Chair’s AGM
Report 2021
This is essentially an overview of 2021 for the HWBKA
picking out some of the highlights … and lowlights.
More detail can be found in each of the committee members reports which you
also have received.
Starting with the ‘lowlights’ we are obviously still being
impacted by COVID although not as severely as in 2020 when almost everything
stopped.
On more positive notes the Association continues strongly with
247 members, only one down on last year.
Finances are still strong with a healthy balance of ≈£21k although this would have been
even greater had we been able to run the course last year in 2020. It is still
our hope and intention to be able to fund an Apiary with a permanent Club House
and we are slowly building funds to accomplish that.
Despite the BBKA increasing their charges last year, when we
had to absorb the cost as we could not do anything about it until the following
AGM, we have decided again to maintain our current level of subscriptions and
absorb that cost increase once more. Most of your dues do go to the BBKA and
for BDI as can see in Peter Halford’s and
Rob’s reports. It was for this reason
that we changed our rules and constitution to enable us to increase dues by
whatever the BBKA impose should we need to, without having to wait for the
following years AGM to pass a resolution or hold an EGM.
At the beginning of 2021 it was not at all certain we would
be able to run the Beginner’s
Course. It represents a major revenue for the Association both financially and
in terms of new members. In anticipation of future difficulties, we setup an education
sub-committee, an objective for which would be the generation of a
comprehensive course manual, and this was completed during the bleak mid-winter
and early spring. Armed with this
document we felt that in the worst case we might be able to run the course on a
one-to-one basis or in much smaller groups depending on prevailing lockdown
criteria at the time. This would of course require a greater number of tutors
who may well need the manual for reference. In the event the first 2 classroom-based
sessions were held on Zoom and the initial ‘in-the-field’ events one to one with the very much
increased number of tutors in their own apiaries. Our tutors did sterling work,
and we are very appreciative of their efforts on behalf of the beginners. This all
worked well and then in July we recommenced group events. The manual will stand
us in good stead for the future and all new beekeepers on the course get a copy
to keep so they get our association’s view and
are not too confused by all the sometimes-conflicting advice they might get in
books and on-line
We held the Taster Day this year in June at my apiary and
had a most enjoyable day with 11 participants, including Peter Halford and Talha
Dinc who came long to help.
Following on from a laudable initiative from Malcolm 2 years
earlier to encourage people through their Basic Assessment, we finally managed
to hold the assessment, again in my apiary to better facilitate necessary teas,
coffees, brandies etc. 5 people, 4 from HWBKA and one who came up from Hastings
and Rother took part. Mike Cullen, a Master Beekeeper from Hastings took us
through quite gently. My guilt at not doing it earlier in my beekeeping career
finally got the better of me and I too took the test of ‘beekeeping manhood’.
In terms of other events held throughout year they have been
quite severely curtailed. Committee Meetings have been held on Zoom as Peter
Leswell has had to maintain a strict isolation regime. There were no country
fayres we could attend. BeeBanter was off the menu until it re-commenced in the
latter half of the year. Attendance at BeeBanters has been somewhat down
compared to the past, no doubt because of people’s
legitimate concerns over either getting infected or spreading infection. Last
month Talha managed to organise a very successful wax workshop which Helen
Hadley led, and Sandy Infield hosted in her spacious studio. On the 8th
December he has organised our annual Christmas Dinner at the Middle House in
Mayfield. We hope you will be able to attend.
Our Association Apiaries are in mostly good fettle, although
it has been a tricky year for many beekeepers as indicated in Keith & Steve’s report about Slab Castle. We heard
in Jonathan Coote’s Apiarist article about the
winter losses. We had a warm February causing the colonies to build quickly and
early, followed by a colder dry spell and then a colder wet spell and some
colonies never really got up to speed. My own honey crop as with the
Associations was less than half the usual.
Nonetheless Slab Castle is going into the winter with 10
colonies and much work has been done over the year maintaining it and the equipment.
Our lease from WDC for the Horsted Green Apiary was
increased to 12 colonies in exchange for which they wanted our assistance with promotion,
and you may have seen articles in Ashdown Living Sussex Country Living. I took over
from Steve running the Apiary mid-way through the year as the combination of
running Slab Castle and Horsted with all the travel that entailed was getting
too much. Steve was very largely responsible for setting up the splendid
facilities at Horsted for which we owe him a debt of gratitude. There was a
very successful queen rearing activity held at Horsted and led by Helen Hadley
and Malcolm. We used a particularly vigorous colony of nice gentle bees and
produced some 30 or so queens which were given out to various members. We plan
to hold something similar next year with more emphasis on teaching the craft.
We will also be raising 10 nucs of bees with the very generous assistance of
John Miller, to supply future new beekeepers on the course. A small part we can
play in reducing the need to import bees from abroad along with whatever plague
they might bring in with them.
As mentioned above, it is an awful lot of work running the
association apiaries and we hope next year to be able to enlist some permanent
or semi-permanent assisting teams to help share the burden and perhaps as a
teaching experience too for those less experienced, to learn from the likes of
Steve and Keith. There will be a form sent out and at the AGM for those who
would like to express interest.
The Apiarist is going out quarterly ‘jam packed’ thanks
to the sterling work of Paul with his expertise in DTP
AHAT - fortunately there has been very little activity on
the Asian Hornet front, due in no small part to the continuing vigilance of
beekeepers nationwide and of course FERA.
The website continues to support our activities and
membership very well. The advent of booking forms for events and the eR2 system
making life much easier for our Membership Secretary Peter …although it is still a great deal of
work he does behind the scenes to keep our Association running smoothly.
SBKA has been quiet and similarly impacted by CV-19 and holding
meetings on Zoom. There was no Bee Market this year but the Autumn Convention
which was a hybrid live /Zoom meeting had some interesting talks particularly
from the folks at Buckfast Abbey.
Having overstayed my statutory three term year as Chair by
one year in extremis to get through the COVID crisis this has been my last year
…honest!
It’s been fun, an honour and a
privilege. I will still be around, however, looking after the little darlings
at our Horsted Apiary.
