Tag: heritage

Beautiful, and busy, day in Brandwood End.

Today I popped into the cemetery as ‘Idverde’, the contractors that mow , kindly agreed to take some ‘width’ off our Civilian Garden hedges. Nesting now over, so hard cut back undertaken with heavy duty equipment. The hedge was thriving so well and putting on so much growth that it was beginning to impede the grass cutting to the rear of the adjacent graves. All good now. Thank you to the Idverde staff.

The new round feature beds are now well established and it is such a peaceful place to pass a few minutes. Today was busy in Brandwood End as there was a funeral and a large number of cars.

Preparing for RHS visit !

As I am sure we have mentioned before, The Friends have been accepted as entrants into Heart of England in Bloom and will get a judges visit towards the end of this month. Whilst we are not able to affect much of the horticulture or upkeep of the cemetery we feel sure that Bereavement Service staff will be supporting our efforts.

There are a few things we can do, so the hard work in those areas has begun. Our thanks to one of our committee members, Sarah, who has started washing down some of the rain/mud spattered Section Markers. What a difference a bit of ‘Fairy’ makes!!

13606766_10153614895011791_7217377950375550124_n13620319_10153614895081791_6171134702770141459_nBefore….and after !!

 

Our thanks also to Julia who has been popping in and out weeding under hedges and Barrie- who’s shears have been working overtime!  All of these jobs and many more are undertaken continually by volunteer members of FBEC and the community, and happen as if by magic…..but we are making just a little bit of extra effort for this, our first,  RHS entry!!

20150614_09565120150614_103412We hope you have noticed the difference we have made over the last 11 years and we thank all those that have offered their help.

The Friends offer lots of opportunities for members to take part in  projects that inspire them, be it gardening ,war graves, social history, or trees, birds and wildlife. We are always keen to involve anyone with a skill they would like to share. Please e mail us on  friendsofbec@gmail.com.

Can we make a special appeal for someone to be responsible for keeping a digital archive of our activities.  We know  most of our activities are recorded on our Facebook page and within this blog but we would like to have everything kept in one place, and free time restricts the existing committee members from taking this on. Please can you help?

Family Hedgehog Event

Half term is nearly here and the Friends of Brandwood End, supported by Birmingham and Black Country Wildlife Trust and the Park Ranger Service and holding a Hedgehog Day during Wild About Gardens week at Brandwood Pool on Tuesday the 27th October from 2-4pm (The pool lies at the bottom of the cemetery site or access via Whittington Close B14 6JW)

hedgehogCome and discover more about these favourite creatures and how to make your garden Hedgehog friendly. Fun for all the family with bug hunting,crafts and lots more!

We also want your views on our proposed project to survey the Cemetery and create improved habitats for Hedgehogs.

Children under 16 must be accompanied by an adult.

Heritage Open Events

We are afraid that the Friends and Brandwood End Cemetery will not be holding an event during this years Heritage Open Week as we currently lack the capacity to deliver an event to the standard of the one you may have experienced last year- but fear not! We hope to be able to participate on site next year and instead, in celebration of our 10th year as a Friends Group,IMG_8316 IMG_8317 we have installed displays in Kings Heath and Druids Heath Libraries that we hope you will enjoy.

Can we thank the staff at both libraries who have helped us in this venture and seem happy for our displays to stay in place for several weeks.

At Kings Heath Library we were able to add some historic photographs from the early 1900’s provided by the staff (from library archives.)

Heritage Open Event – Saturday 13th September

Cross of Sacrifice at Brandwood End CemetaryThe Friends of Brandwood End Cemetery and BCC Bereavement Service staff invite you to join them at a WW1 Heritage Open Event on Saturday 13th September between 11am and 2pm.

The days’ activities include:  grave walks led by FBEC members, memorabilia, photographs and a short talk by Doug Smith about the effects of the Great War on everyone involved. Join us for a cup of tea and a slice of ‘trench’ cake!

We would be very interested to see any WW1 family memorabilia that you may wish to share with us, especially anything linked to Brandwood End.

The first walk will start at 11am prompt. If you require any further information please contact us on friendsofbec@gmail.com