Not only another good attendance for lunch but Chairman Michael Fisk was able to welcome new member Ed Rochford and present him with the customary 'brown envelope'!
After our meal of Chicken Mexicana with Rice followed by Apple and Cinnamon Crumble with Custard for dessert we moved on to the presentation of the Club Accounts by our Treasurer Phil Wilkins. Phil was able to confirm that the Club continues to be in good shape financially even after the additional expenses incurred whilst celebrating our Jubilee Year. Many thanks to Phil and our Accounts Examiner Chris Cuss for all their hard work.
Afterwards, local Beekeeper Derek Dowle gave us introduction to the fascinating world of Bees, A Society in Box. There are three types of bee in the hive, the Queen, the Worker Bees and the Drones. The Queen lives for 5 years and just lays eggs, the Workers, who actually control the Hive do all the work whilst the Drones are lazy just eating, sleeping and mating with Queen. Luckily this was not a Ladies lunch so we were spared the obvious comments!
Honey Bees are considered as Livestock by DEFRA and all Beekeepers have to be registered and subject to annual inspection by the local bee inspector. The Beekeeper has to check the health of the Hive on a regular basis and some diseases are in fact notifiable.
There is naturally a reward for all this hard work, lots of honey to be collected! An average of 20-25lbs per hive.
At the end of his talk Derek was pleased to offer for sale his honey in 454g (1lb) jars. He seemed to have plenty of customers. Many thanks Derek.
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