Monday 14th March 2011

PH Sunday Service With Jaguar Land Rover

Damp but definitely not down-hearted. And biscuits. Lots of biscuits...

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Well it didn't do much more than drizzle on the British Motor Heritage Centre on Sunday morning, but the forecast was enough to keep a few PHers tucked under the duvet.

Evoque show car drew lots of attention

All the more credit then, to that happy band of PHers who did turn up, and who enjoyed a great morning out courtesy of our friends at Jaguar Land Rover. We reckon close to 300 cars filled the dedicated car parking area outside the museum front doors.

A big thanks to the JLR guys and girls who turned up to meet Garlick and the rest of the PH HQ team at 7.30am before the event began. They were responsible for the shiny new XJ, XKR and XFR parked on one side of the museum entrance and the pre-production Range Rover Evoque on the other, as well as their heritage collection silver XJ 220, and the famous E-Type registered 77 RW. (The latter fresh from its 50th anniversary jaunt to Geneva to celebrate the E-Type's launch, and more importantly the paint-shop - having been painstakingly brought back up to scratch following its altercation with an out-of-control Honda at last year's Goodwood Moving Motor Show.)

Ian (L) and Julian (R) chat to PHers

Unsurprisingly the Evoque drew a lot of interest, as did the very cool Model B Ford Coupe hot rod belonging to JLR design chief Ian Callum - just re-MOT'd especially in time for this PH Sunday Service. PHers might also have spotted/bumped into JLR advance design boss Julian Thomson, who turned up (nobody say late...) in a red Ferrari Dino that he's owned for more than 20 years.

Other significant highlights included the 8kg box of Cadburys chocolate buttons donated to the PH team as we ticked off names on the gate (thanks to DaveL485), a bag of still warm home baked scones (thanks to Mrs Tyre Tread), and a case of Irn Bru freshly shopped from Bonnie Scotland that morning (thanks to LHD). Donations of other cakes, biscuits and pastries flowed liberally, but fortunately we had the new PH fleet C63 AMG wagon to haul the goodies back to PH HQ in Teddington - we reckon we've biscuits to last until the next Sunday Service at least, so a big thanks to all you donors from all of us!

AMG torque sufficient to haul buttons...

All in all, a great morning out, we thought. Typically we left just as the sun was breaking through the clouds, which hopefully means the brave PH Caterham contingent made it home in drier style than they arrived.

Meanwhile back in the office on another Monday morning, as we stuff ourselves with chocolate digestives and top up with sugary pop, LHD's largesse has introduced the amusing suggestion of a PH Irn Bru run to Scotland. A bit like the classic Beaujolais run, only north. Does anyone know when the fizzy season starts...?

The Sunday Service Picture Thread is here.

[Mermaid]

Well done PH team & JLR.

[TaRD]

Excellent day, really enjoyed it, nice photo of the guys I came with leaving without me

[edinph]

Great to see the Evoque with "real" people around it. Gives a real sense of size and proportion. Love it!

[LongLiveTazio]

Evoque looks fantastic there. Its real-life proportions are so spot-on and I think the interior's great too.

[Atrophy]

Im liking the big box of chocolate buttons

[Garlick]

Atrophy said:

Im liking the big box of chocolate buttons

My teeth really hurt, but I can't stop eating them......

[McAndy]

Garlick said:

My teeth really hurt, but I can't stop eating them......

They're so darn moreish aren't they!

[Life Saab Itch]

No need to go to Scotland proper to get your Irn Bru. Little Scotland (Corby) Asda has a whole aisle devoted to the stuff.

Looks like a good meet.

[sleep envy]

any chanve of sorting out some 'Sunday Service' stickers?

[Chris-R]

Life Saab Itch said:

No need to go to Scotland proper to get your Irn Bru. Little Scotland (Corby) Asda has a whole aisle devoted to the stuff.

And according to Wikipedia they brew/concoct/ferment the stuff in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire. I'm shocked! Wonder if the Glawegian stuff's better, like Guinness in Dublin...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irn_Bru (No wonder Garlick's teeth hurt. They've gone orange, too.)

[Podie]

[pedant]
Ferrari Dino?!?!

Wossat then!?!
[/pedant]


I assume you mean a 246?

[Switch`]

sleep envy said:

any chanve of sorting out some 'Sunday Service' stickers?

That's a good point, I've got a nice section of paneling that could do with a few "achievements"

[LHD]

Chris-R said:

Life Saab Itch said:

No need to go to Scotland proper to get your Irn Bru. Little Scotland (Corby) Asda has a whole aisle devoted to the stuff.

And according to Wikipedia they brew/concoct/ferment the stuff in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire. I'm shocked! Wonder if the Glawegian stuff's better, like Guinness in Dublin...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irn_Bru (No wonder Garlick's teeth hurt. They've gone orange, too.)

I'm glad to have been of service.

[Davie 1]

Barrs do indeed have a production plant at Mansfield, but as any true scot knows, real Irn Bru comes in 750 ml glass bottles from the plant in Cumbernauld. Only the best will do !! :-)

[Chapppers]

My, that's a handsome chap 3rd in from the right of that group...

[lordlee]

Thank you to everyone for a great day out. Especially liked the XJ220 and the kind JLR staff member who took me through all the controls on the XJ. The screen in the middle is amazing as your passenger can watch a film whilst you read the nav - awesome tech. Dont know who arranged money off at the museum but thank you to them as it was fascinating to see some of the cars in there. The sci-fi exhibit however was truly terrible!!

[paddy328]

Did anyone hear the horn on that jacked up red truck as it left? It was insane!

[W00DY]

I actually had to go to the shop for some Chocolate Buttons after seeing that box.

My paltry 175g didn't last very long.

[chazwozza]

Quite sure I have seen that red truck going through London followed by other random sports/superars about 18 months ago. Any ideas what they were doing or was it a P/H thing, weekend of Notting Hill '09 I believe?

[Garlick]

Anyone want a chocolate button? I've only had about 2kg today.