Exuberant Winners

Sometimes I think that Lotto winners are just a tad too exuberant. I’m not talking about those who have won several million pounds or euros by landing a jackpot – exuberance in those circumstances is understandable – but when the prize is more modest some people seem to get a bit too carried away.

I’m thinking of a press release I read recently which recounted the tale of someone who had won a low six figure sum (around £120,000, if I recall correctly). Now that’s a handy amount of cash in anyone’s book, and the Lotto winner quite sensibly decided to use some of it to reduce their mortgage. They also bought a brand new Vauxhall Astra, which is fair enough. But the person writing the press release didn’t say that they had bought a brand new Astra. No. They wrote that the winner had decided to buy their “Dream car – a brand new Vauxhall Astra”.

Okay, so an Astra has plenty of good points, but is it really anyone’s “dream car”? My personal theory is that this phrase belonged to the journalist writing the press release rather than the actual winner, but if that wasn’t the case the surely the winner was just – in a moment of over exuberance – being polite.

I think it’s like getting a hand-knitted jumper from your Gran at Christmas. We have an automatic urge to go “Oh!” so we cover up our disappointment with an over-exuberant “Wow! This is exactly what I always wanted. Isn’t it love? Just what I said I really wanted the other day...”

In that context, describing a Vauxhall Astra as a “dream car” would make perfect sense. But if the phrase had just been slipped into the story because the writer wanted to make a modest win sound like a jackpot, I take issue with that.

Why? Because if we let lottery writers get away with describing Astras as “dream cars” then the next time someone wins £10 when playing national lottery scratchcards we might well end up reading that “Bill from Halifax is treating himself to the lunch of his dreams - pie, peas and a pint at his local pub.” And that would never do.

In my opinion, it’s okay to tell the truth. If I win £100,000 playing EuroMillions this Friday, I may well buy myself a new family car. But I won’t describe it as being a “dream come true” or “the luckiest day of my life”. You know why? Because my dream is to win the EuroMillions jackpot – every penny of it. Sure, £100,000 would be very nice as a consolation, but it wouldn’t be the fulfilment of my every fantasy by any means.

Of course, if the National Lottery were operated by my Gran, I would probably say something very different...

Article Last Updated: 02/09/2008 10:04:45

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