Chairmans Letter – July 2020

Dear Kennet Beekeeper,

Hope this finds you all well and that your bees have all been behaving. Mine have produced the most honey I have ever gathered in Wiltshire, but I missed an inspection and they swarmed. I collected the swarm in a Nuc box, offered it to another beekeeper and then they flew off somewhere whilst I was not looking! I tell this short story just to encourage all those who have little beekeeping knowledge that even the experienced beekeepers, as I boldly consider myself, have and do suffer the odd swarm.

Now for our next Zoom meeting on Wednesday 1^st July I have invited John White to give us a short talk on “Bees without chemicals”. He has asked that, as he is giving the talk, anyone with questions writes them down under the “Chat” tag on the Zoom format. Myself or Elaine will “Mute” you all during the talk – so there should not be any interruptions.

KBKA Zoom Club Meeting.

Bees without Chemicals. By John White

Time: Jul 1, 2020 07:15 PM London

Join Zoom Meeting (details within members email).

Do you need any supplies? Diane Sleigh 07879 811967 or sales@thebeedepot.com will be at the Bishops Cannings Village Hall car park on Saturday 11^th July for pre-ordered pickups. On placing your order, she will email, call to discuss your appointment time. These will be in 15 minute slots. She will set up a table near the entrance so you can turn around in the car park, drive up, collect your goods and leave again. She would prefer payment by direct transfer online.

Do we have an accountant amongst us who would advise our treasurer on preparing our accounts so they can be presented to the Charity Commissioners when applying to become a registered charity. If you have experience with this please contact William Allen on 01380 860555 treasurer@kennet-beekeepers.co.uk.

Please may I remind members that we have an out apiary opportunity at Green Lane allotments, Devizes. For more information contact your club secretary Elaine at Elainelewis@hotmail.co.uk

At the bottom of this letter you will find the BBKA’s newsletter Positive Thinking. Also attached, for your entertainment, is the Private Eye Asian Hornet cartoon – at lease they have sort of got the message about the legs – but it looks like a wasp!

Any beekeeping problems I will try to answer – but sometimes take a few days to answer.

Keep well

All best wishes

Robert Carpenter Turner

Chairman Kennet Beekeepers

Tel: – 01672 852265 email:- chairman@kennet-beekeepers.co.uk

About KBKA

Kennet Beekeepers Association (KBKA) draws members from the Calne, Chippenham, Devizes and Marlborough areas of Wiltshire. We strive to promote and further the craft of beekeeping and to represent the interests of beekeepers in the local area. We are affiliated to both the Wiltshire Beekeeping Association and the British Beekeepers Association, representing members at county and national levels.

We welcome potential members from all walks of life and can offer many benefits to both the established beekeeper and the complete novice. Some of our members have many years of practical beekeeping experience and this valuable resource is available to new beekeepers.