Folksy Ltd

The 'winning the lottery' dream

(Susannah Ayre) #1

Today I sat on the sea front eating fish & chips for lunch with my husband and a money spider would just not leave me alone! (Not sure if they’re called the same thing everywhere!) but every time I put it down somewhere else it just kept coming back.
Also- Just a few weeks ago my husband started playing the lottery for the first time- just through the App by direct debit (we’re lazy like that!) but the combination of the money spider (thought to bring money/luck if it walks across your palm) & our recent lottery playing it inevitably brought on the conversation of what we’d do if we won a substantial amount on the lottery!

We’ve all thought it! Or dreamt it!!
What would you do?

My husband and I thankfully think very similarly- so we’d just hand our notices in- pack up all our belongings and travel the world. We’ve already spent a year in S.E Asia but unfortunately that brings on itchy feet syndrome and we’ve been desperate to go somewhere else ever since. So around the world with no fixed end date for us!- not very original I know! :stuck_out_tongue:

(Amberlilly) #2

That’s a good one, to travel.
My dream is a plot of land, not too big, either with a house or build one, in the South West, Devon or Cornwall, not out in the middle of nowhere, but close to the coast where I can walk my dogs, and live a simple, quiet life and drink coffee and not be in a hurry to do or be anywhere! Lol! Oh and drink wine where all you can see are the stars at night! Haha!!

(Susannah Ayre) #3

Haha sounds spot on! I’d want something very similar to that on my return- but on the west coast of Scotland. :blush: I’d quite enjoy building my own home from scratch too- we plan on doing that at some point anyway but it would be pretty awesome if money was no object! Haha
I’d love a small holding- with rare breed animals. Though- I quite like your idea of never being in a hurry to do anything! :blush:

(Silvapagan) #4

A home for me, maybe in Bristol. A home for daughter, probably in Hereford as that’s where she works. A place in Texas for when I’m there and when Hubby comes home.

After that, perhaps a trip on the Orient Express, or across Canada by train. I’d take an MA in historic gardens.

Leave the rest in the bank, and spend it as I see things that take my fancy :slight_smile:

(Sasha Garrett) #5

What do money spiders absailing down your nose from your bike crash hat mean? Have they got itchy feet as well and want to see the next village?
A lottery win would also trigger some travelling for the other half and I. Prior experience tells me that we both get to a certain point and we actually want to go home, we miss bread/ cheese/ baked potatoes/ a proper cup of tea, 6-8 weeks exploring somewhere and then we want to come home and sleep in our own bed! So I’d/ we’d spend the worst of the winter exploring somewhere warm then come back to my allotment and the comforts of Cambridge.
I’d also like to buy the end of my neighbours’ garden so that I could build myself an amazing workshop and a tree house designed by Noma Bar (he’s just designed an amazing bird shaped tree house in Japan), I’d hang some his work on the workshop walls along side the original illustrations from George’s Marvellous Medicine (if I can track them down).

(Susannah Ayre) #6

ooh the Orient Express would be lovely!

I’d probably start by throwing a rather large scale party for all my friends. Then I’d want to make sure some of my closest were taking care of financially…and maybe it would be fun to take my closest on a rather exotic holiday, maybe for the first leg of my trip.
Always fancied seeing what Richard Branson’s island is all about…and you can rent that per day. haha

(Kelly) #7

I know them as money spiders too Susannah @curiousseagull. If it were me, I’d opt for the same as @Amberlilly. x

(Susannah Ayre) #8

That all sounds very interesting!! I like the treehouse idea. That would be really cool.

Unfortunately I’ve always felt as though I was born in the wrong country…even when I was a kid I never imagined I’d be living here. In fact, after my year in S.E Asia I just cried all the way home and within a month I’d already booked a flight back out to Thailand…I don’t do well here, and due to dietary issues can’t eat much English food, so pretty much all of my shopping is done at the Asian supermarket anyway. haha
Is there anywhere you’d go on your 6-8 week trip? I’ve always been eager to see Pacific islands. :smile:

(Sasha Garrett) #9

I fancy going back to South Africa and doing a loop up the west coast to the blomveld (probably mis spelt, I want to see it in full flower) into Namibia, across into Botswana (okavango delta in full flood please), Mozambique and then back down the east coast taking in the Kruger park which we didn’t do on the last trip. Maybe pop over to Madagascar but that might be a trip in its own right with some of the other islands. Also quite like to do an Antarctic ‘cruise’ to see the icebergs and penguins before they disappear, visiting Patagonia en route.
My current ploy is to travel the world one gem producing country at a time so that I can write some of the cost off as a business expense, its worked for the last 3 trips (Indonesia, Italy, New Zealand). We are currently negotiating where to go for the next trip Montreal/ Toronto area of Canada or Gran Canaria. Canada is probably more doable as a business trip as that’s the bit that produces labradorite.

(Susannah Ayre) #10

Well that sounds like an awesome idea!! haha I’d love to see Africa. I want to see mountain gorillas before they’re gone!

My husband is in the last few months of writing up his PhD, I’m trying to convince him to apply for post-doctorate positions in Canada- though I fancy Vancouver. :smile:

(Sasha Garrett) #11

Vancouver is nice but I prefered Victoria to visit (it would probably be the other way round if I was living there), its worth travelling through the Rockies as well. I drove Vancouver to Calgary with the other half having previously done a coach/ train/ boat combo from Calgary to Vancouver with my mum some 10 years previous. They have things called bear jams as everyone stops to look at the bears sat at the side of the road stripping the bushes of shoots or berries depending on the time of year.

(Susannah Ayre) #12

Ah that’s cool. I’d like to travel cross-country too. We prefer the idea of Vancouver as we’re both surfers and need to be by the sea. haha We’ve only ever lived metres from the sea and even when we’re inland for more than a day we start to go a bit crazy, but I’d be happy knowing I was travelling cross-country to get to the ocean! haha I love travelling by train so would definitely enjoy something like that. :smile:
The wildlife is a huge draw for us as well; as is the huge amount of land and not many people in comparison!!

(Sarah Lambert) #13

Mine is so similar to yours except I’d like it to be in North Norfolk, and I’d like a little bead/fabric shop and have days where people could come in and drink coffee and chat and bead or sew, and as it would be in Norfolk I could pop a note in the window saying Back Soon and be gone for days and no-one would find it unusual !

(Kam) #14

Just asked the husband and we would do the boring bits like paying off the mortgage etc -but to be honest I’d probably help family members and friends who are struggling financially…I quite like my home comforts so I’m not much of a traveller!

(Sams Gemstone Jewellery) #15

The list is endless but the best thing for me would be the ability to do what I want and when I feel like doing it. I love travelling so first on the list would be Churchill in Canada to see Polar bears in their natural habitat and too Norway to see the Northern lights… along with buying a detached house with swimming pool, country pub for bikers with space to camp and no neighbours to upset with loud music and motorbikes leaving at 2am. I’d go in a hot air balloon, take my nieces and nephews to Disneyland and the most enjoyable thing of all would be telling my employers that I am never ever coming back !!!

(Tina Martin) #16

I would love a house by the sea in the west country, with a swimming pool. A small art & craft gallery would be lovely too!

(Susannah Ayre) #17

Haha your list is extensive!! Sounds good though!
My husband saw polar bears 2 years ago when he was on an expedition north of Alaska- they would come really close to the boat so he got some really good photos. If one was spotted, there would be an announcement on the ship to let people know- though sometimes the announcements would scare them off! Haha His best footage (photo and film) was of a mother bear and her baby. Must have been so lovely to see!!

(Sasha Garrett) #18

Going up in hot air balloons is awesome. I’m originally from Bath so grew up watching them float over head on a regular basis and then the other half got us a trip in one for my 21st (just me, him and the pilot). It was black and yellow with bees on it. Later on we did a flight (shouldn’t that be float) over the masai mara for our 10th anniversary, scared a few wildebeast in the process when the burners got fired (elephants didn’t seem to mind), had to lift off as sunrise to avoid the thermals and it was spectacular. Will have to find somewhere even more impressive for our 20th anniversary in a couple of years.
Yet to see the northern lights but there is talk of a trip to Finland to visit a friend in january…