Adrian Gascoigne

It's not often that readers get a glimpse of Adrian, Peregrine and Gabrielle Gascoigne's older brother. This picture is taken from Susan Muddles Through, when Susan is dubious about Adrian's choice of clothes: a suit, a sweater, a cape and a deerstalker for a walk around Arran on a hot summer's day! Adrian is sometimes referred to as the "nice" Gascoigne and even Charlotte can't totally resist his charms and sometimes goes to the pictures with him. But Midge and Susan will readily tell you that rather than nice, Adrian is just the least hateful of the family. Adrian is 19 and speaks with an affected upper-class accent, which the Carmichaels describe as "talking with a hot potato in his mouth". He studies archaeology at Cambridge University and is the nephew of Julian Gascoigne, a famous archaeologist who goes on digs in Syria and is a lecturer and Master at Cambridge. Adrian annoys Susan on Arran by putting on a terrible imitation of a Scottish accent and saying silly sentences like "Hoots, mon" and "Dinnae haver", which Susan swears that no real Scot would ever say.