Events
As well as the specific events shown below, click [Calendar] to see also many other notified meetings. The Calendar may be useful for planning individual and group schedules.
Events shown below as a General Meeting or Outing are open to all our members. Unless stated otherwise, the other events are specifically for members of the relevant group and you need to join the group in order to participate. Outings and some group events require booking. Click Outings for more information on booking trips.
A General Meeting is held usually on the first Tuesday of every month (except August) at 2.30pm in the Countess Free Church, 10 Chapel Street, Ely. See the list below for details. New members and visitors are welcome (admission £2).
If your group has an event that you think should be shown here or you see an error or omission in the Calendar please send the details to Peter Lee via the Website button on the CONTACT page.
| Dates for your Diary | ||
|---|---|---|
| April 2019 | ||
| Tue Apr 23rd | Written Word | Book Lovers Group on 'What were our parents reading?', Ely Library, 2.15pm |
| Thu Apr 25th | Gardens and Plants | Garden 2. Outing to G's Mushrooms |
| Thu Apr 25th | Walking | Walking 6 miles: Contact coordinator for details |
| Fri Apr 26th | Walking | Walking 4 mile B: Contact coordinator for details |
| Fri Apr 26th →Mon Apr 29th | Outings | Bristol, Bath and Wells, Meet at Ely Leisure Village at 7.45am for 8am departure. Arriving at hotel at 5pm |
| Mon Apr 29th | Gardens and Plants | Botany. Hayley Wood at Bluebell time. Visit led by Helen Moore. Meet at 9.30am. |
| May 2019 | ||
| Thu May 2nd | History and Current Affairs | History Group: Tom Phillips on 'Orchards Green, Ely: Bronze Age fields, Roman farmsteads and an Early Anglo-Saxon cemetery’ (organised by Andy Wall), Ely Bowls Club, 2.30pm, £2 |
| Sun May 5th | Bird Watching | Dawn Chorus: Kiln Lane, Roswell Common from 04:30 |
| Tue May 7th | General Meeting | David Palmer 'Rambling from a Rostrum'. David tells of his life as an auctioneer in Ely. Countess Chapel 2.30pm. |
| Wed May 8th | Photography | A walk around Ely photographing Architecture - led by Tony. Details to be advised, no doubt including a refreshments venue. |
| Thu May 16th | Outings | Birmingham, Jewellry Quarter, Coffin Works and Pen Museum, £30 places available |
| Mon May 20th | Transport | Sue Spence on ‘Rebuilding an Elva 200 Formula Junior Racing Car’, Ely Bowls Club, 2.30pm, £2 |
| Mon May 20th | Arts and Crafts | Cardcraft. Paper flowers. Witchford Playing Fields Association Hall, 2-4pm. |
| Tue May 21st | Gardens and Plants | Garden 1. Visit to Ramsey Walled Kitchen Garden. Includes tea and cakes. Details TBA. |
| Tue May 28th | Written Word | Book Lovers Group discuss books about 'Travel in Europe', Ely Library, 2.15pm |
| Thu May 30th | Gardens and Plants | Garden 2. Outing to Welney Wildflower Meadow with Peter Gardiner |
| June 2019 | ||
| Mon Jun 3rd | Gardens and Plants | Botany. Upwood Meadows for wet grassland plants. Led by Sue Holgate. Meet time 9.30am. |
| Tue Jun 4th | General Meeting | AGM, after which, member Andy Wall, has very kindly agreed, to entertain us by playing Folk Music. Countess Chapel 2.30pm. |
| Thu Jun 6th | History and Current Affairs | History Group: Mike Rouse on 'Ely Markets and Fairs', Ely Bowls Club, 2.30pm, £2 |
| Wed Jun 12th | Photography | Perils of being a Photographer presentation by Ken Reader. Judge the Spring competition on Architecture. Witcham Village Hall 1.45-3.45pm £2 |
| Mon Jun 17th | Transport | Terry Ward on the 'A11, The Kings Highway' from Epping to Four Wentways, focusing on lost parts of the route and stories in and around this iconic former Roman road, Ely Bowls Club, 2.30pm, £2 |
| Mon Jun 17th →Wed Jun 19th | Bird Watching | Yorkshire trip - Bempton Cliffs etc, now fully booked |
| Mon Jun 17th | Arts and Crafts | Cardcraft. Free choice. Witchford Playing Fields Association Hall, 2-4pm. |
| Tue Jun 18th | Gardens and Plants | Garden 1. Coach trip to RHS Hyde Hall, Essex. Details TBA. |
| Tue Jun 25th | Written Word | Book Lovers Group on 'Writing about the 1950s', Ely Library, 2.15pm |
| Thu Jun 27th | Gardens and Plants | Garden 2. Outing to Fullers Mill Garden |
| July 2019 | ||
| Mon Jul 1st | Gardens and Plants | Botany. Chippenham Fen for orchids and more. Led by Terry Moore. Meet time 9.30am TBC. |
| Tue Jul 2nd | Bird Watching | Evening walk @ Wicken Fen, led by Barbara, details to follow |
| Tue Jul 2nd | General Meeting | Fool's Gold, (Carole and Steve Robson). "Stories with Strings". Fool's Gold are an acoustic duo who mix together, live music, spoken word stories and projected images, to make their show unique. Countess Chapel 2.30pm |
| Thu Jul 4th | History and Current Affairs | History Group: Roger Haverson on ‘Captions Captured - a look behind some of the Imperial War Museums exhibits’, Ely Bowls Club, 2.30pm, £1 |
| Tue Jul 9th | Outings | Woburn Abbey and Wildlife Safari Park, Bedfordshire, £40, includes house and safari park, places available. |
| Wed Jul 10th | Photography | By popular request guest speakers Andy and Daphne Hanson return with more of their stunning photos. Witcham Village Hall 1.45-3.45pm £2 |
| Mon Jul 15th | Transport | David Beale on '‘Engines and Transmissions from the Early Days to the Present and Future’, Ely Bowls Club, 2.30pm, £1 |
| Tue Jul 16th | Gardens and Plants | Garden 1. Visit to Barcham Tree Nursery. Includes tour of site. Details TBA. |
| Tue Jul 23rd | Written Word | Book Lovers Group choose 'A summer read', Ely Library, 2.15pm |
| Thu Jul 25th | Gardens and Plants | Garden 2. Outing to Pensthorpe Manor by coach |
| August 2019 | ||
| Mon Aug 5th | Gardens and Plants | Botany. Breckland visit. TBC. |
| Thu Aug 8th | History and Current Affairs | History Group: Norfolk churches coach trip, guided by John Vigar, to four churches in the Hempnall Group (Woodton, Bedingham, Morningthorpe and Fritton), lunch in Long Stratton, cost (excl. lunch) circa £25 pp, booking required |
| Wed Aug 14th | Photography | Picnic and Fun Quiz in Jubilee Gardens |
| Thu Aug 15th | Bird Watching | 10:30 visit to Frampton Marsh led by Nigel |
| Tue Aug 27th | Written Word | Book Lovers Group discuss books by 'Authors with names beginning with D', Ely Library, 2.15pm |
| September 2019 | ||
| Tue Sep 3rd | General Meeting | Mike Goward, 'Lynn's Fisher Folk'. As the title suggests, Mike will talk about King Lynn's Fisher Folk a closed community. Mike was originally coming to Ely in 2018 but due to ill health, his visit was postponed to 2019. Countess Chapel 2.30pm. |
| Wed Sep 11th | Photography | Night Photography presentation by Nigel Puttergill. Close and judge the Summer competition Bottles. Witcham Village Hall 1.45-3.45pm £2 |
| Wed Sep 11th | Bird Watching | Evening walk @ Cavenham Heath led by Barbara |
| Mon Sep 16th | Transport | Tim Young on ‘Percy Pilcher and the quest for flight', Ely Bowls Club, 2.30pm, £1 |
| Tue Sep 17th | Gardens and Plants | Garden 1. Talk from Norfolk Lavender. Products for sale. Library Meeting Room, 2.15pm. |
| Wed Sep 25th →Mon Sep 30th | Outings | Lisieux, Normandy, France, £545-£581 pp sharing (TBC) Single supplement £135, Twin/doubles available, waiting list for singles. |
| October 2019 | ||
| Tue Oct 1st | General Meeting | David Reeve 'Protecting our Royals part 2' due to requests from members, this is a return visit. David first came to Ely in 2015 with part 1 of 'Protecting our Royals', Countess Chapel 2.30pm |
| Wed Oct 9th | Photography | Field trip to Bury St Edmunds, led by Liz. |
| Thu Oct 10th | Bird Watching | Evening visit to Sculthorpe Owl Trust led by David |
| Wed Oct 16th | Outings | Gainsborough's House Museum, Sudbury, £35 includes coffee and afternoon tea, places available. |
| Tue Oct 22nd | Written Word | Book Lovers Group choose books by 'A favourite author', Ely Library, 2.15pm |
| November 2019 | ||
| Tue Nov 5th | General Meeting | Jason Raper 'The History of Norwich Theatre Royal'. Jason is giving a power-point presentation of the history of NTR, with theatrical artefacts. Countess Chapel 2.30pm |
| Thu Nov 7th | Bird Watching | 13:30 visit to Welney led by Nigel |
| Wed Nov 13th | Photography | Critiquing how to go about it (constructively and objectively) by Tony Pleasance. Followed by open display of members' photos from last month's trip to Bury St Edmunds. Witcham Village Hall 1.45-3.45pm £2 |
| Thu Nov 21st | Outings | Classical Spectacular, Royal Albert Hall, Evening performance, Approx cost £50 tbc, places available, late return. |
| Tue Nov 26th | Written Word | Book Lovers Group on a theme to be arranged, Ely Library, 2.15pm |
| December 2019 | ||
| Tue Dec 3rd | General Meeting | Sean Moyses, the Banjo Man. A selection of Dixieland, classics and country music, played by Sean, on a banjo, with a Christmas theme. Countess Chapel 2.30pm. |
| Fri Dec 6th | Bird Watching | 19:00 Ely Bowls Club Xmas party & quiz |
| Wed Dec 11th | Photography | Seasonal Social and Nibbles for Noel whilst reviewing and judging our 2019 year-long project The Four Seasons. Witcham Village Hall 1.45-3.45pm £2 |
| Thu Dec 12th | Outings | The 1000-year Tour, Coventry, £31 includes lunch, places available. |
| January 2020 | ||
| Wed Jan 8th | Photography | We haven't forgotten the Autumn 2019 project Night Scene. This competition will be judged at this meeting. Witcham Village Hall 1.45-3.45pm |