Hon. Newsletter Editor:
Peter Edwards
E-mail: beekeepers@stratford-upon-avon.freeserve.co.uk

Many of you will be aware that our President, Michael Helps, has been unable to attend Association meetings this year due to ill health and, as a result, feels unable to contribute his usual Christmas message. We have missed his presence and I am sure you will all join me in wishing Michael a speedy recovery and good health to Michael and Julie for the future.

Now that Christmas is almost upon us and we approach the end of another successful year for SBKA, both in terms of the programme of events provided for members and financially, we can reflect on the past and look forward to the future.

This year looked like being another bumper year for honey yields - until the rains arrived at the end of June. Those of us who went to the heather received little reward for our efforts, but I think it is fair to say that most colonies have gone into the winter in good condition, with plenty of stores. The main problem this year was the plague of wasps that tried to attack our hives and, in some cases, succeeded in decimating whole colonies.

The Honey Show was again a success and our thanks are due to Mike and Moira Osborne for their work as show secretaries. Congratulations are due to Will Spencer who has had another successful year showing his honey etc., winning the Waldron Trophy and Challenge Cup at the SBKA show, the Challenge Cup at the Royal Show and also winning prize cards at the National.

With the Government threat of 20% proposed cuts to the Bee Health Programme, pyrethroid resistant varroa mites and the predicted imminent arrival of the small hive beetle, it would be easy to become despondent about the future of beekeeping. However, I am confident that these are all challenges that we are capable of dealing with, if and when they arrive in our area.

On a more positive note, I am sure you will have seen the exciting press coverage about our lottery grant, with committee member Ron French's picture in most of the local papers and a local radio interview as well. The successful application for a £5000 grant from The Lottery Awards for All Scheme was due to Ron's outstanding work in preparing the bid with the support of Brian, our Apiary Manager, and the rest of the Committee.

The success of our lottery application will inevitably mean that the committee will need to devote more of their time to implementing the proposed improvements to our Apiary facilities, attracting new members and improving the service provided to our members.

We face many challenges in 2005 - but I am sure that we will rise to those challenges and that SBKA will continue to develop and improve. We are fortunate to have an active and enthusiastic committee and I am sure that members would wish to join me in thanking all our office holders and committee members for the work that they have put into planning and organizing the running of SBKA during 2004.

Mary and I wish you all a happy Christmas and successful beekeeping in 2005.
Terry Hitchman

Around twenty Stratford members and friends attended the annual skittles match with Shipston Beekeepers at the Lygon Arms. It was a very pleasant evening, with excellent food, fine ale and good company - and we also played skittles!

As usual, Stratford played a great strategic game. Knowing that it was Shipston's turn to win, we first established our superiority by winning round one. Having done that, we allowed them to draw level by the end of the second round, so that it appeared that it was a close contest. Then, we very sportingly allowed them to win the third round by 12 points. Of course, our treasurer had to let the side down by winning the prize for the highest score! Somehow, we also allowed Shipston to win most of the raffle prizes - but I am not sure how we managed to fix that! Our turn next year.
Peter Edwards

14 members attended the AGM held on 12 November. This included a report by the Treasurer, of which everyone has been sent a copy, and the election of officers for the coming year. There were no new nominations for the Committee so, having established each persons willingness to stand, the Committee was re-elected en bloc, with no change of functions. Mike Helps continues as our President.

The Secretary gave his annual report on the Association. This touched on the adverse effects of the summer’s wet weather, despite which our apiary made a good contribution to our funds by producing about 300lbs of honey. If it was not for the efforts put in by a few members at the Apiary, particularly Brian, our Apiary Manager, we should all be paying a considerably greater subscription. As already reported, this has again remained unaltered at £16.00 and thanks must go to Will Spencer for his efforts. Membership remained static at around 44. The year’s events and talks were as interesting and entertaining as ever, the only regret being that more members do not attend them. These are regularly reported on in the Newsletter, thanks to Peter Edwards, who also does such an excellent job with our website. The Newsletter has received contributions from several members during the year and it is to be hoped that this increases. Varroa seems to be under control in our area and the continued absence of AFB and EFB is welcome after the scare of a couple of years ago.

Of particular interest to those attending the AGM was the report from Ron French, who during the year has been negotiating for a National Lottery grant. A grant of £5,000 has finally been obtained, as some of you may have read in the local papers. This will mainly be spent on improved facilities and equipment at our apiary in Hampton Wood.

The possibility of a reduced subscription for the few members who join despite having no bees was discussed at the meeting. Those present seemed in favour of this and its application is to be seriously considered by the Committee. It was also agreed that the Secretary should write to our local MP to draw his attention to the drastic effect on beekeeping that the proposed cuts in funding for the National Bee Unit could have. Comments received from members with their subscription forms included the need for better organisation of the monthly apiary meetings, a programme of queen rearing by the Association and the holding of our Annual Honey Show at a different place and/or time to attract a wider audience, e.g. in conjunction with a local flower show or at a local nursery. It was gratifying to receive these, as feedback from our members is a rare event, and the Committee will look carefully at them all.
Mike Osborne

September 30th was my 65th birthday and I decided that Sheila and I would go out to lunch. I decided to go to The Butchers Arms at Priors Hardwick (very good if a little pricey). When we pulled up in the car park opposite the restaurant I noticed a dozen (I have not gone metric) or so white painted WBC/Cottager hives. All appeared to be occupied with varying degrees of activity. On entering the restaurant we were greeted by the Portuguese owner Leno who showed us to a table. During the course of a short conversation I asked if the hives were his, which he confirmed. Like many people he had a difficult year losing 6 stocks through the winter and had a pitiful honey crop. He had started his beekeeping in Portugal. Like me he had learned his beekeeping at school some 45 years ago (his father was terrified of bees!). Hives he said were made of cork, which was carefully cut from the tree in strips. The wet cork was then flattened with weights and left to dry. The cork was then cut and made into a tall one-piece hive with a lid. The interior of the hive was divided up into three levels by support rods. A swarm would then be caught and run into the hive and left to its own devices. At the end of the season the lid would be removed. Burning dried cow dung smoke was then blown by mouth using a pipe, into the top of the hive. This acrid smoke would drive the bees to the bottom of the hive. An implement like a very large hive tool with the bent end enlarged (which he went and fetched and showed us) was used to scoop the comb with any honey from the top third of the hive. The sticky mixture was filtered. The honey bottled and the wax rendered. The lower two thirds of the combs would still be supported by the intermediate rods. The honey in these was hopefully enough to see the bees through the winter. This was obviously better than the old English method of killing the bees as you were retaining you best stocks. Our thoughts then returned to our lunch.
Geoffrey Bywaters

Most beekeepers probably have an interest in wildlife that goes well beyond honeybees. Certainly, Sue and I get great pleasure from the number of birds that we see in, or from, our garden - 47 species so far! We also have a couple of nestboxes that are occupied on a regular basis and often thought that we should put up some more - but never seemed to get around to it.

At the Rural Skills Open Day at Charlecote in March, I was looking at the bat boxes on the FWAG stand and in conversation learned that they were made in Stratford at the Loft Workshop, where they also make and supply bird boxes. The Loft was set up in June 1999 to help people who are experiencing or recovering from mental illness and is a charity managed by the Stratford CVS and Volunteer Bureaux. Although set up to renovate donated furniture for those on a low income who have a genuine need, they also make and sell small items of garden furniture like bird boxes. Timber is all donated by local companies and the standard of construction is very good. Boxes suitable for robins, sparrows, blue or great tits etc. are very reasonably priced at £5, but this is discounted to £3.50 if you buy six. I bought the six - but passed on the owl box (30"x30"x8"!) - and blue tits moved into one of them the day after they were put up. Apparently, birds look for potential nesting sites long before the breeding season (our blue and great tits are already investigating likely looking holes), so why not put up some boxes now so that they have time to weather a bit, ready for next spring.

The Loft is at the end of Avenue Farm Road, inside the Council Yard on the left-hand side, and is open 9am-1pm Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Telephone 01789 297907. Website: www.stratfordvbx.org.uk.
Peter Edwards

We have already commented on old WBCs being done up and sold at garden centres for prices in the region of £100. However, at the recent 'Antiques for Everyone' show at the NEC, I spotted a WBC hive among the supposed antiques. It was a straight-sided version, apparently circa 1900. Its cost was £225, and that was without bees!
Mike Osborne

Following my note on Follicel in the September newsletter, John Mace tells me that he has used Follicel this year with very good results. His crop from 7 colonies has increased from a rather disastrous 50lbs last year to a very respectable 400lbs. However, he was surprised to see the queen being groomed by workers outside the hive after the treatment! On the next day he found many mites on the flight board - presumably carried there by workers.

Follicel is sold under the trade name 'Exorsect' for mite treatment and is applied by diluting with water and then spraying.
Peter Edwards

3. Glands that secrete hormones (9)
8. Main material of a Waldron queen excluder (4)
9. Author of Anatomy and Physiology of the Honeybee (9)
10. Hydrocarbon with formula C₂H₆ (6)
11. Nationality of Rev J G Digges (5)
14. Indigenous race of New Zealand (5)
15. River that joins the Severn just below Worcester (4)
16. Unwelcome in honey containers (5)
18. A tiny part of a tomato (4)
20. Beekeeping, for instance (5)
21. Jill, of happy memory on TV (5)
24. Item of clothing, especially in Malaysia (6)
25. Not a welcome activity for a swarm (9)
26. Rastellum is its Latin name (4)
27. Smoker fuel, perhaps? (9)

1. Class 16 in our honey show (5,4)
2. A member of the most extensive phylum (9)
4. River that flows through Peterborough (4)
5. A division of the Insect class (5)
6. The most uncommon form of raster (6)
7. Liverpool University's botanic gardens, NW of Chester (4)
9. "Creeping like..... , unwillingly to school" (As You Like It) (5)
11. The final stage of a bee's metamorphosis (5)
12. Beekeepers' favourite shape? (9)
13. Author of Handy Book of Bees (1881) (9)
17. Neck of lamb, usually stewed (5)
19. Plunder found in Braemar audiences (6)
22. "and in the ..... be praise" (J H Newman) (5)
23. Celsius equivalent of 32ºF (4)
24. This dragon is seen in many gardens (4)

Completed entries should be submitted to Denis Keyte, Sunnybank, Alcester Road, Wootton Wawen, Henley-in-Arden, B95 6BH.

The member with the first correct entry drawn at the committee meeting in January will win a copy of 'The Beekeeper's Annual'.