It’s a family affair for a retired builder from South East London
Alf and four generations of Boormans are celebrating a second slice of family luck after banking the Thunderball top prize. The retired builder from Eltham could hardly believe that 30 years after his dad won the Pools he has bagged a £500,000 cheque.
Alf, a regular Thunderball player, relies on the women in his life to keep him in the game; wife Rita buys the ticket while his 89 year old mother-in-law, Flo, checks them. Alf was grabbing some breakfast in a local café with his son when he received a call from Rita to say he’d won £500,000 – but Alf was so sure it was a mistake he told her to double-check and hung up.
Alf said, “I play the same numbers every week, my birthday, our anniversary and a random selection. Flo keeps a book with all our numbers in it, every Saturday night she notes down the winning numbers and checks them the following morning. She’s sharp as anything but like all of us occasionally makes a mistake so when Rita called with the news, I thought that was the case and went back to my breakfast, telling her to call the lottery if she was so sure.”
With Alf concentrating on his breakfast, it was Rita, Alf’s wife of 43 years, who called to make the claim. Astounded when the win was confirmed she called Alf again to tell him it was true and Flo had been right all along.
“I’m generally quite laidback but when your wife rings you to say that you are half a million quid better off it doesn’t half get your heart racing. I nearly choked on my bacon sarnie!” Alf continued, “My dad had a big win on the Pools years ago so while I played Thunderball, I don’t think I really thought lightening would strike twice, seems it might be in the blood or at least that’s what my sons are hoping!”
Alf and Rita, who have three sons and five grandchildren, have placed a brand new holiday caravan in Clacton top of their shopping list, somewhere that the whole family can enjoy.
An excited Alf said, “While most of the money will go towards buying the home we share with Flo and setting us up for a secure retirement, Rita has always dreamt of owning a caravan in Clacton. Somewhere that’s just ours so all the Boormans can go on a big family holiday together. That seemed a pipe-dream, but not any longer. We are heading there in August, cheque book at the ready, to buy a brand new caravan. Now if that’s not the stuff of dreams, what is?!”
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