The PH Rolls-Royce Sunday Service took place yesterday, with more than 350 cars braving threatened downpours to take part in what turned out to be a fantastic morning courtesy of our hosts.
In fact the weather stayed dry until lunchtime, and judging by the quality of cars lined up outside Rolls HQ and in the car parks, most PHers weren't going to let the threat of a bit of drizzle put a halt to the fun.
As well as laying on fantastic breakfast butties and refreshments, the Rolls-Royce team opened the factory so PHers could look around inside - an opportunity that has become rather more exclusive since the new Ghost was launched, as the factory has got so busy that public tours are no longer generally available.
Almost 500 people were happy to pay £5 for the privilege of wandering around inside, with the proceeds being handed over to the Sussex Air Ambulance.
R-R 'corp coms' manager Andrew Ball dropped us this note by email after the event: "I wanted to say thank you to everyone that attended the Sunday Service here at Rolls-Royce Motor Cars yesterday. We were graced with surprisingly good weather and attracted an intriguing mix of beautiful and unusual cars, many displayed in our courtyard and around our head office building.
"The event was also a huge success for a much more important reason. We raised a staggering £2470 for our house charity, Sussex Air Ambulance, through donations from those that took the one-off opportunity to walk around our manufacturing areas. Our sincere thanks to everyone who contributed.
"If you didn't get a chance to have a look around the manufacturing plant on the day, you can visit our YouTube page to see what goes into the making of a Rolls-Royce. Thanks again!"
For our part here at PH HQ, we'd like to return the sentiment to Andrew and all the team at Rolls-Royce who made the event such a success.
So on behalf of all the PHers who attended the event, thanks very much indeed to everyone who gave up their time on a Sunday morning to accommodate us, and helped make us feel so welcome. It was very much appreciated!
(The Rolls-Royce Sunday Service forum thread is here, including more great pics like these posted by PHer PompeyM3)
