It is that time of year again and yesterday my wife and I put up the Christmas Tree and decorations what a fabulous time of year. We have just been to Winter Wonderland and seen beekeeping stalls over there and so that has been my inspiration! It again got me thinking about what gifts you could buy a Beekeeper. Having looked around there seems so many different ideas that I felt I had to write a small blog about it. Therefore here are my ideas for beekeeping gifts this Christmas:Read the rest of this entry »
I was very fortunate this week to be a part of a wonderful event at The Lancaster Hotel in London; The London Honey
The London Honey Show at the Lancaster Hotel
Show. Famed for being the first hotel in London, if not the UK for keeping bees on the roof this seemed a very apt location and WOW, what a success.
The room from start to finish was filled with people and Jo and her team got it spot on with a healthy mix of exhibitors and excellent speakers - though sadly I missed every single one of them and so am going on 3rd party reviews all of which were excellent. Of particular note was that of Tim Baker, a Head Master who has encouraged his school to take up beekeeping with superb results; more on that later. Read the rest of this entry »
Tomorrow morning it all gets a little bit more serious. To date I have been called a good for nothing “Bee Minder” and tomorrow I have the chance to become a (good for nothing) “Beekeeper”. A long held aspiration that will culminate in me taking the Basic Beekeeping exam. But here I am 24hrs before it is due and I wonder just what on earth I should be doing!
Here is some advice that I have received from some of my friendly beekeeping contacts – some useful and some most definitely not!
Pray – Suzy, UK
Hope that the examiner is a little blind – Stephen, Utah
I count myself very lucky as recently I got the opportunity to give Charlie Dimmock a crash course in becoming a beekeeper and filmed it all for a DVD. It was great fun and a remarkable amount was covered in a short time but given the time of year we managed to cover, swarming, honey extraction, the history of beekeeping, diseases, managing a hive, equipment you may need to become a beekeeper and, quite simply, the how much fun it is to keep them!
Some pictures are below of the filmcrew who were a great bunch so my thanks to Jennie, Mat, Ryan, Steve, Camila and Hugo for a great time.
Hope I didn’t put her off beekeeping but the DVD is out at the end of the summer should any of you want to buy a copy of it.
[google1] So the time has come. I have been keeping bees for a while and peer pressure has stepped in. The talk around the local association is now about taking beekeeping qualifications. This apparently seperates off the beeminders and the beekeepers and obviously I want to be included in the cool group; the latter
Little huddles of soon to be beekeepers are in one corner of the apairy and the individuals that are left over just mill around looking a little lost. I have decided now is the time that I need to step up to the plate and join the real beekeepers and take a simple qualification and be accepted as “one of them”! Read the rest of this entry »
Okay, so they can cost anywhere from £40 for a days course or over a £100 for a 10 week course, but are beekeeping courses worth it?
As many of you who follow this blog know, I initially thought that beekeepers were a certain breed of people and I was a little unsure about joining the party. I felt I would suddenly put on a few inches around the waist, be forced to grow a beard, drink ale (or occasionly cider) and have to start morris dancing as another hobby. I was pleasently surprised by the course I attended in that none of the above was mandatory and so I attended with vigor. What did I learn? Read the rest of this entry »
what a fabulous time of year. We have just been to Winter Wonderland and seen beekeeping stalls over there and so that has been my inspiration! It again got me thinking about what gifts you could buy a Beekeeper. Having looked around there seems so many different ideas that I felt I had to write a small blog about it. Therefore here are my ideas for beekeeping gifts this Christmas: Read the rest of this entry »
