All dressed up and somewhere very special to go - that's Ruby Fenner and Pat Whalley.

Off to the palace - Ruby Fenner and Patricia Whalley Picture: STEVE BRADING (37075-a)

The pair, whose fundraising work for St Helena Hospice tops 28 years, were invited for tea at Buckingham Palace.

The garden party tickets are a thank-you gift from the north-east Essex charity, which, each year, has to find more than £2m for the care and support of patients and their families.

Mrs Fenner, 71, of Mallows Field, Halstead, and Mrs Whalley, 60, of Leavenheath, have certainly done their bit to help boost hospice coffers.

Mrs Fenner said the invitation was the highlight of her year.

Published Wednesday July 14, 2004

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