Fantastic photographs showing the start of the blossom in Brandwood End. More to come……
Our thanks to Robert Houghton for these wonderful photographs. Those of you that are users of Facebook can see more photographs on our Facebook page.
Author: Jane Edwards
Jasmin Fields Nature Reserve appeals to dog owners.
Can we remind everyone that the very local Jasmin Fields Nature Reserve is a haven for wildlife and welcomes dog walkers- but one of the volunteers, Pat, drew the lovely poster below. It is just a reminder that, as a dog owner, you have a responsibility to clear up behind your pooch.
Can we also remind everyone that you should be prepared to ‘leave no trace’ if you visit the Cemetery, Jasmin Fields or any other green open space. Please remove your rubbish. Take it home ! Bins are often overwhelmed so be prepared ! Can we also remind you to remove any flower wrapping paper if leaving flowers at a loved ones grave, as the paper helps the flowers blow from the grave in high winds.
NEW CHANGES TO SUMMER OPENING TIMES FROM 29TH MARCH
The opening times for the cemetery change on March 29th to allow for British Summer Time. Opening during the week is also slightly later to allow for funerals, as these can only take place when the cemetery is closed. It is always advisable to check with the official BCC site at :
Brandwood End cemetery | Birmingham City Council
| Monday and Wednesday | 8:30am to 7:30pm |
| Tuesday, Thursday and Friday | 3:30pm to 7:30pm |
| Saturday and Sunday | 10am to 5pm |
Fantastic interior photographs of the chapels.
The Friends have well over 400 followers of their Facebook site, many of whom post amazing photographs. The most recent input has been from one of the contractors working on the amazing transformation of the windows, with the addition of laminated security sheets.
This photograph is a taster- but you can view lots of interior and exterior ones via this link.
Final reminder -Litter Pick Cancelled.
Just a final reminder that the litter pick due to take place tomorrow, the 6th March, has had to be cancelled due to Covid restrictions and possible insurance issues. We will hopefully be back in June. Watch this space.
Something of interest !
The more eagle eyed amongst you may have noticed that the weather vane has been removed from the top of the chapel steeple. It became unsafe last year in one of the storms and was removed for health and safety reasons.
The good news is that it is safe and will hopefully be repaired and restored in time.
The ‘eyes’ of the chapels are restored !
Anyone visiting the cemetery in the next few days will see some fantastic work being undertaken. After many years the boards on the windows are being removed and replaced with reinforced Perspex, thus exposing the fantastic terracotta trace work and allowing light into the interior space.
An unexpected effect is that the magnificent trees surrounding the building are reflected out again from the glass creating a magical vision.
Our thanks to Bereavement Services for facilitating this and the contractors for their care installing the Perspex- as great thought has gone into the best way to fix this!
March Litter Pick Cancelled
I am afraid that we have had to cancel our March Litter Pick due to Covid restrictions.*
We will be back in June, on the 6th, as part of the ‘late’ Great British Spring Clean but in the meantime can we ask all our followers, who visit the cemetery, to remove any litter they see into the bins on site, as this will greatly help us and Ground Staff to keep Brandwood End looking spic and span.
Can we remind you that most of the litter that we find consists of windblown flower paper or badly secured artificial flower displays. If you leave flowers please remove the paper, and check that all displays are well secured, as once items blows from a grave we have no idea where they belong! This week there is a lot of this type of litter on the boundary areas so if you see litter, please pop it in the bin. at any time, but especially during these strange times, do remember to use a litter picker if possible and always wear gloves.
- We are a member of BOSF and under present regulations our community insurance would be invalid if we held our normal Litter Pick during Covid restrictions.
St Albans School trees looking healthy
You may recall that pupils from St Albans R C Primary School worked alongside the Friends and staff from Birmingham Trees for Life to plant replacement trees along the cemetery boundary. We can report that they all appear to be doing well and we can’t wait to see them in blossom in the next few weeks.
Please avoid driving on the verges!
You can see, from the photograph above, that driving on the verges causes lots of often irreversible damage. There is no excuse! We know the avenues are narrow but the whole road system is a grid. If there is a parked car just use the next avenue and approach from the other end…..or reverse! If this continues then restricted vehicle access to these side avenues may be the only answer available to Bereavement staff to prevent such mindless damage, and no one wants that.