Hattie Pearson speaks with Cash Register prize winner, John Elkington.
Death is a very lucrative business. The average funeral cost is around $9,000 in the United States. That would be a significant amount for anyone to pay, especially when the death is unexpected. The prices are so high that some states even provide financial assistance for people to have memorials for loved ones.
Even if people can muster up the cash for a burial, they may not be able to afford a headstone that they believe is adequate for a loved one. That’s why a story from the UK is so touching.
Every day, during its Cash Register promotion, Hits Radio UK in England gives away a ‘life-changing” amount of money to a lucky caller. DJ Hattie Pearson was behind the mic on May 17 when a retired man named John Elkington called in and won a Cash Register prize of £105,000 ($130,000).
When she asked what he would do with the winnings, Elkington said he would buy a gravestone for his late wife, Anita, who died six years ago. Elkington’s admission made Pearson immediately well up with tears.
He then explained why, as a retired person, it was so hard for him to afford a headstone for his wife.
"When you're a pensioner, it takes a long time to save up with the cost of stuff nowadays,” Elkington said. “It's made me emotional. You don't know how much this means." The prize winner said he visits his wife weekly and puts fresh flowers on her grave. Pearson noted that he’d have some “good news to share with her” the next time he sees her.
"I'm shaking everywhere,” Elkington continued. “Do you know I've never, never, ever won anything? Well, I say I've never won anything. I've won the love of a lovely lady."
Prize winner John Elkington.
via Planet Radio
Elkington’s sweet words for his wife made Pearson “a bit emotional” and she needed a few seconds to compose herself on air. The heartfelt exchange between Elkington and Pearson was also very moving to the people listening to the show in their cars. Many were overjoyed when they heard such a sweet man win the big prize.
I was sobbing like a baby listening to that when working this afternoon
— jonc (@jonc80733341) May 17, 2023
This was lovely. I was sitting listening in the car and I was over the moon John won the money x
— susan fowler (@suef1963) May 18, 2023
I was in tears listening to this … so well deserved for John ❤️
— Cath Lomas (@CatherineLomas1) May 17, 2023
This wasn’t the only time that Pearson has had a hard time keeping her composure after giving away a large cash prize on the air. On May 11, she gave a £99,000 ($123,000) cash prize to a caller named Amanda, who has cancer. Amanda learned that she was sick while pregnant with her daughter, who is now two years old. When asked what she would do with the prize money, she said she wanted to take her children to Disneyland.
“You've just changed my life," Amanda told Pearson after being told she won the big cash prize.
“Take the girls away and cherish some really special memories that you’re going to be able to make together," Pearson told her.
Pearson could hardly contain herself during the conversation. “Had a big cry at work yesterday,” she tweeted the next day with a video of the interaction between herself and the caller.
