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Shopping: If I win the lottery tonight - Liz Barclay Radio presenter

Saturday 22 August 1998 00:02 BST
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"I LOVE antique furniture so I'd treat myself to some good pieces. I have no pictures, only prints, so I'd commission some - including views of Northern Ireland where I grew up - from a friend who's a great painter in watercolour and acrylic. If we're talking serious money, I'd buy my own radio station to broadcast all those ideas I've had that network controllers haven't agreed were wonderful.

I'd lavish treats on friends and family, especially my parents in Antrim and my sisters in Frankfurt and Glasgow. But I seem to be surrounded by the least materialistic bunch of people you could imagine so it might be holidays, trips to the theatre and concerts, and lots of good food and drink. My mother enjoys musicals and ballet so I'd love to have her here in London from time to time to see musicals. Coming up to Christmas she'd love to see the Christmas productions. She and my father also love Irish folk music, and so Lord of the Dance and Riverdance would be high on the list.

I'd move from Richmond to a flat overlooking or near a park in central London. Regent's Park or Hyde Park would be ideal. I'd also buy a cottage in Ireland, somewhere overlooking the sea. I love London so I'd definitely not move away, but nowhere can ever take the place of the country of your birth and Ireland has the "softest" and greenest scenery in the world - it's the place I always feel homesick for, wherever I am in the world. I had never lived more than 15 miles from the sea until I lived in London. It's my calming influence in moments of stress.

I'd keep on working. I'm unbearable without work and I really enjoy You and Yours, yet I might work less and go back to voluntary work. The Citizens Advice Bureau service where I used to work still attracts me.

As for travel, I've always had a hankering for the style of the Orient Express. Apparently there is a train trip that goes from Peking to Moscow, taking 42 days or so, stopping in lots of exotic places.

I'd keep on doing the lottery. The Irish are superstitious about most things but I never really think about any numbers as being particularly lucky. I have been told 1 and 7 are the important ones."

Liz Barclay presents 'You and Yours' on BBC Radio 4, Monday to Thursday at 12pm, and writes for 'Moneywise' magazine. She was speaking to Diona Gregory

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