Basingstoke & District Beekeepers Association

March 2024 AGM
2024-03-15 19:00 - 21:30 (Europe/London) | Sherborne St John Village Hall, Kiln Road, Sherborne St John, Basingstoke, RG24 9HR, United Kingdom
Details to follow.

February Winter Meeting
2024-02-16 19:00 - 21:30 | Sherborne St John Village Hall, Kiln Road, Sherborne St John, Basingstoke, RG24 9HR, United Kingdom
A talk by Andy Willis entitled “Wax Purification”.
This will be an ideal opportunity to find out how to process Bees Wax, whether it’s for trading in against new foundation or getting wax up to show standards and for candle making. The processes Andy has developed over the years takes wax from the hive to the final pure wax product including harvesting, storage, grading, melting, and filtering, ‘The Andy Method’.
Andy Willis is from Southampton Beekeepers and has won numerous prizes at shows for his candles which includes firsts at the National Honey show. He has hosted wax workshops for the BBKA and also made the candles which were given as the BBKA’s gift to the late Queen Elizabeth II, in her 2012 Jubilee year.

January Winter Meeting
2024-01-19 19:30 | Sherborne St John Village Hall, Kiln Road, Sherborne St John, Basingstoke, RG24 9HR, United Kingdom
A very timely talk by Jenny Morgan – “Preparing for Spring and starting the Season” – which will explain what to look for when you first open the hive up in Spring. Disease checks and other things to look out for at that first inspection, plus cleaning equipment and methods of comb change so you can get organised in good time with everything clean and ready.
Jenny is a Master Beekeeper and a member of Reading BKA, has been keeping bees for about 14 years and currently keeps around 30 hives. Jenny has been a BBKA Trustee and now sits on the BBKA Examination Board. She is also an assessor for the BBKA Basic, Bee Health and Microscopy Assessments.

December Winter Meeting
2023-12-15 19:00 - 21:30 | Sherborne St John Village Hall, Kiln Road, Sherborne St John, Basingstoke, RG24 9HR, United Kingdom
This month’s talk by Stephen Fleming is entitled “The Magic and Mystery of Drone Congregation Areas”.
Fascinated by the idea of drone congregation areas (DCAs), Stephen Fleming set out to try to find one. By accidentally ignoring the books, he was very lucky to find one within an hour. Since then, suitably warm sunny afternoons from May to July have tempted him to be lured him from his desk in search of more – from Watership Down to the Isles of Scilly – and to try to understand how drones and queens find them and why they are located where they are.
Stephen is co-editor of BeeCraft and occasionally writes about DCAs and the bemused looks he gets when he is out and about with his rod, lure, and UAV (radio-controlled commercial drone) looking for magical places.

November Winter Meeting
2023-11-17 19:00 - 21:30 | Sherborne St John Village Hall, Kiln Road, Sherborne St John, Basingstoke, RG24 9HR, United Kingdom
This month’s talk by Celia and David Rudland is entitled “Nucs and their Uses”; a look at the several ways a nuc box can be used in the apiary.
The Rudlands began as back-garden beekeepers in 2004 then the hobby grew; they are now bee farmers, running around 300 hives with apiaries all over Surrey and into Kent. As well as producing honey and fulfilling pollination contracts, they also raise queens and nucs for sale and teach beekeeping at all levels – from children’s groups and specialist courses for established beekeepers, to the Bee Farmers Apprenticeship Scheme. www.eastsurreybees.co.uk

October Winter Meeting
2023-10-20 19:00 - 21:30 | Sherborne St John Village Hall, Kiln Road, Sherborne St John, Basingstoke, RG24 9HR, United Kingdom
Andrew Gibb, Master Beekeeper, will be giving a talk entitled “Drones, the weaker sex”. The talk will look at physical aspects of drones, bodily appearance, behavioural aspects and what we know and don’t know about drones – which may surprise you!
Andrew is currently a member of the BBKA Examination board and a past CEO of Bee Craft Ltd and Chairman of Surrey BKA.

September Winter Meeting
2023-09-15 19:00 - 21:30 | Sherborne St John Village Hall, Kiln Road, Sherborne St John, Basingstoke, RG24 9HR, United Kingdom
Our first winter meeting of the 2023-24 season will feature “Food Safety for the Beekeeper” by Andy Pedley.
Andy will deal with the practical side of food safety as it applies to bee keepers, from the hive right through harvest and sale.
Andy has been keeping bees for 30 years and as an EHO developed an interest in the law on food safety as it applies to bee keepers and honey production. Realising that there was a fair amount of misinformation and traditional, but not always good, practice, among bee keepers, he authored a series in BeeCraft on the Food Safety Legislation and has presented talks on this and the Food Safety law as it applies to bee keepers at the National Honey Show and to local associations. Northern Bee Books asked him to produce a book and this is now in print https://www.northernbeebooks.co.uk/products/food-safety-for-beekeeper-pedley/
Andy is currently the Training Apiary Manager for Oxfordshire BKA; this gives him responsibility for 10 colonies there as well as his own 7 in various apiaries around Oxfordshire.

Charles Butler 400th Anniversary Bee Fayre
2023-08-19 - 2023-08-20 | Wootton St Lawrence, Church Meadows, Wootton St Lawrence, Hampshire, RG23 8PE, United Kingdom
We invite you to come and join us to celebrate Charles Butler, The Father of English Beekeepers, and his publication of “The Feminine Monarchie” in 1623 at his pastoral home of Wootton St Lawrence, Basingstoke, RG23 8PE, over the weekend of Saturday 19th and Sunday 20th August 2023.  For details, please visit  www.charles-butler400.co.uk
The organisers will be bringing the best of beekeeping speakers, performers and bee craft to these Celebrations with presentations inside the Church and stall holders and specialists outside in the Church Meadows. They include;

Stile Antico, the world’s leading early music vocal ensemble will be performing on both days Charles Butler Bee Madrigal within his own church
Bostjan Noc and Peter Kozmus, from the Slovenian Beekeepers Association, who proposed 20th May as World Bee Day to the UN assembly and was adopted worldwide
Speakers from Europe, UAE, and the UK will be presenting their expert views from bee sound vibrations to the value of honey.
“The Hive” Education Centre designed by beekeepers to tell the bee story to adults & children.
Stallholders, Bee Craft, Organisations who want to tell their part of the bee story

Come and share your love of bees to help communities understand the need to create a sustainable environment for bees to thrive.

April Winter Meeting
2023-04-21 19:00 - 21:30 | Sherborne St John Village Hall, Kiln Road, Sherborne St John, Basingstoke, RG24 9HR, United Kingdom
Jeff Sawyer, a retired Metropolitan Police Officer will be coming to talk to us on April 21st about “Personal Safety and Security” – an issue that is relevant to us all.
In Jeff’s words “My commitment to the audience, is that they’ll be engaged, educated and, above all, reassured by the material I deliver. This presentation won’t be alarmist in any way; it’s designed to bolster confidence, not steal it.”
Please read here for more information.

March 2023 AGM
2023-03-17 19:00 - 21:30 | Sherborne St John Village Hall, Kiln Road, Sherborne St John, Basingstoke, RG24 9HR, United Kingdom
At our Annual General Meeting there will be the usual refreshments before and after the meeting, with the aim of keeping the business of the meeting as short as feasible.

February Winter Meeting
2023-02-17 19:00 - 21:30 | Sherborne St John Village Hall, Kiln Road, Sherborne St John, Basingstoke, RG24 9HR, United Kingdom
‘Essential Beekeeping Equipment’ by David and/or Celia Rudland of East Surrey Bees.
This talk will appeal to both new and experienced beekeepers as the Rudlands have extensive beekeeping expertise as bee farmers with around 200 colonies. David has also been a Seasonal Bee Inspector and both of them have teaching qualifications.

January 2023 Winter Meeting
2023-01-20 19:00 - 21:30 | Sherborne St John Village Hall, Kiln Road, Sherborne St John, Basingstoke, RG24 9HR, United Kingdom
“Non Native Species that target the Honeybee”
A talk by Nigel Semmence from APHA (Animal Plant and Health Agency)
