Pied Piper Makes His First Appearance In Ely At The Weekend

THE Pied Piper of Ely made his first appearance in the city at the weekend, leading a crowd of people around various tourist attractions. Tony Pearson, who came up with the concept as a way of making a positive contribution to Ely, enjoyed his inaugura

THE Pied Piper of Ely made his first appearance in the city at the weekend, leading a crowd of people around various tourist attractions.

Tony Pearson, who came up with the concept as a way of making a "positive contribution" to Ely, enjoyed his inaugural quarter-day walk.

He said: "It's a way of me playing the music that I love and doing it in a way that will make a positive contribution to the city."

He continued: "My first walk went very well. Lots of people had their picture taken with the Pied Piper and I was followed by many tourists. I will definitely be doing this regularly - whenever I see the opportunity to."

As well as raising the profile of Ely's many attractions, including Oliver Cromwell's house, the cathedral and the museum - all of which featured as stops on his walk - Mr Pearson is hoping to raise the profile of the National Blood Service.

He explained: "The mayor has a charity he supports so I thought I would pick a good cause to support too. Rather than ask people for donations of money, though, I thought I would try and get more people to donate blood."

Mr Pearson, of Ely Road, Prickwillow, has donated more than 50 pints of blood himself and has been given a gold award for his contributions by the blood service.

INFO: Visit www.tonypearson.co.uk for more information about the Pied Piper of Ely.

5458HD0609: Pied Piper Tony Pearson was out raising the profile of Ely on Saturday.

Photo: HELEN DRAKE