Fed Secretary’s Newsletter

News from Isle of Man Beekeepers Federation Secretary, Pat Shimmin.

Hello Everyone!

To help get us all through the dark days of winter, I thought that it would be a good idea to keep in touch with all sorts of beekeeping news that you may find of interest and use.

Firstly, I would like to thank all of you who you came to and  helped make the Honey Convention at St Johns, such a success.  It was very much appreciated and for the first time we had a TV presence at our Convention, which was great.

In the light of the new threat to bees in the UK of the Asian Hornets, I understand that DEFA are producing a fact sheet on the problem and the do’s and don’ts for us and I will circulate this to you all  when it is received.

Although it has now turned so cold, don’t know about yours, but our bees are still flying (in between the raindrops!) and so please keep an eye on them for weight.  As you will see in Harrys notes, now is the time to feed our bees with fondant rather than syrup.  You can make this for yourself or, it can be purchased locally and delivered to your door very cheaply from Mr Cubbon – see below..

Some contact numbers you may find useful at this time of year are;

Harry Owens     801315               Bee Disease Officer – if you have any queries or problems & equipment

Mr Cubbon       823682               Fondant feed

E.H. Thornes    01673 858555         Beekeeping Equipment

It is time to start thinking of anything you may need to replace, renew or obtain – don’t forget that Harry Owens is  also our local agent, here on the Isle of Man, for Thornes and has a large store of equipment – so please contact Harry first for anything you may need.

It could be a good idea to have on hand a copy of the Thornes catalogue, to act as a reminder and help you choose, just ring them and they will send a copy out to you..

We can’t forget – Christmas is not far away!  Have you thought of anything beekeeping as a present?  What about an annual subscription to Beecraft, a very good read, or a new hive tool or smoker or maybe a book, all available from Thornes.

In the winter months is a good time to catch up on your reading about beekeeping topics and brushing up on your training.  Have you thought of taking a beekeeping course next year?

BBKA’s Spring Convention is being held from 7^th to 9^th April 2017 at Harper Adams University, Shropshire.  There will be leading speakers on all things bees, beekeeping and related topics, workshops and exhibitions and a  Partner Programme for non-beekeepers.

Let me know if you might be  interested in attending and maybe we can get together a group of us to go.

Finally, the time for renewing your subscription is fast approaching!  This should be done before 31^st March 2017 to ensure continuation (of insurance for Full Members) and your Association Treasurer can advise you of the rate for your individual Association.

If you have any news you think would be useful to other members, or any ideas for the future, please let me know.

So – onwards and upwards – Happy Beekeeping!

Best Regards

Pat.