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Oct 2008

Bee News: October 2008

EFB, etc.

European Foul Brood, as its name suggests, only affects the brood in our hives and as the colder, winter weather approaches its presence in our hive will diminish. The queen will have stopped laying and the absence of any larvae means that the bacteria have no host to feed on and so lie dormant in the hive until the next season. All this means that we can not relax at all. Our Standstill Order is still in place and our stringent hygiene rule should still be observed. If anything our hygiene rules have to be strengthened if we are to start the next season with a disease-free apiary.

The Bee Inspector will not visit our apiary until the start of the next season, and is working with the apiary management team and the Committee to devise strategies to eradicate EFB. One of the main processes we can use to clean the hives is for everyone on the site to do a shook swarm early in the year, at the very start of the season. It is hoped that by doing this any EFB bacteria that is lying dormant in our hive will be destroyed and the bees will start the new season in clean comb in a nice clean brood box.

There will be no exceptions, every one at the Hampton Court Apiary will have a shook swarm procedure done on their hive. The details of what is required and the equipment you will require will be explained fully later but the apiary management team (AMT) have issued some preliminary instructions and these can be read in this newsletter. Please read them carefully, being prepared for the shook swarm will help us enormously.

In preparation for the next season the Committee have met with the AMT and discussed thoughts and plans for the future. It hasn’t all been EFB! The good news is that the club is growing and we are in a good financial state. The number of hives on the apiary is to be limited to 22 and the number of apiary hives is to be reduced to two. This will reduce the work load for the apiary management team and enable them to develop in other ways.

It is proposed that next season we make a serious attempt at queen rearing from the Danish queens in the apiary. The price of importing queens from the breeder in Denmark has been steadily increasing year on year so it would be good if we could be self-sufficient in this area.

Finally I would emphasise our Annual General Meeting on 18 November. All are encouraged to attend and to bring their wives and partners along. It will be an oportunity to socialise and to hear more about our club, more than can be writen about in this newsletter.

Kingston Division of the Surrey Beekeepers Association
Annual General Meeting

Tuesday 18 November 2008
8.0 pm The Vera Fletcher Hall, Embercourt Road, Thames Ditton

As usual with our AGMs, wives and partners are welcome, the chairman has promised to keep the formal proceedings to a minimum.

The Lime Tree Delicatessen will be providing a buffet super for a charge of £3 a head.

Research Campaign Bulletin No. 3: 9th October 2008

To paraphrase the words of a famous Englishman, we are not at the beginning of the end but perhaps at the end of the beginning, in terms of the campaign. Much hard work by all involved has seen an ongoing stream of articles in the press, on radio and TV. We have been frequent participants on Farming Today, Country File, GMTV, and even made Richard and Judy and Newsnight, not to mention lots of local coverage too. Well done all those who have done their bit - sometimes getting up at 04.30 to be on site in the apiary for the TV crew that wants to look at bees before sunrise - what fun!

The campaign has been running for just 24 weeks. The Petition has been a massive success. What a massive effort has been put in by Associations, Branches and individuals, young and old. We will comfortably exceed 100,000 signatures by the time we present them to 10 Downing Street on Wednesday 5 November. Please ensure that you get ALL petition forms back to Stoneleigh by Friday 31 October. If you are attending the National Honey Show then you can deliver them there by hand, to the BBKA Exhibit, if that’s more convenient. Delivering the Petition to Downing Street will be a key part of our demonstration and mass lobby on 5 November.

There are positive signs that funding will materialise from business. Rowse Honey have already committed £100K and we are talking to other potential donors. We have hopes for funding from the Wellcome Trust and the BBSRC too, but none of this lets the Government off the hook!

Smokers in Whitehall

Wednesday 5 November

This event will mark the end of the petition stage of the campaign. It is essential that we get a substantial turnout from across the country. Permissions have been granted by the Metropolitan Police for us to assemble, demonstrate (i.e. show placards), deliver the petition and then go into the Houses of Parliament to lobby our MPs. Wednesday has been chosen because that’s the day when all MPs are in Westminster for the fun and games of Prime Minister’s Questions. It is vital that you contact you MP before the day to tell him/her that you will be there to lobby on the bee health research campaign. Don’t worry if fellow beekeepers who share the same MP will be coming; the more the better.

The timing of the demo and lobby should allow even our most distant Associations to be present and then do a little shopping/sightseeing before returning home. Overleaf you will find the key facts concerning this event. Once you have decided to take part please contact Stoneleigh by e-mail or phone (02476 696679) giving your name, Association, e-mail or phone contact.

Assembly Point:

Old Palace Yard, Westminster, London SW1P (100 yards West of Parliament Square on Abingdon Street, opposite the Houses of Parliament.

Nearest tube Westminster (District/Circle/Jubilee lines) or walk down Whitehall from Charing Cross (Bakerloo/Northern lines)

Timings:

13.00	Meet for 13.30 Start
14.00	Deliver Petition to Downing Street
14.30	Enter Houses of Parliament via Visitors Entrance
14.45	Lobby begins
15.30	Disperse

Kit:

Please bring your freshly washed bee-suit in a small shoulder bag or the like and be prepared to put it on at the assembly point. You need to look your best as you may well be on TV! An umbrella probably makes sense too.

Smokers:

The police have been informed that we will be using some lighted smokers.

Not everybody needs to bring one but if you choose to, bring some good fuel with you and a lighter. All smokers must be extinguished before entering the Commons and we have asked the council to provide a fire proof receptacle into which unburnt material can be dumped. Smokers must be put in your shoulder bag when passing through security into the Houses of Parliament.

Placards:

These will be provided by the BBKA on the day.

Briefing:

There will be a short briefing at 13.30 and we may be joined by some MPs who wish to address us.

Stewards:

We are asked to provide stewards who will be appointed before the event and given further briefing. It is possible that the police may limit the number of demonstrators who can march to Downing Street.

N.B.

Contact your MPs to advise that you are coming to lobby them.
Confirm to BBKA Stoneleigh that you are coming
Book your cheap day ticket asap!
Contact Stoneleigh or Tim Lovett with any queries
Look at the BBKA website for any updates or changes to the above details.

See you in Westminster!

Tim Lovett - October 2008

SBKA Committee

John Legate is our sole representative on the above committee, Andrew McManus having resigned from his position, more of Andrew later. In order to comply with the rules laid down by the Charities Commission the SBKA have revised their constitution and at the recent Extraordinary General Meeting this constitution was accepted and now has legal authority.

The new constitution requires us as a division of SBKA, to nominate someone as a trustee to attend the committee meetings. Although the post of trustee caries with it some legal requirements it is not an onerous job, despite the many horror stories that have circulate about the financial penalties that trustees have incurred. So we need a volunteer please.

There has been a lot of publicity of recent months about insecticides and the effect they are, or are not, having on our bees. The BBKA endorses some chemicals that are used by farmers and gardeners and has accepted contributions from the companies that produce these products. This has caused some members of BBKA to accuse the organisation of having a conflict of influence in accepting this money. The Surrey committee has discussed this issue and intend to canvas the membership on their views with the intention of producing an article.

Andrew McManus has been a long term member of the Kingston Division and has represented us on many committees. His knowledge of bees and their ways is immense and when ever he can he has joined us at the apiary, helping in many ways to maintain our club. Andrew has decided to take some more exams in aboriculture in order to further his career. This will involve more study and so he has resigned from our club. On behalf of the membership we would like to thank Andrew for all the practical help and encouragement he has give us and wish him well in his new venture.