A farewell message from out-going mayor Cllr John Ison. ON Monday, a new mayor will be elected in Ely. All being well, my deputy Ron Bradney will don the red robe and take over a role that I have thoroughly enjoyed filling for the past year. Not only has

A farewell message from out-going mayor Cllr John Ison.

ON Monday, a new mayor will be elected in Ely.

All being well, my deputy Ron Bradney will don the red robe and take over a role that I have thoroughly enjoyed filling for the past year.

Not only has it been an honour and privilege to represent Ely on many different occasions, but it has also given me the chance to meet scores of local people who work tirelessly in a whole range of organisations for a whole range of causes.

I have done my best to support them and to draw attention to our fine cityís many splendid attributes during the course of some 200 official engagements.

And Iím pleased to report that Elyís fame is spreading around the world. As well as the 50-year twinning with Ribe, which we celebrated in September, approaches for friendship links have come from Vercelli in Italy, Ronda in Spain and a Chinese town. Not to mention the Boat Race link with Perth in Scotland.

Closer to home, I am delighted that the city council has found a way of honouring distinguished citizens through the creation of Honorary Freemen, and it was appropriate that the first recipient should have been Wing Commander John Grant.

On a lighter note, we have just seen the first Ely Town Crier Championship as part of Eel Day. It was a tremendous success and seems set to continue and expand in future, carrying the message of Ely hospitality to various parts of the country.

I am grateful to our Town Crier Avril Hayter-Smith for organising and hosting the event, and I have also benefited during the year from the advice and support of my colleagues on the city council ñ especially the immensely experienced former mayors Richard Bamford and Derek Crawley, who both retired last week after many years of devoted service.

They deserve the cityís grateful thanks for their enormous contributions to the life of the community, and Iím happy to report that this was formally recognised and recorded at the end of their last council meeting.

I shall soon be retiring to the seaside, but the life of the city and its hard-working council will continue. I shall watch future progress with interest and return to Ely whenever possible to meet the many good friends I have made here.

The main meetings during May are of planning teams on Monday, May 14 at 6.30pm and Monday, May 28, also at 6.30pm, followed by a council meeting at 7pm.

The councilís office is open to members of the public between 10am and

2pm on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays each week and the clerk, Tracey Coulson, or her deputy will be happy to deal with enquiries.

INFO: Council Chambers, 72 Market Street, Ely, Cambs CB7 4LS

Tel: 01353 661016. Fax: 01353 668933. E-mail: cityofelycouncil@tiscali.co.uk

Ely Cemetery: 01353 669659.

Website: www.cityofely.eastcambs.gov.uk