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

I am afraid that we were both outplayed and outnumbered at the skittles match with Shipston at the end of November; despite the fact that they are a much smaller association, we had to borrow players from them to balance the teams. However, we all had a very enjoyable evening with an excellent meal. Our thanks to Shipston for organising the match.

We fielded two teams of four for the quiz night in early December and I am delighted to be able to report that team B (an appropriate letter!), consisting of Mike and Moira Osborne, Will Spencer and myself, managed to carry off the coveted quiz trophy by one point!

The quiz was very professionally constructed by Celia Davies and Bernard Diaper and had eight sections with a total of 72 questions. I have to say that we started rather slowly and wished that we had paid a little more attention to recent events - can you remember the name of Princess Anne's dog that landed her in court? (Answer at the end). However, we scored particularly well on beekeeping and the matching plants with their Latin names - and we played our joker well.

Our thanks to Celia, Bernard and the rest of the Warwickshire team for a very enjoyable evening.

Solihull Branch have kindly invited beekeepers, their families and friends to join them for their March meeting at Blooms of Bressingham (formerly Jardinière), Kenilworth Road, Hampton-in-Arden, between Stonebridge Island and Balsall Common. The meeting is on Monday March 10th at 7.30pm and a talk will be given by an expert on Seasonal Gardening. Refreshments will be available.

If you would like to come it is essential that you inform Val Parry, Secretary Solihull BKA, by February 25th. Tel: 01564 777257.

Sue and I like to eat al fresco whenever possible, whether it is Sunday morning breakfast with croissants, toast, a selection of honeys, home-made marmalade and a good pot of coffee, or lingering over an evening meal and an ice-cold bottle of wine.

Last summer I often enjoyed rather more humble picnics whilst out working the bees, trying to find a good spot to sit and watch them working whilst I ate my lunch. However, it was very noticeable that there are few sites, even those well off-road, where traffic noise does not intrude.

We continued the picnic theme on Christmas day this year, eating a cold turkey salad with all the trimmings and a bottle of bubbly on a picnic bench overlooking the Solent. I have to say that it was not really traditional picnic weather, but this did not seem to bother our 20-month-old grandson, although it did provoke the remark 'Beware of the Edwards women' from our son-in law! (The 'Edwards women' each claimed that it was the other's idea!).

We had not visited the Shakespeare properties since shortly after we moved here in the early 1970s, so last Christmas we bought a ticket that was valid for a year - intending to do all of the properties during the summer. Of course, we were far too busy and so we spent 28 December visiting two more properties to use the ticket before it expired. We took a picnic with us, did Anne Hathaway's Cottage in the morning and then parked at our apiary in Wilmcote where we sat in the Land Rover and ate lunch before touring Mary Arden's House. As we drove up to the hives, we had the pleasure of watching a green woodpecker fly over the field. I say pleasure because it is such a magnificent bird, but I was of course concerned for the hives. Although most of our hives are protected with wire netting, we have never had any problem with woodpeckers at Wilmcote and so have not bothered to protect them. Happily, there was no sign of any damage and there was considerable activity from most of the hives in the warm sunshine, despite the cool breeze.

The displays at the Shakespeare properties seem to have improved immensely over the years and the guides really were excellent. Perhaps the one disappointment was that there was virtually nothing about beekeeping in any of the displays, although we know that it was an important activity in Shakespeare's time. Even the 'beeswax' candle on the mantelpiece looked suspiciously like paraffin wax to me!

The BBKA held a Workshop and Conference entitled 'GM Crops, Beekeeping and the Honey Industry' at Stoneleigh at the end of September 2002. The event was widely reported and I do not intend to repeat those reports here, so what follows is a personal view of the event.

I found the whole day rather uninspiring, with the presentations and the hastily 'agreed' press statement all very predictable. The arguments have already been rehearsed many times and there was really nothing that was new.

There were presentations from:

BBKA - in the middle of the battleground - prime concern is to produce 'pure' honey (whatever that may be). The meeting was to inform beekeepers and to ensure that their voice is heard, but some felt that the BBKA was giving a platform to the GM industry to promote their products.

The Advisers - Professor Ingrid Williams of IACR gave a competent and detailed account of her work in advising the Government, contributing to EU regulatory framework and the procedures for Farm Scale Trials. My problem with advisers is that they tend to only answer the questions asked of them, so if those asking the questions do not have sufficient knowledge then the advice may well be of little value. Remember the original advice that GM and non-GM crops need only be separated by 20 metres to maintain purity.

The GM Industry - Paul Rylott of the Agricultural Biotechnology Council (a consortium of the industry) gave a deliberate, calm, reasoned and reassuring presentation - as expected. Whether or not you agree with the concept of GM, it is difficult not to admire the efficiency of the industry's PR machine - and the money that is obviously behind it.

SCIMAC - Dr Roger Turner explained the guidelines for the trial sites so that there is no loss of organic status for neighbouring farmers - but no-one seems to have given a thought to beekeepers!

Honey Importers and Packers - Peter Martin hit the nail on the head when he said that it is the retailers who are demanding 'GM free' produce because of perceived demand from their customers. Hence the idea of a six-mile exclusion zone, because this is the only way that anyone can be sure that honey is 100% GM free. But is this true? What happens when GM genes escape into the general environment - as they have - and what happens when GM crops are widely grown? Where would we put our hives then? And is this all really necessary? Most consumers do not seem to be really interested - I have not had a single question on the subject from any of my customers.

The Government - Renaud Wilson of DEFRA told us that the Government is conducting a 'wide-ranging' public debate looking at the 'broader issues'. Well, we all know what that means! Have you been asked for your views? No? Well, you have - the debate is via the DEFRA website, so only those with access to the Internet and with a penchant for browsing the DEFRA site will ever find it!!!

The debate ended with discussions about 'non-GM' and 'GM free' honey - they are not the same and, as yet, there are no definitions for either. The majority of the delegates therefore agreed that the six-mile exclusion zone was the best way to meet the customers' perceived demand for GM free honey. I have difficulty with this because I believe that linking the concept of honey quality to an absence of GM material makes us hostages to fortune - we are, in effect, saying that honey produced within 6 miles of a GM crop is contaminated and not pure and wholesome. So what will we do when GM crops are widespread? Why are BBKA highlighting this issue by issuing press statements, when the public is showing so little interest?

A number of members are very interested in improving the quality of their bees and are likely to start some serious queen rearing and selection this year. We would be particularly interested to hear from any member who thinks that they have good 'near native' bees - the qualities that we are looking for are black (or dark), good honey production, thrifty, docile, low-swarming, prone to supersede and disease-resistant. If you would like to be part of this project please let me know.

Medical literature has described honey for treating burns, infected wounds, cutaneous ulcers, and some suggest that it may be useful in treating oral conditions such as oral ulcer and periodontal disease. According to an article by Molan in General Dentistry, honey has significant antibacterial activity, and reportedly helps clear infection, reduce inflammation and pain, decrease oedema and exudation, and promote healing. According to one study, reduction of pain, complications, and swelling were reported after placement of honey in the socket after tooth extraction. A new gelled honey dressing material has been developed for treatment of oral ulcers and for postoperative care. The anti-bacterial and anti-infective properties of honey may make it useful in the treatment of periodontal disease. Different types of honey seem to have different levels of antibacterial activity. More research is needed to identify and evaluate honeys with different levels of antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant activity.

Princess Anne's dog is called Dorothy (or Dotty).