Safety in numbers

摘要

This summer, Thea Bristow, a 50-year-old souvenir maker from Torquay, hit the jackpot. The timing couldn't have been better By December, the grandmother of four would have been job-hunting, having been made redundant by employer Polkadot Designs as it wound down its business. Instead, possessed of a hefty cheque for ￡15m, she is thinking of buying a brand new Ford Ka, so that she can learn to drive. Meanwhile, down in the Cotswolds, the locals are celebrating the award of £11m from the Heritage Lottery Fund.This has been earmarked to restore 9.5km of canal between Stonehouse and Brimscombe Port and, in addition to improving the actual structure, will also pay for new wildlife habitats to be created. These are the two sides of the lottery coin: both beneficiaries.The UK National Lottery estimates that it gives away over two million prizes a week across its draw-based games (more, if you include scratchcards). It has paid out around £22.8bn since its launch in 1994, creating over 1,650 millionaires in the process. Each week, it also returns more than £23m to "good causes", So far, around 173,000 projects have received, a whopping total of £15.8 bn.