A COUPLE who won the EuroMillions lottery only thought they had won £100 leaving them distraught.
But, Patricia and John Gill actually won the £1m ticket on Christmas Day in 2015, but haven’t blown the cash on a fast lifestyle.
2
Since then, the Cheshire pair have both retired and have enjoyed a cruise to the Maldives, while Patricia, 60, has been able to help local charities.
“The win has bought us time – the time to do so much with our lives,” Patricia said.
The couple have also been able to support their two children onto the housing ladder.
“Just being sensible and thinking carefully about how we want to spend the money is what it has all been about but also making our dreams come true,” Patricia said.
Read more on Money
Recalling when he won, John said he couldn’t grasp what exactly had happened.
“I just couldn’t work out if I had won £100, £1,000, or £100,000 – and then I realised it was £1,000,000,” the 64-year-old said to the Mirror.
Now, the couple is building their dream home and are hoping to move in this Spring.
John, the former boss of a truck repair company, has been doing most of the work himself to “help keep the cost down”.
Most read in Money
“I did all the initial drawings and then gave it to a guy to draw up the plans” he said.
“I’m doing anything and everything. All the plumbing, the central heating – but I won’t be fitting the boiler, obviously.
“I put all the windows in, I took all the chimney breasts down, cleaned all the bricks. It would cost a fortune if you didn’t do it yourself,” he said.
While Patricia, a former accountant, has also been helping out.
“I brush up, I make the tea, I do the sandwich run, but I’ve also been sanding down the door frames, so anything I can do I will get stuck in.
“I like to keep it clean and tidy because if you are working in a tidy environment it is so much nicer,” she said.
Patricia said John has always been “handy”.
“He prefers to do it himself. Now that he has retired, it gives him something to get his teeth into.”
The couple have a ticket for Friday’s draw, which includes a £173m jackpot.
“I hope that someone in the UK will be as lucky as I have been,” Patricia said.
2
