But mergers rarely succeed if they are done defensively and under pressure, in order to escape situations that are too uncomfortable for the partners to bear alone.

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But if Waugh was unspooling the flippancy of youth in order to be done with it, his wife was spinning it toward disaster.

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"Why move the children for 12 months in order to remodernise the building if it's not going to be done.. .they've made a sacrifice, " he said.

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"It gave me a chance at the top of the order, I haven't done much of that but hopefully if any of the other players are resting, I can cover from any spot from one to seven, " said White.

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