From Flower Buckets to £300,000: The Incredible Lottery Win at Flowers At Number 3
From Flower Buckets to £300,000: The Incredible Lottery Win at Flowers At Number 3
There are exciting days at a flower shop — weddings, anniversaries, surprise bouquets and those lovely moments when someone walks through the door looking for the perfect flowers.
But every now and then, something happens that even the most experienced florist couldn't arrange.
For Kate Daven-Thomas, part-time florist at Flowers At Number 3 in Minehead, an ordinary evening lottery ritual turned into a life-changing £300,000 win.
And the story involves a scratchcard, a late-night dash through Minehead, a very excited phone call to Italy… and a handbag that was definitely not considered safe enough for £300,000!
"I skipped back to Morrisons!"
Kate regularly buys a National Lottery scratchcard and has turned checking it into part of her evening routine.
One evening, at around 9.50pm, everything changed.
After discovering that her scratchcard appeared to be worth the top prize of £300,000, Kate wasn't prepared to simply take it at face value.
She got dressed, headed back out and skipped through the streets to Morrisons, arriving just as the store was closing, so she could check the card and make absolutely sure.
And yes — she'd really won.
"I checked it at 9.50pm and couldn't believe it. I got dressed and skipped through the streets back to Morrisons, just as they were closing, to check the card — and yes, I had won the top prize!"
Kate says she always had a feeling that her day would come.
"I always knew I was going to win one day. I've got a bit of a sixth sense, I suppose."
The first stop? The flower shop!
With the incredible news confirmed, Kate had some very important people to tell — including her children, who live in Italy, and her colleagues at Flowers At Number 3.
But when Kate arrived at the florist, proudly waving her winning ticket around, owner Amanda-Louise had one very practical piece of advice.
Put it somewhere safer than your handbag!
Amanda-Louise said:
"This couldn't happen to a nicer person. Kate really deserves it."
And despite Kate suddenly having £300,000 more than she did before, there was another surprise.
She wasn't planning to give up her job at the flower shop.
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Why leave a job you love?
For Kate, working at Flowers At Number 3 is about much more than earning a living.
She enjoys meeting customers, creating beautiful floral arrangements and being part of the day-to-day life of the shop.
So when Amanda-Louise asked whether she wanted to give up her part-time job, Kate's answer was a definite no.
Although, as anyone who has worked in a fresh flower shop will know, it's not all glamorous bouquets and pretty petals!
Kate jokes about one of the less glamorous parts of florist life:
"We spend a lot of time cleaning buckets — they've even nicknamed me 'Mrs Bucket'!"
A £300,000 lottery win might change a few things, but apparently it hasn't changed Kate's relationship with the humble flower bucket.
A little taste of la dolce vita
Kate's win does, however, mean that she can start looking forward to some exciting new adventures.
With her adult children living in Italy, she's hoping the money will give her more freedom to spend time with them.
She's also planning to buy a property in Milan.
For Kate, it feels like the beginning of a whole new chapter — one with a little more sunshine, family time and perhaps some Italian living thrown in.
As they say in Italy, la dolce vita — the sweet life.
And Kate says she can certainly relate to that now.
Flowers, a Vespa and a day in the spotlight
The celebrations didn't stop with the win.
Flowers At Number 3 became the setting for a very special National Lottery photo shoot, transforming the familiar Minehead florist into something that looked straight out of an Italian-inspired photoshoot.
Kate was treated to hair and makeup by Willow Beauty from Totnes, had a stylist helping with her outfit and posed alongside beautiful floral arrangements created by the flower shop.
There was even a matching pink Vespa, brought all the way from Essex by WHJ Vespas.
For a couple of hours, the professional photographer and lottery stylists captured photographs outside the shop on Blenheim Road, attracting plenty of attention from passers-by.
Kate's dad and her dog, Bella, came along to watch the excitement too.
"I felt like a movie star!"
Kate admits she isn't usually a fan of having her photograph taken, but the team made the whole experience fun.
From £300,000 to back to the buckets!
Perhaps the most remarkable part of Kate's story is what happened next.
The following day, it was back to normal.
Back to Flowers At Number 3.
Back to customers.
Back to beautiful flowers.
And, inevitably, back to cleaning those buckets.
Except now Kate knows that whenever she wants to take a break from the flower shop, she has a rather more exciting future waiting for her — including family time in Italy and her plans for a home in Milan.
For everyone at Flowers At Number 3, we're simply delighted that such wonderful news happened to someone who brings so much warmth and personality to the shop.
Congratulations, Kate — from all of us at Flowers At Number 3.
Here's to £300,000, family adventures, plenty of flowers and, of course, la dolce vita!
CLICK HERE to watch Kate after the film crew leave
Media Resources:
Independent National Newspaper
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