Peter's words of wisdom for new bus millionaire
THE ex-Belfast bus driver who won £10 million in the lottery has congratulated a Lancashire dustman who has followed in his lucky footsteps – saying that he hopes he "enjoys his money as much as I do".
Peter Lavery offered good wishes to 46-year-old Kevin Halstead who won 2.3 million in the lottery and promptly pledged to keep on driving, because he would miss his friends.
But Mr Lavery predicted that Mr Halstead, who has driven the same Bolton to Preston Stagecoach bus for the last 17 years, "will soon jack it in".
Mr Halstead had said following Saturday's win: "I don't want to pack my job in. I asked my boss for time off, a month maybe two, but I don't want to cut myself off from my friends and I really enjoy my job.
"Maybe I will go part time."
Mr Lavery, 48, who scooped 10.6 million in May 1996 – and also returned briefly to his day job, driving a bus the morning after his win – said: "I think after a month or two he will give up his job."
Mr Lavery, who has gone from driving buses to driving luxury cars such as his own DeLorean, spoke to the News Letter last night before getting on a plane for a 45-day trip around the world – one of at least 100 such luxury holidays that he has enjoyed since his big win.
"If he (Mr Halstead] misses his friends at work so much he can invite them round for the night and keep in touch with them, but he doesn't have to do the job," said Mr Lavery.
"Since winning the lottery my life has changed massively for the better.
"My advice to him is to take it easy, sit back and relax and reflect on what has happened to him. It is a lot to take in.
"He will have plenty of people round him advising him what to do. But he should not do anything until he thinks it through.
"I hope he enjoys his money as much as I have enjoyed mine."
Mr Halstead, from Chorley, Lancashire, won 2,302,668 when his regular numbers – 23, 25, 28, 33, 44, and 49 – all came up.
It was half of the jackpot from Saturday's draw, which he watched live with his mother Joyce, 68, at her house in Eccleston, Lancashire.
He said: "My mum said 'turn on the telly we could be millionaires'.
"I jumped up and said 'we've done the jackpot, mum, do you want a bungalow?" he said.
The Liverpool FC fan lives with his long-term partner Josephine Jones, 43, a care worker.
She has never been on holiday and Mr Halstead said he will buy her a passport so he can whisk her away.
He has also promised a pony to his 14-year-old daughter, Jessica.
Another possibility for splashing the cash is moving back to his home village of Eccleston, where he bought the lucky ticket.
But he won't be buying a Ferrari because he is "more than happy" with the Renault Laguna he got five months ago, after trading in his old motor on the Government scrappage scheme.
He said: "I have always wanted to move back to be close to my mum but house prices were too expensive.
"I always said to my workmates that if I won the lottery I would get a castle next to (the house of) Brian Souter, the owner of Stagecoach, and open it up for a retired bus driver's retreat. That’s a laugh but it could happen couldn’t it?
“To have my own season ticket at Anfield would be nice. I would love to meet the team and go into the changing room,” he said.
Since his own jackpot win, Peter Lavery has raised money for a number of local charities, including the Northern Ireland Children’s Hospice and the Northern Ireland Chest Heart and Stroke Association.
The former Citybus driver, who lived in the Short Strand before moving to north Down after his win, also established The Rita and Charles Trust in memory of his mother and father who died in 1979 and 1995 respectively.
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Tuesday 14 February 2012
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