see this press release from BBKA, indicating that average hive yield is only 7lb this year.
As discussed at our meeting on Wednesday, the DDBKA honey show is on Saturday 20th October. If you want to enter, there are a number of open classes, and we’re keen to keep up the recent good attendance by CBKA at the local honey show. You must have sent (by post) an application form to the Show Secretary, Chris Holdstock, to arrive not later than Saturday 13th October.
Attached here is a pdf file with the show schedule, and the application form you need.
Report
Many thanks to all of you who took the time to help out at the event at Brogdale. For those of you who attended on Saturday, you picked the right day! Sunday was somewhat of a wash-out and it finally ended around 3PM. However we did have the benefit of a folk group, who played several jigs to keep us warm, and we were entertained by a group of young children, most of whom completed at least 3 rounds of tasting honey (pity their parents later on) and bombarded us with questions about bees.
Julian did his usual excellent job of promoting beekeeping with his presentations, which are always a driver for people to visit the stand. The observation hive is always a big draw and it would make a material difference to attendance, interest and sales of honey if we didn’t have it there.
Colin, Sue and I provided honey for sale – you can see the picture of Sue behind the stand before the punters turned up here.
Honey sales were rather brisk on Saturday but slowed on Sunday. There were some useful trends/tips to pick up from the sales and we can perhaps discuss that at the next club meeting in October. Our prices were as follows:
16oz £6.00
12oz £4.95
8oz £3.85
4oz £2.00
Gift Pack £9.00 (2 x 8oz in gift pack with wooden honey dripper)
Brogdale Cider Festival
We have a stand at the Cider Festival on Saturday/Sunday 22/23 September. We are looking for volunteers so please consider giving up some time for some very enjoyable activities – talking about beekeeping, selling honey and sampling the cider. If you would like to volunteer, please email me with any preferred days and times.
Last Call for CBKA Polo Shirts
Our branded CBKA Polo shirts have been well received by everybody. I am about to place another order so if anybody would like one, please email your request including size (S, M, L, XL, XXL). They are great value at £10 – it is nice for all attendees at events like Brogdale to wear a club shirt, if possible.
The Kent Beekeepers Association membership year draws to an end. For some it has certainly been a very challenging year with low honey harvests and poor queen mating due to the dismal summer.
Our new year starts on the 1st October and here is the 2012/13 Membership Form to enable you to renew your membership of the Kent Beekeepers Association. You will notice that the full member subscription has risen to £42 from £40. This is because the Beecraft element of the subscription has increased by £2.25 but KBKA are absorbing 25p of the extra cost. To remind you, KBKA members receive Beecraft at a 25% reduction to the price paid by other subscribers. Electronic Beecraft remains at the same price – £7 may now be deducted from your subscription instead of £5.
There are other membership categories too, so here’s a link to our Membership Guide which will help you decide which category of membership is appropriate for you.
I hope you find being a member of Canterbury Beekeepers of benefit and have been able to attend our monthly meetings. Our new venue for winter meetings has proved to be a success – easy to reach, even in bad weather, and easy for parking – as well as being a bright and comfortable room. Our website is well supported and many members log in to the forum where practical advice on beekeeping is sought and discussed. If you have not visited the website yet I encourage you to do so for much information and advice.
Please print out and complete the Membership Form and send it to me with your cheque. If it is easier for you, you may make an electronic transfer to pay for your subscription – bank details: Sort Code 30-91-60 Account No 00371771, but please make a note on your form that you have chosen this method of payment. My address is shown on the Form. If you would prefer me to forward a Form in the post please contact joan at joan.mcallister@virgin.net or 07824 668042. I will also be at the October meeting on the 3rd October when you will be able to renew your membership in person.
If you have any queries or would like to discuss the renewal of your membership do not hesitate to get in touch on 07824 668042.
You might be interested to know that the 2012-2013 programme is under development and the first few courses are about to appear in BeeCraft. The website contains details of the 6 courses listed so far, there will be others.
What is new this year? There are completely new courses (e.g. Brood Diseases, Bee Behaviour) and many of the existing courses have been modified or completely re-written in response to feedback and to make them more focussed on the Healthy Bees Plan objectives and the BBKA education and training system. Although the courses currently on offer are confined to the existing Devon and Kent training centres, negotiations are on-going to secure more northerly venues.
The good news is that, with generous sponsorship from Fera via the Healthy Bees Plan, courses this season will be offered for just £75 for the 2 days, including refreshments, light lunches and all of the handouts and consumables. As previously, class sizes will remain small (typically 10-12) and two tutors will be available, ensuring a high degree of individual attention. Here are some of the upcoming courses:
| November | 4, 5 | Honeybee Behaviour new date | Dan Basterfield | Devon |
| December | 1, 2 | Anatomy & Dissection new date | Ken Basterfield | Devon |
| December | 3, 4 | Advanced Husbandry new date | Ivor Davis | Devon |
| December | 6, 7 | Pollen new date & venue | Bob Smith | York |
| February | 1, 2 | Microscopy filling | Ken Basterfield | Devon |
| February | 3, 4 | Adult Bee Diseases | Dan Basterfield | Devon |
| February | 10, 11 | Adult Bee Diseases new date | Dan Basterfield | Kent |
| March | 1, 2 | Pollen new date | Bob Smith | Kent |
So, please take a look at the website – www.national-diploma-bees.org.uk – and see whether you are tempted. The KSRC site in Sittingbourne is the home for several of the courses, so is relatively accessible for us.
With the appointment of David Blower as Education Co-ordinator for the BBKA, the NDB people are hoping more closely to integrate the various training opportunities within the 2 organisations. For example, the early NDB courses mentioned above are particularly targetted to those considering taking the BBKA Module 3 exam (Pests & Diseases) in November.