With rain still forecast 12 hours before the Sunday Service was due to start, and a field to traverse with some very low and track-biased cars, it was looking more and more like Ben and I were going to be spending our morning pushing cars to freedom...
For once though, the Great British weather swung in PH's favour, and we were treated to glorious sunshine. Disaster was further averted by the relative height of said field, which duly accommodated everything with ease (I use that word in the comparative sense, obviously).
With the weather in place, we could count on Denbies Wine Estate to lay on the right kind of scenery. The North Downs backdrop doubtless contributed to turnout, even with the Service being a last-minute addition to the calendar. The variety was sublime - we saw a Jaguar E-Type, an achingly cool 1985 Nissan Skyline RS X Turbo, a stunning Porsche 911 GT2 RS and a Ferrari 328 GTS - to name but a few.
It helps to bathe everything in sunshine, of course - and there's something about being in a field, too, which always says 'summery'. The morning flew past - helped along by a 20 per cent discount in the restaurant, and 10 per cent in the shop, which proved extremely handy.
Official tours of the estate were also available to anyone with a deeper interest in England's largest vineyard, as were the extensive network of footpaths that eventually emerge on National Trust property. (Of all the Sunday Services, this one wins the dog vote hands down.) Of course, we mainly stuck to our field, but are indebted to Denbies for laying on the venue at such short notice.
As ever though, the biggest thanks goes to you, the PHer, who literally made the day worth getting out of bed for. We're at Le Mans next month, with the Classic & Sportscar Show at Bicester Heritage the weekend after. We hope to see you at both!
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