Well done to the team from NIQ who made unbelievable inroads into shrubbery that has been obscuring graves for the last 10 to 15 years.
Well done to them all and we hope to welcome them again to assist us in this never ending task.
Despite the rain first thing we still had 15 supporters turn up to litter pick. Well done to them. We are afraid lots of the items collected were old artificial flowers- blown about as left unsecured. Lots of smashed glass vases and we have warned that this happens as Magpies, Ravens and Squirrels try and move them. Glass is too sparkly and tempting…….and too fragile.
UP AND COMING DATES IN THE FBEC DIARY WHERE WE WELCOME YOUR SUPPORT
The Friends will have been working in the cemetery for 20 years on the 21stJuly 2025. We will be organising all the above events but also undertaking many other cemetery projects alongside. If you would like to get involved in helping with our research or keeping the cemetery to look cared for then contact us at friendsofbec@gmail.com or come along to one of our sessions.
Eleven volunteers turned out on August 10th to help FBEC committee members continue their Grave Gardeners project. Lots done again but always plenty to do. Several graves can now be seen where previously all you could see was shrubbery. The pile to the left was removed to uncover these graves. You can see that there are more to reveal further along.
Our thanks again to Ray and Sue Howell for continuing their work in the Civilian Garden. They give a lot of their time to keep it looking as beautiful as it does.
Busy day again for the Tree Surgeons, but this time just removing dead wood off some of the really high Pines on the main drive. Spot the man in the cage!!
FBEC popped along to support one of our local Friends groups at Lifford Reservoir. Such a shame as the weather was awful. I am sure when they booked the date for mid June they didn’t expect hail storms!
We were joined by Array4hogs and the Wildlife Trust.
Brandwood End Cemetery has been buzzing with activity this week as some long awaited potholes have been filled. We are pleased to say that the areas around the Cross of Sacrifice and also the WW1 Memorial have had large sections re tarmaced. Looks like they had some left as some of the areas heading towards the Broad Lane gate have also been patched. It’s certainly only a small amount of what is needed but it is a start and in these cash strapped times we welcome anything! I should add that the areas repaired could have caused significant damage to pedestrians…. And vehicles so I am sure that’s why they have managed to fund the work.
Tree husbandry in Brandwood End has actually been funded this year(it isn’t every year and this will be the last we see of it for a while, I suspect!) the downside is that we will see a number of diseased trees disappearing from our beautiful landscape. They have been earmarked for some time but work has now ramped up with contractors working in the cemetery most days. Most recent losses are a very large tree near Broad Lane entrance which was diseased and a beautiful Labernum on A3FC which was pretty much hollow above waist height. Sad but necessary.
The Friends recently relaunched their refreshed Tree Walk leaflet and on Saturday 20th July at 11am, Malcolm Jacques will be leading a walk around the trees highlighted.
This will be a ‘stroll’ and most of the areas will accessible to wheelchair users but we warn that the roadways are uneven. All will be welcome but can we ask that any under 16year olds be accompanied by an adult. We would suggest suitable footwear for uneven ground.
If you would like to reserve a place can we ask you to e mail us on friendsofbec@gmail.com,
