craft. However his enthusiasm does not match his skill, and he started a small fire in the kitchen whilst trying to surprise his mother with dinner. Marie-Louise returned from work not to a welcoming hot meal, but to a fire engine outside and a firefighter lecturing her son on the proper etiquette for handling grease fires. Teddy was kind enough to paint over the black mark on the ceiling free of charge.

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Marie-Louise has also been called to Nicole’s school as she punched someone, an action that is very out-of-character. In the midst of a tense and tearful meeting, it has now been revealed that several classmates of Nicole are sneaking up on her and screaming in her ear for fun. Nicole finally snapped, and fortunately the target of her flailing fist was the head bully. Although the school faculty looked poorly on this handling of the situation, Nicole has received nothing but support at home. Elias has even offered to teach the bullies another lesson when they arrive at secondary school next year, though this suggestion has been kept away from Marie-Louise’s ears.

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DS2’s DGF has a diminutive first name and a middle name with a positive meaning. Her surname is derived from a male first name.

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DDog has been given a 1-2 syllable word name.