GBKA Registered 
Charity Number : 1014600
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GBKA Registered
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Prepare
to feed your bees, check how much stores they already have and feed accordingly.
Do a last check for disease. After
the crop has been removed is the time to treat for varroa, and if you have used
pyrethroid strips REMEMBER TO REMOVE THEM after the six weeks is up. Reduce entrances to discourage robbers and get mouse guards ready to put on before it gets cold.
It
is with a great deal of regret and immense sadness that I have to tell you that
our friendly, efficient and highly regarded treasurer was killed in a car
accident on August 13th. Ken
has written about her Allison Douglas We
are all finding difficulty in coming to terms with the tragic death of Allison
and her husband John in an accident on the M4. We knew her principally as a very
efficient treasurer and it really hurt to receive the elephant covered canvas
bag in which she meticulously kept the books. Allison
had many interests other than beekeeping. She swam every morning and had been
scuba diving with one of our members only recently. She was an active member of
the Abergavenny Tennis Club. The Gwent Ski Group envied her prowess on the
slopes but she still took lessons to improve her technique. She was a good cook
and was happy to discuss new recipes. She created a beautiful garden at Pen-y-Fedw
and with John restored the farmhouse and the surrounding woodland. Allison
and John loved music and regularly supported the Llantilio Crossenny Festival. Allison
was born and bred in Australia. She enjoyed walking in the countryside and was
planning an epic journey through the centre of Australia with her sisters. After
school in Sydney she worked as a legal secretary before travelling to London in
1970 where she obtained a first class honours degree and an M.Sc. in
Epidemiological Statistics. The British Medical Journal published her paper on
the effects of radiation on British Nuclear Fuel workers. It
was at the funeral in the Forest of Dean where we learned many things we
didn’t know but which could well have been expected. Many in the large
gathering had to stand beside the two wicker coffins to hear from Allison’s
sister of an idyllic childhood in a loving family and from John’s architect
business partners of a happy busy and fruitful life together. Their
courageous daughter Jo related how her father, seeing the girl of his dreams,
accosted Allison on a station platform and started a long and loving
partnership. He certainly recognised a good thing when he saw her! They did not
marry until quite recently and then only under pressure from their financial
adviser. Allison
and John were not religious and their funeral was humanist but it concluded with
Taverner’s Kyrie. Those of us who are Christians are confident that the Lord
will have mercy upon them and that they will rest in peace. Ken
Key. The
last apiary meeting has taken place, the supers have been removed and 63lbs of
honey has been extracted. Honey
sales GBKA
honey will be sold at £3.50/lb. This is a respectable price to ask, the honey
at the Royal Welsh Show was being sold at £3.90, that at Shrewsbury £4.00, and
both venues ran out. This
insurance is going up again in 2006, and this will be reflected in our
subscription fees. In order to understand it PLEASE read the article on page 8
of the latest BBKA news. It is rather long but does explain everything. Dear
All Beano
Moran, a former beekeeping student at Hartpury College, Gloucester, is
running the Chicago Marathon on Sunday 9 October. Beano
is using the occasion to raise money for Bees Abroad. He has set himself
a target of £1000 so, if you can, please help him reach this with
your contribution, small or large. Beano is using the charity-giving website,
justgiving, to make it easy and safe to make a donation. Just go to www.justgiving.co.uk/beano
to
find his page and then follow the links to add your donation to the list. Thank
you all for your continued support for Bees Abroad. Good
luck Beano! Best
wishes Claire
Waring PS.
If you prefer not to make donations on line, you can send a cheque
(payable to Bees Abroad UK Ltd) to our Treasurer: Nick
Bishop, The Elms, Painswick Road, Brockworth, Gloucester GL3 4RP Many thanks. Comment
mainly on Apimondia Gwent
beekeepers were represented by us and Reg and Mary as well as Nicola. I
thoroughly enjoyed the four days of the meeting, talked to many beekeepers and
made a lot of new friends. There were things to learn as well. Many different
‘alternative’ varroa treatments are now available. Most are variations on
the theme of thymol et al to initiate grooming. Time will tell how effective
they prove to be. I was intrigued by the polystyrene hives which are not cheap
and throwaway so would they stand up to hive tools etc. I talked to a Dane who
kept bees in them in Greenland. He said they were pretty tough, didn’t
disintegrate as you prised out propolised frames but he was sure bees preferred
wood. After all he said the bees don’t try to heat the body of the hive, they
only heat the cluster. A
new departure was the choosing of a ‘honey queen’. This was an infection
that was spawned in USA where they regularly hold honey queen contests. The
queen of all the states came to Apimondia to contest the title of honey queen of
the whole world. I believe in the
end there were about six contestants, produced by countries on the spot as I
don’t think anyone had come prepared (except the American). They had to take a
written test and give a presentation to a panel of judges. Well, the judges were
exceptionally clever at appreciating
talent and chose the UK entrant, a Welsh girl called Ceri.. Philip McCabe is
forgiven. Let
me know how much honey you have this year. In Ireland they have had the best
harvest they can remember.
Bridget Quote
from Apimondia Nicola
was chairing a session. Someone from the floor said :- “Oh
dear, we do sometimes think of our bees as if they were human don’t we?” Horrified
expression on Nicola’s face: “Oh
no, bees are much nicer than people.” There
is a site available at Llantony Contact
Janet: 01291690331
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Whilst the domains gbka.co.uk & gbka .org .uk are owned by G Cole. The web pages under these domains are published for the Gwent Beekeepers association and its members , in order to publicise our association's news, aims, activities, and the art of beekeeping.
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