Category: Environment

Remember how muddy and waterlogged our Cemeteries may be at the moment and come prepared!

Please can we remind you that most of the burial areas within Brandwood End and Kings Norton do not lie adjacent to pathways and due to the exceptional rainfall they are often very muddy and waterlogged. Suitable footwear when visiting graves is essential.

Bereavements, in this area, have been able to continue with burials but had to restrict the daily numbers as the instability of the waterlogged ground has meant the use of heavy machinery has had to be limited.

We understand that this is a very emotional time for families but can we please ask you to have some understanding of the difficulties and be mindful of the fact that many areas have totally suspended  their burial services due to ground instability.

FBEC thank you, on behalf of Bereavement Services, for your patience and understanding in these unusual conditions.

Jane Edwards (Chairman-Friends of Brandwood End Cemetery)

‘Spring Clean’ Litter Pick in Brandwood End Cemetery

Just a reminder to all those who support us and a appeal to anyone new who feels they can spare a couple of hours to help keep this cemetery litter free. We will be meeting at the Lodge on the main drive at 10am on Saturday March 1st. Suitable stout footwear, outer clothing and gloves are especially important following the recent heavy rainfall- but we will have plenty of litter pickers and bags!
Please note that in the event of high winds, heavy rain or snow this event will not take place as these weathelitter pick 003r conditions could raise safety issues.

A date for your diary! Tuesday March 18th.

 Many of the regular visitors to Brandwood End Cemetery are aware of the large number of Military Graves that lie within (Over 350).  Following Remembrance Sunday each year these graves are even more identifiable as the Friends place ‘Poppy Crosses’ on every grave. Most of these graves are scattered throughout the cemetery but what most people do not realise is that we have a small Military section.   The area surrounding this section has, over time, lost its defined boundary so with the help of funding from Veolia, the Friends will be planting a new boundary hedge of native hawthorn.

a_section_33_militaryAt 10.30am on the morning of Tuesday March 18th the Friends will be joined on site by The Lord Mayor and the Lady Mayoress, children from St Albans RC Primary School, and staff from Bereavements Services and Quadron  Services who will be working together to plant 350 hawthorn shrubs to redefine this boundary.

The Friends and Bereavements staff have met on site with the Commonwealth War Graves Commission to agree the design and size of this hedge as their requirements are quite specific. Please come along, with your spade, if you would like to help.

 

Over 4000 Birmingham Mail ‘Wish tokens’!

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Our thanks to all our supporters who have collected ‘Wish Tokens’ for us. We have received over 4000 tokens, which for a small organisation is admirable. Those of you who still have tokens please send them, as soon as possible, to the address in our previous blog post. Thank you all again and we will let you know the outcome of your efforts.

Last litter pick of 2013!

Just a reminder to all those who support us and a appeal to anyone new who feels they can spare a couple of hours to help keep this cemetery litter free. Meet at the Lodge on the main drive at 10am this Sunday, 1st December. Please wear suitable stout footwear, outer clothing and gloves but we have plenty of litter pickers and bags!
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERACan we take this opportunity to thank everyone who has supported our litter picks in 2013 and if you cant make this one, we look forward to seeing you in 2014. Watch this blog for  confirmation of dates.

 

Litter pickers at the ready!

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Friends of Brandwood End Cemetery worked with pupils from Woodthorpe Primary School to discuss what can be done to reduce litter locally. This was followed up by a litter pick in their school grounds and then in nearby Brandwood End Cemetery. The pupils followed their litter hunt with some time spent collecting leaves, cones and other natural items to complete a collage. Watch this space to see their results! Our thanks go to all the helpers, particularly Class 5 of Woodthorpe School.

We all agreed we had enjoyed our adventure in Brandwood End Cemetery and look forward to working with together again.

We need your help!

We are in need of all the help we can get to keep the Cemetery looking clean and tidy.

The next one is on Sunday 1st December 2013 – see you there?

New Event: Bat Walk through Brandwood End Cemetery, 19th September

Many people enjoyed the bat walk that was led locally by Brum Bats in 2011. They attempted the event in 2012 only to have it rained off, like so many others last year.   Brum Bats and the Ranger Service are hoping the weather will be kinder this year and have set a new date.  The walk starts at Jasmin Fields and takes us through Brandwood End Cemetery, ending at Brandwood Pool.  The Cemetery is closed in the evenings so this is your chance to get exclusive access, and hopefully see some bats!

The walk, lasting about 2 hours, starts at 7pm, please meet at the farm gate on Bayston Road, Kings Heath (opposite Kinsey Grove). Please wear suitable shoes and outdoor clothing and all under 16’s must be supervised. You will need a strong torch. This event does need to be booked due to popularity- so contact the Ranger Service on 0121 675 0937 if you want to join us.

Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress visit Jasmin Fields

Friends of Brandwood End Cemetery joined other members of New Vision at an ‘Explore Jasmin Fields’ event last Saturday.  A similar event last summer was completely drowned out so we were dismayed when we started to set up in rain and wind! The wind was so strong that one or our gazebos briefly became a kite……but the wind soon dropped and the rain cleared and by starting time we had very acceptable weather.

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We were very pleased that the Lord Mayor and the Lady Mayoress came along to open the event and stayed most of the morning. The Ranger Service and the Friends of Jasmin Fields, supported by New Vision, had arranged a circular walk of the nature reserve, pond dipping, cake icing, badge making, bike repairs and advice on security by the Neighbourhood Policing Team. The event gave local groups, including FBEC, the opportunity to make residents more aware of their activities and to enlist members for future events. Everyone agreed to had been a real success and well worth the effort by the volunteers.

If you have an interest in any of the local groups, especially Friends of Brandwood End Cemetery, please contact us via this site and we will add you to our e mail list to be advised of anything happening in our local community group areas. We all need your support at our events and it is so good to see local people interested in any of our sites.

Hedge gets first serious cut!

Those of you that follow this blog will know that just over a year ago pupils from St Albans Catholic Primary School joined Friends and volunteers to replace an ailing hedge around the Civilian Garden of Remembrance with a new hawthorn hedge.This peaceful area had been abandoned for many years until The Friends, with lottery support, restored it to a restful place to sit and enjoy. Initially we had surrounded the area with a beech hedge but the soil, being clay and waterlogged much of the year, did not support this species, so a major plan was put in place to replace it with a more tolerant hawthorn hedge.

20130811_15403020130811_154043This hedge has thrived and grown and had begun to look unruly, despite occasional trimming, so this weekend it had its first serious ‘cut’ and we are pleased to say it looks fantastic. This will only be its second winter coming up and already it is starting to look like a well established hedge.  I think you will agree from the photo’s above that the area looks inviting and is well cared for volunteers from FBEC.

If you feel you could help us at all with this ongoing task of weeding etc please contact us via our web site. Many hands make light work and there is always something to do.