When the huge Euro-Million roll-over of £161million was won this past week by a middle-aged couple from the Scottish village of Largs, they spent two days deciding whether or not to tell the world about their good fortune. Despite the warnings they would have been given by Lottery authorities about revealing their identities following such an enormous win they decided to go ahead and do so – to the extent that the winners Colin and Christine Weir, and their adult children, and their addresses, and places of work, can now be traced and identified easily on sites such as 192.com in a matter of seconds.

As expected, the begging letters are now pouring in to their letter box and are piling up by the thousand at the local village post office. The Post Master is now considering whether or not to deliver them such is the growing heap of mail addressed simply to ‘The Weirs’. It had to happen of course – it happens to everyone who strikes it rich on the lottery and is silly enough to reveal their identity, and it is  happening to Mr and Mrs Weir. The couple have now reportedly ‘fled to Spain’ to escape the consequences of their stupid actions. But what did they expect…what do WE expect from a couple like the Weirs…?

The Weirs are ‘early retired due to ill health’. He is 64, she is 55. Both are morbidly obese, both use walking sticks to get around and their lifestyle revolves around watching television and eating out at the local chippie several times a week. Two people who have eaten themselves into ill health and inability to work at relatively young ages, and who have now come into as much money in one day as David and Victoria Beckham have managed to accumulate in almost twelve years. The thing is the Beckhams know how to manage their wealth – the Weirs have spent the past 48 hours telling the world about their humble lifestyle and where they and their children work and live. No wonder they have had to flee their home with their two twenty-something children Jamie and Carly. Everyone with a bill to pay, and with no pride to lose, has had the front to ask them to post them a cheque from a chunk of their winnings. And why not…as their new fortune is made up of millions of other people’s entry bids,why shouldn’t they sit down and start writing out some cheques to the very people who made their massive win possible?

But we have to ask; is it really correct to have such massive rollover wins as £161million…? such an amount of money being won in the blink of an eye is an incredible thing to contemplate. It has not been earned, it has come about simply through chance. Sheer good luck. But what about the Weirs…? why on earth did they decide to tell the world who they were and how much they had won…? why did they not take lottery officials advice (it would have been given…) and simply conceal their identities…? it is all about greed. Greed for publicity. Greed for attention. It has been written how ‘normal and down to earth’ this couple are – but look at them. Greed has shaped them into a couple too overweight to work – now that same greed has teamed up with stupidity and vanity so that they have had to escape the consequences from their own home. Time will tell pretty soon if Mr and Mrs Weir can cope with excess beyond their wildest dreams. Their old life has now gone and it is safe to say they will have a task on their hands creating a new life based upon the simple and uncomplicated happiness they enjoyed just a week ago. And their friends – who will they be from now on…?

But one thing is sure – I feel the local chippie will be wanting them to return and stay on…