Tuesday 14 October 2014

Newsletter October 2014

Dear Beekeeper

Another lovely meeting day last month, with a large attendance, lots preferred to pick up tips from Mary for prize- winning honey. Thanks to the stores counters who totalled up the honey in our hives. Only one was low, the rest varied between 25 and 64 pounds, a reflection of the warm September, generous feeding and abundant ivy.

The weather has changed, wet & windy. Bees will be starting to cluster, brood and a half hives should have queen excluders removed and the full half broods moved to the bottom.

Diary Dates

October 25th DDBKA Honey Show at Beech Grove, Nonington CT15 4HH 2:30pm

Please support the show with entries and also by coming along on the day to see the range of talents we have. Remember, you do not need to use your own honey to enter the confectionery classes; you may not have any yet! If you cannot get to Beech Grove on the Saturday morning, Chris Holdstock will deliver entries for you if he receives them by prior arrangement on Friday 24th evening; 36 Lower Road, Temple Ewell, CT16 3DY 01304 828041

Bring any honey you wish to be sold for you correctly labelled for sale.

Don’t bring your entries to Beech Grove till after 7:30 am on the day, but before 9:15am!

The Show opens to the public at 2:30 pm; in the loveliest setting, which we are fortunate to loan from The Bruderhof Community for a day. Beech Grove has beautiful buildings and gardens and friendly people, even if you have no bees and no entries to the Show, it is a delightful afternoon.

BIFA

Dick Bunting introduced the BIBBA [Bee Breeders Association] Day we have arranged on Saturday February 21st 2015.

It is entitled Bee Improvement for All, a day’s course to be held at Elham Village Hall.

Beekeepers from all over the SE have been invited, but DDBKA members have a cost advantage. For our members & some prospective members it will only cost £5 for the day including lunch & refreshments, a great saving provided you book by October 30th.

After that it will be £15 and limited to 150 places in total.

These courses have been nationally advertised in BBKA News and are a chance to hear well-known speakers and experts; it will be very useful to beekeepers at all levels.

INFORMATION and APPLICATION FORM



SUGARWATCH

Farmfoods [near Morrisons, Dover] 1kg granulated sugar = 59p, Iceland £3.30 per 5kg bag = 66p kg

I hope you completed the 2014 BBKA Honey survey, it was in the BBKA News and on our website, I have just realized that the closing date was October 10th…………………..

There are some fortnightly pollinator talks which started at Faversham on October 8th, details on our courses tab. Covers all sorts of insects in some detail. This has been arranged by Whitstable & Herne Bay beekeepers.


SMALL HIVE BEETLE

The latest is that 16 infested colonies in SW Italy within the 20km radius standstill area have been destroyed, and they are hopeful of containment. So are we!

Maggie