Category: News

Sunny day for RHS visit

When we all got up to heavy rain this morning we wondered if the visit of the RHS Heart of England in Bloom judges to Brandwood End might be a wash out, but by lunch time the sun was shining and Brandwood End was looking at its best.

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Volunteers work within Brandwood End all year round doing all sorts of activities. Their work ranges from litter picks, gardening, historical research, environmental projects,  to carrying out surveys, attending meetings and making grant applications.  You probably don’t see us, but we hope you see the effect we have in the cemetery.

The Friends of Brandwood End work with Bereavement Services staff and horticultural contractors to try and improve the ‘visitor’ experience in the cemetery. You may be visiting the grave of a loved one, or walking through as a short cut, carrying out grave research or just enjoying the peace and quiet. Whatever your reason, we hope it creates a pleasant interlude in your day.

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Today we found a local family enjoying their snacks in the Civilian Garden of Remembrance. We are so glad to see people relaxing in this beautiful, peaceful area.

 

Birmingham Big Bus- World War 1 Tour

FBEC are not involved in the event below but the Birmingham Big Bus Tour staff join FBEC on Birmingham  Heritage Forum, so we are happy to point you in their direction.

This is the year when we remember the Battle of the Somme. Birmingham has a fascinating story to tell with its involvement in the First World War. Starting at the iconic Town Hall you will hear about Neville Chamberlain’s rousing inspirational speech and the massive recruiting parade in Victoria Square. On the route we will visit sites to learn about Zeppelins and Armaments; the Quakers and conscientious objectors; War hospitals taking over the University of Birmingham and Highbury Hall; the Hall of Memory built to commemorate the 12, 320 Birmingham citizens who died and the 35,000 who were wounded during the War; the massive involvement of the Jewellery Quarter and Cadbury’s; the women’s stories including the 15,000 migrant women working in the factories and the plight of the Belgian refugees.

Date: Sunday 24th July 2016

Time: 6pm

Meeting point: end of Colmore Row/corner of Waterloo Street, Victoria Square next to the Council House

Cost: Tickets £12 per person – please contact Sue by email at  enquiries@birmingham-tours.co.uk

Come and join the Big Bus Guides to commemorate Birmingham’s contribution to the First World War.

 

‘Clean for the Queen’ litter pick in March 2016

Glorious sunshine helped our ‘Clean for the Queen’ litter pick in Brandwood End today. A dozen volunteer and the local Ranger dodged the heavy traffic in the Cemetery today to collect 32 bags of litter!  Most of the collected rubbish consisted of flower papers and we would like to appeal to visitors again to remove the papers from flowers left at grave sides.IMG_8412 The recent winds have created pockets of rubbish along the Sunderton Road boundary fence and Broad Lane, which will soon be enveloped in brambles so todays efforts were well worth while.

Our thanks to our volunteers and the Ranger for giving up their time on Mothering Sunday and we hope to see you all again at our usual quarterly litter pick in June.

IMG_8410We were also able to use this event to promote membership of the Friends and an awareness of what we do in Brandwood End.

All the volunteers were amazed at the volume of traffic that we observed passing through the cemetery today. With vehicle numbers in the hundreds every hour, speeding was not an issue and there were queues on all the main drive areas!

IMG_8420This should give you an idea of the volume of rubbish we managed to collect, and these two bins were just in one area!  32 black bags in all…IMG_8423

 

All in all….a good mornings work.

JOIN US FOR COFFEE AND CAKE AT OUR AGM

All members are invited to the Annual General Meeting of the Friends of Brandwood End Cemetery which is to be held on Thursday 14th April at 10.30am till 11.30am in the Conference Room at St Dunstans Church, Kingsfield Rd, Birmingham B14 7JN. As you enter from the main gate in Kingsfield Road the Conference Room is on the right. Copies of the Annual Report and the Audited Accounts will be presented and circulated to the members present. Following the meeting these will be posted on our website fbec.org.uk.

Under the rules, existing members of the Executive Committee will be offering themselves for re-election but we welcome enquiries from prospective new members. All nominees must be members of FBEC and nomination forms can be obtained from the Chairman and must be completed and submitted by 31st March 2016.

Any questions to be tabled at the AGM should be submitted in advance to the Chairman by telephone /email by 31st March 2016.-07811 393259 / friendsofbec@gmail.com

The Committee sincerely hopes that you will be able to join us for tea and cake and to learn of our successes to date and plans for the future. We work on your behalf and depend on your support.

Welcome to 2016

A belated 2016 welcome to all our followers,  from the Committee of The Friends of Brandwood End Cemetery.

Who knows what 2016 will hold for the cemetery and all those that visit? The good news is that we appear to have escaped relatively unscathed from the high winds that have battered the area and other than the usual cascades of water from our blocked Victorian drains…….life (as far as we know) has been smooth. The Friends will be meeting with Bereavement Service staff in the next few weeks to discuss a number of issues, not least of all improving fencing around the chapels and our up and coming Lottery Bid with Birmingham and Black Country Wildlife Trust to investigate the Hedgehog population in Brandwood End.

Please keep watching our page and spreading the word.

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Remembrance Sunday at Brandwood End- 2015

Our thanks to everyone that supported this annual event organised by FBEC. This year close to 70 people turned out in windy and damp conditions to remember those that have given their lives in battle.

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Our thanks to Rev David Fairbotham, local Councillors and all the organisations that laid wreaths but our special thanks to the Standard Bearer from The British Legion (Kings Heath Branch), our brilliant Buglers (Ludo and Oliver) who always do us proud, and of course local residents and supporters. This year our numbers were close to 70 !

IMG_0042Our thanks as well to Bereavement Services staff who come along on their day off to make sure cars don’t drive through the event !

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Placing of Poppy Crosses

If you happen to pass through Brandwood End Cemetery this week,  you may well see members of the Friends and volunteers placing some 350 + poppy crosses. Each War Grave in Brandwood End is marked  every year by the placing of a poppy cross on it. A large grid ‘poppy cross cemetery’ is also formed on the grassland adjacent to the Cross of Sacrifice on the Main Drive- to give an impression of the large numbers of those buried within Brandwood End who have lost their lives in wars around the globe.

PoppyPlease pause for a moment after Remembrance Sunday to read the information placed near the ‘poppy cemetery’.

Remembrance Sunday information is to follow this article.

Important Notice to Grave Owners

We have reproduced this important notice, which is now on prominent display in Brandwood End Cemetery, concerning the removal of trees and shrubs from graves. It is self explanatory. If you know anyone who has a grave in Brandwood End but does not visit frequently- please draw this to their attention.

Notice to Grave Owners

This notice is to advise “Grave Owners” of their responsibilities to comply with the Municipal Rules and Regulations.

In accordance with these Rules and Regulations, any trees, shrubs or flowers planted on graves must not become unsightly or overgrown or encroach on adjacent graves and must not exceed 2ft in height.

To reduce the risk of injury to passers – by or damage to memorials, and to help us to keep the cemetery in good order, we are asking “Grave Owners” to remove or prune items which contravene these Rules and Regulations. In the event that “Grave Owners” have not done so by 16th November 2015, cemetery employees will be carrying out a programme of removal.

If you have any concerns regarding this please contact Kings Norton Cemetery

0121 303 5583

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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.)

Local Bat Walk via Cemetery

Quick reminder….Bat Walk with ‘Brumbats’ on this Thursday evening the 10th. Starts from farm gate to Jasmin Fields on Bayston Road,ends at Brandwood Pool. 7pm for instructions and then leaving towards canal across Jasmin Fields. Wrap up warm, stout footwear- bring a torch!!
Please let Dean the Ranger know if you want to come.0121 675 0937. Under 16’s must be supervised.

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