Danny Buckland - We Won the Lottery: Real Life Winner Stories

We Won the Lottery!

Published by Accent Press Ltd 2010

ISBN 9781907016547

Copyright National Lottery Commission 2010

The right of Danny Buckland to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, electrostatic, magnetic tape, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the written permission of the publishers: Accent Press Ltd, The Old School, Upper High St, Bedlinog, Mid-Glamorgan, CF46 6RY.

The Quick Reads project in Wales is a joint venture between Basic Skills Cymru and the Welsh Books Council. Titles are funded through Basic Skills Cymru as part of the National Basic Skills Strategy for Wales on behalf of the Welsh Assembly Government.

Printed and bound in the UK

Cover design by Red Dot Design

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We Won the Lottery!

Danny Buckland

ACCENT PRESS LTD

The Student

Sarah Cockings, from Whitley Bay, near Newcastle, was a 21-year-old student living with her parents when she won 3,405,705 in April 2005. She quit her studies and now lives in a luxury five-bedroom home.

Winning the lottery is one of the most amazing and strange things that can happen to you. One moment I was a student wondering if I could afford to buy a sandwich for lunch, and the next I had more money than I could dream of. More money than my parents and my entire family had put together. I couldnt believe it. Little me, a millionaire!

Thats how I came to be sitting on a Turkish beach sipping a cocktail under a blazing sun, instead of walking along the wet and windy front at Whitley Bay with a cup of tea. Just a few months earlier I would never even have picked up a brochure for a resort like this because I was so broke.

I was just another struggling student, taking packed lunches into university to save money for the odd night out or to buy something nice to wear from a regular high street store. Now, there was luxury everywhere. Waiters to bring me drinks, a wonderful pool to cool off in, and five-star restaurants where I didnt really have to look at the bill.

But every now and then my mind would flash back to the moment I won. The moment I was transformed from a student to a millionaire. The moment that changed my life.

You cant prepare or practise to be a lottery winner. It just hits you head on and you have to deal with it. The win changes everything and, in a sense, you can never be the same again.

When I won, I was studying to be a social worker and had just completed my first year at the university. I was living at home with my mum and dad in Whitley Bay, near Newcastle. We are a close family and I get on brilliantly with my sisters Emma, who is 18 months older, and Alex, who is three years younger.

I had no real worries that I can remember, but money was tight. I had a student loan that gave me around 800 every three months, but it didnt go far. I had a boyfriend of three years, Roy, who was an engineer and a really nice bloke. A DVD and a Chinese were about as exciting as it got, but I never felt I was missing something.

I was very happy. My biggest concern was all the studying and whether Id get the marks to graduate.

I was just like most girls, I suppose. Ive always been a really ordinary girl. From the age of four Ive been obsessed with babies, prams and dolls. My mum always said that I just wanted to be a mum and be married.

Its not that I didnt have ambition. I wanted to do the best I could and make something of myself. I would be happy with a decent job and a family; its what I had planned. But then the lottery jackpot came from nowhere.

Even if theyre happy, everyone has moments when they dream of winning the lottery. Those times when you do that mental checklist of what you are going to buy with your millions. But you never think in a million years that you are really going to win. Its all just daydreaming.

I played the lottery every now and again. The only time I gave winning much thought was when I needed a little car to get me to university. I would definitely buy a Mini Cooper, a really nice one, if I was lucky enough to win one day.

Then Id stop dreaming. But it was this dream of a car that changed my life.

My parents said they would loan me 2,000 to buy a Nissan Micra. After shopping around for the car, I called in at the Whitley Lodge Post Office with Roy. My mum worked for the post office side there and Alex worked behind the sweet counter.

I decided to have a go at the lottery and suddenly had a strong feeling, a sort of premonition about winning. I picked three lines. On the second, Roy bumped my arm. I was going to get rid of the ticket and do another one, but something stopped me. I stuck with the completely random numbers I chose.

It was amazing because I didnt know why Id picked them and wouldnt have picked them again. I went to the counter, Alex put the ticket on, and off we went.

I normally just bought the ticket and forgot about it. This time something played on my mind, even though Im not a superstitious type of person. It was a spooky feeling.

That night, I watched Sweet Sixteen, the TV programme about girls with millionaire parents who get everything they want. I remember saying, How lucky are they? They all get amazing cars for their birthdays. At that moment, the draw was probably being made.

We watched a film and Roy went home around 11 p.m. I kissed Mum and Dad goodnight then went on my laptop to check the cost of insurance for the Micra. Roy texted me goodnight and reminded me to check my lottery ticket online. I got the ticket and smoothed it out because it was all crumpled. Then I went through the numbers.

Never for a moment did I think Id win anything. I only checked the numbers because Roy had reminded me and I was still awake.

Sitting on my bed, I was really chuffed when I found out Id won a tenner. I thought that would be where it ended. Nice to get a tenner, put it towards a new top but nothing more.

I then looked at the other numbers and they were all mine. I was scared to death to look at them again. There was no way, was there?

My heart was racing and my mouth was getting dry as I checked again and again. There were three or four games drawn every Saturday night so I could easily have made a mistake. That would have been typical. I could have been lucky with the Thunderball numbers rather than the main draw.

I just thought, Nah, its impossible, totally impossible. I could think of more reasons why I hadnt won rather than believing the proof in front of my eyes. I was just an ordinary girl who had gone to Whitley Bay High School. I couldnt have won, could I?

It got very confusing, very fast. It felt like the world was flashing before me and the room was spinning. It was a very strange sensation.

I remember running downstairs where my dad was sitting reading a book. Hes a really calm person, and he could see there was something wrong.

Dad, I think Ive won the national lottery, I blurted out.

He started to check as I hopped about. I couldnt believe it, but if my dad said Id won, then that was it. He confirmed it. I yelled Wooo and ran upstairs to tell my mum.

I woke her up and stammered, I think Ive won the lottery. She went right back to sleep. It was like a comedy sketch because after a few seconds she woke up again and asked, Did someone say theyd won the lottery?