Tuesday 17 May 2011

What Numbers Do You Use?

Are you a lottery (Lotto) player and if so, do you use random numbers, the same numbers each time or do you simply go for a scratch card and hope you have the winning one?

When we lived in the UK I belonged to our office syndicate, we had around 20 lines a week, we used the same numbers every week and our winning amounts over the years were so pathetic it was laughable. But what if you really did win, not the odd ten pounds or even a thousand pounds. What if you won millions of pounds, what would you do?

Doreen Wilkinson, cleaner from a council estate won eleven million pounds. As usual she was late for work, but needed to stop off at the corner shop to buy a packet of cigarettes, on impulse she bought a ticket. The numbers she used on her one and only lottery ticket were random and afterwards she could not even remember them. That ticket and those forgotten numbers set in motion changes to her life that no amount of imagination could prepare her for.


Nothing in her wildest dreams had prepared Doreen Wilkinson for something like this. But then, nothing had prepared her for winning the lottery either.
Several million. Several million. Eleven million, three hundred and fifty four thousand, two hundred and ten pounds and nineteen pence to be precise.


She had giggled at the nineteen pence. “Break the bleedin’ bank that will!”


The media had made the comment a headline, “19p to break the bleedin’ bank!” splashed all over the Sun and Daily Mirror accompanied by her smiling face and a fountain spray of champagne. She had thought it a waste shaking that great big bottle and letting it fizz everywhere, but the reporters had told her to do it.

You can read all about Doreen's spectacular win in Sometimes It Happens...
available in Kindle from Amazon

And please let me know if you are a lottery player or not, you never know, it just might happen!

Dice picture from: FreeDigitalPhotos

8 comments:

Maureen A. Miller said...

I am a 'random' picker. I'm too afraid of the taboo of sticking with a specific set of numbers. Those numbers would start to take on a life of their own and infiltrate into everything I do...passwords, bank accounts, etc. :)

Unknown said...

I have the same numbers. I decided - about 8 years ago - that I daren't not have them any more. I would probably head for the nearest cliff if those numbers came up and I hadn't put them on a ticket. :)

Pauline Barclay said...

Hello Maureen, you must be like my Doreen, she used random ones, hope you are as lucky...giggle!

Hi Shirley, OMG you have to keep using them, I shudder at the thought!

Deborah Carr (Debs) said...

We can't do the lottery online from over here, but we do buy a ticket every time we visit the UK and always use random numbers.

I love the sound of your book. Can't wait to read it.

Christine said...

I never do the lottery because I can't stand the programme where they roll the balls and pick the winners. Thanks for dropping in to my blog. We small shoe sizers need to stick together. Good luck with the new book.

Rosalind Adam said...

I never do the lottery so I'm never going to win, am I. I know that some people use their birthday dates and the number of their house. In theory the numbers 1 to 6 (is it 6 numbers?!?) would be as likely to win as random numbers... or would they?

The book sounds great. I may have to get a Kindle rather than wait until the book version comes out!

Jemi Fraser said...

I rarely play the lottery games, but it's true that someone has to win! Sounds fun :)

Pauline Barclay said...

Hi Debs, we can't do the UK lotter here either, but I doubt I would be as lucky as Doreen Wilkinson...giggle!
Thanks for all your lovely words about my book. x

Hello Christine, thanks for stopping by. As we don't live in the UK, we don't have to suffer the programme balls and all!

Hi Ros, sorry about no paperback yet, maybe when you get your iPad...! Thanks for considering reading it. x

Hello Jemi, I guess someone has to win, even in real life! Thanks for calling by. :)