Category: Events

Seasons Greetings and thank you all.

Our sincere thanks for all the help we have received from members and supporters over the last year. We would not have been able to undertake many of the projects without your support, financially and physically.

This year has been wonderful with projects being supported by so many different sections of the community from Corporate groups to individuals.  We have welcomed Josie Wall on board as a member of BCC, tasked with supporting Cemetery Friends Groups and much more ! Members of the public and staff from AVOVE have worked hard to remove large areas of Holly on graves and shrubbery in one section of the Cemetery, we have led walks , Josie has offered on line talks via Caring for Gods Acre and we have taken part in Heritage Open events.

  Supporters have gardened, litter picked, provided planters and seeds, crocheted fantastic themed displays by the Lodge, spent hours recording memorial inscriptions, arranged to refurbish benches, searched for graves, supported our Remembrance Service, provided historical information and generally worked along side us to make 2022 a fantastically busy year. No let up yet as lots planned for 2023! Thank you all again but a special thank you to my Poppy Project team and the other organisations that have shared their research with us. Apologies if I have missed you out but I thought this list was worth recording.

Caring for God’s Acre, Balsall Heath History Society, Kings Heath History Group, Mat Felkin (BARRA), AVOVE, Severn Trent, Our Scene CIC (Brightening Brandwood), Ian Binni (Gallipoli Assn),  Lukas (Natural History Museum) Josie Wall and Birmingham Bereavement Services Department…..and especially Tony and the Ground Staff Team and our Patrons.

Looking forward to 2023 and the exciting things we will be planning.

 

 

 

Great turn out for final litter pick of 2022

We were heartened to be joined by 13 supporters of FBEC in our final litter pick of 2022, especially when it would have been inviting to have stayed in the warm and dry! December days seem to be bright and sunny or dull and dank- today was the latter.

The total collection of 18 bags, again mainly windblown flower paper, took some finding under hedges and behind gravestones. It was noticeable today that there were many artificial flowers blown around the cemetery or redeployed and nibbled/pecked by squirrels and crows. Please do check your family graves, as we try to pop the newer flowers back on graves but have no idea where they have blown from so it could be that we have placed them on other graves nearby. Apologies, but they really do need to be secured against wind, Squirrel and Muntjac attack !

Thanks again to our volunteers.

Last Litter Pick of 2022

        LAST LITTER PICK OF 2022

        SUNDAY 4TH DECEMBER

        10AM TILL 11.30PM

We have the litter pickers, we have the bags, all we need is the manpower. This is our last chance to get all the windblown litter that the spring shrub growth will cover.

Meet at the Lodge.(Under 16 must be accompanied by an adult) 

Stout shoes and gloves recommended.

Remembrance Service 2022

What an amazing turn out we had today for this annual Remembrance Service. Our new Bugler did us proud and so did the Flag Bearers from all three sections of 148th St Dunstans Scout Group. We were privileged to have an increased number of organisations laying wreaths this year.

  • Local area City Councillor
  • BCC Cemetery Staff
  • West Midlands Police Local Neighbourhood Team
  • West Midlands Fire Service Heritage Group
  • A representative of the local Freemasons Lodge
  • The Gallipoli Association
  • Representatives of the local Mercian Regiment
  • Representative of the Catholic Womens League
  • FBEC
  • Representatives of 148th St Dunstans Scouts, Cubs and Beavers.

This link will take you to our photo album, where I have tried to incorporate all the photographs shared to our ‘facebook’ page by those who attended, as I know many of you won’t have access to these.  I have also included a few below.

Despite this being a solemn occasion, there was great interest after the service in the helmet of one of our wreath layers!

Our thanks to everyone that attended, especially to those that travelled a distance.

 

‘Planters’ get ready for the Winter.

You may remember that the Friends were lucky enough to receive 3 community made planters complete with Wildflowers that we positioned near the Lodge and notice boards. We did get some wildflowers but were disappointed with the display.

A small team of volunteers have taken over the maintenance of these planters and today they were all emptied of the unsuitable soil and refilled with a better quality compost. (Not an easy job)

They are now ready for their Winter planting, so keep an eye out to see what appears. Our thanks again to Brightening Brandwood for providing the planters.

Last tidy up of 2022

Those of you that follow FBEC and the cemetery will know that we have been waging war on the advancing areas of Holly, Ivy and general shrubbery that got a strong hold in the cemetery during Covid. Last months tidy up was very successful so we are trying to squeeze a final assault before Winter sets in. Most of this clearance must be done now as the Spring heralds the nesting season and we want to leave shrubbery, especially Ivy, undisturbed. Pop in for as long as you like and give a hand. Stout footwear and gloves if possible. Bring your own tools if you wish but we have loppers and other items.

The Holly and the Ivy !

A few weeks ago Josie Wall, and the Friends, put a shout out for help to remove acres of Holly that were taking over many areas of the cemetery- especially the main drive. Little did we know that 20+ people would turn up and spent hours clearing such a mountain of Holly and some Ivy !. Josie is showing the scale of one of the two piles volunteers removed.

The effect was obvious after 30 minutes, but 3 hours later it was amazing. The photograph above is a before. The one below is the same space afterwards.

 

Thank you all, The community stands up and shows its commitment yet again. We hope to do this again in November, which will probably be our last chance this side of Christmas. Watch this space.

Grave Gardeners Volunteer Day.

If you can spare even an hour on the 15th please come along and help- anytime between 11am and 2pm. Stout footwear and gardening gloves if you have them, but we do have tools and some heavy-duty gloves. Many of the graves have no living relatives to visit and help clear self-set shrubs and trees, so we are hoping to be able to make a difference. This is always a rewarding experience as you can see the impact you make as graves ‘appear’ from the shrubbery.  Brandwood End is a 53 acre site and has been used for burials since 1899. The days of 20+ on site Gardeners (as there used to be) have gone so we need to encourage community help with this never ending battle.