Category: Friends of Brandwood End Cemetery

Act of Remembrance within Brandwood End Cemetery

Remembrance Service at Brandwood End Cemetery

You are invited to join Friends of Brandwood End Cemetery in a short Act of Remembrance in Brandwood End Cemetery on Sunday 10th November 2013.

Please meet at the Cross of Sacrifice on the main drive at 10.45am  for a brief address by David Fairbotham, Deacon of St Dunstans Church, Kings Heath followed by 2 minutes silence at 11am and the laying of wreaths by Councillor Barry Henley and other local organisations.

Please note that there will be no access along the main drive from the Chapels to the Broad Lane gate from 10.45 to 11.15 whilst the Service is taking place. All other roads within the cemetery remain open. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.

 

Grave Walk at St Nicolas, Kings Norton – 9th November

St Nicolas, Kings Norton

Grave Walk with Steve Wright on Saturday November 9th
On the day before Remembrance Sunday why not join the Friends of Brandwood End Cemetery as we explore the history of St Nicolas’ Graveyard in Kings Norton?
Meet 11am at the Lych Gate of St. Nicolas Place, Kings Norton Green. The walk will last about an hour, depending on numbers, and questions. Please come appropriately dressed – and just turn up.   No charge!
NB.This coincides with a Farmer’s Market day; the market usually has a number of stalls with hot food and drinks.  We believe parking in the pub car park is free on market days, but please check.

We need your support – and it won’t cost much (possibly just a stamp!)

Birmingham Mail WishThe Friends of Brandwood End Cemetery, like many other groups in Birmingham, have been short listed as an organisation to receive a share of £25,000 from the Birmingham Post and Mail 2013 WISH Campaign.

To get our hands on our share of this fund we need YOU to collect the tokens that will appear in the Birmingham Mail every day from Tuesday 1st October to Saturday 30th November 2013. The more tokens we collect, the larger the share of this fund we will receive.

PLEASE cut out these tokens and post your pile to us at  FBEC c/o Julian Pritchard (Treasurer) The Lakeside Centre, Lifford Lane, Kings Norton, Birmingham, B30 3NU.

Memorial GardenThe Friends of Brandwood End Cemetery are all volunteers and we constantly need to raise money to help us carry out every  project we work on within the cemetery. This is a way you can help without actually providing cash.   Tell your family, tell your friends.  Buy the Birmingham Mail for a few weeks to help us all achieve goals within this beautiful cemetery.

PLEASE SHARE THIS POST AS EVERY LITTLE WILL HELP US!

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?

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.

 

Safety measures completed.

Some time ago we reported the concern of members that the exit from the Broad Lane gate of the cemetery was potentially dangerous as there was no pavement and you stepped into fast moving traffic. FBEC  arranged with local Councillors to have the road marked outside both the public and the Jewish gates, to warn vehicles that there were  hidden exits within the hedge line.

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Following our request to the Cemetery Superintendent we are pleased to say that a warning sign has been placed close to the exit so all pedestrians are now aware of the danger. Our thanks go to those who drew this to our attention and also for the assistance of the local Councillor and Bereavements staff for addressing this issue

Local community activity event -17 August

The Friends of Jasmin Fields Nature Reserve, supported by New Vision, are holding a local event to encourage residents to become members of local Friends Groups and support their community.  The event will run from 11am till 1pm on Saturday the 17th August on the main field area of Jasmin Fields, which can be accessed from Jasmin Croft or Bayston Rd, Kings Heath.

Misc 013The Friends of Brandwood End Cemetery will be at the event to encourage people to support their cause, along with other local groups.

The Neighbourhood Policing Team will be security marking bikes and running repairs will be available from ‘Bike Fixers’

The Ranger service will be stream dipping and bug hunting and members of Jasmin Fields Friends will be leading a walk around the site and the canal area.  If you want to be sporty, Billesley Tennis Centre will be holding some activities and there will be various crafts for children to get involved in. There will also be a wood carver demonstrating her skills. Hopefully lots of local people will attend and all our groups will benefit from new members.

Local school children enjoy the cemetery trees!

Before the end of the summer term, pupils from Woodthorpe Junior and Infant school joined members of the Friends to investigate our ‘Tree Walk’ as part of their ECO week. The pupils, accompanied by members of staff, collected leaves and cones and did leaf and bark rubbings.20130722_111804 The school hopes to be working with us again in the Autumn term on a number of small projects. Woodthorpe has a newly instated Forest School area and a keen ECO group and the children were very enthusiastic and entered into the spirit of the activity despite occasional slight drizzle.

Is your membership up to date?

News IconFollowing the resignation of my mother Anne Courbet both as Chairman and Membership Secretary I am delighted to have taken on the role of Membership Secretary.  Jane Edwards, a long standing Committee Member and Secretary, is our new Chairman and we are very lucky to have her as her efforts to improve the Cemetery are relentless.  I have updated all our membership forms so you can now contact me directly and send me your subscriptions for this year. Our latest newsletter, Issue 16, has just been published but it is only available to paid up members so please get your subscriptions in now and I will send you the latest news!

If you are happy to receive your newsletter via email we would be very grateful as each mailing now costs 50p in postage, and that’s without the printing and stationery.

I look forward to getting to know you and your views and look forward to hearing from you – particularly if you have subs to pay..