Merrick, Allegra
Mar 31, 2014 10:17:29 GMT -8
Post by Allegra Merrick on Mar 31, 2014 10:17:29 GMT -8
Your Name: Aida
Age: 29
Contact Info: PM please.
Character Name: Allegra Merrick
Age: 41
History
Allegra was born in 1972 in London to Lorena Merrick (nee Seward), the only daughter of a successful entrepreneur, and John Merrick, a somewhat eccentric radio broadcaster and art-dealer. In his youth her father had travelled all over the globe, journeys which he carefully documented on a tape recorder. These recordings later contributed to his becoming a well-known broadcaster with his own BBC 4 programme called “Unknown Corners of the World with John Merrick” which ran throughout the 1970s.
Unlike her prim and proper mother and ambitious brother, Allegra inherited her father’s wanderlust and lack of respect for convention. She studied journalism at Bristol University and soon after graduating embarked on a world-wide journey to even obscurer corners of the world than her father had alongside her hippie boyfriend, Shawn and a group of their friends. At that time she was three weeks pregnant with her daughter, Lyric, whom she gave birth to in a yurt in Mongolia. The birth of their daughter didn’t stop the couple from travelling; it was, however, about that time when Allegra realised she didn’t have the necessary courage to engage in war journalism as she had intended to. Instead their travels turned out to be episodes of pleasure hunting. From time to time Allegra tried her hand at writing articles about places they visited which she posted to a travel magazine in London. Thanks to her father’s connection the articles were not difficult to publish. Those were happy days and she has still kept the type machine she used to carry with her.
After travelling together for a good 10 years, Allegra and Shawn drifted apart. She left him somewhere along the banks of the Amazon River and moved to Marrakech with Lyric. At the insistence of her mother, when Lyric approached the age when she needed secondary education, Allegra sent her to live with her grandparents in London. She missed her daughter terribly, but her absence was also a newfound freedom. With the burden of responsibility diminished, she decided to climb the Himalayas, a horrible mistake as it turned out to be. She fell from a cliff and broke her ribs and left leg. The incident left her somewhat devoid of courage and she decided it was time to return to England, perhaps start working on a travel book she had always been meaning to write.
She managed to settle in an apartment in Notting Hill for a couple of years, but was soon feeling restless again and started roaming all over Britain. Travelling from village to village, she wrote about her domestic adventures for in a monthly magazine owned by one of her Notting Hill friends. When she arrived at Penchurch five years ago, she saw it as another temporary residence. But an accidental introduction to Facebook by one of the village inhabitants changed her course of life. She searched for her friends on Facebook and much to her surprise she found out that Naomi now had a grandchild, Paul was running a B&B in Cornwall, Lilly was a successful folksinger in San Francisco, Shawn had become a teacher... In short, all her free-spirited friends had settled down one way or the other. Having made up her mind to follow in their steps, she decided to set up house in the place she happened to be at, i.e. Penchurch. The charming cottage that was on sale was quite influential in helping her make up her mind. A couple of years later, when she was feeling particularly jittery, she bought a boat just in case she wanted to run away again, but so far it has only been used for occasional parties.
Since settling down in Penchurch, Allegra has been working on her long overdue book, but there seems to be no firm finish date to it. She still writes articles now and then for travel magazines and undertakes the odd editing job. Her main financial support comes from her doting father, who keeps sends her cheques behind her mother’s back. Her daughter, now a nineteen year old university student, visits her from time to time and tends to spend the summer in Penchurch.
Appearance
At 5'10½" Allegra is a tall woman. Her height is accentuated by her slender, almost boyish figure. Her natural hair colour is auburn, but she almost always dyes it in a different colour, currently platinum blonde. Her skin is rather pale and her large eyes are dark, which gives her an singular look. She likes to dress herself in bohemian clothing, accompanied by the articles she has brought with her from her travels to the Far East or Africa.
Personality
Allegra is sociable and friendly, though her unorthodox appearance and behaviour might put off conservative people. She is non-judgemental and easy going, perhaps too easy going, which has played a part in her inability to choose a stable career. Her father adores her adventurousness, her mother blames her for lack of focus, and her brother is of the opinion that she is simply lazy.
It was her ability to adapt that has made it possible for her to pursue a dream of globe-trotting, as well as her father’s financial support. From the time she was a child, Allegra loved the stories her father told her and ardently listened to his radio show. As a result she has come to admire cultural diversity and it shows in the way she decorates her house and her sense of fashion.
As a mother, she can be considered rather lax in the upbringing of her child. As she gets older, she tends to admonish herself the more for this laxity. At worst she thinks of herself as a dreadful mother and has suffered many guilty pangs on this account, especially since she wasn’t around to help her daughter get through her teenage years. They did maintain correspondence through letters, though rather one-sided with Allegra being the one who wrote more frequently. At the moment, her relationship with her daughter is strained at best. They love each other deeply, but most often find it very difficult to get along. Even so, Lyric finds the company of her mother much more fun than that of her strict grandmother, which is why she continues to spend summers at “oh so boring” Penchurch.
Allegra adores flowers and has a small garden at the back of her cottage. She has been trying to make bonsai plants but only a couple of attempts have turned out successful. She loves reading and has stacks of books everywhere in her house, so many that she can’t be bothered with dusting them all. She isn’t a good cook, but the exotic dishes she comes up with often turn out quite well. She plays the guitar tolerably well, enough to entertain drunken guests on her frequent boat parties. She hasn’t been able to quit smoking, although he has tried to many time, and recently she has been smoking a pipe.
Allegra is a technophobe. Since the Facebook shock, she has stayed away from the internet. She has an ancient mobile phone – the sort that doesn’t even take photos – which is almost always out of battery. She doesn’t have a television or internet connection in her home, which is a point of great discord between her and Lyric.
From time to time she misses the London crowd with whom she used to hang out, but she has found too much inner peace to want to leave Penchurch anytime soon. She thinks this might be a symptom of getting old. Allegra spends most of her time idling at the pub, pretending to be taking notes for her book.
Age: 29
Contact Info: PM please.
Character Name: Allegra Merrick
Age: 41
History
Allegra was born in 1972 in London to Lorena Merrick (nee Seward), the only daughter of a successful entrepreneur, and John Merrick, a somewhat eccentric radio broadcaster and art-dealer. In his youth her father had travelled all over the globe, journeys which he carefully documented on a tape recorder. These recordings later contributed to his becoming a well-known broadcaster with his own BBC 4 programme called “Unknown Corners of the World with John Merrick” which ran throughout the 1970s.
Unlike her prim and proper mother and ambitious brother, Allegra inherited her father’s wanderlust and lack of respect for convention. She studied journalism at Bristol University and soon after graduating embarked on a world-wide journey to even obscurer corners of the world than her father had alongside her hippie boyfriend, Shawn and a group of their friends. At that time she was three weeks pregnant with her daughter, Lyric, whom she gave birth to in a yurt in Mongolia. The birth of their daughter didn’t stop the couple from travelling; it was, however, about that time when Allegra realised she didn’t have the necessary courage to engage in war journalism as she had intended to. Instead their travels turned out to be episodes of pleasure hunting. From time to time Allegra tried her hand at writing articles about places they visited which she posted to a travel magazine in London. Thanks to her father’s connection the articles were not difficult to publish. Those were happy days and she has still kept the type machine she used to carry with her.
After travelling together for a good 10 years, Allegra and Shawn drifted apart. She left him somewhere along the banks of the Amazon River and moved to Marrakech with Lyric. At the insistence of her mother, when Lyric approached the age when she needed secondary education, Allegra sent her to live with her grandparents in London. She missed her daughter terribly, but her absence was also a newfound freedom. With the burden of responsibility diminished, she decided to climb the Himalayas, a horrible mistake as it turned out to be. She fell from a cliff and broke her ribs and left leg. The incident left her somewhat devoid of courage and she decided it was time to return to England, perhaps start working on a travel book she had always been meaning to write.
She managed to settle in an apartment in Notting Hill for a couple of years, but was soon feeling restless again and started roaming all over Britain. Travelling from village to village, she wrote about her domestic adventures for in a monthly magazine owned by one of her Notting Hill friends. When she arrived at Penchurch five years ago, she saw it as another temporary residence. But an accidental introduction to Facebook by one of the village inhabitants changed her course of life. She searched for her friends on Facebook and much to her surprise she found out that Naomi now had a grandchild, Paul was running a B&B in Cornwall, Lilly was a successful folksinger in San Francisco, Shawn had become a teacher... In short, all her free-spirited friends had settled down one way or the other. Having made up her mind to follow in their steps, she decided to set up house in the place she happened to be at, i.e. Penchurch. The charming cottage that was on sale was quite influential in helping her make up her mind. A couple of years later, when she was feeling particularly jittery, she bought a boat just in case she wanted to run away again, but so far it has only been used for occasional parties.
Since settling down in Penchurch, Allegra has been working on her long overdue book, but there seems to be no firm finish date to it. She still writes articles now and then for travel magazines and undertakes the odd editing job. Her main financial support comes from her doting father, who keeps sends her cheques behind her mother’s back. Her daughter, now a nineteen year old university student, visits her from time to time and tends to spend the summer in Penchurch.
Appearance
At 5'10½" Allegra is a tall woman. Her height is accentuated by her slender, almost boyish figure. Her natural hair colour is auburn, but she almost always dyes it in a different colour, currently platinum blonde. Her skin is rather pale and her large eyes are dark, which gives her an singular look. She likes to dress herself in bohemian clothing, accompanied by the articles she has brought with her from her travels to the Far East or Africa.
Personality
Allegra is sociable and friendly, though her unorthodox appearance and behaviour might put off conservative people. She is non-judgemental and easy going, perhaps too easy going, which has played a part in her inability to choose a stable career. Her father adores her adventurousness, her mother blames her for lack of focus, and her brother is of the opinion that she is simply lazy.
It was her ability to adapt that has made it possible for her to pursue a dream of globe-trotting, as well as her father’s financial support. From the time she was a child, Allegra loved the stories her father told her and ardently listened to his radio show. As a result she has come to admire cultural diversity and it shows in the way she decorates her house and her sense of fashion.
As a mother, she can be considered rather lax in the upbringing of her child. As she gets older, she tends to admonish herself the more for this laxity. At worst she thinks of herself as a dreadful mother and has suffered many guilty pangs on this account, especially since she wasn’t around to help her daughter get through her teenage years. They did maintain correspondence through letters, though rather one-sided with Allegra being the one who wrote more frequently. At the moment, her relationship with her daughter is strained at best. They love each other deeply, but most often find it very difficult to get along. Even so, Lyric finds the company of her mother much more fun than that of her strict grandmother, which is why she continues to spend summers at “oh so boring” Penchurch.
Allegra adores flowers and has a small garden at the back of her cottage. She has been trying to make bonsai plants but only a couple of attempts have turned out successful. She loves reading and has stacks of books everywhere in her house, so many that she can’t be bothered with dusting them all. She isn’t a good cook, but the exotic dishes she comes up with often turn out quite well. She plays the guitar tolerably well, enough to entertain drunken guests on her frequent boat parties. She hasn’t been able to quit smoking, although he has tried to many time, and recently she has been smoking a pipe.
Allegra is a technophobe. Since the Facebook shock, she has stayed away from the internet. She has an ancient mobile phone – the sort that doesn’t even take photos – which is almost always out of battery. She doesn’t have a television or internet connection in her home, which is a point of great discord between her and Lyric.
From time to time she misses the London crowd with whom she used to hang out, but she has found too much inner peace to want to leave Penchurch anytime soon. She thinks this might be a symptom of getting old. Allegra spends most of her time idling at the pub, pretending to be taking notes for her book.
