What a year to celebrate!
Jayne Stone, 56, from Bargoed in Wales, was overjoyed when she won £1,000
The NHS celebrated 70 years of service in 2018, and I’m proud to say I’ve been a part of it for more than half that time. Working as a nurse in a community hospital for the past 37 years, I adore my job.
Every day has its challenges, but it must be one of the most rewarding careers there is, and that’s probably why I’ve stuck at it for so long.
I’ve always grafted long hours, so days off spent with my husband Maldwyn, 53, are often few and far between. But when I do have a couple of hours to myself, my guilty pleasure is flicking through Woman’s Own with a big bar of chocolate.
I’ve been reading the magazine for years and I’m always one of the first to grab it off the newspaper stands every week. But it was in June 2018 that I took notice of an advert for Woman’s Own Bingo and read about several women who’d won amazing jackpots and had so much fun playing bingo online.
‘Sounds great,’ I said to Maldwyn. Getting to grips with the games and navigating the site was easier than I thought it would be, and I soon discovered my favourite game was Sapphire Bingo. It is your traditional 90-ball bingo game – the type you could play in a bingo hall, but easier as the numbers are dabbed off for you automatically. This means you never miss a bingo call, no matter what else you might be doing.
‘I’d only been playing a few weeks’
The screen lit up
On the evening of 25 June, just a couple of weeks after joining, I was playing Sapphire Bingo and waiting for the number five to be called out.
Passing the laptop to Maldwyn as I went to check on dinner, I suddenly heard a shriek from the living room. ‘Jayne! Look, look!’ Maldwyn said.
As soon as I was back in the room, I spotted the flashing lights on the screen.
I’d won! And not just a couple of quid – the Full House of £1,000! I couldn’t believe it, especially as I’d only been playing a few weeks.
Maldwyn and I were overjoyed and couldn’t stop smiling. It was during the glorious summer heatwave, so we popped a bottle of fizz in the garden to celebrate. We both knew there was one person who we’d be spoiling with our winnings – and he wasn’t even born yet!
Our first grandson was due in September. That weekend, we went shopping with my daughter Bethan, buying a top-of-the-range pram and a bundle of toys. ‘Thank you so much,’ Bethan beamed, holding her bump. Treating her was lovely. And a month later, the whole family travelled to Padstow in Cornwall for a five-day holiday in the sunshine. It was particularly poignant as Maldwyn had suffered a heart attack a few years before, and it was his first trip away since. His treatment was yet another reason to appreciate the work of the doctors and nurses who cared for him in such a landmark anniversary year. We took our Golden Retriever Hettie, Bethan and our other daughter Hannah and their partners to stay in the cottage. It was a joy to spoil our family, visiting the beautiful golden beaches, walking Hettie and, of course, enjoying some Cornish pasties and a few other extra treats. Our grandson Jack was born in September and the whole family is utterly smitten. With our new arrival, our first holiday in years, and, of course, my fantastic bingo win, 2018 really was an amazing year.
‘it was a joy to spoil our family’