Month: August 2021

Stephen Smith

Stephen Smith passed away peacefully at home surrounded by his family on Monday 21st June.

Steve was a well respected member of our association who helped in many ways and
was very proficient at record keeping and taking minutes of meetings.

But Steve always preferred to be in his bee suit and inside a hive. He loved his bees and
cared for them and treated them with respect.

As a member of the team looking after the bees at Hilton Green, his care and attention
to detail was much valued. He had been keeping bees for about ten years and through all that time he worked alongside me and we were best mates.

Steve’s fight against liver cancer began quite well and we thought he was making progress, but it was not to be. I never heard him complain, he just carried on as best he could.

The day before Steve died we had managed to extract the oil seed rape honey from
his hive at Brinsford for him. When it was delivered and he was told that there was 60
lbs his face lit up. Steve lived life well and enjoyed a laugh and a joke, so smile and remember a wonderful man.

Chris Shaw

Out-apiary opportunities

We look after the landscaping for the Veolia Staffordshire Energy Recovery Facility situated at Four Ashes. The site management has expressed an interest in having an apiary on their site as part of their wider efforts to improve site biodiversity. We have no
experience at keeping bees ourselves so wondered if this was something that you would be interested in running?

The site will cover all costs associated with the project, including the purchasing of the hives, and labour costs associated with ongoing maintenance.
There is access all year round to the site, with the only exception of limited access when they have a site maintenance shutdown, which is usually in May and lasts for around 2 weeks – access can be gained but ideally would be minimal during a shutdown.

The location for the hives is in a quiet area on the back of the site, adjacent to a large native wetland meadow, and there is space for at least 2 or 3 hives in the area I have in mind.

If you are interested, give me a call on the details below, or send me an email. I would be happy to meet someone on site to view the proposed area.

Tom Johnson
Project & Contracts Manager
Office: 01909 726352
Mobile: 07799 835354
Email: tom@planterior.co.uk
Web: http://www.planterior.co.uk

My name is Jake and I am the QSS Coordinator at Lyreco, an office stationary and business solutions supplier based in Telford. We are in need of a new beekeeper for our onsite apiary which is located closer to south Staffordshire than some parts of Shropshire. We still have 4 of the 5 hives originally installed in 2015. The location is on an industrial site near a residential area making it a challenge and not for the
inexperienced.


Our beehives are maintained at the beekeepers discretion and are happy to come to a shared arrangement with regard to the honey.


Our hives will need replacing soon and we are happy to fund and support this with the beekeeper as we have our own on site building services team.

For more information, please contact:
Jake Dean Jones PIEMA
Quality, Safety and Sustainability Coordinator
Lyreco UK & Ireland
T. +44 (0) 1952 286262 • http://www.lyreco.co.uk Deer Park
Court Donnington Wood • TF2 7NB Telford • UK

BBKA Life after 70

The BBKA Press Officer has been contacted by a television production company about an upcoming documentary series and they are looking for participants.
A copy of the email follows and if you are interested in taking part please contact Jacci
Parry direct – her details are at the bottom of her message.
Kind regards, Leigh Sidaway, General Manager

Life after 70

It was good to speak with you a little earlier. As I mentioned on the phone my name is Jacci and I’m a documentary producer working with a television production company called ‘Tuesdays Child’ where we’re very excited to be developing a series for Channel 5 which celebrates the lives and achievements of those aged 70 and over.


We’re looking for a diverse range of inspirational, positive, and fun-living contributors from across the UK aged from 70 upwards who are living life to its fullest. We’re keen to find seniors with interesting or challenging hobbies.


By telling the stories of each of our contributors we aim to highlight issues connected to ageing and challenge the many stereotypes that exist about the lives of the over 70s.
We’d love to find someone involved in beekeeping who can shine a light on a fascinating activity which so crucial to our biodiversity.


What we’re looking for is contributors who are good storytellers and who stand out in the community as ‘unusual or remarkable’ in some way i.e.: either because of some project they’re involved with, something they’ve achieved in the past or
something they’re planning in the near future.

It’s hard to know what this might look like in the world of beekeeping, but you will no doubt have some ideas.

As a company Tuesday’s Child has a well established track record of working with
organisations on a wide range of output, some of which have gone on to become returning series. We are particularly keen to hear from members of under-represented groups around the UK. I look forward to hearing from you.

Very best
Jacci Parry
Factual, Tuesday’s Child Wales
jacci.parry@tuesdayschild.tv
Mb: 07855 358525 |DL: 029 20304998
Web: tuesdayschild.tv

BBKA Website Enquiry

Dear BBKA,
Not an enquiry but a big Thank you to Brian Harvey in Stafford who we were able
to contact via the BBKA website when a swarm of honey bees arrived in our garden.
He was with us so quickly and was absolutely superb. We had a crowd of neighbours who were just as fascinated as we were and Brian kindly explained what he was doing and gave us all sorts of information about them too. Thank you again Brian we all enjoyed your skill and clear passion for bee keeping.
Name: Claire Peacock

Dear Claire,
Thank you for your email and feedback. I am pleased that Brian was able to help with
the swarm in your garden. I have copied in the secretary of the BBKA Association where Brian is a member so they can pass on your comments to Brian.
Kind Regards,
Erica Challis | BBKA Website Administrator

Dear Brian,
We are writing to you, to pass on thanks from a member of the public (Claire Peacock), for your recent Swarm Collection activity in July. This message came to us from the BBKA whom expressed pleasure that you were able to help.
Regards,

Ed Bennett, Secretary SS&DBKA

PS:
Many thanks to Brian Harvey from us too, for representing our association and our community so well. The picture below shows the beautiful prime swarm in all its glory.

BBKA News Archive Website

Some of you may be aware that the BBKA News Archive website was unavailable earlier this year whilst it was undergoing repairs and updates.

I am writing to confirm that the Archive website is now fully operational again and we have made a few changes:

  • To log into the website members will be asked to complete 3 fields:

  • Field one: BBKA membership number eg 95.55.101 This is the printed on the receipt your membership secretary emails you when you pay your membership fees.
    If you can’t find your membership number please contact your local membership secretary.

  • Field two: Your postcode.
  • Field three: The generic password which is printed on the first page of the BBKA magazine.

  • Copies of the archived magazines can be downloaded in .pdf format. This will allow you to download issues to your phone or tablet. To do this, select a magazine and the click on the ‘Download as PDF’ button in the top RH corner.

  • Did you know that as part of a reciprocal agreement, you can also access archived copies of An Beachaire, the newsletter from the Federation of Irish Beekeepers Associations (FIBKA)?

  • Editions that are over six months old are available for you to read online but you cannot download them. From the ‘Select Publication’ drop down menu in the top LH corner, choose An Beachaire.

Kind regards

Diane Drinkwater

Trustee & Chair of Communications Committee