Ely Eel Day Parade

This year was the 20th anniversary of the Ely Eel Day parade, commemorating the declaration of Ely as a city. Ely is a small city, just a few miles North of Cambridge, famous for its cathedral (“The Ship of the Fens”) and eel trade (hence the name “Ely”, named after “eel”; sort of. The truth of the matter is a bit more complicated than that!). This year, however, the parade would also include a contigent of the Cambridge Medieval Fighters Guild.

Club attendees stood in front of the Ely Eel and Ely Cathedral. Photograph courtesy of Bill Shalcross

In various states of armour and armament (it was a very sunny day so going in full armour proved to be A Choice) we joined the parade marching through the city, from teh Cathedral down to the waterfront. It was our first time joining the parade and it included all sorts of groups such as a Samba band and six Morris & Molly dancing groups, as well as the Eel itself (the tail end can be seen in the background of the picture above).

Upon completing the parade we naturally picked a fight with the dread wyrm, in an ill-fated attempt to rid the city of a scourge it didn’t particularly mind, actually. Naturally we lost, and the treasurer was slain in the effort. The rest of the club, quickly stepped in to help finish the job.

The treasurer is cruelly slain through the joint efforts of the Ely Eel and the rest of the club.

Wasting no time after this terrible defeat we retreated to a local tavern to regroup and recuperate. After which, we all went home. It was a grand day out in all and now we’ve had a bit of experience we hope to get involved again next year and make an even bigger showing.

The club members pose for the camera at the start of the parade. Photograph courtesy of Bill Shalcross

CMFG in the News

We made an appearance on BBC Cambridgeshire in 2023. Check it out by the links below.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p0fxkvr9

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0fxkvr9