I was checking my e-mails the weekend before last and was happy to see one from the National Lottery - I play online and pay by direct debit so everything happens automatically, if I’m lucky enough to win anything then they e-mail to tell me and then transfer the money directly to my bank account.

Normally on seeing an e-mail from them I get a little flutter in my stomach - could this be the big one at last?  The e-mail doesn’t actually tell you how much the prize is, it simply tells you a prize is your’s and asks you to log into the Lottery website to check how much it is.

When the Lottery started in Britain, almost every conversation started with “What would you do if you won the lottery?  What would you buy first?  Would you give some of the money away?”

Now that it has backed away from the limelight somewhat, people are getting on with their lives having come to terms with the fact that they aren’t likely to ever find out what they would do given a winning ticket.