A Northamptonshire lottery winner has said that winning the lottery doesn’t change your life, it just makes things a bit easier.
Chris Bowers and his wife Susan won £3,497,114 in July 2011 after they bought a winning ticket from their local Sainsbury’s.
The 62 year old couple has bought bungalow in Cogenhoe and two new cars with their winnings, but they are yet to make any extravagant purchases.
Mr Bowers, who used to work as a forklift truck engineer, was at Silverstone to celebrate the creation of 18 millionaires this Friday through the EuroMillions Millionaire Raffle.
He received expert motor tuition and helped to create a giant number 18, through a combination of skids, turns and doughtnuts.
Mr Bowers said: “I have played the lottery since it started and had won odd bits and pieces, like £10 or £50, but to win so much was quite a shock. I hadn’t long bought an iPhone and I was checking the lottery app and I saw all six numbers come up. That’s when your heart starts pounding. My wife was telling me I had been silly and done something wrong.
“We didn’t sleep on Saturday night, and then on Monday someone from Camelot came and confirmed it. Then we really didn’t get any sleep, we were so happy.”
Mr Bowers retired when he was 59 and said that he and his wife don’t want to blow all of the money that they won: “It’s hard to process, or even think about, numbers like £3.5 million. I used to have to read the amount backwards from the ‘pence’.
“It was good. It changed our lives, but only in the way that it made things easier. We’re still the same people, and have the same friends and family.
“We bought our bungalow, and I’ve always had nice cars as we’ve never had children so could afford the little extras, but I bought a Land Rover and a Mercedes. We haven’t bought anything extravagant. We have a nice house, but we haven’t been silly and over-bought. We just try to have a good time. It’s made life a little easier. It’s a nice feeling. It’s there if we need it, and we’ve been able to help a few people out here and there.
“Besides, my wife wouldn’t let me squander it all.”