Activity 2.10 - Bernice

Ok this activity is about making our characters more real. You have to list 30 things about them, for example: where they last went on holiday, what their favourite colour is, whether they are vegetarian or not, what car they would like to drive etc. I don't think I can get 30 - but looking on the forum, not many others have bothered with that many either, so here goes...

ROSIE (LRRH) is a 19 year old woman. She is the queens maid at the Royal Palace in Oslo. She is fair haired and pretty in an understated way. Her favourite colour is red although she never gets to wear it. She isn't vegetarian as meat is scarce and considered a rare nutritional commodity. Tofu is unheard of. But she likes animals (especially the fancy horses in the stables) and probably would become a vegetarian if she'd ever heard of such a thing. Although being reasonably intelligent, she is not particularly sharp witted and tends towards being a bit dreamy, but she is extremely good natured most of the time. People tend to take advantage of her sweet temper and disabuse it somewhat, for example they always ask her to do the errands that they should do themselves and off she saunters on her merry way, oblivious to the sniggering idlers who kick off their boots and quaff ales while she does all the dog work. She has never been on holiday. The furthest she has travelled is into the forest to visit her ailing Gran with a basket of grapes but she had a bad experience that time (a wolf pinched her bottom) and never went again. She is able to read and write a little and has been allowed to read some romantic books from the library. She likes sweet things.

QUEEN (GRAN) is the queen. She is 48 years old. No one knows the real colour of her hair as she owns a wide variety of wigs and wears the most approprite to the occasion. She is rathe attractive though she looks slightly older than she is. She is extremely intelligent and assists a lot in the ruling of the country. She spends her holidays at a summer retreat somewhere in Norway, she normally only goes abroad on business with her husband, the King. She is bossy and very particular. She is set in her ways. She likes to ride horses and prefers them to a carriage. Her favourite colour is peacock blue. She would never become vegetarian, she likes game too much and often hunts for sport. QUEEN is from the stock of another monarchy and was raised to it. She was educated in Paris and Switzerland as a young lady should, but her mother believed she should be taught the more practical side of ruling. As a result of this parental diligence, she is a keen accountant and is well versed in warfare. She runs a network of spies around Europe to guard against plots. QUEEN has (in the tradition of Royalty) a small pet dog who, it seems, she prefers to most of her family. It's a yappy little thing - a chihuahua or some such. It's called Thor.

MAUD* (MOTHER) is the head cook at the palace. She is around 50 and has silvery grey hair which she constructs in to and iron-hard bun at the nape of her neck. She is kindly but rules her kitchen with a will of steel - no one would wish to get caught with their finger in the chocolate sauce! Her favourite colour is green and she likes to wander around the palace gardens (even though she shouldn't really) during her time off. She hates all modes of transport and has never left the city. To her, Boxing Day (or the Norwegian equivalent) constitutes a holiday as she gets to go see her granddaughter in the city. MAUD would claim anyone who was vegetarian was 'fussy', even though she doesn't really like meat herself and only eats it for the iron. She is a well trusted member of the palace staff and often has secret dealings with the QUEEN. She is well connected in Oslo and knows where to find a dodgy priest/ abortionist/ witch doctor/ opium dealer, whatever you like really. MAUD is one of the few people tolerated by QUEEN's dog Thor - she doesn't share the sentiment.
*ok - I know there is a queen Maud of Norway, but it's also the name of my mate's mum and I think she'd be offended if QUEEN was named after her - She's a fab cook, though I doubt she would approve of this MAUD's dodgy dealings...

ADMIRAL VON WOLFF (WOLF) could be described as 'dashing' or 'rugged' and is probably a mixture of both. He has thick black hair which, despite his best efforts, refuses to lay neatly in pomaded curls, giving him a wild appearance. He has opted to go with the flow on this one and is currently sporting a cracking pair of mutton-chop sideburns. He has a scar over one eye. His favourite colour is black as he thinks it makes him look brooding and irresistible to women. He likes his fast coach which is pulled by four horses and can exceed speeds of 40mph. He has also been on a steam train which he enjoyed immensely. His last holiday was to Venice where he had a wonderful time parading around in a mask and pinching ladies bottoms. He tried it once more when he got back to Norway but received a sound slap on that occasion. He has a penchant for pretty blonde serving maids. He likes to eat meat and will occasionally suffer a salad garnish, but only when he's not already full of meat. WOLFF despises small dogs above all else and sees them as a feeble addition to the noble canine race.

DUKE VON TRAPP (WOODCUTTER) is in his early thirties. He has sandy hair and blue eyes that twinkle when he smiles, which sadly is not often as he is quite a serious man. He is a distant relative of the QUEEN and stays at the palace whenever he is in Norway. No one knows what his eating habits are, as no one has heard him express any opinion on food, he tends to eat in a polite, reserved manner showing neither dislike nor gusto. He broods in the corner at parties, but looks quite handsome doing it. His last holiday was in Austria, he quite enjoyed himself and is vaguely considering going there for a longer period. He likes to ride his horse, alone. He has no opinion on small dogs. The one characteristic he shares with WOLFF, although he is as yet unaware of it's existence, is his (somehow inevitable) penchant for pretty blonde serving maids.