(Founded 1887 - Scotland’s
oldest Local Association?) (www.eastlothianbeekeepers.org.uk)
Newsletter 139 August
2006
There has been no lack
of sunshine this summer! There was a frenzy of swarming at the beginning of
June with daily calls from East Lothian Council and Pest Control firms, but the
Association found most of them homes (and relocated a bumblebee nest).
Forthcoming events
Sunday
13th August – Heather picnic
Saturday 19th
and Sunday 20th August – Gifford Flower Show. The Honey Section
Categories are:
222. 1lb jar clear
blossom honey
223. 1lb jar naturally
granulated honey
224. 1lb jar soft set
honey
225. 1lb jar heather
honey
226. one piece cut comb blossom honey (approx 8 oz)
227. one piece cut comb heather honey (approx 8 oz)
228. one section flower honey
229. one section heather honey
230. one shallow frame blossom honey
231. one shallow frame heather honey
232. one bottle wine-type mead (not fortified)
233. one piece beeswax
234. honey cake (no set recipe, but see our website for one)
Exhibits can be set up
on the evening of the 18th or before
Saturday 23rd
October – SBA autumn convention, Dewar’s Conference and sports centre,
Wednesday 4th
October – Edinburgh and Midlothian BKA are hosting the SBA Lecture this year.
The speaker will be Claire Chavasse and her title is
“Trouble shooting, re-queening cross colonies, Queen introduction”. Contact Allister
Guy 01506 654968 for details.
November – Beekeeper’s
dinner with a honey theme and
December - a practical
demonstration of oxalic acid trickle treatment by Gordon Biggar
– details in the next newsletter.
Thornes relocation
As of 7th
August, Thornes are moving from Tayport
to Newburgh Industrial Estate, Cupar Road, Newburgh,
Fife, KY14 6HA, tel 01337 842596 with sale days on 11th
(3-5pm) and 12th (9.30 to 1.00pm). Mike Bain and I are planning a
trip there in the near future, so if there is anything you would like to place
an order for, let one of us know.
Torness survey
I had an unusual
inquiry from Cefas asking for the names of beekeepers
in the vicinity of Torness – I have given them the
names of the four nearest apiaries – it will be interesting to get feedback
from them or the beekeepers involved.
Past Meetings
April seems a long
time past now, but perhaps by now some members have
made their first Dartington Long Deep hive after
Graham White’s inspirational talk. The first summer meeting at George Barton’s
apiary in May found the Association hive in dire need of a Varroa treatment – a
useful reminder to us all to keep checking for the numbers of falling mites. If
you don’t manage and treat for Varroa then your colonies will collapse. John de
Pree reports that the mite fall in his hives in July
exceeded 30 a day and so he had had to treat them. We had hopes of finding a
temporary site for the Association apiary at Alderston,
but East Lothian Council have again stymied this – we are still looking for a
suitable site, and this has to be the top priority for the Association before
next season.
Mike Bain and I had a
busy afternoon at a cub scout camp at East Fortune at
the end of May fielding a flurry of questions about the observation hive. The
highlight of the summer visits was our trip to John de Pree’s
apiary at Beech Hill in June where everyone was impressed with the quality of
the frames and their ease of manipulation due to John’s complicated, but
effective methods for managing swarming and his abundant honey crop. The sun
was out for the Haddington show where Mike Bain, Gordon Biggar,
Pat McErlean, David Marshall, Bill Fife and myself manned the display and took over £200 in honey sales.
The following week a small band of beekeepers came to my
apiary and were kind enough to keep their thoughts about my
brace-combed, propolised, queenless,
ill-fitting hives, to themselves, though the strawberries were judged to be
very good!
Heather
A reminder if you are
taking your bees to the heather to arrange permission and a location from the
land owner or estate manager.
Evening News
One of our new
members, Douglas Kerr, got himself in the Evening News collecting a swarm in
William Young
One of our oldest
honorary members, William Young, died earlier this year. He became the honorary
auditor in 1952, President in 1957 and a regular committee member until the end
of the 1970s.
For
- Colonies with or without
bees – contact Gordon Biggar 01875 821611
- Ozzie Skene had four hives in poor condition for sale (2 Smiths,
2 Nationals) Tel: 01620 823715
- A novice beekeeper
with basic theory would like to assist an experienced beekeeper to gain further
beekeeping knowledge / practical experience. Ideal locations:
Edinburgh/East Lothian. Please contact Jennie Fraser on 07800 997
470 or 0131 477 1662.
Winter Program
If you have any
suggestions of topics or speakers for our winter meetings please let me know.
New members
We welcome Finn Warholm and Douglas Kerr.
Donald Smith (Secretary)
Garden Cottage
Clerkington
Haddington EH41 4NJ
01620 822441 gardencottage@ntlworld.com