Dear Member,

Remember that we have our Christmas social and quiz evening on the Wednesday of Christmas week (21st Dec). Come along with family and friends with a plate of goodies (savoury and sweet) to share for an enjoyable evening with fellow beekeepers. Prizes for the winning team! Bring something to drink if you wish, but remember that Friends Meeting House has a no alcohol policy.

This is the time of year that our bees are hunkered down for the winter, hopefully forming a tight cluster around the queen keeping her, and themselves, warm at around 17 degrees centigrade.

While we too may feel like hunkering down as temperatures drop and grey skies depress our spirits, now is a good time to think about expanding your beekeeping knowledge. This may be making mead (take a look at Roger Patterson’s article in the November BBKA news) or candles, or thinking of studying for the BBKA modules. If you do consider undertaking a module you will find it more enjoyable to do so as part of a study group where you can share the workload and discuss the topic being studied. There is no compulsion to go on to take an exam at the end of the study, but it does help to focus the mind! If you want to set up a study group either Sam Peckett or I will help you set up and get going. Warwickshire also offers to refund half of the cost of correspondence courses to study groups. Take a look on the BBKA website to see what the modules are.

We hope to run another beginners course for prospective beekeepers in February/March next year. We would like to make sure all beginners who decide to go on and keep bees get a viable Nucleus to start their beekeeping year after the course. If you have some idea of what you as a new beekeeper would be prepared to pay for a Nuc. can you email Cathy Moore (email above) with any suggestions to help us set a reasonable price? Thank you this would ba great help.

Of course, if you hear of anyone who is interested in beekeeping, please also ask them to contact Cathy as soon as possible to put their name on the waiting list.