MODEL RAILWAY EXHIBITION

Ely Museum is delighted to host Richard Hobbs, Curator of RomanoBritish collections at The British Museum this summer for his talk “Religion and Belief in Roman Britain” on the 8th June.

This talk, which will take place in Ely Museum’s Aedwen Room, will explore the practices and customs of Roman Britain with a focus on life here at the edges of the Empire. It will also include the opportunity to view the ‘Margins of Empire’ temporary exhibition which features two locally found objects from the collection at The British Museum, including the amazing Witcham helmet, and the beautifully decorated Prickwillow skillet – a rare opportunity to see them back in the fens!

Tickets are limited and suitable for ages 12+, please visit www.elymuseum.org.uk to find out more and book your tickets. Looking for something new to do? Why not pick up one of Ely Museum’s new self guided walking tours and enjoy a walk through Ely’s history?

Available from our museum gift shop, these walking tours typically take around an hour to complete and are suitable for all ages and groups. With school holiday craft days, our under 5s ‘Little Explorers’ sessions and our new ‘Young Curators Club’ and our popular explorers chest and museum trails, there is plenty for children of all ages to enjoy! Visit our website to find out more! https://www.elymuseum.org.uk/ Our popular event returns after a gap of 3 years to Ely College on Saturday 21st May 2022. However, one important person will be missing - Malcolm Hine, a stalwart of the Club and Exhibition Manager for no less than 16 of our previous shows in Ely. Malcolm sadly died last November of COVID. He was a fine modeller and a great friend with many in the hobby, not just in Ely but around the UK.

Our new Exhibition team have organised this year’s show as a memorial to him and it’s based primarily on the show Malcolm put together for May 2020 - which of course was cancelled due to the pandemic - as was our 2021 show. But, we’re back!

As well as many fine model railway layouts and traders from around the UK, the Exhibition will feature Malcolm’s last scratch built layout, Fullers Wharf. This superb 7mm scale layout features both standard and narrow gauge as well as a canal scene. We will also be awarding a new Malcolm Hine Memorial Trophy to the layout which the public vote as best in show on the day.

So why not come along with your family and friends to see the wide array of exhibits on show. Doors open at 10.30am and more information can be found on our Club’s website www.elymrc. org.uk and our Club’s Facebook page. We look forward to seeing you there!

As you read this, I can name eight gardens in Ely who are getting ready to welcome you on Sunday, 12th June, from 12.00 midday to 6pm. Yes, it’s time for the NGS Ely group opening. We’ve a variety of garden sizes and styles, with two new gardens opening up this year. Each garden is different in style, reflecting its owners and their interests. You’ll find familiar and less familiar plants as you visit the gardens, meet the people who look after the garden, and enjoy tea and cake, or browsing amongst plants for sale. We love sharing our ideas with you, and giving out what we hope is useful advice on gardening topics.

There are things to interest you varying from unusual views of the Cathedral as you wander round the Bishop’s garden, collections of types of plant, chickens and rabbits and much more, including a railway! Refreshments are available at one garden, bottled apple juice at the Bishop’s garden and plants at others. Entry is £8.00 for adults, under 16s free. Individual gardens £2.50. Pre booking is available on the NGS website, and contactless payment for entry is available at some of the gardens. Cash for anything else!

Your garden visits really help change lives; the entrance fees all go to the National Garden Scheme to be distributed to charities. Last year the NGS Scheme raised over three million pounds. No mean feat when you consider the difficulties that we had to overcome in order to open at all. £525,000 went to Marie Curie, £500,000 went to Macmillan Cancer Support, and £500,000 to Hospice UK to name but three. Details of donations can be found at ngs.org.uk/ beneficiaries. Details of our entry can be found on the NGS national website. We also have a local website, www.elyopengardens.com ,with details and pictures of gardens past and present, and more local information. There’s also a map for you to download to plan your visit. A thought to leave you with. Would you be interested in opening your garden next year? Why not talk to one of the gardeners on the day, or contact me via our local website.

Ken Ellis Ely Open Gardens Coordinator.

OUR CURRENT LIST OF ELY OPEN GARDENS

1. The Bishop's House: CB7 4DW, 2. 42 Cambridge Road: CB7 4HL, 3. 9 Chiefs Street: CB6 1AT, 4. 5b Downham Road: CB6 1AG, 5. 1 Robins Close: CB6 3EG, 6. 1 Merlin Drive: CB6 3EA, 7. 38 Chapel Street: CB6 1AD, 8. 12 Chapel Street: CB6 1AD,

START WHERE YOU WISH PAY AT THE GARDEN WHERE YOU BEGIN

ELY AND DISTRICT NSPCC PLANT SALE AND WILLOW WEAVING

A big thank you to those who supported our NSPCC Easter Egg Hunt and it is now time for last minute contributions to our Jubilee Story Competition for both adults and children. We are pleased that Ely College students are taking part and we look forward to presenting the children and adult prizes at Ely library in June. We will be having another of our very popular plant stalls at 47 Downham Road from May 13th. Donated plants are always welcome.

We have a bric a brac stall on Ely Market on June 4th. Again, we would welcome your donations of items to sell. On July 4th we are holding a Willow Weaving session. More details in June but do book or save the date. For collections of plants or stall items please call Johanna on 07912617135 or Wendy on 01353 664752. Thank you for supporting The NSPCC.