The second successful taster day of 2018 took place on 11th August, with 53 delegates over the two sessions trying their hand at beekeeping. The forecast midweek was for a wet and windy day but, much to our relief, it changed Friday evening and we had a glorious summer day throughout. Fruit juice seemed to be the order of the day, it was just too hot for tea and coffee. With several hives open there were plenty of flying bees, which caused a bit of a concern as numerous families with young children called to visit the apiary on such a pleasant day. Thankfully there were no incidents other than a young boy who was alarmed when a honeybee landed on his hand - he was quickly soothed with a bisc
Once you have been beekeeping for a few years you start to accumulate beeswax...lots of beeswax...and then you start to wonder what to do with it. Well last Wednesday some of our questions were answered when Master Beekeeper David Barrett hosted yet another Masterclass. This time it was on processing beeswax. David was also helped by Duncan Brearley and Chris Barlow. David demonstrated how wax can be recovered from used frames with the use of a steamer. He also showed how the wax is filtered and then how to prepare it for sale, both in its raw form and also as candles and sticks. He explained different types of moulds and showed how dyes and essential oils can be added. Chris Barlow expl
