School cook wins £821,000 from lottery

A SCHOOL cook from Shiplake has won more than £821,000 after dreaming that it would happen.

Sally Maudlin, 61, of Reading Road, said the money would change her family’s lives and she would love to spend some of her winnings on a cruise. “I’m stunned, happy and grateful,” she said.

The mother of two has been playing the People’s Postcode Lottery for six years but had never won more than £50 until now.

But she was the sole winner when her RG9 4BX postcode landed the weekly “Millionaire Street” prize on Saturday.

And because she had bought two of the £12-per-month tickets, it meant she won £410,995 on each.

Mrs Maudlin, who lives with her husband Murray, also 61, said she had started buying two tickets after her dream two years ago. She said: “In the dream there was a white van with the Postcode Lottery logo on it sitting at the bottom of the drive and I saw £30,000 written on a card.

“That has been near enough in the back of my mind every day since. I’ve thought about it most weeks.

“I put on another ticket after the dream. I nearly cancelled it altogether at one point but you need to go with your feelings. I told Murray about it. Just a week ago he asked if I’d won £10 and I said ‘No, but it is coming’. Sometimes I just get these feelings.

“I kept saying to everyone, ‘My win is coming’. Now here you are.” Mrs Maudlin, a mother of two, was at home when People’s Postcode Lottery ambassador Danyl Johnson arrived with two large gold envelopes with the cheques in. When he opened one, she was thrilled but then the actor opened the second one and she was stunned.

Mrs Maudlin said: “I couldn’t believe it when I got another cheque. I thought he had made a mistake.”

She and Murray, who is a head tractor driver, celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary in September and had been thinking about buying a house in Bournemouth when he retires.

Mrs Maudlin said: “The plan was to try to buy a little something in the Bournemouth area where my parents lived. My husband has worked so hard for us and never asked for anything back. He’s my rock. Now I can give him something back.

“I would love a world cruise but there are a lot of bridges to cross before we can do that — our dog Sky won’t leave Murray’s side. It’s something I’ve always wanted to do because I don’t like to fly. I’d love to go on a really nice ship and have a cabin with a balcony and think back to this day and how it has changed our lives. I’ve also always wanted to go to the pink castle hotel in Disneyland.”

She has now retired as catering supervisor at Shiplake Primary School and says she will give some money to her son, James 34, a boat skipper with Hobbs of Henley, and daughter Laura Bennett, 34, a sales assistant at fabric shop Lady Sew & Sew, and
13-year-old-grandson, Joe.

Mrs Maudlin said: “The main priority is using this money wisely, securing our future and helping the family. We’ll look seriously at what we can do to help us for the rest of our lives.”

Mrs Bennett said: “My parents are the most hard-working mum and dad ever. This couldn’t have gone to better people. They have done so much for me and my son, they deserve it.”

Mrs Maudlin originally signed up to the People’s Postcode Lottery to help charities.

“You get a chance to give to charity but also to win something,” she said. “I play to give to charity, with the thought that you might win big. Even if you don’t win, you’re still giving money to charity. Whatever charity you give to and however small the amount, it makes such a difference.”

As a result of her win, Henley charity Headway Thames Valley received £60,000. It helps people with a brain injury and their families. The money will go towards its existing services as well as to much-needed improvements to its base at Brunner Hall in Greys Road.

General manager Jamie Higgins said he was “absolutely blown away” by the donation, adding: “It will allow us to continue our mission of supporting those impacted by brain injury.”

The Nomad Youth and Community Project in Henley was awarded £60,000.

The remainder of Saturday’s £1million pot was split between 89 players in the wider postcode area with every ticket worth £1,648.

For more information, visit www.postcodelottery.co.uk