We’re just off the bus and in the door from an amazing day at the RTE studios in Donnybrook where my better-half, Cathleen took part in the National Lottery RTE 1 Game Show, Winning Streak.
Since her ticket was pulled from the draw drum on Saturday night of last week, we have been inundated and overwhelmed with the genuinely good wishes of friends and neighbours.
We’ve come home tonight with a small fortune of €25,000 after the day and a bag of great memories of the whole experience.
Card, e-mails, flowers and texts have been pouring in all week long and our neighbours erected a hand-painted sign at the top of the road.
We took a bus and a gang of family members and friends and found a gem in our driver and minder, Brendan Hartnett from Tralee who drives for O’Connor’s Coaches here in Castleisland.
On arrival at the studios there I met Tralee native and Irish Times Political columnist and radio analyst, Michael O’Regan and a few minutes later, Cordal native, the wonderfully helpful and efficient, Margaret Flynn – a floor manager with the National Lottery.
In the course of his on-screen conversation with Cathleen, show host Marty Whelan asked about, and was given, a brief history of The Maine Valley Post – a brief history is all there is for now but that was an unexpected bonus and a plug beyond our wildest dreams.
I have a handful of photographs from the cameras of friends and family and I hope they’ll do for now.
Sleep is beckoning and I genuinely wouldn’t know where to start thanking the people of the locality and away out yonder for their kindness and good wishes since last Saturday night.
Show hosts Marty Whelan and Sinead Kennedy and the whole National Lottery team go out of their way to make players and audience welcome. And this was a view shared by all the contestants and their groupies.
It was us this week – It could be you next week – if you’re not in you can’t win – sleep is beckoning – sleep is winning – where’s the wheel Marty? – Where’s the Wheel?
