THE PRESIDENT'S PICNIC AT BLENHEIM PALACE
Oxford - Sunday 22 August 2004

A few Central Southern members attended this year's President's Picnic at Blenheim Palace, near Oxford, that also coincided with the three-hundredth anniversary of the Battle of Blenheim. Blenheim Palace is the seat of the Duke of Marlborough and was built on the orders of Queen Anne as a mark of the nation's gratitude to John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough and victor of the battle of Blenheim.

The Palace provides a magnificent setting for this annual picnic event and in this centenary year, some 200 Club cars of all ages and varieties graced the lawns on a bright if at times somewhat breezy day. Also present as a guest of the President was HRH the Sultan of Selangor in Malaysia who, as the Regent of Selangor under his late father's final illness, was a fellow participant with several Central Southern Section members on the 2001 Malaysia Truly Asia rally. He had come to display his magnificent Silver Wraith limousine recently restored by Messrs P&A Wood following its return from Malaysia at the end of the 2001 rally. The highlight of the day's proceedings was a parade by fifty or so selected cars, representing a century of the marque, around the landscaped grounds and lakes, much to the pleasure of participants and visitors alike.

Simon Buck - Section Committee Member