Special day for mums
Frances checks her bills and saves spare coppers in a jar
IT WAS a very special Mother’s Day for thousands of women in care homes across Scotland.
Joyce Loughray was one of those who were able to visit loved ones from whom they were separated for six months.
She spent time with mum Evelyn, 92, at Queens Manor Care Home in Edinburgh.
A EUROMILLIONS lottery winner who won £115million in 2019 says she still checks her gas and electricity bills to make sure she’s not overcharged.
Former teacher Frances Connolly, 54, who won the jackpot – the fourth highest lotto payout in the UK at the time – with husband Patrick, also keeps coppers in a giant whisky bottle.
Frances is originally from Northern Ireland but now lives in a five-bed bungalow – complete with swimming pool and tennis court – in County Durham, and said she has already given away £60million of her winnings.
Asked if she was a saver or a spender, she said: “It’s kind of hard to say we save now, because the bank is full of money, but I still have a sensible attitude towards it.
“I look for a bargain everywhere I go and check the bank every month to see what I’m paying for gas and electric.
“I’ve got a big jar with coppers and coins in it, it’s a whisky bottle, my dad gave it to me years ago. Every time it gets full, it goes to charity.”
Quizzed how the pandemic had affected her, she said that she’d had to be careful as she has diabetes but added: “I think I’ve been to Tesco three times.”
Frances and Patrick have dished out millions to friends, family and charities since winning the huge payout.
She said: “We have given away £60million, which is more than half of the money we won, but at the same time it has been like winning the lottery, every day, for two years.
“We own our house in the north-east. It’s an old five-bed bungalow with five acres but it has a modern feel inside.
“When we first won the lottery, an estate agent sent us a brochure for this stately home — it was like Buckingham Palace and about £8million.
“If you bought it, you had 250 acres and you owned the village. Paddy said, ‘We can’t afford that, we’d have to pay for all those caps for people to doff at us when we drive through the village’.”
PRINCE William’s children penned moving letters to “Granny Diana” to remember her on Mother’s Day.
Princess Charlotte, five, Princes George, seven, and Louis, two, made Mother’s Day cards for Princess Diana, who died, aged 36, in 1997, when William was just 15.
Princess Charlotte wrote: “Papa is missing you”.
William and Kate posted the cards on Instagram, writing: “For those experiencing bereavement, today may be particularly challenging.
“Each year on Mother’s Day, George, Charlotte and Louis make cards remembering their Granny, Diana, for William.”
The children made a cake for their own mother to mark the day. Showbiz royalty, including Victoria Beckham, Paul McCartney and Oti Mabuse were also celebrating.
Holly Willoughby sent a message to mum Linda, 73, writing: “I just want to be in my pyjamas, eating your food, in your house... can’t wait to be close to you... we all need a cuddle from our mums.”
Meanwhile Jamie Redknapp, 47, praised mum Sandra, 73, and “all the amazing mums out there”.
He said: “Hope you get spoilt rotten.”