Chichester couple celebrate a winter windfall

Karen, a civil servant, discovered the win late one evening, "We like the excitement of playing National Lottery games but I especially like Thunderball because the odds are quite good and we often will get a small win, this windfall suggests the odds are really good!"

"David had already gone to bed and I was thinking about following him when I remembered the tickets hadn't been checked. I wasn't really paying too much attention but when I saw that our Lucky Dip five numbers and Thunderball matched I soon sat up!"

Not believing what she was seeing, Karen rubbed her eyes, read it again and then spoke the numbers out loud still finding they matched. She called David to ask him to check the numbers and as her bleary eyed partner confirmed the numbers matched, Karen turned to her husband of 26 years and said, "We've just won half a million pounds!"

While David took it all in his stride and went straight back to bed, Karen spent a sleepless night planning how she would make the claim the next day. "I've never won anything like this before so I had no idea what I had to do. I called the National Lottery line to check the numbers really were correct before nervously calling to make our claim."

Although the winter windfall is very welcome, the pair will be keeping their feet firmly on the ground. David said, "We are a quiet couple who enjoy the quiet life. We will be using the winnings to pay off a small car loan and credit cards, and then the rest is going into investments for our retirement."

There is one area that will see the couple treat themselves. Keen theatre goer Karen will now be able to attend even more performances at Chichester Festival Theatre.

Karen and David celebrated their win at local world-renowned theatre. Karen said, "I’m a Friend of Chichester Festival Theatre and I love going, I try to attend at least one or two shows each season. I've already got my eye on the Russian Ballet, and I’m going to have a jolly good look through the brochure to book in a few more!"

Chichester Festival Theatre has also won through The National Lottery, receiving over £26 million in funding, including a grant of £12 million awarded in August 2012. This latest grant is to transform its premises through the RENEW project, refurbishing and extending the existing front of house and backstage areas, improving access, and increasing capacity.

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