ELY Ely Cathedral SERVICES for April 17 – 23 THURSDAY: 7.40am – Morning Prayer; 8am – Holy Communion; midday – Quiet Hour; 12.10 - Holy Communion; 5.30pm – Evensong. Friday: 7.40am – Morning Prayer; 8am – Holy Communion; midday – Quiet Hour; 5.30pm – Eve

ELY

Ely Cathedral

SERVICES for April 17 - 23

THURSDAY: 7.40am - Morning Prayer; 8am - Holy Communion; midday - Quiet Hour; 12.10 - Holy Communion; 5.30pm - Evensong.

Friday: 7.40am - Morning Prayer; 8am - Holy Communion; midday - Quiet Hour; 5.30pm - Evensong.

Saturday: 7.40am - Morning Prayer; 8am - Holy Communion; midday - Quiet Hour; 5.30pm - Evensong.

Sunday: 8.15am - Holy Communion; 10.30am - Sung Eucharist; 2pm - St George's Day Service; 4pm - Evensong.

Monday: 7.40am - Morning Prayer; 8am - Holy Communion; midday - Quiet Hour; 5.30pm - Evensong.

Tuesday: 7.40am - Morning Prayer; 8am - Holy Communion; midday - Quiet Hour; 5.30pm - Evensong.

Wednesday: 7.40am - Morning Prayer; 8am - Holy Communion; midday - Quiet Hour; 5.30pm - Evensong.

St Mary's Church

Services for Sunday:

Holy Communion with preacher Alan Partridge; 10.30am: Family Communion with preacher Hugh McCurdy; 7pm: St Mary's ' 7 with Judy Kerridge.

St Peter's Church

Sunday: the celebrant and preacher at the 9.15 am Sung Eucharist will be the Rev Alan Partridge.

Wednesday: there will be a lunchtime service at 1pm and a Bible Study at St Peter's House at 7.30 pm.

Countess Free Church

ANDY Watson led the Sunday morning worship session. His talk to the children was based on Celebration Party, after which the children went into their Sunday School classes.

Pastor Lowman gave the message from John.

Rob Betts spoke on Part 12 of The Big Journey under the heading Acts of the Apostles.

The Housegroups restarted this week after the recent Lent Discussions Groups.

Colin Creswell from Sambese Mission was the speaker at the Fellowship Hour on Wednesday afternoon.

Today (Thursday) morning the Two by Two baby and toddler group meet in the hall. The Youth Group met in the hall for their time of activities and epilogues at the close of each session.

On Saturday at 7am, the deacons will meet for an hour's prayer continuing with seeking the Lord and His ongoing work for the church.

The elders will attend a church leaders day conference in Nottingham.

Pastor Lowman will lead a Family Service on Sunday morning. In the evening he will continue with the series of Jesus' resurrection appearance from John's gospel.

Ely Northwold WI

PRESIDENT Rosemary Green welcomed members and guests from Prickwillow, Stuntney and Witchford to the April meeting.

Birthday gifts and cards went to Llia Conder and Monique Griffiths.

The speakers for the evening were Christopher and Janet South from Saffron Walden who told members about the charity they have formed to help the people in Sri Lanka who were left homeless after the Tsunami. They also gave an amusing account of their extensive worldwide travels. They were thanked by Rosemary Green and given a donation to their charity.

During refreshments the ladies were invited to have a try at a quiz named 'where in the world', winners being Prickwillow.

Meg Murray won the competition for a holiday souvenir.

Future events include a Ghost Walk on October 1 and a coach trip to Norfolk on June 28, craft evening on April 30.

Next month's meeting will be on May 14 when the speaker will be Chris Clarke on make-up and hair artistry - volunteers needed.

Ely Methodist Church

SUNDAY morning's service, led by the Rev Dick Prior, opened with a prayer. Readings were from the New Testament and hymns were sung.

The sermon was based on fellowship of worship. Musician was Donald Monk. Church lunch was held at 12.45pm, then the Church AGM at 2.30pm followed by short service of communion. No evening service was held.

Thursday: Shoppers' lunch.

Friday: Ely Methodist Guild. 'My life and work' by Ken Brown of Soham.

Sunday: Morning service at 11am will be led by the Rev June Mallabon; evening service at 6.30pm will be led by Tony Murfitt. Musicians are Pam Austin and Ginny Klein.

Monday: Bible study at 10.15am.

Ely Rotary Club

PAT Sneesby was a guest at the Rotary Club of Ely last Wednesday and talked to members about a special mission. She handed over a cheque for $1400 to the International Committee, for the building of a well in Zambia. This money had been donated by a charitable trust in memory of Pat's husband, Norman Sneesby, a Rotarian who sadly died whilst in Costa Rica last year.

The International Committee has also raised £700 for another well, and the money has been passed on to Diss Rotary Club, which is spearheading the provision of wells in Northern Zambia. One of these wells will be named after Norman, a fitting tribute to a sadly missed colleague, who loved travel and geography, and raised money for Wateraid during his time as a Rotarian.

CHETTISHAM

Parish Church

CELEBRANT and preacher at St Michael and All Angels on Sunday was the Rev Alan Partridge. The organist was Rita Bartle. The first lesson was read by Robin Aylott and the offertory was presented by Lee and Callum Howard.

Next Sunday, morning prayer will be at 9.15am and the family service will be held at 4pm.

HADDENHAM

Parish Council

Report of meeting held on April 9.

SOME damage had been caused to an allotment on the Recreation Field and a bonfire had been lit on another. The Burial Group has agreed that the planting of small plants on grave plots should be allowed, but not shrubs, trees or other large plants.

Mr and Mrs Wright of Hop Row will supply a replacement tree for the one felled on the Recreation Field. It will be replaced with a Scarlet or Red Oak and will be planted further onto the field in the open area.

The pedestrian improvements at Top Corner are not quite finished. The sign for Ely is not correct and the poles need to be painted. The Road Safety Group will make an inspection in the near future. It was noted that a barrier had been erected at the end of Camping Close to stop cyclists riding straight out onto the road.

Two incidents of vandalism had occurred at the Pavilion and have been reported to police. The cricket club is applying for funding to progress the work for the new pitch and quotes are being sought.

Following the decision from last month to replace the toddler swing, complications have arisen regarding the safety surface underneath and this has raised the cost to approximately £4500. After much deliberation it was agreed that the decision to replace the swing should be rescinded and a repair should be carried out instead. Funding for the refurbishment is being looked into.

A three-year street lighting maintenance contract has been agreed.

The Friends of Haddenham Library are presenting 'Pictures of 1960s Haddenham' on April 17 at 7.30pm at the Robert Arkenstall School. The library will be open for Blossoms & Bygones on May 11. Photograph albums and scrapbooks will be available for viewing. The topic this year will be costumes from previous Haddenham pantomime productions.

Permission was given for expenditure on the Fairchild's Meadows Project for pond dipping platforms, an earthwork survey, barn owl and kestrel boxes, plants for the pond and around the new fencing, a 'deep water' sign, the purchase of a licence for two ordnance survey tiles and a branding iron to mark the gates and picnic tables.

An order will be placed to print 300 copies of the Parish Paths Map leaflets, which will be collated into sets and placed in plastic wallets. These will be available for a suggested donation at various outlets in the village.

The litter pick event on March 16 was not as well attended as before due to the adverse weather but Cllr Jo Fitzpatrick thanked those who had helped. Another event will be planned for the end of June.

Following several complaints regarding the hazard caused by cars parking near the junction of the Aldreth Road entrance to Linden Way it was agreed that the county council should be approached regarding the possible provision of parking spaces on the grass verge in Aldreth Road to the left of the entrance. Failing this, the introduction of double yellow lines to stop cars parking so close to the junction, the removal of one or two cars would help to alleviate the problem.

The next meeting will be the annual meeting on Wednesday, May 14 at 7.30pm at the Arkenstall Village Centre.

LITTLEPORT

WI

LINDA Harvey welcomed all members and one visitor. The minutes and WI monthly Isle of Ely newsletter were read out. There were 'thank you' cards from B Coussell and D Tooke for the receipt of flowers, to mark their golden wedding anniversaries last month. Monica Dennis received her competition WI mugs and two ladies received birthday gifts.

Maureen Fresco gave a full report on the March 12 council meeting which she had attended. She commented on how enjoyable Ann Widdecombe's speech had been, and the fact that she spoke without any notes.

Littleport Show will take place on July 26 and we will have a show meeting on June 17 at 7.30pm to discuss what will be needed for the WI.

The Patchwork Group met on April 15 and the Card Making Group met on April 14.

The speaker, Mrs Wilbraham, gave a very interesting talk about what life was like for a suffragette, and Rosemary Easy gave the vote of thanks.

There were 19 entries in the competition for a family heirloom.

There was a short quiz given by Ros Key on the subject of food and drink, and the meeting closed with a raffle.

The next WI meeting at Anchor Court will be on May 8 - Resolutions at 7.15pm. Mrs P Sole will be flower arranging, and the competition will be a flower arrangement in a cup and saucer.

Evangelical Church

PASTOR Barnds continues a series of messages, which cover the ministry of Jesus on earth between His resurrection and His ascension.

Sunday's message will be from John 21.

Thursday: service at 7pm.

Sunday: service at 10.30am.

INFO: 07960 119824 or 01353 860693.

TreeHouse Club

ON Saturday, the youth from TreeHouse Club had a wonderful time bowling in Ely. The club is looking forward to rewarding even more young people with another special outing this summer. TreeHouse offers activities, including outdoor games on the all-weather sports pitch and indoor activities such as crafts, model building and various table games. TreeHouse is open on Fridays, from 6.30pm till 9pm and is located at the Evangelical Church in Globe Lane. Admission is £1 and a tuck shop is available.

INFO: 01353 860693 or 07960 119824.

St George's Church

ON Sunday, the vicar presided and preached at the 8am Holy Communion.

She also presided at the 10am Parish Eucharist at which she preached a moving sermon on the meaning and application of a 'good shepherd'.

The 6.30pm service was combined with St John's Methodist Church at which the preacher was Carol Swain.

On Wednesday, we held our annual meeting of the parish and the vestry meeting. James Gilbert and Rosemary Marshall were elected as church wardens for 2008/2009. In addition to our PCC, Grenville Goodson and Penny Goodearl were elected as our deanery Synod representatives.

Thursday: a meeting in the Parish Room at 7.30pm for the Assisi Pilgrims to finalise details.

Saturday: Parish Lunch in the Parish Room at 12.3opm.

Sunday: The vicar will preside and preach at the 8am Holy Communion and at the 10am Parish Eucharist, which will be a Patronal Festival for St George.

Choir practice will start on April 20 at 9.15am on Sunday mornings prior to the morning 10am service. Should there be any special services for which the choir should prepare, these will be held on Friday evenings.

Tuesday: Pram Service for pre-school toddlers and their parents or carers at 1.45pm.

Wednesday: Holy Communion at 9.30am.

St John's Methodist Church

DUNCAN Palmer led last Sunday morning's service. Janice Weatherall was the organist; Tony Murfitt led a united evening service at St John's with St George's Parish Church. The pianist was Pat Hodson.

Sunday: St John's will be joining Pymoor Methodist Church for their Friendship Service when the Rev Jack Burton will be the preacher. This service starts at 10.30am. Rev June Mallabon will take the evening service at St John's at 6.30pm.

Littleport Flower Arrangement Club

THE club meets again on Friday at 7.30pm in the village hall, Victoria Street. The demonstrator will be Anne Bridge, from Norwich. The demonstration will be followed by refreshments and a raffle when there will be a chance to win the arrangements which have been demonstrated. All visitors are welcome and the fee is £3.

INFO: For further information, contact either Pam Hayes on 01353 860102 or Pam Sole on 01353 863421.

LITTLE THETFORD

Baptist Chapel.

OUR friends from St George's Church joined us for a United Family Service conducted by Pastor Dave Hall, who spoke on the Supremacy of Christ. The evening service was taken by Brian Mills who preached about Job and not blaming God for ills in our lives, but accepting what the Lord gives. This was followed by Holy Communion.

Sunday: the Preacher will be Brian Westropp at 6.30pm.

St George's Church.

SUNDAY: service is morning praise at 9.30am for St George's Day. Baptism and service led by the Rev Pauline Scott.

Both churches continue to hold Peter and Rene Cockerton and Margaret Digwell in their prayers.

SOHAM

Phoenix Club

VIVIAN Hancock welcomed members to the meeting in the Mill View Room on Wednesday. The speaker was auctioneer David Palmer. He gave a very informative and sometimes amusing account about the auctions, how the bidding works. Viv thanked David for a lovely morning. Names were taken for the outing to Hunstanton later in the year. Refreshments were served and Jill Powley and David organised the raffle. The next meeting is on May 14.

Methodists News

CAROL Gilbey welcomed members to the meeting on April 9. Carol gave out the announcements, reminding members of the tea dance at The Pavilion on April 26.

The next meeting is on May 21 and the dinner is on June 18. The speakers for the evening were Shirley Bavester and Helen Fordham who recently took part in the television programme Bargain Hunt. Helen and Shirley gave a detailed account of their experiences. Carol thanked them both for coming to the meeting. Members joined in the Lord's Prayer and the singing of the Vesper. Refreshments were served and there was a raffle.

Over 60s Club.

MEMBERS met in the Walter Gidney Pavilion on April 11. Vera Seal welcomed everyone. A minute's silence was observed in memory of Joan Brannan, Vera then handed over to Dick Hatley and friends who provided the afternoon's musical entertainment. Refreshments were served and Vera organised the raffle. The meeting was brought to a close with the singing of the club hymn.

Heartbeat Health Walk

ON April 7, 36 walkers, plus the three leaders met at the church for a walk of 2.5miles.

Monday, April 14, 42 walkers, plus two leaders enjoyed a walk of two miles.

STRETHAM

Women's Institute

MEMBERS were invited to Little Thetford's WI open meeting to enjoy their extra special speaker. The village hall was packed with WI ladies, who were warmly welcomed by president Christine Bullen. She introduced Avril Hayter and her husband, who acts as bell ringer. Both were splendidly dressed in their town crier outfits. Avril was full of fun, decibels and fascinating information on the history of town criers. The evening was rounded off with refreshments and a grand raffle. Stretham WI sends sincere thanks to Little Thetford WI for a great evening.

The Stretham WI monthly meeting, also open to friends and relatives, was an outing to the Scotsdale Garden Centre, Great Shelford. On arrival at Scotdale's we were given refreshments and seated alongside 100 volunteer workers from Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge, to hear a talk and demonstration on plant care and new developments in the plant world. After the talk, we were let loose among the many displays of plants stocked at the garden centre.

Our next meeting will be on May 13 at 7.15pm in the Parish Rooms. The speaker will be artist Chris Wood discussing her work with glass.

SUTTON

Garden Club

OUR speaker this month was Herbie Collen, who is a retired nursery grower with a wide experience in growing many different types of plants. The subject of his talk was 'my secret garden' and was about his own garden in the village of Hilton, which he has created and modified over many years. He showed us slides of the various stages it has gone through and emphasised that you do not always have to spend a lot of money to achieve a pleasing result.

After questions, Mr Collen was thanked by our chairman John Groves for a very interesting talk. The evening was concluded with the usual raffle and cup of tea or coffee.

The next meeting will be on May 14 in the Brooklands Centre Village Hall.

WARDY HILL

Dominoes

THERE were four tables in play at the dominoes held on April 4 in the social club when Mrs M Dewsbery was MC. Winners were: B Copping, Mrs L Dewsbery, B Gillett, J Hines and Mrs P Martin. Highest Halves: Mrs O Goodjohn and Miss M Murfitt. Consolation: Mrs B Norman. Draw: Miss M Murfitt, J Hines, F Tall and Mrs L Dewsbery.

Whist Drive

THERE were four tables in play at the whist drive held on April 7 in the social club when Mrs M Dewsbery was MC. Winners were: B Gillett, Mrs M Dewsbery, Mrs E Sizer, Mrs A Houghton and B Copping. Highest Halves: Mrs N Bean and A Bell; Most Elevens: N Synejko. Consolation: Mrs L Dewsbery. Draw: Mrs A Houghton, Mrs L Dewsbery, A Bell and K Cornwell.

WITCHFORD

Baptist Church

CAROLE Durose, a member of the church, led last Sunday's worship. This Sunday, the service will be at 10.30am, taken by the Rev Dr David Brewer. Everyone welcome.