‘We didn’t want it to change us’
Cheryl Brudenell, 53, and husband, Mark, 55, from Stockton-on-tees, Teesside, scooped nearly £1m in 1997. The couple have two grown-up sons and three grandchildren.
‘Hand in hand, Mark and I strolled along the beach, the white sand still warm beneath our feet, the sea the colour of sparkling emeralds. I’d dreamed of visiting Hawaii since I was a child, but I knew the only way I’d get there was if I won the lottery. I still can’t believe it, but that’s exactly what happened.
The National Lottery had only been running for three years when Mark and I hit the jackpot. Like everyone, we’d always fantasised about what we’d do if we won. Move house, buy a new car, take holidays... they were all on the list.
Mark and I got married and had our son Karl when I was 16 and he was 18, and two years later we had Paul. I worked long hours in a bakery while Mark was driving tanker lorries. We were a happy family, but life was a struggle.
STUNNED INTO SILENCE
Then, one Saturday in February 1997, we were about to go to the pub for the evening when the lottery results came on TV. Mark rummaged around for the ticket as the first numbers were announced.
He glanced down at the ticket. “We’ve got that one, and that one.” Then, when a third ball matched ours, I thought, “Great! We’ve won a tenner.” But then the next two numbers went our way, too, and Mark said, his voice now shaky, that we only needed one more number. My heart thudded as the last ball slowly tumbled down. It was number 27 – we’d won the jackpot! We stood in stunned silence for a second, then frantically checked the numbers again. We even looked them up on Teletext to be sure. But we were right, we had all six numbers, scooping
£916,000. “We’ve won!” Mark gasped.
Unsure what to do, we quickly called our parents. They live nearby and came racing round. Our boys, then aged 11 and 13, had been staying with my parents and came too. Suddenly, we were all there in our house, laughing and crying and shrieking with delight.
GETTING AWAY
We quit our jobs and booked a holiday to Jamaica with both sets of parents. We needed to get away to absorb the news. When we arrived back home, Mark bought a new car and we treated the boys to loads of new clothes.
We also moved into a four-bedroom new-build home 10 miles from our council home in Middlesbrough.
It had a double garage and a lovely en-suite bathroom, which seemed the height of luxury to me back then!
But Mark and I knew we had to keep our feet on the ground, so he used some of the money to set up his own double glazing business.
We wanted to do some good, too, and Mark’s company donates its services to Zoe’s Place, a local children’s hospice. We’ve become involved in fundraising there and have been made patrons of the charity.
I finally fulfilled a dream to go to Hawaii for our 25th wedding anniversary and went back two years ago for my 50th birthday. Other than fancy holidays, though, we lead a normal life and our sons are now grown up with children of their own. This year, we took them to Disneyland in Florida. Seeing their faces light up with joy was wonderful. I know just how lucky I am.’