What I would do if I won the lottery

ALSO PUBLISHED ON DOOYOO UNDER MY GENTLEGENIUS USER NAME

Firstly, let me say I'd never win the lottery as I don't do it, but if I should ever start and was lucky enough to scoop something in the region of between £15m and £20m, once I'd regained consciousness and picked myself up off the floor, I'd sit down and begin spending it, in my head to start with.

The concept of having such a huge sum of money at my disposal at first would overwhelm me....maybe even scare me a bit....but I'd then calm down and realise that I'd probably only need one of those many millions to keep me living in the lap of luxury for the rest of my life. Being of the approaching senior generation, I'd need much less than someone say in their late teens, 20s or 30s, as my anticipated lifespan at this age is much shorter than someone a lot younger's would be.

Firstly, I'd take £1m from the total amount won and put it in a high interest bearing safe bank or building society account, and there would probably be enough interest for me to live on, as my daily needs are modest - I'm not a materialistic person and I'm as happy as a pig in proverbial so long as I have my internet, books, music, food in the fridge/cupboards/freezer, a roof over my head and am warm in winter and cool in summer.

Out of the remaining cash, I'd buy myself a small, but tasteful managed penthouse flat overlooking the sea in one of the better parts of my original home town, Southend-on-Sea. The flat would have to have lift access, and I'd equip it with aids that I might need when I get even older, such as grab rails etc. I already have a little arthritis, and that could get much worse as I age. I'd then furnish and decorate it exactly as I want it, with a view to whatever fixtures/furnishings/fittings lasting a lifetime. After that, I'd arrange for a reliable cleaner to come and 'do' for me 2 or 3 times a week.

The next thing I'd do would be to ask my family and closest friends whether they'd prefer a cash cheque (the amount each could receive would depend on however much is left, divided between those people) or whether they'd prefer me to pay, again depending on the amount each individual is entitled to from what's left, part or all of their mortgage off.

I would imagine what I've said above would use most or all of the winnings up, but anything remaining would be split between various charities. I would prefer to donate to charities that are largely low profile, and of course those that I have a sympathy towards their cause. A lot of any remaining cash earmarked for charities would no doubt go to those which help animals, as it's well-known that I prefer animals to most people.

Then, I'd just get on with my life once I'd moved into my penthouse flat. Assuming that the interest on the £1m I'd banked would be more than adequate to live on, I'd occasionally treat myself to things like music CDs, DVDs of films, taxis to wherever I wanted to go which would save me the aggro of waiting around for buses, and I might trot off for the occasional weekend away somewhere, staying in a nice 5-star hotel - probably in the UK rather than abroad.

There's no way I'd be out there buying jewellery, cars, flash designer clothes or that kind of thing, because to be honest, they wouldn't do anything for me or give me even the remotest sense of pleasure or satisfaction.

Of course, for me, winning that sort of money on the lottery is - like no doubt it also is for most people - a complete pipe dream. I might even start buying a ticket each week!

For those who have what I mostly perceive to be a healthy degree of cynicism regarding huge lottery wins, as it's recently been statistically proved that you're something like 100 times more likely to be struck by lightning than have a massive lottery win, there always is that chance...each ticket you buy, gains you a stake in a pool, albeit a huge pool. The statement "well someone has to win" doesn't apply with the lottery as on some weeks, nobody wins, then the prize rolls over...but you might be lucky on the rollover week.

Failing becoming the highly envied winner of millions to do whatever you like with, allows one to do what I feel is a most valuable thing in life.....and that's to dream! It has to be said though that some years ago, a friend of a friend of a friend did win an amount which, though not millions, was more than enough to enable him to considerably change and improve his life beyond all recognition.

Not sure how to rate this star-wise, but I'll give it five for the chance if I should ever buy a ticket, plus for the nice draydreams I can luxuriate in at the thought of such a win.

Thanks for reading!