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 | ||
|---|---|---|
| December 2018 | ||
| Sun Dec 16th | Outings | Thursford Christmas Show, Fakenham, Matinee performance. £59, 2 tickets available. Depart Barton Square at 10.30am Return approximately 7.30pm |
| Mon Dec 17th | Transport | Talk by Peter Lee with a ‘Selection of Railway Paintings by Terence Cuneo’, Ely Bowls Club, 2.30pm, £1 |
| Mon Dec 17th | Arts and Crafts | Cardcraft. Tea at The Maltings. 2.30pm. |
| Tue Dec 18th | Gardens and Plants | Garden 1. Social event. Library Meeting Room, start 2.15pm. |
| Tue Dec 18th | Music | Jazz. TBA. |
| January 2019 | ||
| Thu Jan 3rd | History and Current Affairs | History Group: no meeting this month |
| Sat Jan 5th | Music | Music of Stage and Screen. Talk by Brian Bicknell, "Folding Back the Years". Photos, stories and music from the major entertainers of the 1960's. Ely Methodist Church from 2 15pm |
| Mon Jan 7th | Gardens and Plants | Botany. Field trip identifying winter trees around Ely, followed by lunch at the Cutter. 10.30am start, lunch at 12noon, to be confirmed |
| Tue Jan 8th | General Meeting | Desmond Gentle 'When you are Carrying a Piano up a Mountain...' Desmond tells the everyday story of a man carrying a piano up a mountain!! Countess Chapel, 2.30pm |
| Tue Jan 15th | Gardens and Plants | Garden 1. 'Christmas' lunch at Scotsdales, Fordham. |
| Fri Jan 18th | Bird Watching | 14:00 Bowls Club Ely, a social meeting, £2.00. Members pictures & stories about birdwatching experiences |
| Sun Jan 20th | Transport | No meeting this month |
| Mon Jan 21st | Arts and Crafts | Cardcraft. Embossing/gilding. Witchford Playing Fields Association Hall, 2-4pm. |
| Tue Jan 22nd | Written Word | Booklovers Group discuss 'A book read over the Christmas holiday', Ely Library, 2.15pm |
| Thu Jan 31st | Gardens and Plants | Garden 2. Seasonal Meal at the Almonry |
| February 2019 | ||
| Mon Feb 4th | Gardens and Plants | Botany Group. Economic Botany 1: Textiles, 10.00am, Militia Way |
| Tue Feb 5th | General Meeting | Jonathan Rogers 'Sculptures in the Lady Chapel'. Johnathan will talk about the sculptures in Ely Cathedral's, Lady Chapel. Countess Chapel 2.30pm. |
| Wed Feb 6th | Outings | Calendar Girls, Theatre Royal Norwich, matinee performance, £45, 2 tickets available. Depart Barton Square at 8.45am. |
| Thu Feb 7th | History and Current Affairs | History Group: John Vigar on ‘Norfolk Churches’ (organised by Colin George), Ely Bowls Club, 2.30pm, £2 |
| Mon Feb 18th | Transport | Talk by Rob Barter on ‘1950’s Steam Excursions to the Seaside’, Ely Bowls Club, 2.30pm, £1 |
| Mon Feb 18th | Arts and Crafts | Cardcraft. Beading. Witchford Playing Fields Association Hall, 2-4pm. |
| Tue Feb 19th | Gardens and Plants | Garden 1. Photographs from Ely Flower Festival 2018 by Bev McVey and Margaret Webster. Library Meeting Room, start 2.15pm. |
| Tue Feb 26th | Written Word | Booklovers Group discuss 'A book published since 2015' (postponed from Sep-2018), Ely Library, 2.15pm |
| March 2019 | ||
| Mon Mar 4th | Gardens and Plants | Botany Group. Terry and Helen Moore on their 'Travels in Western Estonia', 10.00am, Militia Way |
| Tue Mar 5th | General Meeting | Peter Lawrence 'Beneath the City Streets', Peter tells the little known story of London's unseen history. Countess Chapel 2.30pm. |
| Thu Mar 7th | History and Current Affairs | History Group: Terry Ward looks at the origins, development and standing of the most English of institutions ‘The Common’, Ely Bowls Club, 2.30pm, £2 |
| Tue Mar 12th | Outings | London Postal Museum and Mail Rail ride under London. £53 includes fish and chips. |
| Mon Mar 18th | Transport | William P Smith on 'Industrial Steam Utilisation', Ely Bowls Club, 2.30pm, £2 |
| Mon Mar 18th | Arts and Crafts | Cardcraft. Free choice. Witchford Playing Fields Association Hall, 2-4pm. |
| Tue Mar 19th | Gardens and Plants | Garden 1. Speaker Rodney Tibbs – "Gardens of the Cambridge Colleges". Library Meeting Room, start 2.15pm. |
| April 2019 | ||
| Mon Apr 1st | Gardens and Plants | Botany. Economic Botany 2: Pulses, Cereals and other grains. Meeting room, Militia Way, 10.00am |
| Tue Apr 2nd | General Meeting | Lucy Lewis 'A Woman's Life in the Army'. Lucy tells of her experiences as a woman in the army's bomb disposal unit. Countess Chapel 2.30pm. |
| Thu Apr 4th | History and Current Affairs | History Group: Chloe Cockerill on 'St George', including his martyrdom, his influence on chivalry and the Order of the Garter, and the dragon and English flag, Ely Bowls Club, 2.30pm, £2 |
| Mon Apr 15th | Transport | Talk by John King on the ‘Handley Page Herald Airliner’, Ely Bowls Club, 2.30pm, £1 |
| Fri Apr 26th →Mon Apr 29th | Outings | Bristol, Bath and Wells, £335 Single Supplement £90, two double rooms available. Waiting list open for single rooms. |
| 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 |
| 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. |
| Thu May 16th | Outings | Birmingham's Jewellery Quarter, Coffin Works and Pen Museum £30 |
| June 2019 | ||
| Mon Jun 3rd | Gardens and Plants | Botany. Upwood Meadows for wet grassland plants. Led by Sue Holgate. Meet time 9.30am. |
| Thu Jun 6th | History and Current Affairs | History Group: Mike Rouse on 'Ely Markets and Fairs', Ely Bowls Club, 2.30pm, £2 |
| Thu Jun 13th | Outings | Hungerford Antiques, Berkshire with afternoon tea on a horse-drawn barge included. £30 tbc |
| 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 |
| July 2019 | ||
| Mon Jul 1st | Gardens and Plants | Botany. Chippenham Fen for orchids and more. Led by Terry Moore. Meet time 9.30am TBC. |
| 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 |
| August 2019 | ||
| Mon Aug 5th | Gardens and Plants | Botany. Breckland visit. TBC. |
| September 2019 | ||
| Wed Sep 25th →Mon Sep 30th | Outings | Lisieux, Normandy, France A guided tour of the WW11 landing beaches, Bayeux Tapestry, Palais Benedictine, Calvados Distillery, a cheese factory and Chateau de Vendeuvre £545-£581 depending on numbers, single supplement £135 |
| October 2019 | ||
| Wed Oct 16th | Outings | Gainsborough's House Museum, Sudbury. Demonstration by the Chocolate lady. £35 includes morning coffee/tea and afternoon tea. |
| December 2019 | ||
| Thu Dec 12th | Outings | The 1000-year Tour, Coventry, three cathedrals, the Medieval Guildhall and visit to the Christmas market £31 excludes lunch |