Our thanks to the Paul and his team for helping us to keep this hedge under control.
Author: Jane Edwards
Covid precautions!
Litter picks take on a whole new regime in these Covid aware times. Pre litter pick we need to make sure we have all the relevant notifications for attendees to read, and test and trace paperwork ready for everyone to complete.(As well as emailing and social media sharing!)
Following a socially distanced ‘pick’ everything needs to be washed or thoroughly cleaned! All adding time and effort- but all essential in these weird times. Thanking you all for taking care during our event.
Well attended Litter Pick.
The Friends are so pleased to have met so many new people today supporting our Litter Pick, as well as our stalwarts!
18 adults and 3 children collected 26 bags of litter. Most of it was flower paper- so can we remind everyone that if you are leaving flowers at a grave it would be helpful if you could remove all the paper, as the flowers degrade naturally….the wrappings don’t and the wind scatters it all to the edges of the cemetery.
If you leave a display of artificial flowers, please make sure it is well secured, as we found many bunches windswept around the grassland today. Our apologies if your flowers now adorn someone else’s grave but we have no idea where they truly belong, so we have deposited them on the nearest grave.
Thank you everyone for a job well done. Next litter pick will be Sunday 6th December (Weather permitting!)
Autumn approaches.
Our first Fairy Ring ! Last year we had some huge rings around the cemetery so keep your eyes peeled and please post photos on our facebook site, or e mail them to us to display on our web page.
Sunflowers bloom in Brandwood End.
Today, in the cemetery, we stumbled across two people quietly tending a grave that was overshadowed by a group of fantastically tall Sunflowers. It appears these seeds were left over from some planted, and tended with loving care, in the ladies garden yet the grave side ones had far outgrown the others!!
September Litter Pick
Forward notice that on Saturday September 5th we will be holding our litter pick in the cemetery. Meet 10am at the Lodge till 11.30am.
In these strange Covid times we will be operating in a ‘safe environment’, so we ask that you bring your own ‘litter pick’, if you have one. The Friends can provide pickers (suitably cleansed) for those that don’t have them and bags- but suitable footwear should be worn and gloves are recommended.
Bank Holiday Opening Times
Brandwood End will be open from 10am till 5pm- Saturday, Sunday and Bank Holiday Monday.
This information has been taken from the BCC site below.
https://www.birmingham.gov.uk/directory_record/452/brandwood_end_cemetery
Cemetery opening hours
We are still being asked about cemetery access hours. Can we refer everyone to the Birmingham City Council site, where you should find the latest information. This may be subject to change at short notice.
https://www.birmingham.gov.uk/brandwood-end-cemetery
How about a Civilian Garden ‘blast from the past’?
It’s nice, now and then, to look back at previous events. In our early days the Friends had a photo album with flickr.com. This is a link to our 2007 opening of the Civilian Garden. Sadly, many of the people featured are no longer with us. Thankfully, allowing for several renovations and re modelling, the Garden itself is still very vibrant, as you can see above.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/podnosh/albums/72157601918606847/with/1346369524/
Remembering VJ Day
The 75th anniversary of VJ Day (Victory over Japan) will be recognised on 15 August 2020 commemorating the final end of the Second World War.
This anniversary is rarely ‘celebrated’ publicly as widely as VE Day but it was, never the less, just as important for many reasons.
https://ve-vjday75.gov.uk/vjday/
On August 6th, at 8.15 a.m. Japanese time, the United States dropped the atomic bomb ‘little boy’ on Hiroshima and on August 9th at 11.02 a.m., dropped the bomb ‘fat man’ on Nagasaki. This resulted in the Japanese formally surrendering to the Allies on August 15th.
This was made official on September 2nd 1945 with the signing of the Japanese Instrument of Surrender aboard the battleship USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay.