Fantasy lottery win, but with rules!

[Cerialkiller]

The classic question of WWYD if you won an obscene amount of money BUT, let's assume you've enriched your whole extended family, bought your dream house/car and saved all the donkeys/built wells across the deserts/funded your favourite charities for life.

I want your BIG ideas, your dream projects, your fantasy businesses, the mausoleums dedicated to your pets, the toilets carved from marble etc.

Me first...

I would buy plots of land in my city and knock down the buildings(assuming derelict) and plant urban forests.

I would build a whole self-sufficient miniature eco community where my SEN child could live and work looking after the animals/farm

I would hide my massive windfall by pretending my little ldt company suddenly became wildly successful and would buy premises and staff it and would use it to design and administrate the above projects and more similar ones.

I would anonymously fund the renovations and re-opening of the harbour and church in my village.

I would build a well-staffed, well-facilitated school.

For myself I would do a massive wide world art trip. I want to see the best art in every country.

Slightly less selfishly, I’d set up a community where older people and young people could live alongside each other. Employ people who struggle to get work because they have no GCSEs but have masses of potential. House people who are vulnerable, support them to learn new skills if they want/need to or support them to get into careers they’ve dreamed of.

And I’d buy a forest and let not a single person in it but me 😊

I'd go in with you on the animals/farm, but I'd include a kennels that my DD could help in.

I'd build a charitable retreat for teenage girls.

There would be therapy, art, music, academics, and sports, all no pressure, gently encouraged but definitely not enforced.

Teach them to cook decent food, how to do all those 'adult' skills like apply for a bank account, fix a tyre, buy insurance, what a scam looks like.

No mirrors, no makeup, no social media.

I would set up a trust under a completely unaffiliated name where people could apply for funding to further their education (university fees, accommodation costs, maintenance grants, tech required, books, tools, clothing etc).

I would indulge by attending every F1 race around the globe the year I turn 50.

Finally I would never wash and blow dry my own hair ever again!

Random acts of kindness l. I would seek out individuals who need help.

Like the family across the road for example. 2 small DC both working FT. (One carewok on nights the other has an office job during the day) But in a tiny rented house... I'd give them a substantial deposit for their own home.

Then there is this lady at work who is waiting for an hip op - 18 months +, she's struggling to get to work and in a lot of pain but turns up every single day!! I'd fund her to get it done privately.

....

I've thought about this a lot.

I would donate to some small charities. And some research projects.

And i'd fund archaeological digs. I never really thought about where they get the funding from before, but watched something recently about how there is particularly now, huge difficulties securing funding and I love history and archaeology so would love to be able to do that.

Maybe there'd be a big find and they could name it after me :)

I love your idea of buying vacant plots and creating mini forests and gardens.

I sometimes think I would buy a huge plot and build my local hospital properly. It's one of those "grown over time" hospitals where bits are just tacked on and it's a terrible use of space. Not how anyone would design a hospital and confusing to find anything.

Thinking selfishly, I would love to follow England rugby team / the Lions around the world experiencing all the countries as I went.

It's an obscene win, right? So I can set up a kind of practical advice centre, where I'd pay professionals to help people to access the help they need. As in actually do it, rather than point them in the direction of fabled free half hour sessions, or their MP, or whatever. My DS, who is amazing at sussing out wrong 'uns, can run it, to make sure nobody takes the piss.
Once that's in hand, I can spend half the year following my favourite band around the world. Best seats in the house every time.

I'd renovate our canal - open up new moorings, reopen the lockkeeper's cottage, make the towpath wheelchair accessible, help the liveaboards go electric, help open canalside shops. I'd love to re-orient our area towards the canal and away from the road. It would really revitalise a lot of it, and no arguments about parking!

We would start an outwood bound type centre. However, it will be completely free for any school pupils on FSM, and subsidies available for others that need it.

Some for holiday camps and Scouts guides etc... funding for those who need it.

I would buy up all the new developments in my city and use them to provide affordable rented accommodation to people in need. I would open an Extra Care facility for people with Multiple Complex Needs with 24 hour care and support. I’d set up an affordable home care provider offering decent care, no 15 or 30 min visits. I’d establish meals on wheels with good quality food tapping into post-16 education services to provide jobs and training for young people and long term unemployed. I’d provide self contained supported housing with high quality care staff to support independence for adults with learning and mental health needs. Essentially I’d quietly take over every private temporary housing, care home, & home care provider contract offering lower cost but higher quality provision employing people on permanent contracts with fixed hours and good terms and conditions until my home city had a social care and housing system that looked like Bevan’s dreams. I’d charge the local authority but massively subsidise using my vast wealth. Oh and nursery provision!!

I'd give all my mates in our village a substantial amount, then I'd buy the field at the end of the road and turn it into a community garden/solar farm and build 6 small houses. The six houses would force the council to drop the speed limit to 30 as it takes us up to the required number of residences for the lower speed limit, and I'd fund a speed camera.
I'd hook every house in the village up to the solar farm so they'd have free electricity.
I'd hire the architect Laura Clarke from your home made perfect to design the new houses and they'd be affordable family homes.
Then I'd set up a business to build affordable family homes without a focus on massive profit and I'd work with the council to decently house those in need.
I'd hire a full time cook and housekeeper so I can spend all day reading books.

Blimey, that's billions worth of fantasy lottery win :)

Toilets. Accessible clean single sex possibly staffed toilets in beautiful places like country parks, beaches etc so people can go & adventure knowing their are toilets near by - which is really important to basically anyone who isnt a middle aged man.

The hermitage at Dunkeld (NTS) gets the first set 🤩

ETA there would be drinkable water for refilling too.

Build and maintain generally affordable housing with tenants who have a good record at 5years being gifted their property. I would meet with every tenant first and do my checks but also would want to know their dreams/ambitions. They would be able to decorate the property however they liked but would be given it in a neutral state.

I would charge the rent to cover the upkeep of the property so that I wasn’t working at a loss.

I would love to run a retreat centre. Life is so hectic and people need to be able to get away from it all at times. I would have it so as many people as possible can access it. Donations rather than a fixed fee. Suitable for people with different needs. Maybe themed events for various interests. Religious and non religious options. Different age groups/single sex or general depending on what the people booking wanted.
I would also like to fund music lessons (including instruments, books, exams, groups such as the Saturday orchestra that I used to go to) for children at local schools as a memorial to my dad who was a music teacher and even back in the 50s/60s spent his own money to provide opportunities for talented pupils whose families couldn't afford things. He used to buy instruments and "lend" them to people so they didn't feel stigmatised by being unable to buy one, he knew he was probably not getting them back for years or even at all in some cases. One pupil in particular ended up winning a prestigious prize and joining a national level orchestra. I remember watching him on TV when he was much older. For a 1950s lad from a very traditional working class background that was quite something. My dad left instructions when he died that any memorial must help others or he wouldn't want it.
As a wild feat of self indulgence I'd love to have a replica 18th century carriage and ride in it at historical events.

Oh god I know, but I like to dream big! 😂