We Won the Lottery by Danny Buckland

Author:Danny Buckland
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Headline
Published: 2013-01-15T00:00:00+00:00

Top Ten Hotspots

Does where you live affect your chances of winning? The simple answer is no, but some towns and cities do enjoy a huge slice of Lottery luck. These are the top ten hotspots.

Medway Towns

Ilford

Romford

Sunderland

Newcastle-upon-Tyne

Perth

Teeside

Dartford

Hull

Bradford

The Charity Giver

In 1995, Elaine Thompson, a 38-year-old mother of two from Newcastle, won £2.75 million on her 17th wedding anniversary. She hasn’t stopped since.

I felt pretty nervous as I approached the gates of Downing Street, the home of the Prime Minister and one of the most important addresses in the United Kingdom.

I was dressed for the part and had an official pass to get in, but something in the back of my mind said a girl from a terraced house in the back streets of Newcastle wouldn’t be allowed past the security.

The police were polite and efficient, checked the documents and I was in. I couldn’t believe they hadn’t stopped me. It was fantastic. From Wallsend to Downing Street. What a journey.

I’d been lucky enough to get invited after doing fund-raising for the CLIC Sergeant Cancer Care for Children charity. I’d won £2.75

million on the lottery in 1995, but never dreamed of stopping work or taking it easy.

But it all could have been very different. We could have missed out on our big day.

We very nearly didn’t do the lottery that week!

It was our 17th wedding anniversary, December 9, 1995, and my husband Derek, being cheeky, said, ‘People don’t normally celebrate the 17th, do they?’ It had less to do with it being an odd number than with him wanting to go out for the football. Newcastle United was playing in London, and he always met up with his mates who went down for the matches.

Everything was happening in such a rush with Derek going to London that the lottery could have easily slipped through our hands. Derek normally gets the lottery tickets on a Friday or Saturday morning. In the rush to organise the football that week, he had forgotten. The last thing he said before leaving was to remind me to put the lottery on. We always put £10 on with the same set of numbers.

I know loads of people who have missed the odd week or two. Fortunately, I didn’t fall into that trap.

I remember the day clearly. I spent some time with my mum and then we all watched telly in the evening. The lottery came on and I thought the numbers looked familiar. I asked my daughter Karen to fetch the ticket, but I was really relaxed. I thought we might have won a tenner. Well, she came in with the ticket and the very first line matched the numbers on the screen.

It’s then that your mind goes into overdrive. Did I really put the lottery on today? Was I really in the shop earlier or am I looking at last week’s ticket? I asked my daughter Karen what the date was. She said, ‘Mum, it’s your wedding anniversary!’

I didn’t know what to do. I rang my sisterin-law but she had no idea.

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