Whatever you are celebrating – be it Passover, Easter or simply spring – stay as well and as safe as possible and may you always receive the special blessing that comes with the love and support of family, friends and neighbours – we are thinking of you all.
In these unusual times we are thinking of our friends at 202 Field Hospital, as we are sure they will be in the front line and busy!!
For the last couple of years we have enjoyed working with them in the cemetery as they helped clear graves of shrubbery and place poppy crosses. We hope they all keep safe.
All our members should receive an invitation to renew their membership of FBEC this week. Those on e mail should have received them today, plus a copy of our latest Newsletter. Postal invites will follow but may take longer to arrive in these unusual times. Maybe a good time to arrange your renewal via standing order with your bank?
Remember, if you have not joined FBEC yet, we do need your support. Keep safe-
Funerals are still happening in Brandwood End but under the strict supervision of Bereavement Ground Staff. Unfortunately there is a restriction on the number of mourners that can attend, agreed nationally, to comply with safe distancing policy. This is a sad time for all communities, but even more so for members of some religious groups that have specific demands surrounding the loss of a loved one. Our thoughts are with you all.
Those of you that live local to the cemetery will have heard the recent chain saw buzz emanating from the grounds.
If you follow our posts you will know that the recent storms resulted in the felling of a number of large trees in the cemetery and all that remained of them was, generally, what you see above.
Taking advantage of emptiness of the cemetery quite a lot of work has been happening that Health and Safety would not have allowed whilst members of the public were around. One such job has been the removal of these stumps. (Hence the chain saw noise).
Ground staff are still at work in Brandwood End.
As part of our campaign to keep this page interesting, now we have no access to the cemetery, here are a few unusual headstones and memorials we have spotted in Brandwood End.
One of the avid contributors to our facebook site is Gary Staples. His photographs are always amazing. I am sure he won’t mind if I share this one.
This is a time when we will not be able to bring you much news about the cemetery or any up to date photos, due to its closure due to Covid19 BUT we would like to ask you all to help us fill the void.
If you think you have any interesting photos you may have taken when access was available and are happy to share them, please e mail them to us at friendsofbec@gmail.com
We are also interested to see any historic photographs you may have or interesting information about those buried within the cemetery that we can share.
It is such a shame that we are all not able to access this beautiful open space but for safety reasons that will not be allowed for some time so lets see if we can raise peoples spirits with some interesting and unusual photographs and tales.
In common with many organisations FBEC will not be able to hold its AGM in April. Members will receive their invitation to renew their membership and a report from the Chairman with the latest Newsletter in the next few weeks by e mail or post.
Our Annual Accounts will be published on this web site as soon as the current situation allows, but at present we are not able to get them independently audited.
Our existing committee have agreed to stand until the 2021 AGM.
In view of the current situation it would be helpful if members could renew their subscription by standing order, which they need to set up themselves at their bank, as cheques may not be banked for some period due to restrictions. Details are on the renewal form. Please quote your surname as the reference.
‘Access to all cemeteries and crematoria in Birmingham will be closed to the public. This is due to an increased number of people that have been congregating at cemeteries in groups and the need to observe social distancing.’
The above statement was published on the City Council web site today. Our apologies for not advising our supporters sooner but we were not informed of this decision. We were therefore unable to post a warning and I am afraid the first we knew was when a number of posts appeared on Facebook.
This is such a shame as this is normally such a quiet place for contemplation and reflection. We would have thought this was an ideal place for people to exercise, as it is a 53 acre site and very easy to find a solitary area.
There are more details about funerals, burials and cremations on the BCC web site.