Eileen Strange and her husband, Gerald - who both work for CC Discount Heating (where Gerald is a partner) in Colchester - are now looking forward to fulfilling their 'pipe'-dreams, after winning an amazing £909,414 share of the Lotto jackpot on Wednesday 14th November.
The lucky couple, who are both planning to retire in February next year, are now making plans about what to do with their winnings. High on their list of priorities is looking after their family, especially their three grandchildren, Gemma, Danielle and Liam - who they intend to give a real Christmas to remember this year.
According to Gerald, Eileen has also been thinking about a new car for a while so now the dream of a new BMW or Audi is a step closer. As for Gerald, he has already chipped in with a request for a new set of golf clubs for Christmas. Eileen and her daughter have already booked a shopping trip to New York in three weeks time - so Macy's on West 34th Street will definitely be on their itinerary now.
Eileen, who bought the winning ticket, did not find out about the win until Saturday when she went to buy her lottery tickets from Underwoods Garage in West Mersea. According to Gerald she was still in a state of shock when she returned home with the good news.
Eileen said: "We're only now really starting to believe this has happened. It's just wonderful."
Eileen has been playing the same numbers, 4, 5, 21, 35, 37 and 42 since the lottery launched 13 years ago. She chose the numbers at random and this is the first time she has won a major prize - proving that 13 is definitely lucky for some.
