IT was a special treat for a very special person. A Hampshire pensioner attending a party to mark her 100th birthday arrived in style after being driven there in the back of a veteran car.
Alice Kitcher was collected from her home in a 1909 Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost owned by the National Motor Museum, Beaulieu.
She was driven to Beaulieu and East Boldre Sports and Social Club by Ian Stansfield, the museum's senior workshop engineer. He was accompanied by Lord Montagu's eldest son, the Hon Ralph Montagu, who sat in the front passenger seat.
More than 60 of Alice's friends and relatives were waiting to greet her when the cream-coloured car swept into the car park.
They included her sister, Daisy, 82, of Sutton, Surrey, who had not seen her for about 14 years.
The entrance to the hall in Strawberry Fields, East Boldre, was decorated with ribbons, balloons and "Happy 100th" banners.
When Alice walked into the function room she was greeted by a round of applause from the guests. Her daughter, Wendy Harvey, 69, of East Boldre, said: "Mum had a wonderful time.'' Alice has lived in her cottage in Beaulieu High Street for more than 70 years and is the village's oldest resident. In July she opened Beaulieu's annual fete after being driven to Lord Montagu's ancestral home, Palace House, in a 1904 De Dion Bouton from the National Motor Museum.
Her husband David was the Beaulieu Estate's plumber. He died 14 years ago, aged 86.
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