Thank you to Scouts from Colmore Group for boosting our litter pick numbers. Over 20 bags of mainly flower paper and old windblown artificial flowers were collected from around the cemetery. PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU FIX ALL TRIBUTES SECURELY AND REMOVE FLOWER PAPER. Thank you.
The Friends of Brandwood End Cemetery celebrate the cemetery all year round as a calm and peaceful place to visit but this week is a special week to ask everyone to remember their local cemetery and maybe pay a visit as part of NATIONAL CEMETERIES WEEK. Cemeteries may be well kept or they may be neglected. Nationally many will have Friends groups, some will not. Wherever they are they will be especially celebrated this week and so will all the paid and volunteer staff that work within them.
This Sunday, the 8th June, our Grave Gardeners will be meeting by the Lodge at 11am to continue their work in Brandwood End. They meet every month and, along with corporate groups, they strive to keep Brandwood looking loved and cared for. It’s a 53 acre site so progress is sometimes slow and not evident but we assure you we are all working hard to make this space welcoming.
Join the Friends of Dawberry Fields Park for a great fun day where all the local community groups will come together. The Friends of Brandwood End Cemetery are members of Brandwood Buzz which encourages people to visit events, sites, shops, businesses, open spaces in the Brandwood area and volunteer in the area as well. Brandwood has so much to offer . FBEC will be at this event to answer your questions and spread the word about our beautiful cemetery which offers so much peace and quiet to help restore mind and body.
This Sunday the 1st June we will have our early Summer LITTER PICK. Meet by the Lodge at 10am. We will be on site till 11.30am but how long you stay is up to you. Why not come along and enjoy a peaceful walk in this amazing green peaceful space.?
We provide the bags and pickers but suggest you may want to bring your own gloves.
Stout footwear and suitable outer clothing is advisable and children are welcome but under 16’s will need to be accompanied by an adult.
Our hearts are heavy this afternoon as, with many other people, we pause to remember Nick Booth, who was a friend to FBEC from our inception. Nick passed away a few weeks ago in a tragic accident at home but will be remembered by many this afternoon at an event at Castle Bromwich Historic Gardens.
Nick worked with FBEC on the design of our web site and has remained, via his company Podnosh, as the host of the site. He has been our ‘go to person’ for anything computer related and has held our hands through many technical panics over the years !
Not only was he a supporter but he was also a friend to many of us and we have shared many breakfasts and cups of coffee at less formal meetings in local cafes and tea rooms.
We will all miss you Nick. Your helpful advice and your ever ready smile.
A last minute visit by four employees of Deutsche Bank meant that we were able to clear an area at the back of Section 14 yesterday. Our thanks to Steven and Malcolm, who help organise the areas cleared and cheer the volunteers on, and also to Gill who helps provide refreshments (Always arriving with extra biscuits)
Before and after photographs show how hard they worked
The Friends have designed 4 measured and timed walks in the cemetery to suit all fitness levels.. You can run, jog , walk or amble. Whichever suits you (times are geared for walkers)
To see where they lead and how long they take, click on this link.
Enjoy the trees, monuments, bird song and peace that Brandwood End Cemetery offers.
During Heritage Open Week in September we will be holding an event that will add an additional dimension to one of these walks. Watch this space.
As part of our 20th Anniversary celebrations we are undertaking a project to photograph all the gravestones in Section 16 as we are concerned at the speed with which they are deteriorating. Each headstone/memorial will be photographed and inscriptions recorded for future generations who may be seeking relatives. If you want to assist please e mail us at friendsofbec@gmail.com and one of our committee members will be in touch. We hope to extend this to other sections of the cemetery.
One or two people were concerned as the ashes memorial plots had nearly all been purchased. The good news is that another area has now been developed.
Gardening Volunteers from FBEC had a fantastic morning in the sunshine with Laura and her helpers from Fruit and Nut Village. They kindly donated 5 trees,( 3 Hazels and 2 Walnuts) to kick off our 20th Anniversary Tree Planting project. Our aim is to try and plant an minimum of 15 trees in the cemetery to replace 21 lost in recent storms. The tree stock has been depleted by over 150 in the last few years due to storms, disease and general age and as most of the cemetery was planted up over 125 years ago we can expect to lose many more in the next few years. We have raised over £4000 already but need to get to £6000 to complete the project next Autumn.
If you would like to see some of our planting photographs from today then follow this link.
