After having to cancel this annual event in 2020 we are pleased to say that it will be taking place in 2021

on Sunday 14th November at the Cross of Sacrifice- starting time 10.45am.  Everyone welcome.

We hoped to be joined, as usual, by representatives of local organisations, Councillors and WM Police.

You have to love all these names. Stinking Bishop – Weeping Widow – Fairy Ring – False Chanterelles – Stinking Dappling’s – Poison Pies – Earthy Powder cap – Puff Ball – Yellow Stainer –Shaggy Parasols – Brittle Stems – Little Bonnets – Red Cracking Bolete, I could go on !  Have you guessed yet?

They are all names of some of the species of Fungi that we found today in the cemetery. We only covered a small amount of ground but discovered over 25 different varieties.

Our thanks go to Lucas Large, Curator of  The Natural Science collection at Birmingham Museums Trust and Georgina  Sharp, Community Co-ordinator for Caring for God’s Acre.

 

We have been lucky enough to be selected to benefit from the Becketts Farm Community Fund. All you need to do, as an FBEC supporter, is to shop at Becketts Farm Shop and ask for a token to place in our tub !  There will be 3 local groups looking for support and we will each receive a portion of £750 in relation to the number of tokens in our tubs.

The Friends rely on the support of local funders like Becketts to be able to carry out small projects within the cemetery such as installing interpretation,  photographing graves for relatives who may not be able to visit and planting /maintaining the Civilian Garden of Remembrance. One of the items on our list waiting for funding is the complete refurbishment of our 2 benches in the Civilian Garden area. They are well used and as such need refreshing.

This funding event in favour of FBEC will continue till January 2022, so you have plenty of time to pop along for your Christmas Fayre!

Becketts Farm | Farm Shop | Restaurant | Cookery School | Conference

Our chairman has been dying to wrestle this bramble out of the Rhododendron all year but is now glad she didn’t. I am sure the birds will thank her!

Birmingham’s Parks, Burial Grounds and open spaces rely on the voluntary sector and the people of Birmingham to supply thousands of hours of work, at a saving of hundreds of thousands of pounds. If volunteers didnt carry out this work it is unlikely that existing staff would have the capacity to maintain the existing standards. Well done to everyone !

REMINDER- Don’t get caught out.  Opening times change from the 1st October.

Always check the City Council web site as times could change at short notice.

Brandwood End cemetery | Birmingham City Council

This time change is normal for the Winter period in Brandwood End as the nights draw in and the clocks  soon go back.

 

 

Opening times: 

1st October-31st March         8.30am till 4 pm

1st April – 30th September    8.30am till 7 pm

 

During our Heritage Open week we were lucky enough to persuade Gerald Griffin,  a practiced photographer, to offer some tips to a group of novices as they tried to capture the feeling within Brandwood End Cemetery. He has kindly put this short slide show together to share the results. I think it is fair to say that they capture the beauty of stone and nature within the 53 acre site. Gerald was also new to cemetery photography, as he confided that his normal field was wildlife and travel.  We feel pretty sure he also enjoyed the different subject !

 

As FBEC volunteers we have now had a chance to reflect on the success of our Heritage week. It was undoubtedly hard work but we had marvellous supporters and volunteers. Our thanks to Ranger Dean Paul, All our Rock Painters, Georgina from Caring for Gods Acre, Gerald Griffin, Doug Smith, Pat Franklin,  Tony, Dawn, Andrea and Irene de Boo (Who provided our inspiration) and all our volunteers who helped set up and break down our displays.

 

Will we do it again next year ?…..well probably not in the same format but certainly as a collection of events during Heritage Open Week.  Maybe one day we will be able to have our displays permanently set up in the Lodge and just open the door now and then !

Our sincere thanks to all the members of the public that supported us, all the volunteers who undertook lots of physical work and the Councillors who gave their time to support us, and of course our committee.

                                       

We must thank Councillor John Cotton for not just visiting our Heritage event, but for spending  significant quality time investigating the cemetery and our displays as this is a new area for him. He also enjoyed Doug’s talk and managed to spot one of our painted stones!  Councillor Cotton has recently been appointed as Cabinet Member for Social Inclusion, Community Safety and Equalities. Bereavement Services fall within this remit so we were especially pleased to see him.

Councillor Julien Pritchard also came along to offer his support and so did our usual ‘frequent volunteer’ Councillor Mike Leddy. Both Julien and Mike are frequent visitors to Brandwood End and we thank them for their continued support.