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

This month's newsletter is a little late because Sue and I have been back to Kerala for our winter holiday. We again had a wonderful time: we visited beekeepers that we met last year and some new ones, a honey co-operative that handles 250,000kg of honey a year, cardamom plantations and research stations. We saw five species of honeybee - A. dorsata, cerana, florea, mellifera and Trigona. I also lectured to scientists and development officers at the research station and was invited to give the keynote address at a seminar at Kerala Agricultural University. Add wonderful scenery, wildlife reserves, beautiful sandy beaches, warm seas and excellent food - you will not be surprised that we were reluctant to come home! Now I again have some work to do with the hundreds of photographs!
Peter Edwards

The Warwick and Leamington branch of the Warwickshire Association are running an 8 week course to be held on Thursday evenings starting 17 March (excluding 24th) at a venue to be decided in Leamington. No previous experience is assumed. There will be a charge of £15, and the course will finish with hands-on experience. Please contact me as soon as possible if you are interested.

Also Hartpury College near Gloucester are running a number of beekeeping courses, with 'Introduction to Beekeeping' on 2-3 April or 11-12 June, cost £80, and 'Beekeeping for All' on 11 April or 18 July for 5 days, cost £130. Telephone 01452 702133. They also hold a follow-on course 'Beekeeping Improvers', as well as other more advanced 1 day courses.

At Worcester Martyn and Cheryl Cracknell, 01386 462385, are holding a course entitled 'Practical Beekeeping', on eight Wednesday evenings and two Saturday mornings, at a cost of £65. This started 12 January.

We also, of course, hold our own meetings on fourth Sunday each month at the Association's apiary, starting in April, when we hope to encourage hands-on participation by those new to beekeeping.
Mike Osborne

Congratulations to Will Spencer who won the prize for the Christmas Crossword.

Nine months ago I applied for a form to enable us to provide better facilities at Hampton Wood. I received a questionnaire on seven foolscap pages requiring detailed answers to all questions and references from an independent referee and a senior member of the Association. I nearly didn't bother. Mr AWM Love, an ex-mayor of Stratford, kindly agreed to be the referee and Mike Osborne our senior contact. Some questions asked for too much detail, for example:- How many people will benefit from the project divided between White, Mixed Asian or Asian British, Black or Black British, Chinese or other ethnic group? I said we would welcome people of any race who showed and interest. However to cut a long story short we were successful and were awarded £5000. This must be spent by the middle of October 2005 and receipts produced for all items purchased. We also have to account for the type of item purchased which must be relevant to beekeeping and as per a detailed list.
Ron French

Early in August, we had a series of thunderstorms. One particular day my daughter was visiting with her children. She was preparing to leave when I happened to glance out of the window. The horizon was dark black broken by vivid flashes of lightening from an approaching storm. She quickly loaded the children into the car and left. I decided to beat the storm and clear away the grandchildren's toys from the garden. Reaching the top of the garden, I happened to glance at my hive. The front of the hive was covered with hundreds of bees frantically trying to get into the hive through the restricted entrance. More bees were flying into land in what I can only describe as panic. I am used to bees flying quickly, particularly when there is a nectar flow. I can only describe the speed of the returning bees as like a bullet. The storm when it arrived was extreme. It was proceeded by a gale force wind, which ripped leaves and branches from the trees. Next came the rain, which was like waterfall accompanied by vivid flashes of lightening and loud crashes of thunder. A few days later there was another storm - not as bad and the bees did not react to the same extent. How did the bees detect the severity of the first storm? I have never seen my bees react in such an extreme manner!
Geoffrey Bywaters

At the beginning of last year I took over the job of Swarm Liaison Officer after many years of sterling work by Mrs. Donley. Members of the general public bothered by a swarm of bees ring me up hoping that I can organise someone to collect them, having usually got my phone number from the local council, the police or, less often from our website. I make a note of all relevant details, such as are they really honey bees, where are they, how urgent is the problem, etc. I then contact one of our members, usually from the list that I have of those willing to collect swarms, and ask them to help.

Starting with the first call on 24^th April I logged 89 calls, with the last one on 1^st September, including one from Surrey and another from Hemel Hempstead! This is not including at least a dozen concerned with wasps during July and August, but does include 11 requesting help with bumblebees. When it is the latter, whilst explaining that we can’t really help, I do spend some time advising on the best course of action. In fact quite a bit of time is spent talking to people about bees in general and their habits.

The worst problem is dealing with swarms that have taken up residence in various parts of people's houses, such as air vents, chimneys and under the fascia boards. In one case the bees were into the wattle-and-daub of a timber-framed house. In circumstances such as these I usually managed to persuade them to leave the bees alone and learn to live with them. When in a chimney the normal advice is to light a fire and smoke them out before they get settled. Having told one lady this, she was back on the phone a few hours later. Yes, great, they had all come out, buzzed around for a bit, and then gone into the adjacent chimney, for which the fireplace had unfortunately been blocked up! She agreed that they would put up with them, rather than unblock the chimney. At least, most people are anxious that the bees are not harmed. The exception is the occasional builder/developer who wants the bees gone regardless, so that his men can get on with their work.

Remember all the hours that you spent extracting honey? Then you will envy the family who boarded over their loft space to provide an extra bedroom and a swarm moved in between the tiles and their nice new ceiling. After a particularly hot spell a stain appeared on the ceiling and a sticky liquid began to run down the light wiring, which, of course turned out to be honey. The suggestion of how fortunate they were and they should just stick a bucket under it, having initially been received with some scepticism, was what they ended up doing, with the intention of blocking up all roof access during the winter.

What being Swarm Liaison Officer makes one realise is how important it is for us to minimise swarming. In many cases people, particularly with children, rang up in some distress, and those beekeepers who are quite happy to let their bees swarm every year, to become someone else’s problem, should remember this. I do have a list of where every call came from, with the majority being from the Stratford town area. Whilst it is too long to publish this in detail, it is interesting to note those places with repeated calls. We shall see if it is the same areas this year!
Moira Osborne

This years meeting was more eventful than the previous ones that I have attended.

• The proposed DEFRA cuts in the Bee Health Budget have prompted more than one thousand letters from beekeepers to their MPs and Ministers. A further meeting between BBKA, CONBA, BDI, Bee Farmers and DEFRA is scheduled for 14th February. One delegate suggested that Peter Edwards' excellent letter in Bee Craft should be sent to the Minister responsible for beekeeping. [It was sent to Lord Whitty via our MP, John Maples - and produced a somewhat predictable response! PE]
• Delegates expressed grave concerns that the Members' Register had been set up and mismanaged by the BBKA Executive. The Executive explained that the company that undertook the work had not presented an invoice for three years and when it was received it was for £16,000. This has been negotiated down to £11,000 - but only £2,000 had been set aside for this work, which was obviously insufficient. The balance has been paid by BBKA Enterprises. Administration and management of the Register has now been brought in-house.
• The roof of the National Beekeeping Centre has been leaking during heavy storms; this is due to a design fault. Tenders of approximately £45,000 have been accepted and work is due to be completed by the end of March; two thirds of the costs will be paid for out of the reserves.
• The Chairman presented certificates of Honorary Membership to Ron and Joyce Latham (for over 20 years service on the Royal Show Working Party), Ian Preece (Past President) and Peter Spencer (past General Secretary). This honour is given for exceptional service to Beekeeping and the work of the British Beekeepers' Association.
• I was personally pleased to see the proposition from the Devon Beekeepers' Association carried: they proposed a feasibility study on the development of a national queen rearing registration project. The study will include an investigation of funding, breeding objectives, quality control and record keeping. The aim of the proposal is to avoid the necessity of importing queens and thereby reduce the risk of importing disease, mites, viruses etc.
  Terry Hitchman